Snow Leopard spotted in Lippa-Asra wildlife sanctuary in Himachal Pradesh

Published on September 11, 2018
A Snow Leopard was spotted at a height of about 4,000 metres in Lippa-Asra wildlife sanctuary in Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh.

Snow Leopard spotted in Lippa-Asra wildlife sanctuary
  • Its picture was captured by a camera-trap installed by State Wildlife Department.
  • These findings have ascertained that Snow Leopards are inhabiting in new areas.

About Snow Leopard:

  • Snow Leopard (Panthera uncial) is a large cat native to mountain ranges of Central and South Asia- including Himalayas, and Russia's remote Altai mountains.
  • It inhabits in alpine and subalpine zones at elevations from 3,000 to 4,500 m.
  • In northern range countries, it is also found at lower elevations.
  • It mostly feed on wild animals, but also prey on livestock.
  • It usually hunts at dawn and dusk and is able to kill prey up to three times it's own weight.
  • In India, it is found in states of Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh.

Threats:

  • It is threatened by poaching for their fur, habitat destruction by infrastructure developments and climate change.

Protection Status:

  • It has been listed in Schedule I under Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972, Appendix I of Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES) and Appendix I Convention on Migratory Species (CMS).
  • In September 2017, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) had downgraded conservation status of Snow Leopard to "vulnerable" from "endangered". 
  • It is the National Heritage Animal of Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Project Snow Leopard:

  • It was launched in 2009 to safeguard and conserve Snow Leopard (an unique natural heritage of high-altitude) and its habitats by promoting conservation through participatory policies and actions.

About the Lippa-Asra wildlife sanctuary:

  • The sanctuary is a part of district Kinnaur in Himachal Pradesh and also is a part of Moorang town.
  • It was established in 1974 and is spread over an area of 3089 hectares.
  • It hosts a wide range of flora and fauna due to varied elevation, different climatic situation and topographical type of weather found in its vicinity.
  • This type of weather conditions thus helps in the survival of different type of species that are housed in the sanctuary.
  • The sanctuary has diversified wildlife that forms part of it.
  • It houses wild species of animal like Yak, Ibex, Blue Sheep, Himalayan Musk Deer, Goral, Brown Bear and Himalayan Black Bear.
  • The dry alpine scrub and dry coniferous type of forest are main type of flora found in this sanctuary.
  • Besides, dwarf juniper scrub, coniferous forest and temperate type of forest of the Himalayan region is also found in this sanctuary.

Question:

Q. Which rare animal was spotted at a height of about 4,000 metres in Lippa-Asra wildlife sanctuary in Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh?
a. Tiger
b. Ostrich
c. Snow Leopard
d. White Tiger
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