Nepal: Injured snow leopard’s rescue in southern plains sparks concerns among wildlife experts

Jan 27, 2024

Lalitpur (Nepal), Jan 27 (ANI): The rescue of an injured snow leopard from Eastern Terai region of Nepal has increased concern amongst wildlife experts in Nepal. Found only in 12 countries across the globe, that too at high levels, forest officials earlier this week found the estranged snow leopard aged 25 months from the Southern Plains of Nepal. The divided opinion amongst the experts has raised concerns, as some speculate it to be a failed trafficking attempt while others suspect it to be behavioural change. Kept in isolation since Wednesday after being rescued from a thicket in Urlabari of Sunsari District of Nepal, officials from the National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC) displayed the snow leopard from its controlled temperature room. Enlisted as an endangered species and protected by law, experts suspected the rescued apex predator was tried to be trafficked and might have escaped. One of the lead experts in Snow Leopard of Nepal, Karan Sah, noted that the cub separates from the mother after reaching about two years. Having the topographical difficulty of getting across the big rivers and underdeveloped body structures, the expert speculates it is the result of a failed smuggle attempt. Snow leopards are found in the high mountains of the Central and South Asia. In Nepal, potential snow leopard habitat is estimated to be about 13,000 km square, with a large number of snow leopards found to be occurring outside protected areas.