Kishtwar High Altitude National Park

• A research team of the Department of Wildlife Protection has recently confirmed the presence of snow leopard in Kishtwar High Altitude National Park through camera trap photographs.

ABOUT KISHTWAR HIGH ALTITUDE NATIONAL PARK

• It is located in the Kishtwar district of UT of Jammu and Kashmir.
• The area was declared as a Kishtwar High Altitude National Park in 1981.
• It was majorly founded to protect the Snow Leopards that are now slowly vanishing from the nature.
• The area lies in the central crystalline belt of the great Himalayas and the tract is situated on the high altitudes i.e., sub-alpine and alpine zone.
• The National Park encompasses the catchment area of Kiber, Nanth and Kiyar Nallas, all of which drain south-west into Marwah River (locally called Mariv Sudir) which later joins Chenab.
• It encompasses breathtaking alpine meadows, snow-capped peaks, and lush green forests, serving as a vital ecological corridor for many wildlife species.
• Flora:
  • The flora mainly comprises coniferous, alpine, meadows and scrub forests.
  • Trees include Fir, Himalayan Yew, Deodar, Blue Pine, or Kail and Spruce.
• Fauna:
  • The park is a renowned snow leopard reserve.
  • Brown Bear, Himalayan Black bear, Musk Deer, Ibex, Markhor, Wild boar, Bharal, Indian Muntijal, Serow, and Rhesus macaque are also found here.
  • Alligator-tailed vulture, bearded vulture, white-cheeked bulbul and the Himalayan jungle crow are some of the birds found here.

ABOUT SNOW LEOPARD (PANTHERA UNCIA)

• Habitat
  • Mountainous regions of central and southern Asia.
  • In India, their geographical range encompasses: Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.
• Hemis, Ladakh is the Snow Leopard capital of the world.
• Protection status
  • IUCN red list- Vulnerable
  • Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES)- Appendix I
  • Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972- Schedule 1
• Snow Leopard is on the list of 21 critically endangered species for the recovery programme of the Ministry of Environment Forest & Climate Change.