Vulnerable Snow Leopard Population Growing in the Himalayas

The snow leopard population has reportedly increased by 40% in the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan.

According to the Good News Network, 🐆Snow leopards have been declining due to habitat loss and poaching, but the Bhutan’s commitment to environmental preservation has aided the big cat population. 

The National Snow Leopard survey has found that 136 🐆Snow leopards are living in the area. This is up from the 96 that were counted in 2016.

Chimi Rinzin, country director for World Wildlife Fund-Bhutan, stated, “The increase in snow leopard numbers is yet another milestone achievement for Bhutan’s conservation journey.” 

“It clearly demonstrates the government’s leadership and the conservation ethos of the highland communities,” he added.

🐆Snow leopards were considered an Endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) between 1986 and 2017, per Britannica.

But their status was updated in 2017 and relisted as “vulnerable” once an error was discovered in the population calculation process, being that they are such elusive creatures often called the “ghost of the mountains.”