Snow leopard is a high altitudinal species. It is native to mountain ranges of south and central Asia. In India, it can be found in Himalayas. It is a solitary species that is mostly diurnal. It hunts ungulates of high altitude including blue sheep, markhor, Himalayan tahr etc. It also takes to livestock occassionally. 

Conservation Status:

This species is listed as Vulnerable in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (https://www.iucnredlist.org/).


Accoring to IUCN Red List assessment, population of snow leopard is decreasing all over its range. Its estimated populationin India ranges between 500 and 550mature individuals, whereas globally 2710 to 386 mature individuals. Major threat to its survival come from habitat loss, loss of prey, poaching, trapping, and retaliatory killing.