Current Affair 1:

News:

International Snow Leopard Day is every year celebrated on 23rd October, 2024.

International Snow Leopard Day:

1. It came into being in 2013, following the adoption of the Bishkek Declaration in Kyrgyzstan where 12 countries that host snow leopard populations agreed to collaborate in their conservation efforts.
2. Global Snow Leopard and Ecosystem Protection Program (GSLEP) is closely linked to the Bishkek Declaration. The declaration was adopted in 2013 during the Global Snow Leopard Conservation Forum held in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, which led to the creation of GSLEP.
3. India, one of the founding members of GSLEP.
4. C12 countries are: Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

Snow Leopard Population in India:

1. As per the Snow Leopard Population Assessment in India (SPAI) Program, the Snow leopard population is 718 individuals in India.
2. The estimated population in different states are as follows: Ladakh (477), Uttarakhand (124), Himachal Pradesh (51), Arunachal Pradesh (36), Sikkim (21), and Jammu and Kashmir (9).
3. Hemis National Park in Ladakh is called the Snow Leopard capital of the world.

Something more:

1. Snow leopards are keystone species, meaning they are a top predator that balances the ecosystem that it is part of.
2. The snow leopard Panthera uncia is categorized as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.
3. The snow leopard (Panthera uncia) is listed as a Schedule I species under the Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972.
4. It is under Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES): Appendix I

If question comes in Prelims: Some snow leopards eat plants? Answer is yes.

While snow leopards are primarily carnivorous, occasionally, they do consume vegetation (plants of the Myricaria genus.)

 

<< Previous Next >>