A snow leopard was successfully released into the wild Saturday after being rescued from the dam site of a hydroelectric project in Bhabanagar area of Himachal Pradesh’s Kinnaur, officials said.
The elusive big cat was found trapped into the filter inlet channel of the 120-MW Sanjay Hydroelectric Project following which officials alerted the forest department and the local police.
Teams from Kinnaur and Rampur forest divisions rushed to the site. A police team led by Kinnaur’s Superintendent of Police another too of fire brigade too joined the rescue operations.
Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Rampur, Gursharan Singh, said, “A multi-layered rescue plan was out in place prioritiing the animal’s safety. We wanted the snow leopard to climb out on its own, with tranquilization considered only as a last resort. After initial hesitation, the big cat climbed out on its own, took a walk along the parapet before heading into the nearby forest”.
He further said, “Snow leopards are typically found in the dry trans-Himalayan zones such as the Hangrang Valley. Their presence in the mid-wet zone of the Bhaba Valley marks a significant ecological expansion, indicating strong habitat connectivity and a positive trend in biodiversity health”.
The state forest department last month had released the second snow leopard assessment report, noting that the highly endangered big cat’s population had jumped to 83 from 51 recorded in 2021.
During the comprehensive population estimation, conducted in partnership with the Nature Conservation Foundation (NCF), 271 camera traps were set up across the 26,000 sq km habitat of the snow leopards in Spiti Valley, Kinnaur, Pangi, Lahaul and Greater National Himalayan Park (GNHP).
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The researchers identified 44 individual adult snow leopards from 262 independent detections across six sites. They included 12 individual snow leopards from 90 detections in Upper Spiti Landscape, 6 individuals from 46 detections in Tabo, 8 individuals with 35 detections in Pin and 9 individuals from 58 detections in Kinnaur. “From the low occupancy stratum, Lahaul-Pangi had 8 individual snow leopards from 32 detections, and GHNP had one,” it said.
The survey also detected snow leopards outside protected areas such as Kibber Wildlife Sanctuary, Great Himalayan National Park, Sechu Tuan Nala Wildlife Sanctuary, and Asrang Wildlife Sanctuary.
The survey had put snow leopard density at 0.16 to 0.53 individuals per 100 square km.
