GILGIT – A groundbreaking scientific survey has revealed that only 167 snow leopards remain in Pakistan, highlighting the species’ critical vulnerability to climate change, poaching, and habitat loss. The decade-long research, conducted by the Snow Leopard Foundation (SLF) of Pakistan between 2010 and 2019, used extensive camera trapping across 40,000 square kilometres and 1,200 genetic samples to provide the country’s first scientific population estimate.
Dr Hussain Ali, senior regional programme manager at SLF and author of the study, warned that changing weather patterns and reduced snowfall are destroying the snow leopard’s natural habitat. As the animals move to lower altitudes in search of prey, they increasingly come into conflict with humans, leading to retaliatory killings. Infrastructure expansion and human encroachment further threaten the species’ survival.
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The snow leopard, an essential indicator of mountain ecosystem health, faces growing risks that could endanger entire high-altitude environments crucial for global water supply. The United Nations, observing International Snow Leopard Day on Thursday, released new footage of the animal in Pakistan’s northern ranges and urged stronger conservation measures.
The UN reminded Pakistan and 12 other range countries that despite being reclassified as “vulnerable” rather than “endangered” on the IUCN Red List, the species remains at high risk of extinction. It called for coordinated action among governments, conservationists, and local communities to protect the “ghost of the mountains.”
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