A three-year study conducted by the Nature Conservation Foundation and J&K Wildlife Protection Department has confirmed year-round presence and breeding activity of snow leopards.
Over 3,000 camera traps across Kishtwar High Altitude National Park, Paddar, and Zojila identified at least 12 adult snow leopards, with estimates suggesting up to 20 leopards in these areas.
The presence of a mother with cubs in Kishtwar confirms this is a breeding population.
The research, conducted between 2022 and 2025 across the Kishtwar Himalayas, recorded snow leopards during winter months in both Paddar (Jammu division) and Zojila (Kashmir division).
Dr. Shahid Hameed, wildlife research coordinator at NCF, states: “These findings reaffirm the importance of Jammu and Kashmir as a key snow leopard stronghold. It is time to treat the Kishtwar Himalayas not as isolated valleys, but as part of an interconnected conservation landscape.”
Beyond snow leopards, the study documented 16 other mammal species, including the rare Himalayan brown bear, Himalayan wolf, common leopard, and Kashmir musk deer.
In some instances, both snow leopards and common leopards were detected at the same locations in Paddar, raising important questions about species interactions and the potential impact of climate change on range shifts.
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