Big Cat –Snow Leopard | हिउँ चितुवा (HIUN CHITUWA)
Nepal, despite being a relatively small country, hosts an impressive diversity of big cats due to its wide range of habitats from tropical lowland forests to high-altitude Himalayan regions. These cats are not only important from an ecological perspective but also hold cultural, spiritual, and economic significance, particularly in ecotourism and conservation efforts. Among the several big cat species found in Nepal, our primary focus is on the Snow Leopard, one of the most elusive predators of the high Himalayas.
Snow leopards (Panthera uncia) are a species of wild, big cats ranging primarily in the high alpine landscapes of Central and Southern Asia, in an altitude above 3500 meters, above sea level. They are considered an apex predator of the Himalayas. Despite its name, they are more closely related to panthers and tigers, than the common leopard.
Nepal is home to several remarkable species of big cats, each playing a vital role in the country’s rich biodiversity. Here are the big cat species found across different regions of Nepal.
Panthera uncia
Panthera pardus
Neofelis nebulosa
Panthera tigris tigris
Snow Leopards mostly live alone in cold, arid and steep mountain areas where there is mostly shrub and alpine flora. They are spread across a huge total area of 2,000,000 square km. but they persist at very low densities ranging between 1 – 3 individuals per 100 square kilometers. They are spread across 13 Asian countries.
Snow Leopards are territorial, solitary and mostly nocturnal animals who live far away from human civilizations, having various adaptations to help them survive in harsh environmental conditions. This makes it difficult for both scientists and tourists to locate them in the wild. 70% of their habitat remains unexplored and their research is limited. They are avid hunters, with their main prey species being blue sheep and Himalayan Thar. They also feed on Argali wild sheep, ibex, marmots, pikas and hares.
Snow leopards only interact with each other in the breeding season. Females typically give birth to two to three cubs, who are cared solely by their mother until they are 18 to 22 months year old. They fully mature at 3 years old and live up to 15 to 18 years old in the wild.
As snow Leopards are the main predators of the Himalayas, they are on the top of the local food chain. This means that a healthy snow leopard population is essential for the entire Himalayan ecosystem. Despite this knowledge of this elusive species remains low in the scientific community.
Snow leopards are now endangered species due to many reasons, but the reason in Nepal is due to retaliatory killing by the local people. Local communities have to suffer a lot as snow leopards happen to prey on their livestock (like yak and mountain goats), causing great economic burden.
Lack of awareness and accessibility of help for compensation, forces many people to kill snow leopards. Besides this, snow leopards have also declined due to poaching for skin and habitat
degradation.
– Despite being an apex predator, snow leopards do not roar like the tigers and the lion.
They can only meow, grunt or moan.
– Snow leopards live scent marks to mark their territory.
– Snow leopards have distinct thick and long tail to warm them in the harsh cold.
BIOCOS Nepal’s Snow Leopard Stewardship Program (SLSP) operates across Lower Mustang, Neshyang (Manang), and Nubri Valleys (Gorkha)—trans-Himalayan landscapes crucial to snow leopard survival.
Launched in 2022 with support from Great Plains Zoo, SLSP trains local snow leopard scouts to monitor populations and mitigate human-wildlife conflict. Scouts, chosen for their dedication and deep community ties, receive specialized training in camera trapping, SMART patrolling, and conflict mitigation under expert supervision. Monthly patrols focus on preventing livestock depredation, poaching, and retaliatory killings.
To minimize conflict, SLSP has constructed predator-proof corrals at 4,200 meters to protect yak calves. The program also aids herders in securing government compensation for livestock losses, fostering goodwill and ensuring local communities view conservation as beneficial.
The success of SLSP hinges on active collaboration with rural municipalities, the Annapurna Conservation Area, and local Conservation Area Management Committees. In Manang, rural municipalities have supported corral improvements.
Similarly, we also help the community members with the process of getting compensation from the government, in case of their livestock being lost by snow leopard attack.
We conduct different awareness programs, sharing the importance of snow leopards, in communities which live closest to them.
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