There Are 718 Snow Leopards Across India, Shows First Nationwide Review Survey
NDTV
The five-year survey monitored 120,000 square kilometres of snow leopards' remote mountain habitat and involved setting out camera traps in nearly 2,000 locations.
Snow leopards have been dubbed the "ghosts of the mountains" for their elusive behaviour, but Indian researchers have successfully photographed more than 200 in a landmark study estimating at least 718 across the country.
The mammoth five-year survey, the first nationwide review of snow leopards in India, monitored 120,000 square kilometres (46,000 square miles) of their remote mountain habitat, according to the environment ministry.
It involved setting out camera traps in nearly 2,000 locations recording more than 180,000 nights -- the equivalent to nearly 500 years -- to record 241 individual leopards on camera.
