India Highlights its Advances in Snow Leopard Conservation at Moscow Meeting

India participated in the Russian-Indian Roundtable Meeting on Snow Leopard Study and Conservation at the A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow, Russia.

The meeting was organised under the Partnership Agreement between the Interregional Association ‘Irbis’ and the International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA), signed in December 2025, to strengthen international cooperation in snow leopard research and conservation.

The snow leopard (Panthera uncia) is native to the mountain ranges of Asia, from the eastern Hindu Kush, the Himalayas, and the Tibetan Plateau to Siberia, Mongolia, Russia, and China. 

It is a solitary animal that inhabits alpine and subalpine zones at elevations of 3,000–4,500 m (9,800–14,800 ft), featuring cliffs and ridges, and is mostly active at dawn.

The snow leopard is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List because the global population is estimated to number fewer than 10,000 mature individuals and is expected to decline further. 

India is home to roughly one-ninth of the snow leopard population. The first-ever Snow Leopard Census recorded 718 individual snow leopards across the Indian Himalayas, with Ladakh alone hosting 477. 

India’s Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) delegation at the Roundtable Meeting highlighted the country’s progress in the snow leopard conservation agenda through evolving science-based initiatives.

Officials from the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) elaborated on advances in snow leopard population estimation, radio telemetry and genetic analysis, underscoring the growing role of scientific tools in strengthening conservation efforts.

The meeting also brought together representatives of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of the Russian Federation, the A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Moscow Zoo, Rosprirodnadzor, and leading experts in snow leopard research and conservation.

The Indian delegation participated in the Roundtable and thematic discussions focused on advancing collaborative approaches for conservation and scientific study of the species.

The Roundtable provided an important platform for India and international partners to exchange knowledge and experiences and to strengthen cooperation in snow leopard research, monitoring and conservation.