Mustang records 17 snow leopards

Mustang / Aug 1: A total of 17 snow leopards have been found at the trans-Himalayan district of Mustang.

An NGO, ‘Green Forest’, revealed the findings after a research carried out in collaboration with the Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP).

For the past three years ACAP has been running a campaign to protect wildlife and control poaching through VDC level conservation committees in all of the 16 VDCs of the district which has resulted in the surge in the snow leopard population. There had not been any official count on the snow leopard population in Mustang before.

The district has 17 snow leopards, ACAP Jomsom’s Chief Niru Thapa said. “The Green Forest is yet to submit its report to us,” she said, adding, “We will have the details after we receive it.”

The incidents of attacks on locals’ livestock in Chusang, Dhami and Surkhang areas in upper Mustang by packs of snow leopards have increased recently. The snow leopards are also reported to be increasing in the jungle areas in Jomsom and Kobang VDCs. RSS