Shimla, Oct 3: The population of rare snow leopards in Himachal Pradesh’s high-altitude tribal regions has grown by 62 per cent over the past four years, according to a new state-wide survey released by the Forest Department’s Wildlife Wing. The number has risen from 51 in 2021 to 83 in 2025, marking a major milestone in India’s snow leopard conservation efforts.

The findings were announced on Thursday to mark the launch of Wildlife Week (October 2–8). Conducted over the past year, the assessment reflects the success of long-term conservation strategies that actively involve local communities living in remote mountain terrain.

Officials highlighted that the new figure excludes cubs and surpasses the earlier estimated upper confidence limit of 73 set in the 2021 baseline survey, suggesti

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