A short video clip of a snow leopard walking on a motor road and crossing a bridge in Gangotri national park area in Uttarkashi district is being cited as a first of its kind sighting.
Conservator of forests, Parag Madhukar Dhakate who shared the video on the social media said that the elusive snow leopard was filmed sauntering on the road by an ITBP jawan recently.
Talking to The Pioneer, he said, “This is the first time I saw a snow leopard walking on a motor road and crossing a bridge. It must have used the bridge as a more convenient means to move from one area to another. Generally, the snow leopard is very elusive and is rarely seen out in the open as it is seen on the road in this clip.”
Considered to be most elusive among the big cats also due to the high altitude habitat it inhabits, the snow leopard is known to live in some of the higher Himalayan regions of Uttarakhand. Generally found at altitudes of 3,000-5,000 metres or higher, this big cat is a Schedule I animal under Wildlife Protection Act and listed as vulnerable in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list.