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and the Kulongcchu Wildlife Sanctuary are the most important protected areas for Snow
Leopards in Bhutan (Norbu, 1997). According to map-based estimates, 100-200 of the animals
may inhabit Bhutan (see Table 1).
China
In China, Snow Leopards are found in the western mountain ranges of the Inner Mongolia, Tibet
and Xinjiang Autonomous Regions and in the provinces of Qinghai, Gansu, Sichuan, Yunnan
and Shanxi (Schaller et al., 1988). Although Snow Leopards are more numerous in China than
in other range States, recent field surveys conducted between 1996 and 2000 revealed that the
historical distribution range of Snow Leopards had decreased, in particular in the provinces of
Qinghai, Gansu and Sichuan (Ma et al., 2002). It has been suggested that the species is likely
to be on the brink of extinction in Inner Mongolia (McCarthy and Chaperon, 2003).
India
The Snow Leopard is known to occur above about 3200m across the Himalayan regions of
India. Its range extends from Jammu and Kashmir, to Himachal Pradesh and Uttaranchal in the
central Himalayas, to the eastern states of Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh (Fox et al., 1991). In
the late 1980s, the total population of Snow Leopards in India was estimated at 200-600 animals,
with the largest number inhabiting central Ladakh, in Jammu and Kashmir (Chundawat et al.,
1988). Fox et al., (1991) estimated a nation-wide population of some 500 animals, based on
mean density figures of one animal/110 km 2 for good habitat and one animal/190 km 2 for lower
quality habitat.
Kazakhstan
In Kazakhstan, Snow Leopards occur on the edge of the high mountain ranges to the north and
east of the country, in the Tien Shan mountains in the south-east, and possibly in a few isolated
populations between these places and along the border with China (E. Bykova, B. Grebot and
E. Kreuzberg-Mukhina, Institute of Zoology, Uzbekistan and London Imperial College, UK, in
litt., 2002). The most recent population estimate of 180-200 animals dates from 1990 (see Table 1).
However, the population is thought to be in decline, according to the country’s Red Data Book
(Anon., 1996a).
Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan used to have one of the largest Snow Leopard populations. In the late 1980s, what
is now Kyrgyzstan and neighbouring Tajikistan were estimated to have 1200-1400 of the
animals. At the time, this represented around 75% of all Snow Leopards in the Soviet Union
(Koshkarev, 1989), but dramatic declines in numbers in the region have been reported since
then. Koshkarev (1994) estimated that populations in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan were reduced
by 50-80% in the 1990s and estimated that up to 120 animals were killed a year in the mid-
1990s. In Kyrgyzstan, as few as 150-200 mature individuals may remain, but no recent
population figures are available and, since the independence of Kyrgyzstan, no systematic
population surveys have been undertaken (Anon., 2001a).
8 FADING FOOTPRINTS: the killing and trade of Snow Leopards