Six Snow Leopards in India will be outfitted with GPS collars to track their behavior. The state wildlife department is hoping the study will provide valuable insight to better understanding these elusive cats.
The leopards receiving the GPS tracking device live in the cold, northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh located in the Himalayas. The northern area of India is home to about 700 of the world’s 7,000 snow leopards. However, their natural habitat is seeing the negative effects of climate change and human settlements often leading to a lack of food or heightened risk of being hunted.
Researchers are hoping the $40,450 project will be as successful as a program in Nepal currently using similar collars to track a rare snow leopard.