🤯 Did You Know (click to read)
Jigme Dorji National Park spans over 4,300 square kilometers and includes some of Bhutan’s highest peaks.
Bhutan’s northern highlands form part of the eastern Himalayan snow leopard range. Camera trap studies and field surveys have confirmed snow leopard presence at elevations exceeding 4,500 meters. These zones border active glaciers and remain snow-covered for much of the year. Oxygen levels at those heights are significantly reduced compared to sea level, yet snow leopards patrol them routinely. Bhutan’s constitution mandates that at least 60 percent of national land remain forested, indirectly supporting high-altitude ecosystems. Protected areas such as Jigme Dorji National Park provide critical refuge. However, climate shifts are altering glacial patterns and alpine vegetation. The predator’s survival in Bhutan depends on maintaining connectivity between protected highland corridors.
💥 Impact (click to read)
Bhutan’s conservation framework integrates cultural, spiritual, and ecological priorities. Large protected landscapes reduce habitat fragmentation compared to many regions. Yet the country’s small geographic size means total population numbers remain limited. Climate-induced glacial retreat threatens water systems feeding valleys below. Snow leopard decline would signal broader ecosystem stress in one of the Himalayas’ most intact environments. Cross-border cooperation with China and India remains essential because animals move across political boundaries. Conservation here operates at the intersection of spirituality and science.
For Bhutanese communities practicing transhumant grazing, predator coexistence remains a daily calculation. Livestock losses can undermine livelihoods in remote valleys. Compensation schemes and predator-proof corrals attempt to bridge economic gaps. The image of a snow leopard moving beneath glacier walls appears timeless, yet its persistence relies on modern policy enforcement. An animal shaped by ice-age climates now faces warming trends measured in decades. The mountains remain high, but the stability beneath them is shifting.
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