Why in News?
- Snow leopard spotted in Uttarakhand’s darma valley for first time
For Prelims: Snow Leopard, Hemis National park
About Snow Leopard
- ul>1200 ft
- IUCN: Vulnerable
- Hemis is snow leopard capital of world
Also found in
- J&k & ladhakh
- UT
- Himachal pradesh
- Arunachal pradesh
- SIKKIM
Hemis National park
Hosts highest number of snow leopards ,thereby Ladakh is known as Snow-leopards Capital of world
- High Altitude National Park : located in Eastern Ladakh
- It lies within Karakoram-West Tibetan Plateau
- Vegetation : pine forests, and alpine tundra vegetation.
- Rivers : Indus river banks and catchments of Rumbak ,Markah ,Sumdah
- It is biggest national park in India ( spread over 4400 sq. km)
- Cultural significance :Gotsang Gompa, Hemis Monastery are located inside national park