The interviews and reporting for this story were conducted in 2020

Growing up in Chilling, a small village approximately 60 km from Leh, 42-year-old Khenrab Phuntsog would regularly spot snow leopards at a distance while taking out the household goats and sheep for grazing up on mountain pastures nearby. With Chilling situated inside the famous Hemis National Park, it wasn’t hard to spot snow leopards if one climbed up to the higher ground.

However, it was during preparations for his grandmother’s cremation, when he was aged 12, that he actually came within 100 metres of a snow leopard. It was a sight he would never forget.

“I had gone with two local painters for the finishing touches on the structure where my grandmother was to be cremated. While they were at work, one of the painters pointed towards the opposite mountain slope at the snow leopard quietly waiting just above a herd of blue sheep. Initially, the rest of us didn’t see it. But when it took a couple of long leaps down, we saw it. It had caught one of the sheep and went for the kill,” recalled Khenrab in a conversation with The Better India.

It was that magnificent sighting that inspired Khenrab to first volunteer with the Wildlife Protection Department, and eventually, join it as a wildlife guard at the age of 22 in the year 2000. Since then, he has rescued 47 snow leopards.

Tracking snow leopards

As per the last scientific survey conducted through camera traps in 2012, the number of snow leopards in the 3,350 sq km-large Hemis National Park stood at 11, compared to 7 in 2006. However, for those surveys, camera traps were only installed across 300 sq km.

“We are now in the process of completing another census for snow leopards using extensive camera trapping methods in different parts of Ladakh, including in Changthang, Hemis National Park, Kargil and Nubra Valley. In Hemis National Park, we have about 60 snow leopards today. For this census camera traps were installed in half the total area unlike in 2006 and 2012. If you take all of Ladakh, however, my guess is that the figure would be above 250. This census is being carried out under the guidance of the Wildlife Institute of India. The results of this census may come by the end of this year or early next year,” he said.

Wildlife guards like Khenrab identify........

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