First-Ever Snow Leopard Census in Dhorpatan: 56 Cameras Installed in High Himalayan Region

Baglung. For the first time, automatic cameras have been installed in Dhorpatan, Nepal’s only hunting reserve, to determine the exact number of snow leopards. Three teams of technicians and staff spent 15 days placing 56 sensor-equipped cameras at altitudes ranging from 3,200 to 5,500 meters.

Although snow leopards are known to inhabit the high Himalayan region of the reserve, where licensed hunting of blue sheep and Himalayan tahr takes place, a census had never been conducted until now. According to Reserve Ranger Sagar Subedi, cameras have been installed across six hunting blocks: Seng, Sundaha, Dogadi, Ghustung, Barse, and Phagune. He said the teams returned after placing the cameras, having sheltered in caves and trekked through snow.

The cameras will automatically collect photos for 45 days. During this period, a technical team will revisit the same locations every 15 days to replace batteries and memory cards. “Cameras were placed after studying potential habitats, dens, and the high Himalayan terrain,” Subedi stated.

In this census involving 15 personnel, individual leopards will be identified by matching body spot patterns from the captured photographs. Additionally, laboratory testing of scat collected from the forest, along with footprint and sign surveys, will help estimate the population. Spread over 1,325 square kilometers, the reserve extends across Baglung, Myagdi, and Rukum districts.