Published 13:55 IST, April 15th 2020
Good News: Rare snow leopards spotted in Uttarakhand amid COVID-19 lockdown
A pair of snow leopards, that are listed as endangered species on the IUCN Red List, has been spotted in India's Nanda Devi National Park in Uttarakhand.
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The coronavirus lockdown is turning out to be a boon for all the animals living in the wild and who could not roam freely earlier due to massive human clusters. The lockdown has given them an opportunity to come out from their hidings and reclaim the rights to nature. A pair of snow leopards, that are listed as endangered species on the IUCN Red List, has been sighted in India's Nanda Devi National Park in Uttarakhand.
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The pictures of the rare sightings were shared by Indian Forest Service officer Akash Kumar Verma, who is currently posted in Uttarakhand. Akash Tweeted the pictures along with a caption that informed the snow leopards were captured in the camera traps that have been laid down by authorities all over the National Park.
The viral pictures
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The snow leopards are mostly found in Mongolia and China, but they have a small number of population in India as well. The snow leopards are protected by international laws and there is a conservation programme called the Global Snow Leopard and Ecosystem Protection (GSLEP) to save the endangered species.
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Ever since the lockdown in India and around the world has begun, animals have started to come out on roads in large numbers, entering the towns and the cities which they usually avoided. Pictures and videos showing civet, deers, elephants, Kashmiri goats and other animals taking the streets in different parts of the globe had been doing rounds on social media for a long time now. India had gone under a complete nationwide lockdown on March 25 for 21 days, which was extended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 14 for another two weeks.
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(Image Credit: @verma_akash/Twitter)
14:05 IST, April 15th 2020