As per the new data, the long-endangered snow leopard has been reclassified from the endangered list to the vulnerable category.
Earlier this week the International Union for Conservation of Nature said that as per the new data taken through 2016, the conservation status of snow leopards has improved from “very high risk” to “high risk”. The global population of the snow leopard is now estimated at 2,500 to 10,000 mature animals.
The snow leopards were first listed as endangered by the IUCN in 1972. The change in the status came after a three-year assessment process by five international experts, reported BBC.
“To be considered ‘endangered,’ there must be fewer than 2,500 mature snow leopards and they must be experiencing a high rate of decline,” explained Dr Tom McCarthy, one of the five experts who run the Snow Leopard Programme at big cat charity Panthera.
“Both are now considered extremely unlikely, which is the good news, but it does not mean that snow leopards are ‘safe’ or that now is a time to celebrate,” he added.
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