World Wildlife Conservation Day: In This Sikkim Village, Leopards & People Coexist Peacefully — What’s Their Secret?

As children, Phung Hangma Subba and Song Hangma Limboo trudged along the highlands of Sikkim with their father, their ears perked as he spoke about the mountains. Phung shares, “I never knew what blue sheep were, but my father would explain about identifying hoof marks, and we would listen patiently.” 

Advertisment

Add The Better India As A Trusted Source

• Stories
• Visual Stories

Currently a part of WWF-India’s ‘Guardians of the Mountains’ programme, the sisters trace the same paths today, but this time, intent colours their steps. There’s a lot to do; their roles include, but are not limited to, monitoring highland wildlife, with a special focus on the snow leopard, and sampling rangeland biodiversity. 

Phung and Song’s journeys are a case in point for how ordinary mountain residents are transforming into protectors of their local ecology, using indigenous knowledge to effect change in the landscape. 

Mapping the ‘ghost of the mountains’

‘Elusive’ is one way to describe the snow leopard, classified as ‘vulnerable’ by the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) and listed in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES), which outlaws trading of its body parts. In India, the snow leopard is given the highest protection under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. 

Through long-term collaboration with the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and the Forest Departments of Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim, WWF-India played a key role in the Snow Leopard Population Assessment in India (SPAI), 2019-2023, the country’s first rigorous, landscape-scale estimate of snow leopard numbers, undertaken as part of the global Population Assessment of the World’s Snow Leopards (PAWS). WWF-India contributed scientific rigour, consistent methodology, and decades of Himalayan field experience, substantially advancing India’s understanding of this apex mountain species and the vulnerability of its high-altitude ecosystems.

Nisam Mang Luxom, Senior Project Officer, WWF-India, spotlights the multifaceted approach they deployed during the survey: a combination of scientific techniques, field work, and community engagement. 

Between the altitudes of 3,500 m to 6,000 m, over 200 camera traps were installed across 99 locations, rendering 6.2 lakh images that were then meticulously assessed to understand the rosette patterns (the patterns on a snow leopard’s coat) and thus deduce the number of snow leopards that called Sikkim’s mountains their home.  

The national number stood at 718 (accounting for 15 per cent of the animal’s global population), with 21 snow leopards concentrated in Sikkim, typically in Northern Sikkim's Lachen and Lachung reserve forests. 

And now, the race is on to conserve this flagship species of the high-altitude Himalayan ecosystem, a task entrusted to the locals. But the challenge lies in ensuring that protection does not come at the expense of the livelihood of the pastoral community.

The Guardians of the Mountains initiative has built a skilled grassroots cadre across the landscape, training nearly 150 volunteers — including community members and Forest Department staff — in GPS use, mobile app–based data collection, and systematic camera-trap deployment. Volunteers now identify and document signs such as pugmarks, scats, scrapes, and scent marks, helping determine optimal camera-trap locations.

In parallel, around 20 volunteers have been trained in rangeland health assessment, a critical component of understanding habitat condition in snow leopard landscapes. Among them, Phung and Song are proficient in both wildlife monitoring and rangeland assessment techniques, reflecting the growing local expertise underpinning conservation efforts in the high Himalayas.

Safeguarding fragile ecosystems from degradation

Phung once guided treks in the Eastern Himalayas, and while she knows the landscape intimately, the weather and terrain still demand constant judgment and adaptation. As a 'guardian', her work now goes far beyond simple field visits. She helps plan and execute month-long expeditions that combine rangeland sampling, ungulate surveys, and camera-trap deployment.

“On clear-weather days, we prioritise long transects for ungulate surveys. When conditions are less favourable, we focus on rangeland assessments and setting or checking camera traps,” she explains. Each day begins with decisions on which valleys or ridges to cover, and coordination with the field support team — cooks, porters, and pack animal handlers.

During the long walks back to camp, she and the other volunteers often discuss their observations, compare notes, and refine plans for the next day’s work.

Song particularly fancies the blue sheep. Native to the mountains surrounding the Tibetan Plateau, these ungulates, resembling mountain goats, are well-camouflaged by the landscape. But it is crucial to track their numbers, she reasons, adding that it furthers their understanding of the rangeland. While on duty in the mountains, the volunteers encounter numerous other animals, including yaks, Himalayan marmots, Tibetan gazelles, and Tibetan argali. 

Before 2018, snow leopard assessments in the region were rapid, and the efforts focused on building trust and long-term relationships with communities living in and around snow leopard habitats. The emphasis was on supporting sustainable resource use, strengthening local stewardship, and raising awareness about issues such as habitat fragmentation, waste management, and the broader ecological significance of the species.

Since 2018, the programme has expanded into a comprehensive, science-driven monitoring framework. This now includes establishing rigorous baselines for snow leopard and wild prey populations, alongside dedicated habitat studies through detailed plant and soil surveys. These complementary streams of work together provide a clearer picture of both the species and the condition of the ecosystems they depend on.

But Nisam says this wouldn’t be possible without people who have a nuanced understanding of the landscape. 

To involve the community, she says, “We engage with local institutions like the zomsa (a governing body) and invite people who’d like to join us in surveying and data collection.” 

The crux, she shares, lies in co-designing interventions for the landscape. “We are interested in boosting the local livelihoods of people living near snow leopard populations and in seeing how we can conduct eco-tourism in a manner that has the least impact on the place.”

To this end, mitigating human-animal conflict is crucial.  

Working with pastoral communities to bolster livelihoods

What happens when a shepherd loses their yaks or cows to a snow leopard? 

The family’s economic lifeline is cut off. 

Conservationists estimate that each year, roughly 55 per cent of snow leopard killings occur as retaliation for attacks on livestock.

This is where WWF-India steps in, working with local pastoral communities to implement interventions that will help these herder families. One of the interventions includes providing them with chain-linked fencing to reinforce traditional corrals. 

Nisam explains, “The traditional corrals are made of rocks and big stones. When yaks get into a tussle, there’s a chance of the corral walls being damaged. The yaks stray towards the Northern Sikkim border, which has a lot of minefields. Here, they get injured, making them susceptible to attack by snow leopards and free-ranging dogs.” 

Reinforcing the corrals helps keep the yaks safe. 

In order to safeguard livestock health, WWF-India supports vaccination and sterilisation of dogs in wildlife habitats in collaboration with the SARAH (Sikkim Anti-Rabies and Animal Health) program, and also collaborates with the Sikkim Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Sciences Department. 

In addition to this, efforts involve strengthening waste reduction, providing training on managing homestays, and enhancing the skills of wildlife and birding tour guides. The goal is to create landscapes where snow leopards and communities can both live without fear. 

This story is part of a content series by The Better India and WWF-India.

All pictures courtesy WWF-India

Sources 

'Himachal home to 83 snow leopards, up from 51 in 2021: Survey': by Saurabh Parashar, Published on 3 October 2025. 

'Estimating snow leopard population in Sikkim', Published by WWF-India.

'Statewide Assessment of the Population & Density of Snow Leopards in Sikkim, India', Published by WWF-India. 

'Conservation issues', Published by WWF-India. 

'Shri Bhupender Yadav releases the Status Report of Snow Leopards in India': by PIB Delhi, Published on 30 January 2024. 

'India snow leopards: First-ever survey puts population at 718': by Meryl Sebastian, Published on 31 January 2024. 

'Fading Footprints: The Killing and Trade of Snow Leopards'