Snow leopards could become extinct in Nepal by 2050 due to dramatic climate change, study warns

“Our modeling shows a worrying scenario, and the impacts of climate change are worse than predicted,” said Dibesh Karmacharya, executive director of the Nepal Center for Molecular Dynamics and lead researcher of the study.

Although snow leopards are usually found at altitudes between 3,000 and 5,000 meters, one snow leopard was spotted at just 146 meters above sea level in eastern Nepal in January last year. While some researchers now believe the animal may have simply gotten lost, others initially attributed its presence away from its normal habitat to climate change.

Although this is an isolated incident, there is a growing body of research suggesting that rising temperatures could impact the habitat of Nepal’s top predators, including snow leopards, tigers and common leopards, ultimately affecting their distribution and population.

Snow leopards are one of the most elusive species found in the highlands of Central and South Asia. Nepal is home to between 300 and 500 people, about 10 percent of the world’s population.

Because their numbers are declining, they are listed as vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species.