Kathmandu, Jan. 28 -- They are rare, they are elusive and they are so well camouflaged, they are difficult to see, even when they are right there. That is why snow leopards are called the 'Ghosts of the Himalaya'. And because they are also regarded as being sacred, they are called 'God's Pets'.

Nepal has tripled its tiger population in 12 years since 2010. There have been successive years with zero rhino poaching and the numbers have bounded back. But few know about the country's success story with snow leopard conservation.

Preliminary data from an on-going census shows that Nepal ranks fourth among the 12 snow leopard range countries in central and South Asia. This is despite the country having just 2% of the total area where snow le...