Meet Ladakh's state bird and state animal, the black-necked crane and the snow leopard

Ladakh has declared the black-necked crane as its new state bird, while the beautiful snow leopard as the new state animal. The Union Territory split from the state of Jammu and Kashmir in 2019, and has been a Union Territory since. The region is widely regarded as one of the most coveted tourist destinations in the country.
The Principal Secretary of Ladakh’s Forest, Ecology and Environment Department made this announcement on behalf of the Lieutenant Governor, RK Mathur.

The black-necked crane breeds in the Tibetan Plateau, and Bhutan. It is found in the eastern region of the Union Territory, and can be distinguished from the common crane because of its black tail. The common crane has a grey tail.

The snow leopard is a exotic creature found in the Himalayan mountains. It has been declared the official state animal of Ladakh. Of course, no other animal could have possibly been more apt. Snow leopards are also elusive creatures and are only found in Arunachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, and Sikkim.

On the other hand, Hangul is the state animal of Jammu and Kashmir, these majestic animals are also known as Kashmir stags.

You can see the newly declared state animal of Ladakh, the snow leopard in Hemis National Park. The elusive beauties often camouflage themselves, and spitting one is surely a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.