Ladakh's Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena has launched India's first high-altitude wildlife safari built around snow leopard trails. It is run by the Snow Leopard and High-Altitude Nature Conservation (SHAN) Society together with the Forest Department of the Union Territory. Routes take visitors through Hemis National Park, Changthang and the Karakoram Wildlife Sanctuary, besides other parts of Ladakh. The region holds 477 snow leopards, as per the report, and the species, Panthera uncia, is rated Vulnerable (VU) by the IUCN Red List. The initiative seeks to aid conservation while bringing income to local communities.