This, when its estimated population scattered over 90,000 sq km in Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh, varies between 200 and 600. At this rate, it won't be long before the enigmatic cat is lost forever.

The revelation was made in a report compiled by TRAFFIC, an arm of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). The report says, "Snow leopards inhabit alpine and sub-alpine zones at elevations of 9,800-14,800 ft.

They prefer rocky, broken terrain, and can travel without difficulty in snow up to 85 cm deep, although they prefer to use existing trails made by other animals."

"Its remote habitat also becomes a challenge in detecting its killing and law enforcement," the report highlights.

A chunk of their prey base is livestock such as cows, goats, etc., which results in farmers in Uttarakhand and Himachal resorting to retaliatory killing. "But 60 per cent of nontargeted poaching incidents result in an attempt to sell their body parts in the black market," the reports says.

"One respondent in a 2016 survey identified some parts as traded from India through the Shipkila Pass into the Tibet Autonomous Region. India and Pakistan are suspected to be source countries for snow leopard products across the world," it adds.

The most popular snow leopard products are their skin and claws. They are sold in fur markets of Kabul, Darwaz and Chitral. Otherwise, they are popular as plush and royal-looking wall hangings, seats and other home decorations. Bones are used like those of the tiger for traditional medicine though the skull is generally treated as an object for display in ceremonies.

In the Northeast, the report identifies Arunachal and Guwahati in Assam as transit routes or smuggling hubs for snow leopard products. Cross-border trade into Myanmar and Nepal are conducted from these places.

In the northwest, Bhaba and Pin valleys, Shipkila, Sumdo, Demchok and Darchula are hubs of snow leopard products. Cross-border trade into Pakistan, Afghanistan, China and even Tajikistan are conducted.

The use of poison appears to be more prevalent in South Asia, and was the top-ranked method in India and Nepal to kill the cats. The report lists out other modes of killing as snares, steel traps, shooting and clubbing.

Many animals have been observed by camera traps to be limping painfully with a wire snare or steel trap around their necks or legs.

Living animals are also sold illegally, as almost 80 per cent living snow leopards were detected in the trade chain in China, central Asian republics and Russia.

The known destinations for living wild animals include zoos, circuses, homes of influential citizens and illegal trophy hunts. Claws were found to be the most common item advertised in a 2016 TRAFFIC online market survey in China.

They were described as having superstitious value 'for the exorcism of evil spirits' according to one website advertiser. Another website advertised a tooth as 'for medicine, to cure angiocardiopathy'.

Globally, claw prices range from Rs 2,400-4,000 each, whereas each tooth is priced at Rs 5,000. One is paid anything from Rs 33,000-10,00,000 for the skin and Rs 33,000-6,50,000 for the carcass.