Snow leopard is Himachal's new state animal

SHIMLA: The rare snow leopard has replaced the musk deer as the state animal of Himachal Pradesh while the endangered western tragopan has been named the new state bird, a status earlier held by the monal pheasant.

The state plant has also been changed, from the colourful rhododendron arboreum to the endangered rhododendron campanulatum, officials said on Saturday.

The decision was taken Friday at a Himachal Pradesh Wildlife Board meeting chaired by Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh.

The snow leopard is an elusive big cat found in the high mountains of the state and comes below the snow line only in winters.

The western tragopan is a medium sized, brightly plumaged pheasant found along the Himalayas from Pakistan to Uttarakhand at over 2,400 metres. The rare western tragopan is listed high in the International Union for Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) list of highly endangered species.

The local name for the western tragopan is Jajaurana, which means the king of birds. It is being bred in captivity for the first time in the world at the Sarahan sanctuary here.