Safari in snow leopard home? Conservationists say Ladakh is no Kaziranga

Ladakh has planned to introduce guided wildlife safaris on popular snow leopard and bird-watching trails.SRINAGAR: A safari car can roll past a rhino in Kaziranga. In Ranthambore, it can track a tiger. Put that car in Ladakh. For its elusive snow leopards — masters of camouflage in a landscape where survival depends on staying unseen — the question is whether tourism can get close enough to see them without making them disappear for good.Ladakh has planned to introduce guided wildlife safaris on popular snow leopard and bird-watching trails, triggering warnings from conservationists that turning a fragile high-altitude wilderness into a tourist circuit could disturb wildlife, commercialise off-roading and open the door to roads, eateries and other tourism infrastructure.“You cannot see a s