Explanation:

• The conservation status of snow leopard has been improved from “endangered” to “vulnerable”. The decision was announced by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) – the global standard for assessing extinction risk.
• The status change followed a three-year assessment process by five international experts
• To be considered ‘endangered,’ there must be fewer than 2,500 mature snow leopards and they must be experiencing a high rate of decline.
• Being classed as “vulnerable” means a species has under 10,000 breeding animals left, with a population decline of at least 10% over three generations.
• Snow leopards are found at altitudes between 9,800 and 17,000 feet in the high, rugged mountains of Central Asia. Their range spans from Afghanistan to Kazakstan and Russia in the north to India and China in the east.
• China contains about 60% of snow leopard habitat. They have already disappeared from certain parts of Mongolia, which is part of their historic range