KUZU years of Sikkim’s statehood. is a stylised Snow Leopard which has been chosen as the State Mascot marking 50 The Snow Leopard (Panthera uncia) is a species of large cat in the genus Panthera of the family Felidae. Found in the mountain ranges of Central and South Asia, the Snow Leopard is estimated to be fewer than 10,000 mature individuals globally. Threatened mainly by poaching and habitat destruction following infrastructural developments, the Snow Leopard is a rarely seen animal, inhabiting alpine and sub-alpine zones of 9,800–14,800 ft, ranging from eastern Afghanistan, the Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau to southern Siberia, Mongolia and western China. In Sikkim, the Khangchendzonga Biosphere Reserve is a trans-boundary corridor for the snow leopard which helps in the conservation efforts.