A pilot study-genetic diversity and population structure of snow leopards of Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan, using molecular techniques.

Background: The Hindu Kush and Karakoram mountain ranges in Pakistan's northern areas are a natural habitat of the snow leopard ( syn. ) but the ecological studies on this animal are scarce since it is human shy by nature and lives in difficult mountainous tracts. The pilot study is conducted to exploit the genetic diversity and population structure of the snow leopard in this selected natural habitat of the member of the wildcat family in Pakistan.