The Govind Wildlife Sanctuary is located at Purola tehsil,
Uttarakashi district of Garhwal in the state of Uttaranchal. It
was established on 1st of March 1955. It is spreads over an area
of 957.969 sq km. The sanctuary forms the upper catchment of the
Tons River in the upper reaches of its area. Thus the area has a
significant value as a major watershed for river Yamuna. The
sanctuary has a rich forest cover and the neighboring forest
divisions help in maintaining genetic diversity in the forest.
The area is very rich source of some of the medicinal plants,
many of which are the important life saving drugs. The area
provides a natural habitat to a lot of endangered animals. The
Snow Leopard inhabits the inner Himalayas above the altitude of
3500 m. The Government of India launched the Snow Leopard
Project in its Eighth Plan. The Govind Wildlife Sanctuary was
identified as one of sites of the Snow Leopard in the Himalayas.
The upper reaches of the sanctuary are the natural habitat of
the Snow Leopard and were