Trophy Hunting as a Conservation Tool for Snow Leopards

Snow Leopards ◽  
2016 ◽  
pp. 219-244
Keyword(s):  
Trophy Hunting ◽  
Snow Leopards

Understanding population baselines: status of mountain ungulate populations in the Central Tien Shan Mountains, Kyrgyzstan

Mammalia ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Munib Khanyari ◽  
Kubanychbek Zhumabai uulu ◽  
Suraiya Luecke ◽  
Charudutt Mishra ◽  
Kulbhushansingh Ramesh Suryawanshi
Keyword(s):  
Population Monitoring ◽  
Tien Shan ◽  
Trophy Hunting ◽  
Human Use ◽  
Snow Leopards ◽  
Mountain Ungulates ◽  
Hunting Quotas ◽  
Ovis Ammon ◽  
Tien Shan Mountains ◽  
Mountain Ungulate

AbstractWe assessed the density of argali (Ovis ammon) and ibex (Capra sibirica) in Sarychat-Ertash Nature Reserve and its neighbouring Koiluu valley. Sarychat is a protected area, while Koiluu is a human-use landscape which is a partly licenced hunting concession for mountain ungulates and has several livestock herders and their permanent residential structures. Population monitoring of mountain ungulates can help in setting measurable conservation targets such as appropriate trophy hunting quotas and to assess habitat suitability for predators like snow leopards (Panthera uncia). We employed the double-observer method to survey 573 km2 of mountain ungulate habitat inside Sarychat and 407 km2 inside Koiluu. The estimated densities of ibex and argali in Sarychat were 2.26 (95% CI 1.47–3.52) individuals km−2 and 1.54 (95% CI 1.01–2.20) individuals km−2, respectively. Total ungulate density in Sarychat was 3.80 (95% CI 2.47–5.72) individuals km−2. We did not record argali in Koiluu, whereas the density of ibex was 0.75 (95% CI 0.50–1.27) individuals km−2. While strictly protected areas can achieve high densities of mountain ungulates, multi-use areas can harbour meaningful though suppressed populations. Conservation of mountain ungulates and their predators can be enhanced by maintaining Sarychat-like “pristine” areas interspersed within a matrix of multi-use areas like Koiluu.

scholarly journals Issues and Opportunities Associated with Trophy Hunting and Tourism in Khunjerab National Park, Northern Pakistan

Animals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 597 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wajid Rashid ◽  
Jianbin Shi ◽  
Inam ur Rahim ◽  
Shikui Dong ◽  
Hameeda Sultan
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Negative Attitude ◽  
Ecological Impacts ◽  
Snow Leopard ◽  
Negative Attitudes ◽  
Mass Tourism ◽  
Trophy Hunting ◽  
Domestic Livestock ◽  
Negative Impacts ◽  
Snow Leopards

Trophy hunting and mass tourism are the two major interventions designed to provide various socioeconomic and ecological benefits at the local and regional levels. However, these interventions have raised some serious concerns that need to be addressed. This study was conducted in Khunjerab National Park (KNP) with an aim to analyze comparatively the socioeconomic and ecological impacts of trophy hunting and mass tourism over the last three decades within the context of sustainability. Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) with key stakeholders and household interviews were conducted to collect data on trophy hunting and mass tourism, and on local attitudes towards these two interventions in and around KNP. The results revealed that 170 Ibex (Capra sibirica) and 12 Blue sheep (Pseudois nayaur) were hunted in the study area over the past three decades, and trophy hunting was not based on a sustainable harvest level. Trophy hunting on average generated USD 16,272 annual revenue, which was invested in community development. However, trophy hunting has greatly changed the attitudes of local residents towards wildlife: a positive attitude towards the wild ungulates and strongly negative attitude towards wild carnivores. In addition, trophy hunting has reduced the availability of ungulate prey species for Snow leopards (Panthera uncia), and consequently, Snow leopards have increased their predation on domestic livestock. This has, in turn, increased human–snow leopard conflict, as negative attitudes towards carnivores result in retaliatory killing of Snow leopards. Furthermore, according to official record data, the number of tourists to KNP has increased tremendously by 10,437.8%, from 1382 in 1999 to 145,633 in 2018. Mass tourism on average generated USD 33,904 annually and provided opportunities for locals to earn high incomes, but it caused damages to the environment and ecosystem in KNP through pollution generation and negative impacts on wildlife. Considering the limited benefits and significant problems created by trophy hunting and mass tourism, we suggest trophy hunting should be stopped and mass tourism should be shifted to ecotourism in and around KNP. Ecotourism could mitigate human–Snow leopard conflicts and help conserve the fragile ecosystem, while generating enough revenue incentives for the community to protect biodiversity and compensate for livestock depredation losses to Snow leopards. Our results may have implications for management of trophy hunting and mass tourism in other similar regions that deserve further investigation.

scholarly journals Investigating the potential impact of trophy hunting of wild ungulates on snow leopard Panthera uncia conservation in Tajikistan

Oryx ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 51 (4) ◽  
pp. 597-604 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shannon M. Kachel ◽  
Kyle P. McCarthy ◽  
Thomas M. McCarthy ◽  
Nuzar Oshurmamadov
Keyword(s):  
Financial Incentives ◽  
Dietary Habits ◽  
Economic Status ◽  
Preliminary Evidence ◽  
Snow Leopard ◽  
Wild Ungulates ◽  
Trophy Hunting ◽  
Similar Area ◽  
Snow Leopards ◽  
Panthera Uncia

AbstractDeclining availability of prey is potentially a major factor limiting snow leopard Panthera uncia populations in Tajikistan and neighbouring states. Conservation initiatives to develop community-based trophy hunting programmes for ibex Capra sibirica and argali Ovis ammon polii aim to provide financial incentives for communities to limit poaching of wild ungulates. Such programmes could help to reverse local declines in ibex and argali populations, and consequently snow leopard populations, while simultaneously improving the economic status of local people. However, in practice the desired effect may not materialize. To investigate the premise, we estimated the population density of the snow leopard, using a spatial capture–recapture model based on camera trapping in two study areas (each c. 1,000 km2) in the Tajik Pamirs: a well-managed trophy hunting concession and an otherwise similar area where grazing and poaching are unmanaged. We used distance-truncated counts to assess relative densities of wild and domestic ungulates between sites, and faecal analyses to compare the dietary habits of snow leopards. Our data were limited in scope but suggested that the density of snow leopards and the relative density of wild and domestic ungulates may have been greater in the hunting concession, where wild ungulates accounted for a greater proportion of prey items. Our results provide preliminary evidence that trophy hunting of ungulates may be a viable tool for achieving snow leopard conservation goals; however, we conclude that further investigation is necessary to adequately address the question.

scholarly journals Costs of elephant crop depredation exceed the benefits of trophy hunting in a community‐based conservation area of Namibia

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael D. Drake ◽  
Jonathan Salerno ◽  
Ryan E. Langendorf ◽  
Lin Cassidy ◽  
Andrea E. Gaughan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Community Based ◽  
Conservation Area ◽  
Trophy Hunting ◽  
Community Based Conservation

scholarly journals Conservation of snow leopards: spill-over benefits for other carnivores?

Oryx ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 239-243 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justine S. Alexander ◽  
Jeremy J. Cusack ◽  
Chen Pengju ◽  
Shi Kun ◽  
Philip Riordan
Keyword(s):  
Red Fox ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Camera Trap ◽  
Snow Leopard ◽  
Lynx Lynx ◽  
Eurasian Lynx ◽  
Detection Rates ◽  
Cuon Alpinus ◽  
Sign Surveys ◽  
Snow Leopards

AbstractIn high-altitude settings of Central Asia the Endangered snow leopard Panthera uncia has been recognized as a potential umbrella species. As a first step in assessing the potential benefits of snow leopard conservation for other carnivores, we sought a better understanding of the presence of other carnivores in areas occupied by snow leopards in China's Qilianshan National Nature Reserve. We used camera-trap and sign surveys to examine whether other carnivores were using the same travel routes as snow leopards at two spatial scales. We also considered temporal interactions between species. Our results confirm that other carnivores, including the red fox Vulpes vulpes, grey wolf Canis lupus, Eurasian lynx Lynx lynx and dhole Cuon alpinus, occur along snow leopard travel routes, albeit with low detection rates. Even at the smaller scale of our camera trap survey all five carnivores (snow leopard, lynx, wolf, red fox and dhole) were observed. Kernel density estimates suggested a high degree of temporal overlap between the snow leopard and the fox, and the snow leopard and the lynx, as indicated by high overlap coefficient estimates. There is an opportunity to consider protective measures at the local scale that would benefit various species simultaneously. However, it should also be recognized that snow leopard conservation efforts could exacerbate human–wildlife conflicts through their protective effect on other carnivore species.

Sustainable trophy hunting of African lions

Nature ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 428 (6979) ◽  
pp. 175-178 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karyl Whitman ◽  
Anthony M. Starfield ◽  
Henley S. Quadling ◽  
Craig Packer
Keyword(s):  
Trophy Hunting ◽  
African Lions

Lions, trophy hunting and beyond: knowledge gaps and why they matter

Mammal Review ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
pp. 247-253 ◽  
Author(s):  
David W. Macdonald ◽  
Andrew J. Loveridge ◽  
Amy Dickman ◽  
Paul J. Johnson ◽  
Kim S. Jacobsen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Gaps ◽  
Trophy Hunting

A bioeconomic model of trophy hunting

2012 ◽  
Vol 73 ◽  
pp. 194-205 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric Naevdal ◽  
Jon Olaf Olaussen ◽  
Anders Skonhoft
Keyword(s):  
Bioeconomic Model ◽  
Trophy Hunting

scholarly journals Trophy Hunting, Conservation, and Rural Development in Zimbabwe: Issues, Options, and Implications

2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victor K. Muposhi ◽  
Edson Gandiwa ◽  
Paul Bartels ◽  
Stanley M. Makuza
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Rural Communities ◽  
Rural Development ◽  
Wildlife Conservation ◽  
Developing Economies ◽  
Illegal Hunting ◽  
Fiscal Constraints ◽  
Trophy Hunting ◽  
Wildlife Use ◽  
Emerging Issues

Trophy hunting has potential to support conservation financing and contribute towards rural development. We conducted a systematic review of the Zimbabwean trophy hunting perspective spanning from pre-1890 to 2015, by examining the following: (1) evolution of legal instruments, administration, and governance of trophy hunting, (2) significance of trophy hunting in conservation financing and rural development, and (3) key challenges, emerging issues in trophy hunting industry, and future interventions. Our review shows that (i) there has been a constant evolution in the policies related to trophy hunting and conservation in Zimbabwe as driven by local and international needs; (ii) trophy hunting providing incentives for wildlife conservation (e.g., law enforcement and habitat protection) and rural communities’ development. Emerging issues that may affect trophy hunting include illegal hunting, inadequate monitoring systems, and hunting bans. We conclude that trophy hunting is still relevant in wildlife conservation and rural communities’ development especially in developing economies where conservation financing is inadequate due to fiscal constraints. We recommend the promotion of net conservation benefits for positive conservation efforts and use of wildlife conservation credits for the opportunity costs associated with reducing trophy hunting off-take levels and promoting nonconsumptive wildlife use options.

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