REVERSIBLE IMMOBILIZATION OF FREE-RANGING SNOW LEOPARDS (PANTHERA UNCIA) WITH A COMBINATION OF MEDETOMIDINE AND TILETAMINE-ZOLAZEPAM

AbstractHemis National Park of the Trans-Himalayas is home to a large population of the snow leopard Panthera uncia and increasing numbers of agro-pastoralists. To persist in this harsh terrain, farmers have to either farm livestock or hunt free-ranging, native ungulates. The availability of more livestock and fewer natural prey created a dynamic whereby snow leopards depredated livestock, followed by retaliatory killing of snow leopards. In 1992, to assist farmers and wildlife, the government enacted a cost-compensation scheme. Following a decade with marginally fewer depredation events, in 2002, two additional strategies were implemented: predator-proof holding pens and the Himalayan Homestay Programme. We assessed 22 years (1992–2013) of depredation data, comparing the periods before and after the additional initiatives. Government records showed that during 1992–2013, 1,624 livestock were depredated from 339 sites, with c. USD 15,000 paid as compensation. There were significantly more kills annually before (a mean of 41) than after (3.5) the initiatives, and mass killings (≥ 5 animals killed per attack) were significantly reduced from 5.5 to 0.5 events per year. Goats and sheep (57%) and horses (13%) comprised the majority of losses. The marked reduction in depredation occurred whilst regulations against hunting were being enforced, probably resulting in an increase in the number of wild prey as alternative food. We conclude that together, cost-compensation, tighter hunting regulations, improved holding pens and the Homestay Programme helped support the well-being of the community while aiding conservation efforts.

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Large carnivores and low diversity of optimal prey: a comparison of the diets of snow leopards Panthera uncia and wolves Canis lupus in Sarychat-Ertash Reserve in Kyrgyzstan

Oryx ◽

10.1017/s0030605313000306 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 48 (4) ◽

pp. 529-535 ◽

Cited By ~ 33

Author(s):

Kubanychbek Jumabay-Uulu ◽

Per Wegge ◽

Charudutt Mishra ◽

Koustubh Sharma

Keyword(s):

Canis Lupus ◽

Tien Shan ◽

Snow Leopard ◽

Large Prey ◽

Field Surveys ◽

Competition For Food ◽

Snow Leopards ◽

Ovis Ammon ◽

Tien Shan Mountains ◽

Panthera Uncia

AbstractIn the cold and arid mountains of Central Asia, where the diversity and abundance of wild ungulates are generally low, resource partitioning among coexisting carnivores is probably less distinct than in prey-rich areas. Thus, similar-sized carnivores are likely to compete for food. We compared the summer diets of snow leopards Panthera uncia and wolves Canis lupus in Sarychat-Ertash Reserve in the Tien-Shan mountains of Kyrgyzstan, based on analysis of genetically confirmed scats. Abundances of the principal prey species, argali Ovis ammon and Siberian ibex Capra sibirica, were estimated from field surveys. The diets consisted of few species, with high interspecific overlap (Pianka's index = 0.91). Argali was the predominant prey, with > 50% frequency of occurrence in both snow leopard and wolf scats. This was followed by Siberian ibex and marmots Marmota baibacina. Being largely unavailable, remains of livestock were not detected in any of the scats. In the snow leopard diet, proportions of argali and ibex were in line with the relative availabilities of these animals in the Reserve. This was in contrast to the diet of wolf, where argali occurred according to availability and ibex was significantly underrepresented. The high diet overlap indicates that the two predators might compete for food when the diversity of profitable, large prey is low. Competition may be more intense in winter, when marmots are not available. Hunting of argali and ibex outside the Reserve may be unsustainable and therefore reduce their abundances over time. This will affect both predators negatively and intensify competition for food. Reduction in ibex populations will directly affect the snow leopard, and the wolf is likely to be indirectly affected as a result of increased snow leopard predation of argali.

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Status of the mountain ungulate prey of the Endangered snow leopard Panthera uncia in the Tost Local Protected Area, South Gobi, Mongolia

Oryx ◽

10.1017/s0030605314001203 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 50 (2) ◽

pp. 214-219 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Lkhagvasumberel Tumursukh ◽

Kulbhushansingh R. Suryawanshi ◽

Charudutt Mishra ◽

Thomas M. McCarthy ◽

Bazartseren Boldgiv

Keyword(s):

Protected Area ◽

Nature Reserve ◽

Camera Trap ◽

Snow Leopard ◽

Wild Ungulates ◽

Mountainous Regions ◽

Demographic Surveys ◽

Snow Leopards ◽

Ovis Ammon ◽

Panthera Uncia

AbstractThe availability of wild prey is a critical predictor of carnivore density. However, few conservation programmes have focused on the estimation and monitoring of wild ungulate populations and their trends, especially in the remote mountains of Central Asia. We conducted double-observer surveys to estimate the populations of ibex Capra sibirica and argali Ovis ammon in the mountainous regions of Tost Local Protected Area, South Gobi province, Mongolia, which is being considered for designation as a Nature Reserve. We also conducted demographic surveys of the more abundant ibex to examine their sex-ratio and the survival of young during 2012–2013. The estimated ibex population remained stable in 2012 and 2013 and the estimated argali population increased from 108 in 2012 to 230 in 2013. The biomass of wild ungulates was c. 6% that of livestock. Mortality in young ibex appeared to increase after weaning, at the age of 12 months. We estimated the population of wild ungulates was sufficient to support 14–18 adult snow leopards Panthera uncia. The adult snow leopard population in our study area during 2012–2013, estimated independently using camera-trap-based mark–recapture methods, was 12–14. Based on our results we identify the Tost Local Protected Area as an important habitat for the conservation of these ungulates and their predator, the Endangered snow leopard, and recommend elevation of its status to a Nature Reserve.

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Conservation implications for the Himalayan wolf Canis (lupus) himalayensis based on observations of packs and home sites in Nepal

Oryx ◽

10.1017/s0030605317001077 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 53 (4) ◽

pp. 663-669 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Geraldine Werhahn ◽

Naresh Kusi ◽

Claudio Sillero-Zubiri ◽

David W. Macdonald

Keyword(s):

Canis Lupus ◽

Alpine Grasslands ◽

Average Composition ◽

Negative Attitudes ◽

Social Survey ◽

Conservation Practice ◽

Conservation Implications ◽

Snow Leopards ◽

Free Ranging ◽

Temporal Overlap

AbstractWe provide insights into pack composition and den site parameters of the Himalayan wolf Canis (lupus) himalayensis based on observations of free-ranging wolves in three study areas in Nepal. We combine this with a social survey of the local Buddhist communities regarding human–carnivore conflict, to draw inferences for conservation practice in the Nepalese Himalayas. We recorded eight wolf packs (with an average composition of two adults and three pups), and found five home sites in high-altitude shrubland patches within alpine grasslands at 4,270–4,940 m altitude. There was a spatial–temporal overlap of wolf home sites and livestock herding during spring and summer, which facilitated human–wolf conflict. The litters of three out of five wolf packs found in Dolpa during 2016 were killed by local people in the same year. In Nepal compensation is offered for depredation by snow leopards Panthera uncia, with associated lowering of negative attitudes, but not for depredation by wolves. We recommend the implementation of financial and educational conservation schemes for all conflict-causing carnivores across the Himalayan regions of Nepal.

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