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Bajimaya, S. (2001). Snow leopard manual: field study techniques for the kingdom of Nepal. Kathmandu, Nepal: WWF Nepal Program.
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Brown, J. L., Wasser, S. K., Wildt, D. E., & Graham, L. H. (1994). Comparative Aspects of Steroid Hormone Metabolism and Ovarian Activity in Felids, Measured Noninvasively in Feces. Biol Reprod, 51(4), 776–786.
Abstract: Noninvasive fecal assays were used to study steroid metabolism and ovarian activity in several felid species. Using the domestic cat (Felis catus) as model, the excretory products of injected [14C]estradiol (E2) and [14C]progesterone (P4) were determined. Within 2 days, 97.0 +/- 0.6% and 96.7 +/- 0.5% of recovered E2 and P4 radioactivity, respectively, was found in feces. E2 was excreted as unconjugated estradiol and estrone (40%) and as a non-enzyme- hydrolyzable conjugate (60%). P4 was excreted primarily as non-enzyme- hydrolyzable, conjugated metabolites (78%) and as unconjugated pregnenolone epimers. A simple method for extracting fecal steroid metabolites optimized extraction efficiencies of the E2 and P4 excretion products (90.1 +/- 0.8% and 87.2 +/- 1.4%, respectively). Analysis of HPLC fractions of extracted fecal samples from the radiolabel-injected domestic cats revealed that E2 immunoreactivity coincided primarily with the unconjugated metabolized [14C]E2 peak, whereas progestogen immunoreactivity coincided with a single conjugated epimer and multiple unconjugated pregnenolone epimers. After HPLC separation, similar immunoreactive E2 and P4 metabolite profiles were observed in the leopard cat (F. bengalensis), cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus), clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa), and snow leopard (Panthera uncia). Longitudinal analyses demonstrated that changes in fecal E2 and P4 metabolite concentrations reflected natural or artificially induced ovarian activity. For example, severalfold increases in E2 excretion were associated with overt estrus or exogenous gonadotropin treatment, and elevated fecal P4 metabolite concentrations occurred during pregnant and nonpregnant (pseudopregnant) luteal phases. Although overall concentrations were similar, the duration of elevated fecal P4 metabolites during pseudopregnancy was approximately half that observed during pregnancy. In summary, steroid metabolism mechanisms appear to be conserved among these physically diverse, taxonomically related species. Results indicate that this hormone-monitoring approach will be extremely useful for elucidating the hormonal regulatory mechanism associated with the reproductive cycle, pregnancy, and parturition of intractable and endangered felid species.
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Chundawat, R. S. (1993). Studies on Snow Leopard and Prey Species in Hemis National Park (Vol. xi). Seattle: Islt.
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De Groot, H., Van Swieten, P., & Aalberse, R. C. (1990). Evidence for a Fel d I-like molecule in the “big cats” (Felidae species). J Allergy Clin Immunol, 86(1), 107–116.
Abstract: In this study, we investigated the cross-reactivity pattern of IgE and IgG4 antibodies to the major feline allergen, Fel d I. We studied the IgE and IgG4 response of 11 cat-allergic patients against Fel d I-like structures in eight members of the Felidae family: ocelot, puma, serval, siberian tiger, lion, jaguar, snow leopard, and caracal. Hair from these “big cats” was collected, extracted, and used in a RAST system and histamine-release test. By means of a RAST-inhibition assay with affinity-purified Fel d I from cat dander, it was established that, in the Felidae species, a Fel d I equivalent is present that reacts with IgE and IgG4 antibodies. We found that all patients had cross-reacting IgE antibodies to seven of the Felidae tested; no IgE antibodies reactive with the caracal were found. Eight of 10 patients with IgG4 antibodies directed to cat dander also had IgG4 antibodies directed to several Felidae species, including the caracal. However, the correlation between the IgE and the IgG4 antibody specificity was low, indicating that, in the case of Fel d I IgE and IgG4, antibodies do not necessarily have the same specificity.
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Farrington, J. (2005). A Report on Protected Areas, Biodiversity, and Conservation in the Kyrgyzstan Tian Shan with Brief Notes on the Kyrgyzstan Pamir-Alai and the Tian Shan Mountains of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and China. Ph.D. thesis, , Kyrgyzstan.
Abstract: Kyrgyzstan is a land of towering mountains, glaciers, rushing streams, wildflowercovered meadows, forests, snow leopards, soaring eagles, and yurt-dwelling nomads. The entire nation lies astride the Tian Shan1, Chinese for “Heavenly Mountains”, one of the world's highest mountain ranges, which is 7439 m (24,400 ft) in elevation at its highest point. The nation is the second smallest of the former Soviet Central Asian republics. In
spite of Kyrgyzstan's diverse wildlife and stunning natural beauty, the nation remains little known, and, as yet, still on the frontier of international conservation efforts. The following report is the product of 12 months of research into the state of conservation and land-use in Kyrgyzstan. This effort was funded by the Fulbright Commission of the U.S. State Department, and represents the most recent findings of the author's personal environmental journey through Inner Asia, which began in 1999. When I first started my preliminary research for this project, I was extremely surprised to learn that, even though the Tian Shan Range has tremendous ecological significance for conservation efforts in middle Asia, there wasn't a single major international conservation organization with an office in the former Soviet Central Asian republics. Even more surprising was how little awareness there is of conservation issues in the Tian Shan region amongst conservation workers in neighboring areas who are attempting to preserve similar species assemblages and ecosystems to those found in the Tian Shan. Given this lack of awareness, and the great potential for the international community to make a positive contribution towards improving the current state of biodiversity conservation in Kyrgyzstan and Central Asia, I have summarized my findings on protected areas and conservation in Kyrgyzstan and the Tian Shan of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Xinjiang in the chapters below. The report begins with some brief background information on geography and society in the Kyrgyz Republic, followed by an overview of biodiversity and the state of conservation in the nation, which at the present time closely parallels the state of conservation in the other former Soviet Central Asian republics. Part IV of the report provides a catalog of all major protected areas in Kyrgyzstan and the other Tian Shan nations, followed by a list of sites in Kyrgyzstan that are as yet unprotected but merit protection. In the appendices the reader will find fairly comprehensive species lists of flora and fauna found in the Kyrgyz Republic, including lists of mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, amphibians, trees and shrubs, wildflowers, and endemic plants. In addition, a
draft paper on the history and current practice of pastoral nomadism in Kyrgyzstan has been included in Appendix A. While the research emphasis for this study was on eastern Kyrgyzstan, over the course of the study the author did have the opportunity to make brief journeys to southern Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Xinjiang. While falling short of being a definitive survey of protected areas of the Tian Shan, the informational review which
follows is the first attempt at bringing the details of conservation efforts throughout the entire Tian Shan Range together in one place. It is hoped that this summary of biodiversity and conservation in the Tian Shan will generate interest in the region amongst conservationists, and help increase efforts to protect this surprisingly unknown range that forms an island of meadows, rivers, lakes, and forests in the arid heart of Asia.
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Ferguson, D. A. (1997). International Cooperation for Snow Leopard and Biodiversity Conservation: The Government Perspective. In R.Jackson, & A.Ahmad (Eds.), (pp. 178–193). Lahore, Pakistan: Islt.
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Fox, J. L., Sinha, S. P., Chundawat R.S., & Das, P. K. (1988). A Field Survey of Snow Leopard Presence and Habitat use in Northwestern India. In H.Freeman (Ed.), (pp. 99–111). India: International Snow Leoaprd Trust and Wildlife Institute of India.
Abstract: During November 1985 through July1996, a survey of snow leopard presence and ecology was conducted in selected areas of the states of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh in north-western India. The study was carried out under the auspices of the Wildlife Institute of India in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the International Snow Leopard Trust. The objectives of the survey were essentially determine the relative presence of the snow leopard and its associated prey species,investigate human interaction with the snow leopard and select an appropriate site for more intensive studies of the snow leopard and its ecosystem.
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Fox, J. L., & Chundawat, R. S. (1997). Evaluation of Snow Leopard Sign Abundance in the Upper Indus Valley. In R.Jackson, & A.Ahmad (Eds.), (pp. 66–74). Lahore, Pakistan: Islt.
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Freeman, H. (1974). A preliminary study of the behaviour of captive snow leopards (Panthera uncia). In International Zoo Yearbook (Vol. 15, pp. 217–222).
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Freeman, H. (1980). Snow leopard: a cooperative study between zoos. In L. Blomqvist (Ed.), International Pedigree Book of Snow Leopards (Vol. 2, pp. 127–136). Helsinki: Helsinki Zoo.
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