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Author Ale, S.B.; Yonzon, P.; Thapa, K.
Title Recovery of snow leopard Uncia uncia in Sagarmatha (Mount Everest) National Park, Nepal Type Miscellaneous
Year 2007 Publication Oryx Abbreviated Journal
Volume 41 Issue Pages 89-92
Keywords Nepal; recovery; Sagarmatha Mount Everest National Park; snow leopard; Uncia uncia; surveys; survey; snow; snow-leopard; leopard; uncia; Uncia-uncia; valley; Sagarmatha; national; national park; National-park; park; using; information; management; system; research; transects; transect; sign; areas; area; snow leopards; snow-leopards; leopards; 40; Himalayan; tahr; musk; musk-deer; deer; location; recent; species; grazing; land; Forest; habitat; domestic; wild; ungulates; ungulate; livestock; tourism; development; traditional; land use; land-use; use; wildlife
Abstract From September to November 2004 we conducted surveys of snow leopard Uncia uncia signs in three major valleys in Sagarmatha (Mount Everest) National Park in Nepal using the Snow Leopard Information Management System, a standardized survey technique for snow leopard research. We walked 24 transects covering c. 14 km and located 33 sites with 56 snow leopard signs, and 17 signs incidentally in other areas. Snow leopards appear to have re-inhabited the Park, following their disappearance c. 40 years ago, apparently following the recovery of Himalayan tahr Hemitragus jemlahicus and musk deer Moschus chrysogaster populations. Taken together the locations of all 73 recent snow leopard signs indicate that the species is using predominantly grazing land and shrubland/ open forest at elevations of 3,000-5,000 m, habitat types that are also used by domestic and wild ungulates. Sagarmatha is the homeland of c. 3,500 Buddhist Sherpas with .3,000 livestock. Along with tourism and associated developments in Sagarmatha, traditional land use practices could be used to ensure coexistence of livestock and wildlife, including the recovering snow leopards, and ensure the wellbeing of the Sherpas.
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Notes http://www.snowleopardnetwork.org/bibliography/Ale_2007.pdf Approved no
Call Number SLN @ rana @ 884 Serial 58
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Author Sharma, Koustubh. McCarthy, Thomas. Johannson, Orjan. Ud Din, Jaffar. Bayarjargal, A.
Title Snow Leopards and Telemetry: Experiences and Challenges Type Journal Article
Year 2010 Publication Telemetry in Wildlife Science Abbreviated Journal
Volume 13 Issue No. 1 Pages 1 -5
Keywords Snow Leopards, telemetry
Abstract The snow leopard Panthera uncia is one of the least studied felids in the world. Little is know about various aspects of the ecology of the snow leopard, which is cryptic in nature and found across 12 countries in Central Asia. Most research on snow leopards has been based on non-invasive methods such as sign surveys for presence (e.g. Jackson and Hunter 1996), scat analyses for diet (e.g. Chundawat and Rawat 1992; Oli et al., 2008, 2010) for population estimation, and studies based on human interviews (Mehta and Heinen 2001; Mishra and Bagchi 2006).

Despite this plethora of studies employing non-invasive techniques, several crucial questions about snow leopard ecology remain unanswered. Information about the animal’s home range, dispersal, corridors, pattern of habitat use, movement patterns, hunting frequency, behavior and intra – specific interactions is not available yet. In order to design population monitoring studies using camera traps or DNA analyses, one needs a good understanding of snow leopard ecology, including the home range and movement patterns (Williams et al., 2002). Telemetry is still the best available method and perhaps much less invasive than direct observations for studying the biology and ecology of cryptic animals.
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Notes Approved no
Call Number SLN @ rakhee @ Serial 1380
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Author MaMing, R . Feng, Xu. Yun, Cheng et al.
Title Snow Leopards in Xinjiang Type Book Whole
Year 2013 Publication Science Press Abbreviated Journal
Volume Issue Pages 1-588
Keywords Snow Leopards, China
Abstract The snow leopard Uncia uncia is a globally endangered species, occurring in China and 11

neighboring countries, with a total population of 3500-7000 individuals. China is very important

for Snow Leopards, as it contains both the more than half of the distribution area and the largest

remaining population. However, like other big cats, the density is very low, perhaps less than 1

individual per 100 square kilometers in the western mountains of China. This book first reviewed

ten years of research by Xinjiang Snow Leopard Team (XSLT), and it contains over 300 figures

including maps, illustrations, pictures and photos, 46 tables as well as more than a thousand

references and 1100 key words in the index.

In the past ten years, XSLT has received much support and funding from the Snow Leopard

Trust (SLT) and the Xinjiang Conservation Fund (XCF). In this regard, the Chinese government

has not yet given one cent to support the Xinjiang Snow Leopard Project. Our situation is very

difficult indeed, and it is hoped that this book will inspire future government support.

There are many topics discussed in this work including a decade of successes or failures with

the Snow Leopard Survival Strategy (SLSS from 2002 to 2012). The authors also present findings

from every International Snow Leopard Conference (1978-2008), the stories of 14 experts, the big

events of conservation and research (1776-2012), and many questions for future research in the

appendix. This is the first work about snow leopards in China. It is a popular scientific book that

covers snow leopard monitoring, research, conservation and management, and it could also be

very helpful to nature reserve staff and scientists as well as students, teachers, outdoor explorers,

volunteers and cat lovers.

The book contains the following: preface, table of contents (in English), and chapters on the

ancient records of snow leopards; their place in the family of big cats; research methods and field

logs for snow leopards; their population size and distribution in China; biological knowledge,

conservation and management of snow leopards; their presence in zoos; Nature Reserves in

Xinjiang, the experiences of snow leopard conservation in other countries; appendix; index; and

afterword (ISBN 978-7-03-036723-5, the book was published in March 2013 with total of 616

pages and approximately 0.77 million Chinese words, price: RMB 145.00 Yuan).
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Language Summary Language Original Title
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Notes Approved no
Call Number SLN @ rakhee @ Serial 1390
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Ming, M. Feng, Xu. Yun, Cheng et al.
Title Snow Leopards in Xinjiang Type Book Whole
Year 2013 Publication Science Press Abbreviated Journal
Volume Issue Pages 1-588
Keywords Snow Leopards, China
Abstract The snow leopard Uncia uncia is a globally endangered species, occurring in China and 11

neighboring countries, with a total population of 3500-7000 individuals. China is very important

for Snow Leopards, as it contains both the more than half of the distribution area and the largest

remaining population. However, like other big cats, the density is very low, perhaps less than 1

individual per 100 square kilometers in the western mountains of China. This book first reviewed

ten years of research by Xinjiang Snow Leopard Team (XSLT), and it contains over 300 figures

including maps, illustrations, pictures and photos, 46 tables as well as more than a thousand

references and 1100 key words in the index.

In the past ten years, XSLT has received much support and funding from the Snow Leopard

Trust (SLT) and the Xinjiang Conservation Fund (XCF). In this regard, the Chinese government

has not yet given one cent to support the Xinjiang Snow Leopard Project. Our situation is very

difficult indeed, and it is hoped that this book will inspire future government support.

There are many topics discussed in this work including a decade of successes or failures with

the Snow Leopard Survival Strategy (SLSS from 2002 to 2012). The authors also present findings

from every International Snow Leopard Conference (1978-2008), the stories of 14 experts, the big

events of conservation and research (1776-2012), and many questions for future research in the

appendix. This is the first work about snow leopards in China. It is a popular scientific book that

covers snow leopard monitoring, research, conservation and management, and it could also be

very helpful to nature reserve staff and scientists as well as students, teachers, outdoor explorers,

volunteers and cat lovers.

The book contains the following: preface, table of contents (in English), and chapters on the

ancient records of snow leopards; their place in the family of big cats; research methods and field

logs for snow leopards; their population size and distribution in China; biological knowledge,

conservation and management of snow leopards; their presence in zoos; Nature Reserves in

Xinjiang, the experiences of snow leopard conservation in other countries; appendix; index; and

afterword (ISBN 978-7-03-036723-5, the book was published in March 2013 with total of 616

pages and approximately 0.77 million Chinese words, price: RMB 145.00 Yuan).
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN ISBN Medium
Area (down) Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number SLN @ rakhee @ Serial 1391
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Author Maming, R.
Title Market prices for the tissues and organs of snow leopards in China Type Journal Article
Year 2012 Publication Selevinia Abbreviated Journal
Volume Issue 20 Pages 119-122
Keywords trade; cases; products; prices; bazaars; snow leopards; extinction; Xinjiang
Abstract The population of snow leopard (Uncia uncia) is plummeting as waterfall in

the last ten years. The illegal trade of snow leopard products is one of the fatal

factors. The biggest range and the biggest population of snow leopard both are in

China, and the largest trade is also in the country. Through questionnaires and

investigation with informants from 2002 to 2012, a lot of data were collected

through variety ways in different regions. In this paper 387 cases of snow leopard

poaching including smuggling routes, product list, price system and product usages

from Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region were collected for analysis and discussion. In

the face of rapid development in the west of China, the results showed that our

government did not try to protect the snow leopards, and the text of law was

practically useless. International organizations such as WWF, WCS, IUCN, PANTHERA,

SLT & SLN with SLSS were also powerless and helpless to stop snow leopard poaching

and trading. As a result, the fate of the snow leopard is very bad, and this is

worrying.
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Notes Approved no
Call Number SLN @ rakhee @ Serial 1395
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Author Xu, G.,MaMing, R.,Buzzard, P.,Blank, D.
Title Nature reserve in Xingjiang: a snow leopard paradise or refuge for how long? Type Journal Article
Year 2014 Publication Selevinia Abbreviated Journal
Volume 22 Issue Pages 144-149
Keywords Snow Leopards
Abstract The snow leopard Uncia uncia is an endangered species, which is widely but thinly

distributed throughout its range in the mountains of Central Asia. China contains as

much as 60% of the snow leopard’s potential habitat and has the largest population

of this species. Xinjiang is the largest province in China, covering an area of 1.66

million km² or about one-sixth of the land area of China. Xinjiang is one of the

most important areas for snow leopards with much potential habitat in mountain

ranges such as the north and south Tienshan and Kunlun containing almost 30% of the

world’s snow leopard population. By the end of 2013, total 35 natural reserves have

been established in Xinjiang, and 20 of these areas have snow leopards (Ma et al,

2013). In this paper, we report on the status of snow leopards in these protected

areas and show that they play an important role in protecting snow leopards and

their habitats. Then, we discuss the many problems and challenges faced by these

protected areas.
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Notes Approved no
Call Number SLN @ rakhee @ Serial 1423
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Author Rashid, W., Shi, J., Rahim, I. U., Dong, S., Ahmad, L.
Title Research trends and management options in human-snow leopard conflict Type Journal Article
Year 2020 Publication Biological Conservation Abbreviated Journal
Volume 242 Issue 108413 Pages 1-10
Keywords Snow leopards, Systematic review, Compensation, Co-existence, Livestock, Human-wildlife conflict, Mitigation
Abstract Conservation of the snow leopard (Panthera uncia) is challenging because of its threatened status and increase in human-snow leopard conflict (HSC). The area of occupancy of the snow leopard comprises mountainous regions of Asia that are confronted with various environmental pressures including climate change. HSCs have increased with a burgeoning human population and economic activities that enhance competition between human and snow leopard or its preys. Here we systematically review the peer-reviewed literature from 1994 to 2018 in Web of Science, Google Scholar, Science Direct and PubMed (30 articles), to evaluate the current state of scholarship about HSCs and their management. We determine: 1) the spatio-temporal distribution of relevant researches; 2) the methodologies to assess HSCs; 3) and evaluate existing interventions for conflict management; and 4) the potential options for HSC management. The aim of the current study is thus to identify key research gaps and future research requirements. Of the articles in this review, 60% evaluated the mitigation of HSCs, while only 37% provided actionable and decisive results. Compensation programs and livestock management strategies had high success rates for mitigating HSCs through direct or community-managed interventions. Further research is required to evaluate the efficacy of existing HSC mitigation strategies, many of which, while recommended, lack proper support. In spite of the progress made in HSC studies, research is needed to examine ecological and sociocultural context of HSCs. We suggest future work focus on rangeland management for HSC mitigation, thus ultimately fostering a co-existence between human and snow leopard.
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Notes Approved no
Call Number SLN @ rakhee @ Serial 1716
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Author Bohnett, E., Holmberg, J., Faryabi, S. P., An, L., Ahmad, B., Rashid, W., Ostrowski, S.
Title Comparison of two individual identification algorithms for snow leopards (Panthera uncia) after automated detection Type Journal Article
Year 2023 Publication Ecological Informatics Abbreviated Journal
Volume 77 Issue 102214 Pages 1-14
Keywords Background subtraction, Deep learning, Hotspotter, Individual identification, PIE v2, Snow leopards
Abstract Photo-identification of individual snow leopards (Panthera uncia) is the primary data source for density estimation via capture-recapture statistical methods. To identify individual snow leopards in camera trap imagery, it is necessary to match individuals from a large number of images from multiple cameras and historical catalogues, which is both time-consuming and costly. The camouflaged snow leopards also make it difficult for machine learning to classify photos, as they blend in so well with the surrounding mountain environment, rendering applicable software solutions unavailable for the species. To potentially make snow leopard individual identification available via an artificial intelligence (AI) software interface, we first trained and evaluated image classification techniques for a convolutional neural network, pose invariant embeddings (PIE) (a triplet loss network), and compared the accuracy of PIE to that of the HotSpotter algorithm (a SIFT-based algorithm). Data were acquired from a curated library of free-ranging snow leopards taken in Afghanistan between 2012 and 2019 and from captive animals in zoos in Finland, Sweden, Germany, and the United States. We discovered several flaws in the initial PIE model, such as a small amount of background matching, that was addressed, albeit likely not fixed, using background subtraction (BGS) and left-right mirroring (LR) techniques which demonstrated reasonable accuracy (Rank 1: 74% Rank-5: 92%) comparable to the Hotspotter results (Rank 1: 74% Rank 2: 84%)The PIE BGS LR model, in conjunction with Hotspotter, yielded the following results: Rank-1: 85%, Rank-5: 95%, Rank-20: 99%. In general, our findings indicate that PIE BGS LR, in conjunction with HotSpotter, can classify snow leopards more accurately than using either algorithm alone.
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Notes Approved no
Call Number SLN @ rakhee @ Serial 1723
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Author Alexander, J. S., Murali, R., Mijiddorj, T. N., Agvaantseren, B., Lhamo, C., Sharma, D., Suryawanshi, K. R., Zhi, L., Sharma, K., Young, J. C.
Title Applying a gender lens to biodiversity conservation in High Asia Type Journal Article
Year 2023 Publication Frontiers in Conservation Science Abbreviated Journal
Volume Issue Pages 1-8
Keywords gender, snow leopards, pastoralism, rights, decision-making
Abstract Community-based conservation efforts represent an important approach to facilitate the coexistence of people and wildlife. A concern, however, is that these efforts build on existing community structures and social norms, which are commonly dominated by men. Some biodiversity conservation approaches may consequently neglect women’s voices and deepen existing inequalities and inequities. This paper presents two community case studies that draw upon the knowledge and experience gained in our snow leopard conservation practice in pastoral and agro-pastoral settings in Mongolia and India to better understand women’s roles and responsibilities. In these settings, roles and responsibilities in livestock management and agriculture are strongly differentiated along gender lines, and significant gaps remain in women’s decision-making power about natural resources at the community level. We argue that context-specific and gender-responsive approaches are needed to build community support for conservation actions and leverage women’s potential contributions to conservation outcomes.
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Notes Approved no
Call Number SLN @ rakhee @ Serial 1741
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Author Ale S.
Title Have snow leopards made a comeback to the Everest region of Nepal? Type Report
Year 2005 Publication Abbreviated Journal
Volume Issue Pages 1-21
Keywords snow; snow leopards; snow leopard; snow-leopards; snow-leopard; leopards; leopard; region; Nepal; Report; International; international snow leopard trust; International-Snow-Leopard-Trust; trust; program; 1960; endangered; Sagarmatha; High; Himalaya; tourism; impact; establishment; national; national park; National-park; park; 1980; area; Tibet; surveys; survey; status; Cats; cat; prey; research; project; sign; transects; transect; length; valley; Response; hunting; recovery; Himalayan; tahr; density; densities; range; pugmarks; sighting; 60; study; population; predators; predator; structure; prey species; prey-species; species; populations; mortality; effects; predation; population dynamics
Abstract In the 1960s, the endangered snow leopard was locally extirpated from the Sagarmatha (Mt. Everest) region of Nepal. In this Sherpa-inhabited high Himalaya, the flourishing tourism since the ascent of Mt Everest in 1953, has caused both prosperity and adverse impacts, the concern that catalyzed the establishment of Mt. Everest National Park in the region in 1976. In the late 1980s, there were reports that some transient snow leopards may have visited the area from adjoining Tibet, but no biological surveys exist to confirm the status of the cats and their prey. Have snow leopards finally returned to the top of the world? Exploring this question was the main purpose of this research project. We systematically walked altogether 24 sign transects covering over 13 km in length in three valleys, i.e. Namche, Phortse and Gokyo, of the park, and counted several snow leopard signs. The results indicated that snow leopards have made a comeback in the park in response to decades of protective measures, the virtual cessation of hunting and the recovery of the Himalayan tahr which is snow leopard's prey. The average sign density (4.2 signs/km and 2.5 sign sites/km) was comparable to that reported from other parts of the cats' range in the Himalaya. On this basis, we estimated the cat density in the Everest region between 1 to 3 cats per 100 sq km, a figure that was supported by different sets of pugmarks and actual sightings of snow leopards in the 60 km2 sample survey area. In the study area, tahr population had a low reproductive rate (e.g. kids-to-females ratio, 0.1, in Namche). Since predators can influence the size and the structure of prey species populations through mortality and through non-lethal effects or predation risk, snow leopards could have been the cause of the population dynamics of tahr in Sagarmtha, but this study could not confirm this speculation for which further probing may be required.
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Notes Progress report for the International Snow Leopard Trust Small Grants Program. Approved no
Call Number SLN @ rana @ 1063 Serial 50
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