Lovari, S., Boesi, R., Minder, I., Mucci, N., Randi, E., Dematteis, A., and Ale, S. B. (2009). Restoring a keystone predator may endanger a prey species in a human-altered ecosystem: the return of the snow leopard to Sagarmatha National Park. Animal Conservation, 12, 559–570.
Abstract: Twenty-five years ago, the snow leopard Uncia uncia, an endangered large cat, was eliminated from what is now Sagarmatha National Park (SNP). Heavy hunting pressure depleted that area of most medium-large mammals, before it became a park. After three decades of protection, the cessation of hunting and the recovery of wild ungulate populations, snow leopards have recently returned (four individuals). We have documented the effects of the return of the snow leopard on the population of its main wild prey, the Himalayan tahr Hemitragus jemlahicus, a 'near-threatened' caprin. Signs of snow leopard presence were recorded and scats were collected along a fixed trail (130 km) to assess the presence and food habits of the snow leopard in the Park, from 2004 to 2006. Himalayan tahr, the staple of the diet, had a relative occurrence of 48% in summer and 37% in autumn, compared with the next most frequent prey, musk deer Moschus chrysogaster (summer: 20%; autumn: 15%) and cattle (summer: 15%; autumn: 27%). In early summer, the birth rate of tahr (young-to-female ratio: 0.8-0.9) was high. The decrease of this ratio to 0.1-0.2 in autumn implied that summer predation concentrated on young tahr, eventually altering the population by removing the kid cohort. Small populations of wild Caprinae, for example the Himalayan tahr population in SNP, are sensitive to stochastic predation events and may be led to almost local extinction. If predation on livestock keeps growing, together with the decrease of Himalayan tahr, retaliatory killing of snow leopards by local people may be expected, and the snow leopard could again be at risk of local extinction. Restoration of biodiversity through the return of a large predator has to be monitored carefully, especially in areas affected by humans, where the lack of important environmental components, for example key prey species, may make the return of a predator a challenging event.
Keywords: conservation, food habits, genetics, Hemitragus jemlahicus, Himalayan tahr, management, microsatellite, predation, presence, scat, scat analysis, snow leopard, Uncia uncia
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Loginov, O. (1997). Status and Conservation of Snow Leopard in Kazakstan. In R.Jackson, & A.Ahmad (Eds.), (pp. 39–41). Lahore, Pakistan: International Snow Leopard Trust.
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Loginov O. (1995). Status and Conservation of Snow Leopard in Kazakhstan.
Abstract: Snow leopards are to be found in the most extreme eastern, southeastern and southern mountainous regions, including the Altai. Saur, Tarbagatai. Dzhungarian, Alatau, Northern and Western Tian-Shan ranges. The snow leopard or irbis is the most rare in eastern Kazakstan in the ranges of Katunskie Belki, South Altai, Kurchumski, Sarymsakty, Saur and Tarbagatai. Total snow leopard population in Kazakstan is estimated at no more than 100-110 animals, including 20-25 in the central part of the Zailisky-Alatau. Although there are nine protected areas in Kazakstan, snow leopards are only regularly reported
from the Aksu-Dzhabagly and Almaty reserves and occasionally in Markakolsky Reserve. The major threats to the species include: Deliberate poaching with the aim of selling the valuable fur of the snow leopard; habitat loss resulting from the expansion of human activity in its mountain habitat, and deliberate or retaliatory killing by shepherds in response to predation upon livestock.
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Liao, Y. F. (1988). A preliminary study on the geographical distribution of snow leopards in China. In H.Freeman (Ed.), (pp. 51–64). ISLT and Wildlife Inst. of India.
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LI. J, W. A. N. G. D., YIN. H, ZHAXI. D, JIAGONG. Z, SCHALLER. G. B, MISHRA. C, MCCARTHY. T. M, WANG. H, WU. L, XIAO. L, BASANG. L, ZHANG. Y, ZHOU. Y, LU. Z. (2013). Role of Tibetan Buddhist Monasteries in Snow Leopard Conservation. Conservation Biology, 00, 1–8.
Abstract: The snow leopard (Panthera uncia) inhabits the rugged mountains in 12 countries of Central Asia,
including the Tibetan Plateau. Due to poaching, decreased abundance of prey, and habitat degradation, it was listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature in 1972. Current conservation strategies, including nature reserves and incentive programs, have limited capacities to protect snow leopards. We investigated the role of Tibetan Buddhist monasteries in snow leopard conservation in the Sanjiangyuan region in China’s Qinghai Province on the Tibetan Plateau. From 2009 to 2011, we systematically surveyed snow leopards in the Sanjiangyuan region. We used the MaxEnt model to determine the relation of their presence to environmental variables (e.g., elevation, ruggedness) and to predict snow leopard distribution. Model results showed 89,602 km2 of snow leopard habitat in the Sanjiangyuan region, of which 7674 km2 lay within Sanjiangyuan Nature Reserve’s core zones. We analyzed the spatial relation between snow leopard habitat and Buddhist monasteries and found that 46% of monasteries were located in snow leopard habitat and 90% were within 5 km of snow leopard habitat. The 336 monasteries in the Sanjiangyuan region could protect more snow leopard habitat (8342 km2) through social norms and active patrols than the nature reserve’s core zones. We conducted 144 household interviews to identify local herders’ attitudes and behavior toward snow leopards and other wildlife. Most local herders claimed that they did not kill wildlife, and 42% said they did not kill wildlife because it was a sin in Buddhism. Our results indicate monasteries play an important role in snow leopard conservation. Monastery-based snow leopard conservation could be extended to other Tibetan Buddhist regions that in total would encompass about 80% of the global range of snow leopards.
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Li, J., Weckworth, B. V., McCarthy, T. M., Liang, X., Liu, Y., Xing, R., Li, D., Zhang, Y., Xue, Y., Jackson, R., Xiao, L., Cheng, C., Li, S., Xu, F., Ma, M., Yang, X., Diao, K., Gao, Y., Song, D., Nowell, K., He, B., Li, Y., McCarthy, K., Paltsyn, M. Y., Sharma, K., Mishra, C., Schaller, G. B., Lu, Z., Beissinger, S. R. (2019). Defining priorities for global snow leopard conservation landscapes. Biological Conservation, 241(108387), 1–10.
Abstract: The snow leopard (Panthera uncia) is an apex predator on the Tibetan Plateau and in the surrounding mountain ranges. It is listed as Vulnerable in the IUCN's Red List. The large home range and low population densities of this species mandate range-wide conservation prioritization. Two efforts for range-wide snow leopard conservation planning have been conducted based on expert opinion, but both were constrained by limited knowledge and the difficulty of evaluating complex processes, such as connectivity across large landscapes. Here, we compile > 6000 snow leopard occurrence records from across its range and corresponding environmental covariates to build a model of global snow leopard habitat suitability. Using spatial prioritization tools, we identi!ed seven large continuous habitat patches as global snow leopard Landscape Conservation Units (LCUs). Each LCU faces differing threat levels from poaching, anthropogenic development, and climate change. We identi!ed ten po- tential inter-LCU linkages, and centrality analysis indicated that Tianshan-Pamir-Hindu Kush-Karakorum, Altai, and the linkage between them play a critical role in maintaining the global snow leopard habitat connectivity.
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Li, J., McCarthy, T. M., Wang, H., Weckworth, B. V., Shaller, G. B., Mishra, C., Lu, Z., Beissinger, S. R. (2016). Climate refugia of snow leopards in High Asia. Biological Conservation, (203), 188–196.
Abstract: Rapidwarming in High Asia is threatening its unique ecosystemand endemic species, especially the endangered
snow leopard (Panthera uncia). Snow leopards inhabit the alpine zone between snow line and tree line, which
contracts and expands greatly during glacier-interglacial cycles. Here we assess impacts of climate change on
global snow leopard habitat from the last glacial maximum (LGM; 21 kyr ago) to the late 21st century. Based
on occurrence records of snow leopards collected across all snow leopard range countries from 1983 to 2015,
we built a snow leopard habitat model using the maximum entropy algorithm (MaxEnt 3.3.3k). Then we
projected this model into LGM, mid-Holocene and 2070. Analysis of snow leopard habitat map from LGM to
2070 indicates that three large patches of stable habitat have persisted from the LGM to present in the Altai,
Qilian, and Tian Shan-Pamir-Hindu Kush-Karakoram mountain ranges, and are projected to persist through the
late 21st century. These climatically suitable areas account for about 35% of the snow leopard's current extent,
are large enough to support viable populations, and should function as refugia for snow leopards to survive
through both cold and warm periods. Existence of these refugia is largely due to the unique mountain environment
in High Asia, which maintains a relatively constant arid or semi-arid climate. However, habitat loss leading
to fragmentation in the Himalaya and Hengduan Mountains, as well as increasing human activities, will present
conservation challenges for snow leopards and other sympatric species.
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Li, J. S., G, B. McCarthy, T. M. Wang, D. Jiagong, Z. Cai, P. Basang, L. Lu, Z. (2012). A Communal Sign Post of Snow Leopards (Panthera uncial) and Other Species on the Tibetan Plateau China. International Journal of Biodiversity, 2013, 1:8.
Abstract: The snow leopard is a keystone species in mountain ecosystems of Central Asia and the Tibetan Plateau, However, little is known about the interactions between snow leopards and sympatric carnivores. Using infrared cameras, we found a rocky junction of two valleys in Sanjiangyuan area on the Tibetan Plateau where many mammals in this area passed and frequently marked and sniffed the site at the junction. We suggest that this site serves as a sign post to many species in this area, especially snow leopards and other carnivores. The marked signs may also alert the animals passing by to temporally segregate their activities to avoid potential conflicts. We used the Schoener index to measure the degree of temporal segregation among the species captured by infrared camera traps at this site. Our research reveals the probable ways of both intra- and interspecies competition. This is an important message to help understand the structure of animal communities. Discovery of the sign post clarifies the importance of identifying key habitas ad sites of both snow leopards and other species for more effective conservation.
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Lepcha, R., & Bhutia, C. (2000). Environmental Education in Sikkim (Vol. xvii). Seattle: Islt.
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Lavrov N.P. (1985). Snow leopard, or irbis.
Abstract: Snow leopard Uncia uncia Scheber, 1775, has status I, that is rare, non-numerous and endangered species. Information about its distribution, habitats, biology, number, existing and required conservation measures in the RSFSR and USSR is provided. Total population in the USSR is 800 1,000 animals.
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