Abstract: It provides a zoogeographical description of Central Asia mountains: Tien Shan (west and east), Pamir, the Turkestan and Hissar ridges, and ruinous mountains in Kyzylkum. Distribution of various animal species over the area under study is described. Data concerning Central Asia sheep, ibex, and snow leopard in the alpine meadow zone, and data concerning the otter (in the Tupalang river basin) and grey partridge is presented. The author noted that generally fauna of Tien Shan, Hissar, and Pamir is similar to that of Inner Asia. The other type of fauna more similar to that of Transcaucasia is typical for Kopet-Dag.

Abstract: Snow leopards (Panthera uncia) are elusive endangered carnivores found in remote mountain regions of Central Asia. New methods for identifying and counting snow leopards are needed for conservation and management efforts. To develop molecular genetic tools for individual identification of hair and faecal samples, we screened 50 microsatellite loci developed for the domestic cat (Felis catus) in 19 captive snow leopards. Forty-eight loci were polymorphic with numbers of alleles per locus ranging from two to 11. The probability of observing matching genotypes for unrelated individuals (2.1 x10-11) and siblings (7.5x10-5) using the 10 most polymorphic loci was low, suggesting that this panel would easily discriminate among individuals in the wild.

Abstract: It is necessary to fully understand the economic conditions of local herders in order to find solutions to the conflicts between wildlife conservation and livestock rearing in remote areas of low-income countries. In the Kanchenjunga Conservation Area (KCA), Nepal, livestock depredation by snow leopards impacts on yak herders' livelihoods. Retaliatory killings of snow leopard by the herders have been reported and the concerned authorities recently initiated snow leopard conservation programmes. In 2001, interviews with the yak herders who used the pastures in the Ghunsa valley in the preceding year collected data on the incidence of livestock death caused by snow leopards. The annual net cash income of the yak herders was estimated by obtaining baseline values of sales and expenditure per livestock head through field measurement of dairy products and interviews with a sample of herders. As yet, the average annual damage does not appear to have adversely affected fundamental livelihoods in households with an average herd size (36.6 head). However, in the worst scenario of livestock depredation, households with medium or small-sized herds (<40 head) might risk their living conditions becoming unsustainable or having to withdraw from yak pastoralism. A supplementary interview showed that the majority of the herders, except those who took completely neutral attitudes towards the regional conservation and development programme, had negative views of the snow leopard conservation policy. For the snow leopard conservation programme in the KCA to be a success, there must be a system to compensate the herders' households for livestock damage.

Abstract: 1. The issue of competition between livestock and wild herbivores has remained contentious. We studied the diets and population structures of the mountain ungulate bharal Pseudois nayaur and seven species of livestock to evaluate whether or not they compete for forage. The study was conducted in the high altitude Spiti Valley, Indian Trans-Himalaya.
2. We compared resource (forage) availability and bharal population structures between rangelands differing in livestock density. Forage availability was estimated by clipping the standing graminoid biomass in sample plots. Livestock and bharal population structures were quantified through annual censuses. Seasonal diets of livestock were studied by direct observations, while those of bharal were quantified through feeding
signs on vegetation.
3. We found that livestock grazing causes a significant reduction in the standing crop of forage. Graminoid availability per unit livestock biomass was three times greater in a moderately grazed rangeland compared with an intensively grazed one.
4. There was considerable diet overlap among the herbivore species. In summer, bharal, yak Bos grunniens, horse Equus caballus, cow Bos indicus, and dzomo (yak-cow hybrids) fed predominantly on graminoids, while donkey E. asinus, sheep Ovis aries, and goat Capra hircus, consumed both graminoids and herbs. The summer diet of bharal was a subset of the diets of three livestock species. In winter, depleted graminoid availability caused bharal, yak and horse to consume relatively more herbs, while the remaining livestock species fed predominantly on graminoids. Diet overlap was less in winter but, in both seasons, all important forage species in the bharal diet were consumed
in substantial amounts by one or more species of livestock.
5. Comparison of the population structures of bharal between two rangelands differing in livestock density by
c. 30% yielded evidence of resource competition. In the intensively grazed rangeland, bharal density was 63% lower, and bharal population showed poorer performance (lower young : adult female ratios).
6.Synthesis and applications High diet overlap between livestock and bharal, together with density-dependent forage limitation, results in resource competition and a decline in bharal density. Under the present conditions of high livestock density and supplemental feeding, restricting livestock numbers and creating livestockfree areas are necessary measures for conserving Trans-Himalayan wild herbivores. Mediating competitive effects on bharal through supplemental feeding is not a feasible option.

Abstract: Accumulation of carotenoids varies greatly among animal species and is not fully characterized.
Circulating carotenoid concentration data in captive wild animals are limited and may be useful for their management.
Serum carotenoid concentrations and dietary intakes were surveyed and the extent of accumulation
categorized for 76 species of captive wild animals at Brookfield Zoo. Blood samples were obtained opportunistically
from 275 individual animals immobilized for a variety of reasons; serum was analyzed for a- and b-carotene,
lutein 1 zeaxanthin, lycopene, b-cryptoxanthin and canthaxanthin. Total carotenoid content of diets was calculated
from tables and chemical analyses of commonly consumed dietary components. Diets were categorized as
low, moderate or high in carotenoid content as were total serum carotenoid concentrations. Animals were
classified as unknown, high, moderate or low (non-) accumulators of dietary cartenoids. Nonaccumulators had total
serum carotenoid concentrations of 0-101 nmol/L, whereas accumulators had concentrations that ranged widely,
from 225 to 35,351 nmol/L. Primates were uniquely distinguished by the widest range of type and concentration
of carotenoids in their sera. Most were classified as high to moderate accumulators. Felids had high accumulation
of b-carotene regardless of dietary intake, whereas a wide range of exotic birds accumulated only the xanthophylls,
lutein 1 zeaxanthin, canthaxanthin or cryptoxanthin. The exotic ungulates, with the exception of the bovids, had
negligible or nondetectable carotenoid serum concentrations despite moderate intakes. Bovids accumulated only
b-carotene despite moderately high lutein 1 zeaxanthin intakes. Wild captive species demonstrated a wide variety
of carotenoid accumulation patterns, which could be exploited to answer remaining questions concerning carotenoid
metabolism and function.