Riddell, M. (2004). Newcastle University’s Snow leopard Research Expedition Report: Kazakhstan 2004. Scotland: Newcastle University.
Abstract: This Newcastle University Expedition reviewed the conflict between man and snow leopard in the region east of Tekeli in the Dzhungarian Alatau range, Kazakhstan. After the soviet state breakup in 1991 snow leopards in Kazakhstan and in the other Asian republics were subjected to high levels of persecution. There are thought to be between 180-200 snow leopards in Kazakhstan, of which 37-40 individuals inhabit the Dzhungarian Mountains. No work has been done previously
to review the present snow leopard-human conflicts in this region, and this project looked to update previous reports from Central Asia about predominant conflicts in these regions.
The expedition team worked with the Institute of Zoology in Kazakhstan and two of the six person team were Kazakh students. Methods comparable to those used in previous studies were used to map and rank the threats in the western area of the range, over an eight week period. The expedition team lived in the mountains for periods of two-three weeks, carrying all their food and equipment and using local vehicles, horses and trekking to move from pasture to pasture. Semi-structured interviews, key informant interviews and prey counts were used to assess snow leopard-human conflicts including poaching of snow leopard, poaching of leopard
wild prey, human disturbance and livestock overgrazing.
The results from the report support much previous work from Kazakhstan and other
areas in Central Asia, but serve as a useful update shedding light on an optimistic future for snow leopard conservation while highlighting what the expedition team perceives to be the major threats to snow leopards.
The threats to snow leopards, in order of relevance from most to least, are loss of prey predominantly through hunting by local people (both legal and illegal), direct hunting of snow leopard for pelt/medicine, disturbance by herders on the pastures, snow leopard habitat fragmentation around the mountain bases, and least importantly overgrazing by domestic livestock. Retaliatory kills by herders are not a threat in the region and on livestock were killed by snow leopards. Levels of all hunting, legal and illegal, need to be reduced in the range until wildlife populations have recovered significantly from the mid-1990’s over-hunting period.
Levels of rural corruption among many stakeholders were high around the mountain region, and are thought to contribute negatively to wildlife conservation in the area. Ecotourism in the area, that incorporates local people around the mountain region, is proposed as a solution to offer local people’s incentives to lower hunting levels.
|
Dawa, T., Farrington, J. (2008). Conflict between nomadic herders and brown bears in the Byang thang Region of Tibet. Journal of the International Association of Tibetan Studies, 4(December), 1–42.
Abstract: Article covers the human-brown bear conflict problem, which closely parallels that of snow leopard conflict in the TAR, the peer reviewed version of: Tsering, Dawa, John D. Farrington, and Kelsang Norbu. Competition and Coexistence: Human-Wildlife Conflict in the Chang Tang Region of Tibet. Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region, China: Tibet People’s Publishing House, 2007.
In order to evaluate the impact of recently introduced wildlife conservation policies, a human-wildlife conflict survey of three-hundred herding households was conducted in the south-central Byang thang (Qiangtang) area of the Tibet Autonomous Region (bod rang skyongs ljongs, Xizang Zizhi Qu). Results showed that Tibetan brown bears were the largest source of human-wildlife conflict in the survey area, affecting 49 percent of surveyed households between 1990 and 2006, with a 4.5-fold increase in conflict with bears occurring since implementation of various wildlife protection policies beginning in 1993. Types of bear conflict included livestock kills, raiding of human food supplies, damage to dwellings and furnishings, and direct attacks on herders. Brown bears have caused devastating
economic losses to herders and anecdotal evidence indicates that retaliatory killing of bears by herders now poses the greatest threat to the Tibetan brown bear. Immediate measures must be taken to resolve this conflict if humans and brown
bears are to coexist in the Byang thang region.
|
International Snow Leopard Trust. (1996). Snow Line (Vol. XIV).
Abstract: Newsletter of International Snow Leopard Trust
|
International Snow Leopard Trust. (1997). Snow Line (Vol. xv).
Abstract: Newsletter of International Snow Leopard Trust
|
International Snow Leopard Trust. (1998). Snow Line (Vol. xvi).
Abstract: Newsletter of International Snow Leopard Trust
|
International Snow Leopard Trust. (1995). Snow Line (Vol. XIII).
Abstract: Newsletter of International Snow Leopard Trust
|
|
DiSabato, L. (1980). Update on the snow leopard factory. San Antonio's News from the Zoo, 6(6), 1–2.
|
|
Fore, D. (1979). The snow leopard factory. San Antonio's News from the Zoo, 5(6), 1–2.
|
|
Jackson, R., & Fox, J. L. (1997). Report on the fourth SLIMS training workshop, Bhutan.
|
|
Weilenmann, P. (1980). Some indications of weights of young snow leopards in Zurich Zoo. In International Snow Leopard Conference Zurich (1).
|
