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Author Bagchi, S.; Mishra, C.; Bhatnagar, Y.
Title Conflicts between traditional pastoralism and conservation of Himalayan ibex (Capra sibirica) in the Trans-Himalayan mountains Type Journal Article
Year 2004 Publication Animal Conservation Abbreviated Journal
Volume 7 Issue Pages (up) 121-128
Keywords conflicts; traditional pastoralism; himalayan ibex; ibex; capra sibirica; trans-himalayan mountains; pin valley national park; spiti region; non-metric multidimensional scaling; snow leopard; wolf; wild dog; Lynx; wild ass; Tibetan argali; Tibetan antelope; Tibetan gazelle; urial; bharal; Pin River; pin valley; Parahio; goat; sheep; Cattle; horses; yaks; donkeys; diet; free-ranging horses; herded horses; grazing; 5290
Abstract There is recent evidence to suggest that domestic livestock deplete the density and diversity of wild herbivores in the cold deserts of the Trans-Himalaya by imposing resource limitations. To ascertain the degree and nature of threats faced by Himalayan ibex (Capra sibirica) from seven livestock species, we studied their resource use patterns over space, habitat and food dimensions in the pastures of Pin Valley National Park in the Spiti region of the Indian Himalaya. Species diet profiles were obtained by direct observations. We assessed the similarity in habitat use and diets of ibex and livestock using Non-Metric Multidimensional Scaling. We estimated the influence of the spatial distribution of livestock on habitat and diet choice of ibex by examining their co-occurrence patterns in cells overlaid on the pastures. The observed co-occurrence of ibex and livestock in cells was compared with null-models generated through Monte Carlo simulations. The results suggest that goats and sheep impose resource limitations on ibex and exclude them from certain pastures. In the remaining suitable habitat, ibex share forage with horses. Ibex remained relatively unaffected by other livestock such as yaks, donkeys and cattle. However, most livestock removed large amounts of forage from the pastures (nearly 250 kg of dry matter/day by certain species), thereby reducing forage availability for ibex. Pertinent conservation issues are discussed in the light of multiple-use of parks and current socio-economic transitions in the region, which call for integrating social and ecological feedback into management planning.
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Notes Document Type: English Approved no
Call Number SLN @ rana @ 514 Serial 106
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Author Jackson, R.; Wangchuk, R.
Title A Community-Based Approach to Mitigating Livestock Depredation by Snow Leopards Type Miscellaneous
Year 2004 Publication Human Dimensions of Wildlife Abbreviated Journal
Volume 9 Issue Pages (up) 307-315
Keywords snow leopard,depredation,human-wildlife conflict,participatory planning,India; livestock; livestock depredation; livestock-depredation; depredation; endangered; snow; snow leopard; snow-leopard; leopard; panthera; panthera uncia; Panthera-uncia; uncia; Himalayan; protected; protected areas; protected area; protected-areas; protected-area; areas; area; attack; sheep; goats; goat; local; villagers; community-based; conservation; Hemis; national; national park; National-park; park; India; conflict; pens; income; participatory; strategy; planning; sense; project; snow leopards; snow-leopards; leopards; protection; retaliatory; poaching
Abstract Livestock depredation by the endangered snow leopard (Panthera uncia) is an increasingly contentious issue in Himalayan villages, especially in or near protected areas. Mass attacks in which as many as 100 sheep and goats are killed in a single incident inevitably result in retaliation by local villagers. This article describes a community-based conservation initiative to address this problem in Hemis National Park, India. Human-wildlife conflict is alleviated by predator-proofing villagers' nighttime livestock pens and by enhancing household incomes in environmentally sensitive and culturally compatible ways. The authors have found that the highly participatory strategy described here (Appreciative Participatory Planning and Action-APPA) leads to a sense of project ownership by local stakeholders, communal empowerment, self-reliance, and willingness to co-exist with

snow leopards. The most significant conservation outcome of this process is the protection from retaliatory poaching of up to five snow leopards for every village's livestock pens that are made predator-proof.
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Notes Approved no
Call Number SLN @ rana @ 890 Serial 471
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Author Ale, S.B., Brown, J.S.
Title Prey behavior leads to predator: a case study of the Himalayan tahr and the snow leopard in Sagarmatha (Mt. Everest) National Park, Nepal Type Journal Article
Year 2009 Publication Israel Journal of Ecology & Evolution Abbreviated Journal
Volume 55 Issue 4 Pages (up) 315-327
Keywords vigilance, fear, behavioral indicator, predator, prey, snow leopard, Himalayan tahr, Mount Everest
Abstract Rare, elusive predators offer few sightings, hindering research with small sample sizes and lack of experimentation. While predators may be elusive, their prey are more readily observed. Prey respond to the presence of a predator, and these fear responses may have population- and community-level consequences. Anti-predator behaviors, such as vigilance, allow us to sidestep the difficulty of direct field studies of large predators by studying them indirectly. Here we used a behavioral indicator, the vigilance behavior of the Himalayan tahr, the snow leopard’s main local prey, to reveal the distribution and habitat use of snow leopards in the Mt. Everest region of Nepal. We combined techniques of conventional field biology with concepts of foraging theory to study prey behavior in order to obtain insights into the predator’s ecology. The Himalayan tahr’s vigilance behavior correlates with the distribution of snow leopard signs. Tahr actually led us to six sightings of snow leopards. We conclude that behavioral indicators provided by prey offer a valuable tool for studying and monitoring stealthy and rare carnivores.
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Publisher Science from Israel, a division of LPPLtd. Place of Publication Israel Editor
Language English Summary Language English Original Title
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Notes Approved no
Call Number SLN @ rana @ Serial 1109
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Author Shrestha, R.; Wegge, P.
Title Determining the composition of herbivore diets in the Trans-Himalayan rangelands: A comparison of field methods Type Journal Article
Year 2006 Publication Journal of Rangeland Ecology and Management Abbreviated Journal
Volume 59 Issue 5 Pages (up) 512-518
Keywords bite count; Bos grunniens; Capra hircus; diet; fecal analysis; feeding site examination; food habits; free ranging; Nepal; Ovis aries; trans-himalayan
Abstract In late summer, in a semi-arid mountain range in Nepal, we compared 3 field methods for determining the botanical composition of herbivore diets. Data were collected from the same animals belonging to 1 herd of domestic yak (Bos grunniens) and 2 herds of mixed smallstock, consisting of domestic goats (Capra hircus) and sheep (Ovis aries). Bite count, feeding site examination, and microhistological analysis of feces gave different estimates of forage categories and plant species in both animal groups. Because yaks grazed in other vegetation communities when not observed for bite-counts and feeding signs, the results from the latter methods could not be compared directly with that from fecal analysis. In smallstock, feeding site examination gave higher estimates of graminoids and lower estimates of shrubs than the other 2 methods, probably because all feeding signs on shrubs were not detected. Bite-counts and fecal analysis gave comparable results, except that forbs were underestimated by fecal analysis, presumably due to their more complete digestion. Owing to the difficulty in collecting samples that are representative of the entire grazing period and the problem of recording feeding signs correctly, both feeding site examination and bite-counts are unsuitable methods for studying the food habits of free ranging domestic and wild herbivores. Microhistological analysis of feces appears to be the most appropriate method, but correction factors are needed to adjust for differential digestion. The systematic use of photomicrographs improves the speed and accuracy of the fecal analysis.
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Call Number SLN @ rana @ 935 Serial 889
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Author Lovari, S., Boesi, R., Minder, I., Mucci, N., Randi, E., Dematteis, A., and Ale, S. B.
Title Restoring a keystone predator may endanger a prey species in a human-altered ecosystem: the return of the snow leopard to Sagarmatha National Park Type Journal Article
Year 2009 Publication Animal Conservation Abbreviated Journal
Volume 12 Issue Pages (up) 559-570
Keywords conservation, food habits, genetics, Hemitragus jemlahicus, Himalayan tahr, management, microsatellite, predation, presence, scat, scat analysis, snow leopard, Uncia uncia
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.
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Notes Approved no
Call Number SLN @ rana @ Serial 1122
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Author Ferretti, F., Lovari, S., Minder, I., Pellizzi, B.
Title Recovery of the snow leopard in Sagarmatha (Mt.Everest) National Park: effects on main prey Type Journal Article
Year 2014 Publication European Journal of Wildlife Research Abbreviated Journal
Volume Issue 60 Pages (up) 559-562
Keywords Predator–prey relationships . Small populations . Snow leopard . Himalayan tahr
Abstract Consequences of predation may be particularly

heavy on small populations of herbivores, especially if they

are threatened with extinction. Over the 2006–2010 period, we

documented the effects of the spontaneous return of the endangered

snow leopard on the population of the vulnerable

Himalayan tahr. The study area was an area of central

Himalaya where this cat disappeared c. 40 years before, because

of persecution by man. Snow leopards occurred mainly

in areas close to the core area of tahr distribution. Tahr was the

staple (56.3 %) of snow leopards. After the arrival of this cat,

tahr decreased by more than 2/3 from 2003 to 2010 (mainly

through predation on kids). Subsequently, the density of snow

leopards decreased by 60%from2007 to 2010. The main prey

of snow leopards in Asia (bharal, marmots) were absent in our

study area, forcing snow leopards to specialize on tahr. The

restoration of a complete prey spectrum should be favoured

through reintroductions, to conserve large carnivores and to

reduce exploitation of small populations of herbivores, especially

if threatened.
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Notes Approved no
Call Number SLN @ rakhee @ Serial 1408
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