Abstract: Collected are data on rare ungulates in the Almaty nature reserve in 1968-1973. Since recently the population of goitered gazelle has dropped sharply and is now 20-30 animals per seven ha. The nature reserve shall be expanded in order to protect the animals. Argali inhabits a desert area in the mountains of Greater and Lesser Kalkana. Argali sometimes migrates outside the nature reserve. Ibex inhabits a mountainous part of the nature reserve, its population being 10-13 animals per 1,000 ha. Predators have negligible impact on the ibex population (12.5 percent of deaths), which is preyed on solely by snow leopard and wolf.

Abstract: Conservation practices are supposed to get refined by advancing scientific knowledge. We study this phenomenon in the context of monitoring tiger populations in India, by evaluating the ‘pugmark census method’ employed by wildlife managers for three decades. We use an analytical framework of modern animal population sampling to test the efficacy of the pugmark censuses using scientific data on tigers and our field observations. We identify three critical goals for monitoring tiger populations, in order of increasing sophistication: (1) distribution mapping, (2) tracking relative abundance, (3) estimation of absolute abundance. We demonstrate that the present census-based paradigm does not work because it ignores the first two simpler goals, and targets, but fails to achieve, the most difficult third goal. We point out the utility and ready availability of alternative monitoring paradigms that deal with the central problems of spatial sampling and observability. We propose an alternative sampling-based approach that can be tailored to meet practical needs of tiger monitoring at different levels of refinement.

Abstract: Diversity of mammals in Besh Aral nature reserve, Kyrgyzstan is presented. Also analysis of the density of mammals in their habitats is given. Totally 31 mammals inhabited in nature reserve: 13 rodents, 11 carnivores, 3 ungulates, 2 hares, 1 insectivore and 1 bat. Number of snow leopard assessed as 8 individuals, Turkestan lynx 10, wild boar 100 and ibex 400 individuals. Snow leopard and Menzbier's marmot included in national Red data Book as well as in Global Red List.

Abstract: The first observation of the occurrence of multiple ocular coloboma (MOC) in a snow leopard was reported in the International Pedigree Book of Snow Leopards Volume I in 1978 (1). The lesions in this syndrome consist of coloboma of the upper eye lid and uveal coloboma of the globe. Even colobomatous retinal cysts and retinal dysplasia have been noted. The ethiology of in all ten cases of MOC in the snow leopards kept at the Helsinki Zoo were described and discussed in detail in Volume II of the International Pedigree Book of Snow Leopards (2,3). Three cases of MOC in the snow leopards kept at Henry Doorly Zoo, Omaha, Ne., have been described by Phillips (4), one case is known of in Amsterdam (van Bree, personal communication), and two cases in Zoo Zurich (Isenbugel and Weilenmann, pers. comm.) The ethiology of the defect is still not known although various theories ranging from genetic to exogenous factors have been presented.

Abstract: Livestock depredation has become a significant problem across the snow leopard's (Panthera uncia) range in Central Asia, being most severe in and near protected areas. Such predation, especially incidents of “surplus killing,” in which five to 100 or more sheep and goats are lost in a single night, almost inevitably leads herders to retaliate by killing rare or endangered carnivores like snow leopard, wolf, and lynx. Ironically, such loss can be avoided by making the night-time enclosures predator-proof, improving animal husbandry techniques, educating herders on wildlife conservation and the importance of protecting the natural prey base, and by providing economic incentives like handicrafts skills training and marketing, along with carefully planned ecotourism trekking and guiding. The author explores innovative conservation initiatives in the Himalaya (Ladakh and Tibet) and Mongolia, which also build local capacity, self-reliance, and stewardship for nature using Appreciative Participatory Planning and Action, or APPA, techniques. The most sound conservation investments are those contingent upon establishing direct linkages with biodiversity protection, ensuring co-financing and reciprocal responsibility for project activities, encouraging the full participation of all stakeholders, and assuring regular monitoring and evaluation of the village-based agreements (embodied in Action Plans).