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Xu, F., Ming, M., Yin, S. -jing, & Mardan. (2005). Snow Leopard Survey in Tumor Nature Reserve, Xingjiang (Vol. 24).
Abstract: Snow leopard survey was conducted in Oct-Nov 2004 at Tumor National Natural Reserve, Xinjiang, China. Because of its special living style, the snow leopard is difficult to observe by sight. Signs left by snow leopard become a good index to prove the existance of the big cat. There are mainly five kinds of signs, footprints, fectes, claw rakes and urine spray. From them we can know the distribution, probably population and habitat selection of snow leopard. This time in Tumor we investigated 5 difference places: Pochenzi in Mozat River area, Boxidun in Little Kuzbay River area, Yinyer in Tomur River area, Kurgan and Taglak in Quiong Tailan River area. 42 transects were run in this trip and a total of 57 signs found. Among them, footprints amounted to 71.9%, scrapes 21.1%, and feces 7.0%. The results showed that the big cat existed in Yinyer, Kurgan and Taglak areas and liked to select their habitat in the valley and didn't like to live in barren areas.
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Lu, Q., Xiao, L., Cheng, C., Lu, Z., Zhao, J., Yao, M. (2021). Snow Leopard Dietary Preferences and Livestock Predation Revealed by Fecal DNA Metabarcoding: No Evidence for Apparent Competition Between Wild and Domestic Prey. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 9(783546), 1–14.
Abstract: Accurate assessments of the patterns and drivers of livestock depredation by wild carnivores are vital for designing effective mitigation strategies to reduce human-wildlife conflict. Snow leopard’s (Panthera uncia) range extensively overlaps pastoralist land- use and livestock predation there is widely reported, but the ecological determinants of livestock consumption by snow leopards remain obscure. We investigated snow leopard dietary habits at seven sites across the Sanjiangyuan region of the Qinghai– Tibetan Plateau (QTP), an area central to the species’ global range. Snow leopard abundance, wild prey composition, and livestock density varied among those sites, thus allowing us to test the effects of various factors on snow leopard diet and livestock predation. Using DNA metabarcoding, we obtained highly resolved dietary data from 351 genetically verified snow leopard fecal samples. We then analyzed the prey preferences of snow leopards and examined ecological factors related to their livestock consumption. Across the sites, snow leopard prey was composed mainly of wild ungulates (mean = 81.5% of dietary sequences), particularly bharal (Pseudois nayaur), and supplemented with livestock (7.62%) and smaller mammals (marmots, pikas, mice; 10.7%). Snow leopards showed a strong preference for bharal, relative to livestock, based on their densities. Interestingly, both proportional and total livestock consumption by snow leopards increased linearly with local livestock biomass, but not with livestock density. That, together with a slight negative relationship with bharal density, supports apparent facilitation between wild and domestic prey. We also found a significant positive correlation between population densities of snow leopard and bharal, yet those densities showed slight negative relationships with livestock density. Our results highlight the importance of sufficient wild ungulate abundance to the conservation of viable snow leopard populations. Additionally, livestock protection is critically needed to reduce losses to snow leopard depredation, especially where local livestock abundances are high.
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