Abstract: A status survey of large mammals was conducted in the W half of 14 000 km“SUP 2” Taxkorgan Reserve. Only one viable population of fewer than 150 Marco Polo sheep Ovis ammon poli survives; it appears to be augmented by adult males from Russia and Afghanistan during the winter rut. Asiatic ibex Capra ibex occur primarily in the western part of the reserve and blue sheep Pseudois nayaur – the most abundant wild ungulate – in the E and SE parts. The 2 species overlap in the area of contact. Counts revealed an average wild ungulate density of 0.34 animals km“SUP -2”. Snow leopard Panthera uncia were rare, with possibly 50-75 in the reserve, as were wolves Canis lupus and brown bear Ursus arctos. The principal spring food of snow leopard was blue sheep (60%) and marmot (29%). Local people have greatly decimated wildlife. Overgrazing by livestock and overuse of shrubs for fuelwood is turning this arid steppe habitat into desert. -from Authors

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 snowleopard 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. This report makes the following main recommendations:
ÿStrengthening law enforcement capacity
ÿIncreasing the number of ecological rangers
ÿIncreasing incentives of ecological rangers to prevent poaching
ÿEquipping the ecological rangers more sufficiently
ÿMore effective communication between ranger and National Park administrative regions
ÿThe involvement of all stakeholders in wildlife conservation including military officials and local herders
ÿWhistle blower policies to prevent illegal trade in all animals in the region
ÿMore geographic consistency between present and proposed protected areas in the region
 Accurate snow leopard monitoring to build on valuable information previously collected in Kazakhstan
 Provision of local incentives (ecotourism and community based hunting reserves) to reduce local hunting and local unemployment around the mountains
 Increased interest and technical assistance in Kazakhstan from conservation International Non-Governmental Organizations
 More government fund for the Institute of Zoology
 Stronger cross border (Kazakhstan-China) legislation implementation Further research could involve establishing an annual, standardized, snow leopard
survey in the range, or could compare these findings of threats to snow leopards to other regions in Kazakhstan (eg. The Altai) or Central Asia.
This report has been replicated for all the expedition sponsors, put on the internet, and
distributed among contacts in the snow leopard conservation community.
The expedition team also spent some time exploring and photographing some of the remoter valleys around the study pastures, and made a short video of the teams exploits. Links were made between KIMEP University in Almaty, and Newcastle University, registered a research centre with the Royal Geographical Society, and lectured about the Dzhungarian range and snow leopard conservation at; the Royal Geographical Society, Newcastle University, Royal Zoological Society for Scotland(Edinburgh Zoo), and Wilderness Lecturers (Bristol).

Abstract: Geo-botanic and zoogeographical description of altitude landscape zones of Central Asia is given. Snow leopard (Felis irbis), ibex (Capra sibirica), brown bear (Ursus leuconyx), dhole (Canis alpinus) and others (10 species in total) are vertically distributed (2,348 3,048 m) in the deciduous forest, fir forest and alpine meadow zones.

Abstract: The author describes fauna of the Central Asia sub-area. Snow leopard is a typical inhabitant of the sub-area highlands.

Abstract: Common features, origin, and landscape and zonal peculiarities of fauna in Kazakhstan and Central Asia are described. This region is part of the Mediterranean and Central Asia sub-zone of Golarctic, while north-eastern part of Kazakhstan is incorporated in the Round-boreal sub-zone. The main features of nature (sharply continental climate, vast valleys and well-marked zoning combined with a sophisticated system of vertical mountain zoning) stipulate the abundance and diversity of fauna. There are over 100 fish species, some 100 reptile and amphibian species, about 500 bird and 160 mammal species here. Snow leopard can be found in Kazakhstan's part of the Altai, in the Tien Shan and Pamir mountains.