Abstract: Nine small cats, including one bobcat (Felis rufus), one Pallas cat (F. manul), one Canada lynx (F. lynx canadensis), two fishing cats (F. viverrina), two margays (F. wiedii), and two sand cats (F. margarita), necropsied between June 1995 and March 1997 had large numbers of gastric spiral bacteria, whereas five large cats, including one African lion (Panthera leo), two snow leopards (P. uncia), one Siberian tiger (P. tigris altaica), and one jaguar (P. onca), necropsied during the same period had none. All of the spiral organisms from the nine small cats were histologically and ultrastructurally similar. Histologically, the spiral bacteria were 5-14 mum long with five to nine coils per organism and were located both extracellularly within gastric glands and surface mucus, and intracellularly in parietal cells. Spiral bacteria in gastric mucosal scrapings from the Canada lynx, one fishing cat, and the two sand cats were gram negative and had corkscrew-like to tumbling motility when viewed with phase contrast microscopy. The bacteria were 0.5-0.7 mum wide, with a periodicity of 0.65-1.1 mum in all cats. Bipolar sheathed flagella were occasionally observed, and no periplasmic fibrils were seen. The bacteria were extracellular in parietal cell canaliculi and intracellular within parietal cells. Culture of mucosal scrapings from the Canada lynx and sand cats was unsuccessful. Based on morphology, motility, and cellular tropism, the bacteria were probably Helicobacter-like organisms. Although the two margays had moderate lymphoplasmacytic gastritis, the other cats lacked or had only mild gastric lymphoid infiltrates, suggesting that these organisms are either commensals or opportunistic pathogens.

Abstract: The Chinese magazine <Man & the Biosphere> (Series No. 54, No. 6, 2008) -- A special series for the conservation of Snow Leopards was published by the Chinese National Committee for Man & the Biosphere in 15th December 2008. It is about 80 pages including ten articles with 200 color pictures. The special editors of this issue are the experts from SLT/XCF Prof. MaMing, Mrs. Ge Yun and Mr. Wen Bo. The first paper is “A King of Snow Peaks, Another Endangered Flagship Species” by Dr. Thomas McCarthy, Dr. Urs Breitenmmoser and Dr. Christine Breitenmoser-Wursten (Page 1-1). Another paper “ Conservation : Turning Awareness to Action ” is also from Dr. Thomas McCarthy (Pages from 6-17). There are four articles including the diary and story of the Surveys in Tomur Mountain and Kunlun Mountains written by Prof. MaMing, Mr. XuFeng, Miss Chen Ying and Miss Cheng Yun from the Xinjiang Snow Leopard Group and XCF, the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences. The last is “Snow Leopard Enterprises ” -- A Story from Mongolia by Mrs. Jennifer Snell Rullman and Mrs. Agvaantseren Bayarjargal (Bayara). It is a very useful copy for the conservation in China. Cited as:
Ma Ming, GeYun and WenBo (Special editors of this issue). 2008. The special series for the conservation of Snow Leopards in China. Man & the Biosphere 2008(6): 1-80. Contents 1, A king of snow peaks, another endangered flagship species (Synopsis) ------------- 1-1 The contents --------------------------------------------- ( pages from 2-3 )
2, Protecting Snow Leopard means protecting a healthy eco-systems -------------- 4-5
3, Conservation: Turning awareness into action -------------- 6-17
4, Chinese Snow Leopard Team goes into action -------------- 18-25
5, A diary of infrared photography -------------- 26-35
6, Why have the snow leopards in the Tianshan Mountains begun to attack livestock? --- 36-43
7, The mystery of the Snow Leopards coming down the Tianshan Mountains ----------- 44-45
8, Snow leopards secluded Home on the Plateau ------------- 46-59
9, He saw Snow Leopards 30 years ago ------------- 60-69
10, Snow Leopard Enterprises -- A story from Mongolia ------------- 70-80

Abstract: Blue sheep (Pseudois nayaur) are the main prey of the endangered snow leopard (Panthera uncia) as well as an important game species in Nepal. A knowledge of how blue sheep utilize their habitat is essential for the scientific management of the sheep and for the conservation of the snow leopard, but we only have a limited understanding of this aspect of blue sheep ecology. I studied the habitat use pattern of blue sheep by direct observation in the Anna-purna Conservation Area, Nepal where they occur sympatrically with the snow leopard. The sheep used grassland habitats more frequently during pre-parturition (spring) and post-parturition (autumn) than other habitat types, but scrub and grassland habitats were used equally frequently during the rut (winter). The sheep used smooth undulating slopes of medium steepness (<40 degrees) on southerly aspects within the elevation range of 4,200-4,600 m most frequently in all seasons, and there was no evidence of seasonal migration along the elevation gradient. When not in broken landforms (e.g., cliff, landslides), the sheep maintained proximity (less than or equal to 150 m) to such features suggesting their importance as escape cover (i.e., from predators). The use of habitat components by blue sheep appeared to be related to the distribution of foraging areas and escape cover.