Abstract: Predatory mammal in mountains are submitted by widely widespread species, such, as wolves, to a lynx and bears, and characteristic species for the high mountains, well adapted to mountain conditions and not going down below Alpine zone (a snow leopard, or irbis, occupying mountains of the Central Asia, etc.).

Abstract: Given is data concerning disease (sarcoptosis) of Siberian ibex (Capra sibirica) in Western Tien Shan. The carriers of the disease are adult males of Capra sibirica during distant migrations that as a rule take place in anticipation of snowy winters or owing to human influence. Ibexes are not merely infected with sarcoptosis but perish enmasse from the disease. In the first year the disease strikes down, in the main, migrants – adult males. Predators including snow leopard kill the weakened animals. During the recent five years the density of Carpa sibirica at the Chatkal Mountain-Forest Reservation dropped 2.3-fold as a result of sarcoptosis and owing to the migrations caused by the reduction of the population. Is recommended: 1. Stringent veterinary control at places of possible contacts between infected domestic animals and healthy wild ungulates. 2. Using modern technology migration routes of ungulates should be studied for elaborating effective measures of quarantine.

Abstract: Modern felid species descend from relatively recent (<11 million years ago) divergence and
speciation events that produced successful predatory carnivores worldwide but that have
confounded taxonomic classifications. A highly resolved molecular phylogeny with divergence dates
for all living cat species, derived from autosomal, X-linked, Y-linked, and mitochondrial gene
segments (22,789 base pairs) and 16 fossil calibrations define eight principal lineages produced
through at least 10 intercontinental migrations facilitated by sea-level fluctuations. A ghost lineage
analysis indicates that available felid fossils underestimate (i.e., unrepresented basal branch
length) first occurrence by an average of 76%, revealing a low representation of felid lineages
in paleontological remains. The phylogenetic performance of distinct gene classes showed that
Y-chromosome segments are appreciably more informative than mitochondrial DNA, X-linked,
or autosomal genes in resolving the rapid Felidae species radiation.

Abstract: The snow leopard has never been common, but there may be fewer than 4,000 left in its Himalayan habitat, and poaching and tourism-related development in the region could drive its numbers down further.