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International Snow Leopard Trust. (1986). Indo-US Snow Leopard Project (Vol. No. 10). Seattle: Islt.
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Jackson, R., Ahlborn, G.G. (1986). Appendix: Snow leopard managment recommendations provided to HMG in: Himalayan Snow Leopard Project: Final Progress Report, Phase I. Report: 1-7. Himalayan.
Abstract: Preliminary recommendations for the management of snow leopard and its prey are provided for the Langu Valley segment of the Shey-Pkoksundo National Park. Park-wide and country-wide conservation options and management recommendations await results of the surveys scheduled for 1987. The following management objectives are formulated: 1) Protection and ultimate restoration of all natural communities within the area 2) Special protection measures for snow leopard and musk deer (strict control of hunting and livestock grazing) 3) Secure natural resources around local villages 4) Respect traditional rights of villagers, while controlling high impact human activities 5) Secure cooperation of local people. These objectives are refined and recommendations for concrete conservation actions are made.
Notes: document is a part of the Himalayan Snow Leopard Project: Final Progress Report, Phase I
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Sharma, S., Thapa, K., Chalise, M., Dutta, T., Bhatnagar, Y.V., McCarthy, T. (2006). The snow leopard in Himalaya: A step towards their conservation by studying their distribution, marking habitat selection, coexistence with other predators, and wild prey-livestock-predator interaction. Conservation Biology in Asia, , 184–196.
Abstract: Snow leopard (Uncia uncial) is a flagship species of the Himalaya. Very few studies have been done on the ecology of this species in the Himalaya. This paper presents an overview of four studies conducted on snow leopards in Nepal and India, dealing with various aspects of snow leopard ecology including their status assessment, making behaviour, habitat selection, food habits, and impact on livestock. The information generated by these studies is useful in planning effective conservation and management strategies for this endangered top predator of high mountains.
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Forrest, J. L., Wikramanayake, E., Shrestha, R., Areendran, G., Gyeltshen, K., Maheshwari, A., Mazumdar, S., Naidoo, R., Thapa, G. J., Thapa, K. (2012). Conservation and climate change: Assessing the vulnerability of snow leopard habitat to treeline shift in the Himalaya. Biological Conservation, 150, 129–135.
Abstract: Climate change is likely to affect the persistence of large, space-requiring species through habitat shifts,
loss, and fragmentation. Anthropogenic land and resource use changes related to climate change can also
impact the survival of wildlife. Thus, climate change has to be integrated into biodiversity conservation
plans. We developed a hybrid approach to climate-adaptive conservation landscape planning for snow
leopards in the Himalayan Mountains. We first mapped current snow leopard habitat using a mechanistic
approach that incorporated field-based data, and then combined it with a climate impact model using a
correlative approach. For the latter, we used statistical methods to test hypotheses about climatic drivers
of treeline in the Himalaya and its potential response to climate change under three IPCC greenhouse gas
emissions scenarios. We then assessed how change in treeline might affect the distribution of snow leopard
habitat. Results indicate that about 30% of snow leopard habitat in the Himalaya may be lost due to a
shifting treeline and consequent shrinking of the alpine zone, mostly along the southern edge of the range
and in river valleys. But, a considerable amount of snow leopard habitat and linkages are likely to remain
resilient to climate change, and these should be secured. This is because, as the area of snow leopard habitat
fragments and shrinks, threats such as livestock grazing, retaliatory killing, and medicinal plant collection
can intensify. We propose this approach for landscape conservation planning for other species
with extensive spatial requirements that can also be umbrella species for overall biodiversity.
2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved
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Suryawanshi, K. R., Bhatnagar, Y. V. B., Redpath, S., Mishra, C. (2013). People, predators and perceptions: patterns of livestock depredation by snow leopards and wolves. Journal of Applied Ecology, 50, 550–560.
Abstract: 1. Livestock depredation by large carnivores is an important conservation and economic concern
and conservation management would benefit from a better understanding of spatial variation
and underlying causes of depredation events. Focusing on the endangered snow leopard
Panthera uncia and the wolf Canis lupus, we identify the ecological factors that predispose
areas within a landscape to livestock depredation. We also examine the potential mismatch
between reality and human perceptions of livestock depredation by these carnivores whose
survival is threatened due to persecution by pastoralists.
2. We assessed the distribution of the snow leopard, wolf and wild ungulate prey through field
surveys in the 4000 km2 Upper Spiti Landscape of trans-Himalayan India. We interviewed local
people in all 25 villages to assess the distribution of livestock and peoples’ perceptions of the risk
to livestock from these carnivores. We monitored village-level livestock mortality over a 2-year
period to assess the actual level of livestock depredation. We quantified several possibly influential
independent variables that together captured variation in topography, carnivore abundance
and abundance and other attributes of livestock. We identified the key variables influencing livestock
depredation using multiple logistic regressions and hierarchical partitioning.
3. Our results revealed notable differences in livestock selectivity and ecological correlates of
livestock depredation – both perceived and actual – by snow leopards and wolves. Stocking
density of large-bodied free-ranging livestock (yaks and horses) best explained people’s threat
perception of livestock depredation by snow leopards, while actual livestock depredation was
explained by the relative abundance of snow leopards and wild prey. In the case of wolves,
peoples’ perception was best explained by abundance of wolves, while actual depredation by
wolves was explained by habitat structure.
4. Synthesis and applications. Our results show that (i) human perceptions can be at odds
with actual patterns of livestock depredation, (ii) increases in wild prey populations will intensify
livestock depredation by snow leopards, and prey recovery programmes must be accompanied
by measures to protect livestock, (iii) compensation or insurance programmes should
target large-bodied livestock in snow leopard habitats and (iv) sustained awareness
programmes are much needed, especially for the wolf.
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Maheshwari, A., Sharma, D., Sathyakumar, S. (2013). Snow Leopard (Panthera Uncia) surveys in the Western Himalayas, India. Journal of Ecology and Natural Environmnet, 5(10), 303–309.
Abstract: We conducted surveys above 3000 m elevation in eight protected areas of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. These surveys provide new information on snow leopard in Uttarakhand on the basis of indirect evidence such as pugmark and scat. Snow leopard evidence (n = 13) were found between 3190 and 4115 m elevation. On an average, scats (n = 09) of snow leopard were found for every 56 km walked and pugmarks (n = 04) for every 126 km walked. Altogether, about 39% of the evidence were found on the hill-slope followed by valley floor (30%), cliff (15%) and 8% from both stream bed and scree slope. Genetic analysis of the scats identified three different individuals by using snow leopard specific primers. Snow leopard-human conflicts were assessed through questionnaire based interviews of shepherds from Govind Pashu Vihar Wildlife Sanctuary, Askot Wildlife Sanctuary and Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve areas of Uttarakhand. Surveys revealed that livestock depredation (mule, goat and sheep) is the only cause of snow leopard-human conflicts and contributed 36% of the diet of snow leopard. Blue sheep and rodents together comprised 36.4% of the total diet. We found that 68.1% of the surveyed area was used for pastoral activities in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh and 12.3% area was under tourism, defence and developmental activities.
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Ale, S., Shrestha, B., and Jackson, R. (2014). On the status of Snow Leopard Panthera Uncia (Schreber 1775) in Annapurna, Nepal. Journal of Threatened Taxa, (6(3)), 5534–5543.
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Ferretti, F., Lovari, S., Minder, I., Pellizzi, B. (2014). Recovery of the snow leopard in Sagarmatha (Mt.Everest) National Park: effects on main prey. European Journal of Wildlife Research, (60), 559–562.
Abstract: Consequences of predation may be particularly
heavy on small populations of herbivores, especially if they
are threatened with extinction. Over the 2006–2010 period, we
documented the effects of the spontaneous return of the endangered
snow leopard on the population of the vulnerable
Himalayan tahr. The study area was an area of central
Himalaya where this cat disappeared c. 40 years before, because
of persecution by man. Snow leopards occurred mainly
in areas close to the core area of tahr distribution. Tahr was the
staple (56.3 %) of snow leopards. After the arrival of this cat,
tahr decreased by more than 2/3 from 2003 to 2010 (mainly
through predation on kids). Subsequently, the density of snow
leopards decreased by 60%from2007 to 2010. The main prey
of snow leopards in Asia (bharal, marmots) were absent in our
study area, forcing snow leopards to specialize on tahr. The
restoration of a complete prey spectrum should be favoured
through reintroductions, to conserve large carnivores and to
reduce exploitation of small populations of herbivores, especially
if threatened.
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Kohli, K., Sankaran, M., Suryawanshi, K. R., Mishra, C. (2014). A penny saved is a penny earned: lean season foraging strategy of an alpine ungulate. Animal Behaviour, (92), 93–100.
Abstract: Lean season foraging strategies are critical for the survival of species inhabiting highly seasonal environments
such as alpine regions. However, inferring foraging strategies is often difficult because of
challenges associated with empirically estimating energetic costs and gains of foraging in the field. We
generated qualitative predictions for the relationship between daily winter foraging time, body size and
forage availability for three contrasting foraging strategies including time minimization, energy intake
maximization and net energy maximization. Our model predicts that for animals employing a time
minimization strategy, daily winter foraging time should not change with body size and should increase
with a reduction in forage availability. For energy intake maximization, foraging time should not vary
with either body size or forage availability. In contrast, for a net energy maximization strategy, foraging
time should decrease with increase in body size and with a reduction in forage availability. We contrasted
proportion of daily time spent foraging by bharal, Pseudois nayaur, a dimorphic grazer, across
different body size classes in two high-altitude sites differing in forage availability. Our results indicate
that bharal behave as net energy maximizers during winter. As predicted by the net energy maximization
strategy, daily winter foraging time of bharal declined with increasing body size, and was lower in the
site with low forage availability. Furthermore, as predicted by our model, foraging time declined as the
winter season progressed. We did not find support for the time minimizing or energy intake maximizing
strategies. Our qualitative model uses relative rather than absolute costs and gains of foraging which are
often difficult to estimate in the field. It thus offers a simple way to make informed inferences regarding
animal foraging strategies by contrasting estimates of daily foraging time across gradients of body size
and forage availability.
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Mishra, C., Suryawanshi, K. (2014). Managing conflicts over livestock depradation by Large Carnivores. In SOUTH ASIAN ASSOCIATION FOR REGIONAL COOPERATION – Human-Wildlife Conflict in the Mountains of SAARC Region – Compilation of Successful Management Strategies and Practices (pp. 27–47).
Abstract: Managing wildlife-caused damage to human interests has become an important aspect of contemporary conservation management. Conflicts between pastoralism and carnivore conservation over livestock depredation pose a serious challenge to endangered carnivores worldwide, and have become an important livelihood concern locally. Here, we first review the primary causes of these conflicts, their socio-ecological correlates, and commonly employed mitigation measures. We then describe a community-based program to manage conflicts over livestock depredation by snow leopards Panthera uncia and wolves Canis lupus. A threats-based conceptual model of conflict management is presented. Conflicts over livestock depredation are characterized by complex, multi-scale interactions between carnivore and livestock behavioral ecology, animal husbandry, human psyche, culture, world-views, and socio-economic and education levels of affected peoples. A diversity of commonly employed conflict-mitigation measures is available. They aim at (i) reducing livestock depredation through better livestock herding, use of physical, chemical or psychological barriers, removal of carnivores, and use of livestock guard animals, (ii) offsetting economic losses through damage compensation and insurance programmes, and (iii) increasing peoples’ tolerance of carnivores through indirect approaches such as conservation education and economic incentives. For effective management, conflicts need to be understood along two important dimensions, viz., the reality of damage caused to humans, and the psyche and perceptions of humans who suffer wildlife caused damage. The efficacy of commonly used mitigation measures is variable. A combination of measures that reduce the level of livestock depredation, share or offset economic losses, and improve the social carrying capacity for carnivores will be more effective in managing conflicts than standalone measures
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