Abstract: Livestock depredation by the endangered snow leopard (Panthera uncia) _is an increasingly contentious issue in Himalayan villages, especially in or near protected areas. Mass attacks in which as many as 100 sheep and goats are killed in a single incident inevitably result in retaliation by local villagers. This article describes a community-based conservation initiative to address this problem in Hemis National Park, India. Human-wildlife conflict is alleviated by predator-proofing villagers' nighttime livestock pens and by enhancing household incomes in environmentally sensitive and culturally compatible ways. The authors have found that the highly participatory strategy described here (Appreciative Participatory Planning and Action-APPA) leads to a sense of project ownership by local stakeholders, communal empowerment, self-reliance, and willingness to co-exist with
snow leopards. The most significant conservation outcome of this process is the protection from retaliatory poaching of up to five snow leopards for every village's livestock pens that are made predator-proof._

Abstract: Conservation and management of snow leopards (Uncia uncial) has largely relied on anecdotal evidence and presence-absence data due to their cryptic nature and the difficult terrain they inhabit. These methods generally lack the scientific rigor necessary to accurately estimate population size and monitor trends. We evaluated the use of photography in capture-mark-recapture (CMR) techniques for estimating snow leopard population abundance and density within Hemis National Park, Ladakh, India. We placed infrared camera traps along actively used travel paths, scent-sprayed rocks, and scrape sites within 16-30 kmý sampling grids in successive winters during January and March 2003-2004. We used head-on, oblique, and side-view camera configurations to obtain snow leopard photographs at varying body orientations. We calculated snow leopard abundance estimates using the program CAPTURE. We obtained a total of 66 and 49 snow leopard captures resulting in 8.91 and 5.63 individuals per 100 trap nights during 2003 and 2004, respectively. We identified snow leopards based on the distinct pelage patters located primarily on the forelimbs, flanks, and dorsal surface of the tail. Capture probabilities ranged from 0.33 to 0.67. Density estimates ranged from 8.49 (SE+0.22) individuals per 100 kmý in 2003 to 4.45 (SE+0.16) in 2004. We believe the density disparity between years is attributable to different trap density and placement rather than to an actual decline in population size. Our results suggest that photographic capture-mark-recapture sampling may be a useful tool for monitoring demographic patterns. However, we believe a larger sample size would be necessary for generating a statistically robust estimate of population density and abundance based on CMR models.

Abstract: The recent development of potent and specifica lphar-adrenoceptoar gonistsa nd antagonists has enhanced their use in nondomestic animal immobilization and reversal. Medetomidine, a new potent alphar-agonist, in combination with the dissociative anesthetic ketamine, has been used to immobilize a variety of nondomestic mammals. Medetomidine alone induces sedation in a dose-dependent way, and complete immobilization has been achieved with high doses in semidomesticated reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) and blue foxes (Alopex lagopus). Howbver, we feel that ketamine should be added to the immobilization mixture to ensure complete immobilization and operator safety. In ketamine combinations, medetomidine doses are usually 60-100 pg/kg. The required ketamine doses are remarkably low:0.8-1.6 mglkg in most ruminants,2.5-3.0 mgUgin felids,u rsids,a nd canids,a nd 5.G-8.0m glkgi n primates,w olverines(Gulog ulo),ando therm uitelids. Clinically, the resulting immobilization is characterized by a smooth onset, good to excellent myorelaxation, and areflexia at higher doses. Determinations of hematologic, serum biochemicil, arterial blood gas,a nd acid-bases tatusp arametersi ndicate that the immobilization is physiologically sound. We have had no fatalities attributable to the immobilization mixture ( I ,240 immobilizations). The alphar-adrenoceptora ntagonist,a tipamezole,i s highly efective in reversingt he immobilization induced by medetomidine, medetomidine-ketamine combinations, or xylazine. In ruminants, the medetomidine-ketamine-induced immobilization can be rapidly and persistently reversed by administering 100-l 50 1rg/kg of alipamezole i.v. and the rest s.c., adjusting the total atipamezole dose to an atipamezole: medetomidine ratio of approximately 4-5 (w/w). Becauseth e required ketamine doses are relatively high in carnivores, we prefer to use a lower atipamezole dose (totil atipamezoie: medetomidine ratio approximately 2-3 w/w) and to administer it i.m. or s.c. Using thii regimen, reversals are calm and animals show minimal “residual ketamine effect.” Because atipamezole is a competitive antagonist, its dose should be reduced if it is administered late in the immobilization period when a large part of medetomidine has been endogenously metabolized. Xylazine-induced immobilization is rapidly reversed by I mg of atipamezole for every 8-12 mg of xylazine used.

Abstract: Modern felid species descend from relatively recent (G11 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.