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Author Brown, J.L.; Wasser, S.K.; Wildt, D.E.; Graham, L.H.
Title Comparative Aspects of Steroid Hormone Metabolism and Ovarian Activity in Felids, Measured Noninvasively in Feces Type Journal Article
Year 1994 Publication (down) Biol Reprod Abbreviated Journal
Volume 51 Issue 4 Pages 776-786
Keywords Animal; Carbon; Radioisotopes; Carnivora; Cats; Chromatography; High; Pressure; Liquid; Comparative Study; Estradiol; metabolism; Estrone; feces; chemistry; Female; Ovary; physiology; Pregnancy; Progesterone; Pseudopregnancy; Support; Non-U.S.Gov't; browse; non; government; gov't; us; 170
Abstract Noninvasive fecal assays were used to study steroid metabolism and ovarian activity in several felid species. Using the domestic cat (Felis catus) as model, the excretory products of injected [14C]estradiol (E2) and [14C]progesterone (P4) were determined. Within 2 days, 97.0 +/- 0.6% and 96.7 +/- 0.5% of recovered E2 and P4 radioactivity, respectively, was found in feces. E2 was excreted as unconjugated estradiol and estrone (40%) and as a non-enzyme- hydrolyzable conjugate (60%). P4 was excreted primarily as non-enzyme- hydrolyzable, conjugated metabolites (78%) and as unconjugated pregnenolone epimers. A simple method for extracting fecal steroid metabolites optimized extraction efficiencies of the E2 and P4 excretion products (90.1 +/- 0.8% and 87.2 +/- 1.4%, respectively). Analysis of HPLC fractions of extracted fecal samples from the radiolabel-injected domestic cats revealed that E2 immunoreactivity coincided primarily with the unconjugated metabolized [14C]E2 peak, whereas progestogen immunoreactivity coincided with a single conjugated epimer and multiple unconjugated pregnenolone epimers. After HPLC separation, similar immunoreactive E2 and P4 metabolite profiles were observed in the leopard cat (F. bengalensis), cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus), clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa), and snow leopard (Panthera uncia). Longitudinal analyses demonstrated that changes in fecal E2 and P4 metabolite concentrations reflected natural or artificially induced ovarian activity. For example, severalfold increases in E2 excretion were associated with overt estrus or exogenous gonadotropin treatment, and elevated fecal P4 metabolite concentrations occurred during pregnant and nonpregnant (pseudopregnant) luteal phases. Although overall concentrations were similar, the duration of elevated fecal P4 metabolites during pseudopregnancy was approximately half that observed during pregnancy. In summary, steroid metabolism mechanisms appear to be conserved among these physically diverse, taxonomically related species. Results indicate that this hormone-monitoring approach will be extremely useful for elucidating the hormonal regulatory mechanism associated with the reproductive cycle, pregnancy, and parturition of intractable and endangered felid species.
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ISSN 0006-3363 ISBN Medium
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Notes Document Type: eng Approved no
Call Number SLN @ rana @ 251 Serial 198
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Author Johnston, L.A.; Donoghue, A.M.; O'Brien, S.J.; Wildt, D.E.
Title Rescue and maturation in vitro of follicular oocytes collected from nondomestic felid species Type Journal Article
Year 1991 Publication (down) Biol Reprod Abbreviated Journal
Volume 45 Issue 6 Pages 898-906
Keywords Animal; Carnivora; anatomy; histology; physiology; Cells; Cultured; Female; Fertilization; Vitro; inVitro; Male; Oocytes; cytology; growth; development; ovarian; Follicle; Spermatozoa; Support; Non-U.S.Gov't; U.S.Gov't; P.H.S.; browse; non; us; gov't; government; 230
Abstract The potential for rescuing immature oocytes from the ovaries of females of rare felid species which die or undergo medical ovariohysterectomy was evaluated. Ovaries were recovered from 13 species representing 35 individuals in good-to-poor health. Although the majority of females were 10 yr of age or older and in fair-to-poor health, a total of 846 oocytes were recovered of which 608 (71.9%) were classified as fair-to- excellent quality. One hundred of these oocytes were used for initial maturation classification and as parthogenetic controls. Overall, of the 508 fair-to-excellent quality oocytes placed in culture, 164 (32.3%) matured to metaphase II in vitro. For species in which 3 or more individuals yielded oocytes, mean oocyte maturation rates were as follows: 36.2%, tiger; 27.9% leopard; and 8.3%, cheetah. In vitro insemination of oocytes resulted in fertilization (2 polar bodies, 2 pronuclei, or cleavage) rates of 9.1% to 28.6% (leopard) using homologous fresh spermatozoa and 4.0% (lion) to 40.0% (puma) using homologous frozen-thawed spermatozoa. Inseminations using heterologous (domestic cat) spermatozoa also resulted in fertilized oocytes in the tiger, leopard, snow leopard, puma, serval, and Geoffroy's cat (range in fertilization rate, 5.0% for leopard to 46.2% for puma). Cleaved embryos resulted from the insemination of leopard oocytes with homologous sperm (n = 1 embryo) and puma oocytes with domestic cat sperm (n = 3 embryos). These results demonstrate that immature ovarian oocytes from rare felid species can be stimulated to mature in vitro despite an excision-to-culture interval as long as 36 h.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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ISSN 0006-3363 ISBN Medium
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Notes Document Type: eng Approved no
Call Number SLN @ rana @ 172 Serial 503
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Author Allen, M. L., Rovero, F., Oberosler, V., Augugliaro, C., Krofel, M.
Title Effects of snow leopards (Panthera uncia) on olfactory communication of Pallas’s cats (Otocolobus manul) in the Altai Mountains, Mongolia Type Journal Article
Year 2023 Publication (down) Behaviour Abbreviated Journal
Volume Issue Pages 1-9
Keywords behaviour, camera trap, Mongolia, Otocolobus manul, Panthera uncia, scent marking.
Abstract Olfactory communication is important for many solitary carnivores to delineate territories and communicate with potential mates and competitors. Pallas’s cats (Otocolobus manul) are small felids with little published research on their ecology and behaviour, including if they avoid or change behaviours due to dominant carnivores. We studied their olfactory communication and visitation at scent-marking sites using camera traps in two study areas in Mongolia. We documented four types of olfactory communication behaviours, and olfaction (sniffing) was the most frequent. Pallas’s cats used olfactory communication most frequently at sites that were not visited by snow leopards (Panthera uncia) and when they used communal scent-marking sites, they were more likely to use olfactory communication when a longer time had elapsed since the last visit by a snow leopard. This suggests that Pallas’s cats may reduce advertising their presence in response to occurrence of snow leopards, possibly to limit predation risk.
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Call Number SLN @ rakhee @ Serial 1721
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Author Murray, D.; Kapke, C.; Evermann, J.; Fuller, T.
Title Infectious disease and the conservation of free-ranging large carnivores Type Journal Article
Year 1999 Publication (down) Animal Conservation Abbreviated Journal
Volume 2 Issue Pages 241-254
Keywords infectous disease; free ranging; browse; infectious; Disease; 80
Abstract Large carnivores are of vital importance to the stability and integrity of most ecosystems, but recent declines in free-ranging populations have highlighted the potentially devastating effect of infectious diseases on their conservation. We reviewed the literature on infectious diseases of 34 large (maximum body mass of adults >20 kg) terrestrial carnivore species, 18 of which are considered to be threatened in the wild, and examined reports of antibody prevalence (seroprevalence) and cases of infection, mortality and population decline. Of 52 diseases examined, 44% were viral, 31% bacterial and the remainder were protozoal or fungal. Many infections were endemic in carnivores and/or infected multiple taxonomic families, with the majority probably occurring via inhalation or ingestion. Most disease studies consisted of serological surveys for disease antibodies, and antibody detection tended to be widespread implying that exposure to micro-organisms was common. Seroprevalence was higher in tropical than temperate areas, and marginally higher for infections known to occur in multiple carnivore groups. Confirmation of active infection via micro-organism recovery was less common for ursids than other taxonomic groups. Published descriptions of disease-induced population decline or extinction were rare, and most outbreaks were allegedly the result of direct transmission of rabies or canine distemper virus (CDV) from abundant carnivore species to less-common large carnivores. We conclude that the threat of disease epidemics in large carnivores may be serious if otherwise lethal infections are endemic in reservoir hosts and transmitted horizontally among taxa. To prevent or mitigate future population declines, research efforts should be aimed at identifying both the diseases of potential importance to large carnivores and the ecological conditions associated with their spread and severity.
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Notes Document Type: English Approved no
Call Number SLN @ rana @ 356 Serial 708
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Author Lovari, S., Boesi, R., Minder, I., Mucci, N., Randi, E., Dematteis, A., and Ale, S. B.
Title Restoring a keystone predator may endanger a prey species in a human-altered ecosystem: the return of the snow leopard to Sagarmatha National Park Type Journal Article
Year 2009 Publication (down) Animal Conservation Abbreviated Journal
Volume 12 Issue Pages 559-570
Keywords conservation, food habits, genetics, Hemitragus jemlahicus, Himalayan tahr, management, microsatellite, predation, presence, scat, scat analysis, snow leopard, Uncia uncia
Abstract Twenty-five years ago, the snow leopard Uncia uncia, an endangered large cat, was eliminated from what is now Sagarmatha National Park (SNP). Heavy hunting pressure depleted that area of most medium-large mammals, before it became a park. After three decades of protection, the cessation of hunting and the recovery of wild ungulate populations, snow leopards have recently returned (four individuals). We have documented the effects of the return of the snow leopard on the population of its main wild prey, the Himalayan tahr Hemitragus jemlahicus, a 'near-threatened' caprin. Signs of snow leopard presence were recorded and scats were collected along a fixed trail (130 km) to assess the presence and food habits of the snow leopard in the Park, from 2004 to 2006. Himalayan tahr, the staple of the diet, had a relative occurrence of 48% in summer and 37% in autumn, compared with the next most frequent prey, musk deer Moschus chrysogaster (summer: 20%; autumn: 15%) and cattle (summer: 15%; autumn: 27%). In early summer, the birth rate of tahr (young-to-female ratio: 0.8-0.9) was high. The decrease of this ratio to 0.1-0.2 in autumn implied that summer predation concentrated on young tahr, eventually altering the population by removing the kid cohort. Small populations of wild Caprinae, for example the Himalayan tahr population in SNP, are sensitive to stochastic predation events and may be led to almost local extinction. If predation on livestock keeps growing, together with the decrease of Himalayan tahr, retaliatory killing of snow leopards by local people may be expected, and the snow leopard could again be at risk of local extinction. Restoration of biodiversity through the return of a large predator has to be monitored carefully, especially in areas affected by humans, where the lack of important environmental components, for example key prey species, may make the return of a predator a challenging event.
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Language English Summary Language Original Title
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Notes Approved no
Call Number SLN @ rana @ Serial 1122
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Author Karanth, K.U., Nichols, J.D., Seidensticker, J., Dinerstein, E., David Smith, J.L., McDougal, C., Johnsingh, A.J.T., Chundawat, R.S., Thapar, V.
Title Science deficiency in conservation practice: the monitoring of tiger populations in India Type Journal Article
Year 2003 Publication (down) Animal Conservation Abbreviated Journal
Volume 6 Issue Pages 141-146
Keywords population monitoring, sampling, tiger, pugmark, census, pugmark census
Abstract Conservation practices are supposed to get refined by advancing scientific knowledge. We study this phenomenon in the context of monitoring tiger populations in India, by evaluating the ‘pugmark census method’ employed by wildlife managers for three decades. We use an analytical framework of modern animal population sampling to test the efficacy of the pugmark censuses using scientific data on tigers and our field observations. We identify three critical goals for monitoring tiger populations, in order of increasing sophistication: (1) distribution mapping, (2) tracking relative abundance, (3) estimation of absolute abundance. We demonstrate that the present census-based paradigm does not work because it ignores the first two simpler goals, and targets, but fails to achieve, the most difficult third goal. We point out the utility and ready availability of alternative monitoring paradigms that deal with the central problems of spatial sampling and observability. We propose an alternative sampling-based approach that can be tailored to meet practical needs of tiger monitoring at different levels of refinement.
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Publisher The Zoological Society of London Place of Publication United Kingdom Editor
Language English Summary Language Original Title
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Call Number SLN @ rana @ Serial 1307
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Author Xiao, L., Hua, F., Knops, J. M. H., Zhao, X., Mishra, C., Lovari, S., Alexander, J. S., Weckworth, B., Lu, Z.
Title Spatial separation of prey from livestock facilitates coexistence of a specialized large carnivore with human land use. Type Journal Article
Year 2022 Publication (down) Animal Conservation Abbreviated Journal
Volume Issue Pages 1 - 10
Keywords large carnivore; coexistence; prey; niche separation; land use; livestock; human– wildlife conflict; snow leopard.
Abstract There is an increasing emphasis in conservation strategies for large carnivores on facilitating their coexistence with humans. Justification for coexistence strategies should be based on a quantitative assessment of currently remaining large carnivores in human-dominated landscapes. An essential part of a carnivore’s coexistence strategy has to rely on its prey. In this research, we studied snow leopards Panthera uncia whose habitat mainly comprises human-dominated, unprotected areas, to understand how a large carnivore and its primary prey, the bharal Pseudois nayaur, could coexist with human land use activities in a large proportion of its range. Using a combination of livestock census, camera trapping and wildlife surveys, across a broad gradient of livestock grazing intensity in a 363 000 km2 landscape on the Tibetan Plateau, we found no evidence of livestock grazing impacts on snow leopard habitat use, bharal density and spatial distribution, even though livestock density was 13 times higher than bharal density. Bharal were found to prefer utilizing more rugged habitats at higher elevations with lower grass forage conditions, whereas livestock dominated in flat valleys at lower elevations with higher productivity, especially during the resource-scarce season. These findings suggest that the spatial niche separation between bharal and livestock, together with snow leopards’ specialized bharal diet, minimized conflicts and allowed snow leopards and bharal to coexist in landscapes dominated by livestock grazing. In recent years, reduced hunting and nomadic herder’s lifestyle changes towards permanent residence may have further reinforced this spatial separation. Our results indicated that, for developing conservation strategies for large carnivores, the niche of their prey in relation to human land-use is a key variable that needs to be evaluated.
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Call Number SLN @ rakhee @ Serial 1678
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Author Guerrero, D.
Title Animal behavior concerns & solutions: snow leopard (Uncia uncia) evaluation, zoo Type Journal Article
Year 1998 Publication (down) Anim.Keepers' Forum Abbreviated Journal
Volume 25 Issue 2 Pages 56-58
Keywords aggressive-behavior; behavior; captive-animal-care; diets; endangered; threatened-species; genetics; handling-methods; intraspecies-relationships; social-behavior; husbandry; zoos; snow leopard; aggressive; captive; Animal; care; threatened; species; handling; methods; intraspecies; relationships; social; browse; 1310
Abstract The author offers advice on how a captive-raised snow leopard cub could be acclimated to humans so it could be used as a zoo “ambassador”. The cub had negative experiences with humans and lacked socialization with other animals and conspecifics. Methods of avoiding and redirecting the cub's aggressive behavior are suggested. lgh.
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Notes Ark Anim., Inc., P.O. Box 1154, Escondido, CA 92033-1154. e-mail: arkabc@arkanimals.com Document Type: English Approved no
Call Number SLN @ rana @ 338 Serial 358
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Author Izold, J.
Title Snow Leopard Enterprise: a conservation project that saves an endangered species and supports needy families Type Journal Article
Year 2008 Publication (down) Anim.Keepers' Forum Abbreviated Journal
Volume 9 Issue 5 Pages 359-364
Keywords snow; snow leopard; snow-leopard; leopard; conservation; project; endangered; endangered species; endangered-species; species; Support; union; uncia; Uncia uncia; Uncia-uncia; snow leopards; snow-leopards; leopards; wild; Iucn; Animals; Animal; tiger; extinction; former; zoo; Freeman; trust; work; cat; community-based; projects; Sle; impact; poverty; community; Mongolia; Kyrgyz; Kyrgyz-Republic; republic; Pakistan; 300; economic; incentives; prey; sustainable; herding; number; territory; income; training; products; wool; local; local people; people; zoos; Woodland-Park-Zoo; park; zoological; ecosystem
Abstract The World Conservation Union listed the snow leopard (Uncia uncia) as endangered in 1974. With as few as 3,500 snow leopards left in the wild, scientists placed the snow leopard on the IUCN Red List of critically endangered species shared by animals such as the giant panda and tiger. In an effort to save the snow leopard from extinction, former zoo employee Helen Freeman founded the Snow Leopard Trust in 1981. The Snow Leopard Trust works to save this elusive cat by incorporating community-based conservation projects. One of these project Leopard Enterprise (SLE), impacts poverty stricken communities in Mongolia, Kyrgyz Republic, and Pakistan. It assists over 300 families in its conservation efforts. The economic incentives provided via SLE have led participating communities not to harm the snow leopard or its prey, and to practice sustainable herding. Since the project began in 1997, the number of snow leopards harmed around the communities' territories has dropped to near zero. Additionally, the annual income of families that utilize the benefits of SLE has increased by 25% to 40%. SLE creates this economic benefit by providing the training and equipment necessary to make desirable products from the wool of herd animals. Snow Leopard Trust then purchases these handicraft items from the local people and them globally. Zoos can expand their conservation efforts by simply offering these items in their gift shops. Woodland Park Zoo (WPZ) was the first zoological institution to sell the products, and WPZ continues to generate revenue from them. SLE is a golden opportunity for zoos to increase revenue, assist poor families, and save an endangered species and fragile ecosystem.
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Publisher American Association of Zoo Keepers Place of Publication Topeka, Kansas Editor
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Notes Author from Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, Cleveland, OH, USA Approved no
Call Number SLN @ rana @ 976 Serial 425
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Author Reed-Smith, J.; Kumpf, M.
Title Snow leopards (Uncia uncia): family group management alternatives Type Journal Article
Year 1998 Publication (down) Anim.Keepers' Forum Abbreviated Journal
Volume 25 Issue 10 Pages 386-391
Keywords behavior; captive-animal-care; endangered; threatened-species; intraspecies-relationships; mammals; techniques; zoos; snow leopard; husbandry; browse; captive; Animal; care; threatened; species; intraspecies; relationships; 1300
Abstract The authors offer insights into creating family groups of snow leopards in zoos. The programs at the Denver Zoo, Denver, Colorado, and at John Ball Zoological Gardens, Grand Rapids, Michigan, are highlighted. lgh.
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Notes Document Type: English Approved no
Call Number SLN @ rana @ 340 Serial 814
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