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Wangchuk, R., & Jackson, R. (2009). A Community-based Approach to Mitigating Livestock-Wildlife Conflict in Ladakh, India.
Abstract: Livestock depredation by snow leopard and wolf is widespread across the Himalayan region (Jackson et al. 1996, Jackson and Wangchuk 2001; Mishra 1997, Oli et al 1994). For example, in India's Kibber Wildlife Sanctuary, Mishra (1997) reported losses amounting to 18% of the livestock holdings and valued at about US $138 per household. The villagers claimed predation rates increased after establishment of the sanctuary, but
surveys indicated a dramatic increase in livestock numbers accompanying changes in animal husbandry systems (Mishra 2000).
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Woodroffe, R., & Ginsberg, J. R. (1998). Edge effects and the extinction of populations inside protected areas. Science Washington D.C., 280(5372), 2126–2128.
Abstract: Theory predicts that small populations may be driven to extinction by random fluctuations in demography and loss of genetic diversity through drift. However, population size is a poor predictor of extinction in large carnivores inhabiting protected areas. Conflict with people on reserve borders is the major cause of mortality in such populations, so that border areas represent population sinks. The species most likely to disappear from small reserves are those that range widely-and are therefore most exposed to threats on reserve borders-irrespective of population size. Conservation efforts that combat only stochastic processes are therefore unlikely to avert extinction.
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Xu, A., Jiang, Z., Li, C., Guo, J., Da, S., Cui, Q., et al. (2008). Status and conservation of the snow leopard Panthera uncia in the Gouli Region, Kunlun Mountains, China (Vol. 42).
Abstract: The elusive snow leopard Panthera unica is a rare and little studied species in China. Over 1 March-15 May 2006 we conducted a survey for the snow leopard in the Gouli Region, East Burhanbuda Mountain, Kunlun Mountains, Qinghai Province, China, in an area of c. 300 km2 at altitudes of 4,000-4,700 m. We surveyed 29 linear transects with a total length of c. 440 km, and located a total of 72 traces (pug marks, scrapes and urine marks) of snow leopard along four of the transects. We obtained eight photographs of snow leopard from four of six camera traps. We also recorded 1,369 blue sheep, 156 Tibetan gazelles, 47 argali, 37 red deer and one male white-lipped deer. We evaluated human attitudes towards snow leopard by interviewing the heads of 27 of the 30 Tibetan households living in the study area. These local people did not consider that snow leopard is the main predator of their livestock, and thus there is little retaliatory killing. Prospects for the conservation of snow leopard in this area therefore appear to be good. We analysed the potential threats to the species and propose the establishment of a protected area for managing snow leopard and the fragile alpine ecosystem of this region. (c) 2008 Fauna & Flora International.
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Seidensticker, J., & Lumpkin, S. (1996). The adaptable leopard; unfortunately it's no match for modern man. Wildlife Conservation, 99(3), 52.
Abstract: Abstract: Leopards' adaptability has become the species' vulnerability. The animals do not hesitate to eat rotting flesh and will come back repeatedly to their meal, if disturbed. People have taken advantage of this by lacing carcasses with poison. Leopards are moderate in size compared to other cats, are stealthy and can live in areas as diverse as rain forests and deserts.
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Sangay, T., & Vernes, K. (2008). Human-wildlife conflict in the Kingdom of Bhutan: Patterns of livestock predation by large mammalian carnivores (Vol. 141).
Abstract: We examined predation activity throughout Bhutan by tiger (Panthera tigris), common leopard (Panthera pardus), snow leopard (Uncia uncia) and Himalayan black bear (Ursus thibetanus) on a variety of livestock types using data gathered over the first two years (2003-2005) of a compensation scheme for livestock losses. One thousand three hundred and seventy five kills were documented, with leopards killing significantly more livestock (70% of all kills),
than tigers (19%), bears (8%) and snow leopards (2%). About 50% of livestock killing were of cattle, and about 33% were of horses, with tigers, leopards and snow leopards killing a significantly greater proportion of horses than predicted from availability. Examination of cattle kills showed that leopards killed a significantly greater proportion of smaller prey (e.g., calves), whereas tigers killed a significantly greater proportion of larger prey (e.g., bulls). Overall, livestock predation was greatest in summer and autumn which corresponded with a peak in cropping agriculture; livestock are turned out to pasture and forest during the cropping season, and subsequently, are less well guarded than at other times. Across Bhutan, high horse density and low cattle and yak density were associated with high rates of livestock attack, but no relationship was found with forest cover or human population density. Several northern districts were identified as 'predation hotspots', where proportions of livestock lost to predation were considerable, and the ratio of reported kills to relative abundance of livestock was high. Implications of our findings for mitigating livestock losses and for conserving large carnivores in Bhutan are discussed.
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Tiwari, M. P., Devkota, B. P., Jackson, R. M., Chhetri, B. B.
K., Bagale, S. (2020). What Factors Predispose Households in Trans-Himalaya (Central
Nepal) to Livestock Predation by Snow Leopards? Animals, 10(2187), 1–14.
Abstract: Livestock depredation across the trans-Himalaya causes
significant economic losses to pastoralist communities. Quantification
of livestock predation and the assessment of variables associated with
depredation are crucial for designing effective long-term mitigation
measures. We investigated the patterns and factors of livestock
depredation by snow leopards (Panthera uncia) using semi-structured
questionnaires targeting herders in the Narphu valley of the Annapurna
Conservation Area, Nepal. During the two years (2017/18 and 2018/19),
73.9% of the households interviewed (n = 65) lost livestock to snow
leopards, with an annual average loss of two livestock per household. Of
the total depredation attributed to snow leopards, 55.4% were yak
(mainly female: 79%), 31.7% goat, 6.8% sheep, 3.2% horse and 2.8%
cattle. Results from applying Generalized Linear Mixed Models (GLMMs)
revealed the total number of livestock owned and the number of larger
bodied livestock species as the main explanatory covariates explaining
livestock depredation. Forty-one (41%) of all herders considered snow
leopard’s preference for domestic livestock as the main factor in
livestock predation, whereas only 5% perceived poor herding practice as
the main reason for the loss. Our study found poor and changing herding
practices in the valley, whereby 71% herders reported careful herding as
a solution to snow leopard depredation, and 15% of herders considered
the complete extermination of snow leopards as the best solution to the
problem. Tolerance levels and awareness among herders towards snow
leopard conservation is increasing, mainly due to the Buddhist religion
and strict law enforcement within this protected area. We recommend the
effective implementation of a community-based livestock insurance scheme
to compensate the economic loss of herders due to predation and improved
herding practices as the recommended mitigation measures for ensuring
livestock security and snow leopards’ conservation in the valley.
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Mishra, C. (1997). Livestock depredation by large carnivores in the Indian trans-Himalaya: Conflict perceptions and conservation prospects. Environmental Conservation, 24(4), 338–343.
Abstract: Livestock depredation by the snow leopard, Uncia uncia, and the wolf, Canis lupus, has resulted in a human-wildlife conflict that hinders the conservation of these globally-threatened species throughout their range. This paper analyses the alleged economic loss due to livestock depredation by these carnivores, and the retaliatory responses of an agro-pastoral community around Kibber Wildlife Sanctuary in the Indian trans-Himalaya. The three villages studied (80 households) attributed a total of 189 livestock deaths (18% of the livestock holding) over a period of 18 months to wild predators, and this would amount to a loss per household equivalent to half the average annual per capita income. The financial compensation received by the villagers from the Government amounted to 3% of the perceived annual loss. Recent intensification of the conflict seems related to a 37.7% increase in livestock holding in the last decade. Villagers have been killing the wolf, though apparently not the snow leopard. A self-financed compensation scheme, and modification of existing livestock pens are suggested as area-specific short-term measures to reduce the conflict. The need to address the problem of increasing livestock holding in the long run is emphasized.
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Jackson, R., & Wangchuk, R. (2004). A Community-Based Approach to Mitigating Livestock Depredation by Snow Leopards (Vol. 9).
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._
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Jackson, R. (1998). People-Wildlife Conflict Management in the Qomolangma Nature Preserve, Tibet. In W. Ning, D. Miller, L. Zhu, & J. Springer (Eds.), (pp. 40–46). Tibet's Biodiversity: Conservation and Management.. China: Tibet Forestry Department and World Wide Fund for Nature. China Forestry Publishing House.
Abstract: The primary objective of this paper is to report on people-wildlife conflicts arising from crop damage and livestock depredation in the Qomolangma Reserve, with special reference to the management of protected and endangered mammals.
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Vannelli, K., Hampton, M. P., Namgail, T., Black, S. A. (2019). Community participation in ecotourism and its effect on local
perceptions of snow leopard (Panthera uncia) conservation. Human Dimensions of Wildlife, , 1–14.
Abstract: Local support and involvement is often essential for effective
wildlife conservation. This study assessed the impact of local
involvement in ecotourism schemes on perceptions of wildlife, promotion
of conservation action, types of values that communities placed on
wildlife, and contexts in which wildlife are considered to be most
valuable. The study used qualitative semi-structured interviews
conducted in seven villages in Ladakh, India, which is an important
region of snow leopard (Panthera uncia) habitat. Results indicated that
in these communities, ecotourism-based interventions encourage more
positive perceptions of wildlife species, in particular the snow
leopard. Achieving change in community perceptions of wildlife is key
when implementing ecotourism schemes to enable more effective
conservation, as well as generating local awareness and value for
wildlife toward problematic keystone species such as the snow leopard,
which are frequently the focus of human-wildlife conflict.
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