Abstract: Snow leopard is rare and extinctive species that have scientific and aesthetic significance. The features of genus Uncia and species Uncia uncia are described. Also distribution, habitat, way of life, reproduction biology, behavioural patterns, migration routes, infections and parasites, enemies and competitors, number and number fluctuation, practical value of snow leopard in the Kazakhstan are given.

Abstract: In Tajikistan it is necessary to preserve big predators listed in the Red Book, such as Uncia uncia, Ursus arctos isabellinus, Hyaena hyaena, Felis lynx isabellina, Panthera pardus ciscaucasica. An anthropogenic influence has resulted in the species' habitat shrinkage, deficit of food, disturbance of trophic interactions. It is necessary to restore a tiger population in the Tigrovaya Balka nature reserve, and resolve the issue of protection and sustainable use of commercial predatory species.

Abstract: Many mammalian herbivores show a temporal diet variation between graminoid-dominated and browse dominated diets. We determined the causes of such a diet shift and its implications for conservation of a medium sized ungulate-the bharal Pseudois nayaur. Past studies show that the bharal diet is dominated by graminoids (>80%) during summer, but the contribution of graminoids declines to about 50% in winter. We tested the predictions generated by two alternative hypotheses explaining the decline: low graminoid availability during winter causes bharal to include browse in their diet; bharal include browse, with relatively higher nutritional quality, in their diet to compensate for the poor quality of graminoids during winter. We measured winter graminoid availability in areas with no livestock grazing, areas with relatively moderate livestock grazing, and those with intense livestock grazing pressures. The chemical composition of plants contributing to the bharal diet was analysed. The bharal diet was quantiWed through signs of feeding on vegetation at feeding locations. Population structures of bharal populations were recorded using a total count method. Graminoid availability was highest in areas without livestock grazing, followed by areas with moderate and intense livestock grazing. The bharal diet was dominated by graminoids (73%) in areas with highest graminoid availability. Graminoid contribution to the bharal diet declined monotonically (50, 36%) with a decline in graminoid availability. Bharal young to female ratio was 3 times higher in areas with high graminoid availability than areas with low graminoid availability. The composition of the bharal winter diet was governed predominantly by the availability of graminoids in the rangelands. Our results suggest that bharal include more browse in their diet during winter due to competition from livestock for graminoids. Since livestock grazing reduces graminoid availability, creation of livestock-free areas is necessary for the conservation of grazing species such as the bharal and its predators including the endangered snow leopard in the Trans-Himalaya.

Abstract: A description of snow leopard number, distribution, reproductive biology, death reasons, and conservation measures in the USSR, where northern and north-western border of its habitat runs, is given. The population of snow leopard in the USSR is 500 1,000 animals. In the Inner Tien Shan, 400 snow leopards were caught 1936 through 1970. The maximum of 120 skins was purchased in Pamir in 1956 1958. Population of snow leopard directly correlates with population of ibex, a fact being verified by data collected on a long-term basis. Moreover, snow leopard was for a long time considered as a harmful animal, shooting of which was encouraged by premiums and resulted in reduction of snow leopard population.

Abstract: A survey of Himalayan Thar was carried out in Langtang valley in response to the lacking of scientific information of its population status and distribution in the area. The study was carried out from Ghodatabela to Langsisa Kharka during April to June of 2003/04/2005. The area was divided into 5 survey blocks measuring 5sqkm each and study was conducted through blocks. Observed herds and individual animals were repeatedly counted and recorded. A total of 218 individuals of different age and sex Himalayan Thar were recorded during the study in 8 different herds. Three types of herds were recognized; Adult male-adult female-young (37.5%), Adult female-young (37.5%) and All adult-male (25%). Survey revealed that 50% of Thar herds were observed in 4200-4900m (Fourth block) and least (12%) were in 3700-4000m (First block), animals were not located in 3850-4200m (Third, Fifth block). Stratified random sampling was done to analyze the vegetation in their habitat and identified 26 potential plant species. The encroachment of their habitat is severe by the excessive livestock grazing and utilization for cowshed. Noticeable disturbance felt due to frequent poaching and tourist flow. The conservation of this species seems vital as it is prime prey species of Snow leopard in LNP.

Abstract: Abstract There is a need for simple and robust techniques for assessment and monitoring of populations of the Endangered snow leopard Panthera uncia to inform the de- velopment of action plans for snow leopard conservation. We explored the use of occupancy modelling to evaluate the influence of environmental and anthropogenic features on snow leopard site-use patterns. We conducted a camera trap survey across  km in Gansu Province, China, and used data from  camera traps to estimate probabilities of site use and detection using the single season occupancy model. We assessed the influence of three covariates on site use by snow leopards: elevation, the presence of blue sheep Pseudois nayaur and the presence of human disturb- ance (distance to roads). We recorded  captures of snow leopards over , trap-days, representing a mean capture success of . captures per  trap-days. Elevation had the strongest influence on site use, with the probability of site use increasing with altitude, whereas the influence of presence of prey and distance to roads was relatively weak. Our findings indicate the need for practical and robust tech- niques to appraise determinants of site use by snow leo- pards, especially in the context of the limited resources available for such work.

Abstract: Marco Polo sheep (Ovis ammon polii), listed as Near Threatened in the IUCN Red List, were surveyed using vehicles during three summers and three consecutive winters to determine the status and population structure of the subspecies in a hunted population in southeastern Pamirs, Tajikistan. A total of 8649, 8392, and 7663 sheep were observed in each winter survey with densities of 5.42,
4.91, and 4.49 argalis/km2, respectively. The differences in numbers observed in different years were probably due principally to differing dates of surveys among years. The high ratios of lamb for every 100 ewe (53, 38, and 49 during the winter surveys, and 60, 45, and 58 during the summer
surveys) and high percentages (45%–50%) of mature females during winter indicate that offspring recruitment is sufficient to maintain a stable population. The significant
increase in the abundance of Marco Polo sheep in the Tajikistan Pamirs compared with that of previous population surveys may probably be attributed to low numbers of domestic livestock during the winter, low human population density, unfenced and widespread wild sheep habitats,
and rigorous patrolling to limit poaching. The small number (45) of hunting permits has a minimal impact on the male sheep sector. Tajikistan now supports more argali than any other country

Abstract: We assessed the density of argali (Ovis ammon) and ibex
(Capra sibirica) in Sarychat-Ertash Nature Reserve and its neighbouring
Koiluu valley. Sarychat is a protected area, while Koiluu is a human-use
landscape which is a partly licenced hunting concession for mountain
ungulates and has several livestock herders and their permanent
residential structures. Population monitoring of mountain ungulates can
help in setting measurable conservation targets such as appropriate
trophy hunting quotas and to assess habitat suitability for predators
like snow leopards (Panthera uncia). We employed the double-observer
method to survey 573 km2 of mountain ungulate habitat inside Sarychat
and 407 km2 inside Koiluu. The estimated densities of ibex and argali in
Sarychat were 2.26 (95% CI 1.47–3.52) individuals km-2 and 1.54 (95% CI
1.01–2.20) individuals km-2, respectively. Total ungulate density in
Sarychat was 3.80 (95% CI 2.47–5.72) individuals km-2. We did not record
argali in Koiluu, whereas the density of ibex was 0.75 (95% CI
0.50–1.27) individuals km-2. While strictly protected areas can achieve
high densities of mountain ungulates, multi-use areas can harbour
meaningful
though suppressed populations. Conservation of mountain ungulates and
their predators can be enhanced by maintaining Sarychat-like “pristine”
areas interspersed within a matrix of multi-use areas like Koiluu.

Abstract: Livestock depredation by large carnivores is a significant source of conflicts over predators and an important conservation and economic concern. Preventing livestock loss to wild predators is a substantial focus of human-carnivore conflict mitigation programs. A key assumption of the preventive strategy is reduction in the livestock losses leading to a positive shift in the attitudes toward predators. Therefore, it is important to quantify the true extent of livestock mortality caused by wild predators and its influence on attitudes of the affected communities. We examined seasonal and spatial patterns of livestock mortality and factors influencing people’s attitudes toward wild predators i.e., snow leopards (Panthera uncia) and wolves (Canis lupus chanco) and free-ranging dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) in a Trans-Himalayan urbanizing landscape in India. We used systematic sampling to select the survey households and implemented a semi- structured questionnaire to respondents. The sampled villages (n = 16) represent a mosaic of urban and agricultural ecosystems within a radius of 40 km of Leh town. In 2016–2017, 93% of the sampled households lost livestock to predators, accounting for 0.93 animals per household per year. However, of the total events of livestock mortality, 33% were because of weather/natural events, 24% by snow leopards, 20% because of disease, 15% because of free-ranging dogs and 9% because of wolves. The annual economic loss per household because of livestock mortality was USD 371, a substantial loss given the average per capita income of USD 270 in the region. Of the total loss, weather/natural events caused highest loss of USD 131 (35%), followed by snow leopards USD 91 (25%), disease USD 87 (24%), free ranging dogs USD 48 (13%), and wolves USD 14 (4%). Despite losing a considerable proportion of livestock (33 %) to wild predators, respondents showed a positive attitude toward them but exhibited neutral attitudes toward free-ranging dogs. Gender emerged as the most important determinant of attitudes toward wild predators, with men showing higher positive attitude score toward wild predators than women. Our findings highlight the context specific variation in human-wildlife interactions and emphasize that generalizations must be avoided in the absence of site specific evidence.

Abstract: The snow leopard (Panthera uncia) inhabits a human-altered alpine landscape and is often tolerated by residents in regions where the dominant religion is Tibetan Buddhism, including in Qomolangma NNR on the northern side of the Chinese Himalayas. Despite these positive attitudes, many decades of rapid economic development and population growth can cause increasing disturbance to the snow leopards, altering their habitat use patterns and ultimately impacting their conservation. We adopted a dynamic landscape ecology perspective and used multi-scale technique and occupancy model to better understand snow leopard habitat use and coexistence with humans in an 825 km2 communal landscape. We ranked eight hypothetical models containing potential natural and anthropogenic drivers of habitat use and compared them between summer and winter seasons within a year. HABITAT was the optimal model in winter, whereas ANTHROPOGENIC INFLUENCE was the top ranking in summer (AICcw≤2). Overall, model performance was better in the winter than in the summer, suggesting that perhaps some latent summer covariates were not measured. Among the individual variables, terrain ruggedness strongly affected snow leopard habitat use in the winter, but not in the summer. Univariate modeling suggested snow leopards prefer to use rugged land in winter with a broad scale (4000 m focal radius) but with a lesser scale in summer (30 m); Snow leopards preferred habitat with a slope of 22° at a scale of 1000 m throughout both seasons, which is possibly correlated with prey occurrence. Furthermore, all covariates mentioned above showed inextricable ties with human activities (presence of settlements and grazing intensity). Our findings show that multiple sources of anthropogenic activity have complex connections with snow leopard habitat use, even under low human density when anthropogenic activities are sparsely distributed across a vast landscape. This study is also valuable for habitat use research in the future, especially regarding covariate selection for finite sample sizes in inaccessible terrain.