Abstract: The status of the Gobi khulan Equus hemionus subsp. is recorded as ``insufficiently known'' in the Species Survival Commission's Equid Action Plan. Recent counts confirm that Mongolia holds the most important population of the whole species. Since 1953, the animals have benefited from a protected status, but this is now challenged. A 5-year study in the B part of the Gobi National Park on one subpopulation showed that it has remained stable over the past 15 years with an adequate mean reproductive rate of 15% and a 50% survival rate over the first year. Age/sex related mortality and prey analysis indicate that wolf predation probably has some impact on the population, in particular for 4-6-year-olds of both sexes at the start of reproduction. Desert and mountain steppes are the khulan's year-round preferred habitat, but `oases', play an important role at the beginning of lactation. Anthropogenic factors affect both home range and habitat use through direct intervention or permanent occupation of the scarce water sources. Khulans of this subpopulation, unlike other Asian and African wild asses, form year-round stable, non-territorial families. These families and all-male groups join together into ``bands'' in winter, and herds of several hundred animals, where reproductive rate is highest, form throughout the year. The existence of such herds may thus be critical for the breeding success of the population. Our study provides the first detailed quantitative data for this subspecies, which will help to monitor changes in the future. # 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Abstract: Nepal is a country of great natural beauty and of a rich cultural heritage. Nepal has always been a source of great attraction for her beautiful gifts mountains, landscapes, lakes, waterfalls, hillsides and green villages serrated in the form of an endless series of terraces. The entire northern border has silvery peaks of Himalayas and the country is the home of perpetual snow (Majupuria and Majupuria 1999) while southern flank is green mountains of Mahabharata with different size valleys and river duns. Even further south lays fragile lower mountains of Churiya and a little Bhavar and Tarai flat land adjoining to India.
Nepal, a country having peculiar diverse fauna and flora lies between China on the north and India on the east, west and south. It stands on latitude 26°22' to 30°27' N north and its longitude is between 80°4' to 88°12'E east. Its altitude varies from 60 – 220 m in the south rising to north up to world highest peak of Sagarmatha (Mt. Everest) 8848 m. Nepal covers of 141,577 sq km land mass with a mean breadth of 200 km provides an opportunity of diverse climate zones from subtropical to nival with sharp microclimatic condition due to its topography. Within this small area, the country has all possible landform features of the earth except the volcanic and coral islands and marine (Sharma 1999). The country experience difference in climate, wild flora and fauna as variation bestowed to physiographic condition.
Nepal lies at the transition between the Palearctic and Indo-Malayan biogeographical realms that contributed a large biological diversity in the country. More than 144 species of spiders, 5052 species of insects, 635 species of butterflies, 2,253 species of moths are on the record. The vertebrates fauna also in diverse form; 184 species of fishes (31 families and 11 orders); 43 species of amphibians (one salamander, four toads and 38 frogs Species); 100 species of reptiles (24 lizards, 4 turtle, two crocodiles and 60 snakes species); 861 species of birds (18 orders); 181 species of mammals (12 orders and 39 families) (BPP 1995 (h), Chaudhary 1998, Majupuria and Majupuria 1998, Shrestha 2003).
There are 16 protected areas in Nepal and among them 3 conservation areas and 5 National Parks lies on northern mountainous zone. Langtang National Park (LNP) is in the central Himalayan region of Nepal, 132 km north of the capital, Kathmandu, bordering, in the northeast, Tibet autonomous region of China. Langtang Lirung (7,245m) is the highest point in the park while lowest elevations drop to about 1,000m on the banks of the BhoteKoshi-Trisuli River. LNP is the second largest mountain National Park of Nepal, which covers 1710 km2 in three districts: Rasuwa, Nuwakot and Sindhupalchowk of Bagmati zone in Nepal. LNP recorded 46 species of mammals including those typical of the area, such as pika, Himalayan black bear, Himalayan Thar, leopard, ghoral, serow, snow leopard, clouded leopard, musk deer and three species of monkeys; Rhesus monkeys, hanuman langur and Assamese monkeys (Chalise 2003). Besides above, 345 species of Birds, 11 species of Herpetofauna, 30 species of fishes, 58 species of butterflies and 10 species of spiders are also recorded (BPP 1995, Khatiwada 2002). My study is focused on one of rarest and protected mountain species, the Snow Leopard.