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Lovari, S., Boesi, R., Minder, I., Mucci, N., Randi, E., Dematteis, A., and Ale, S. B. (2009). Restoring a keystone predator may endanger a prey species in a human-altered ecosystem: the return of the snow leopard to Sagarmatha National Park. Animal Conservation, 12, 559–570.
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.
Keywords: conservation, food habits, genetics, Hemitragus jemlahicus, Himalayan tahr, management, microsatellite, predation, presence, scat, scat analysis, snow leopard, Uncia uncia
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Sharma, R., Dutta, T. (2005). Sighting of Lynx (Lynx lynx isabellinus) in Hemis National Park, Ladakh. Zoos's Print, XX(4), 14.
Abstract: We had a good sighting of two adult and one sub adult lynx together, near Ganda-la
base which is at an elevation of 4900 meter, in Hemis National Park, Ladakh, during our fieldwork on Snow leopards in February 2004.The two adults lynx were moving closer and following each other, while the sub-adult lynx was a little far from the adults.
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Sharma, S., Thapa, K., Chalise, M., Dutta, T., Bhatnagar, Y.V., McCarthy, T. (2006). The snow leopard in Himalaya: A step towards their conservation by studying their distribution, marking habitat selection, coexistence with other predators, and wild prey-livestock-predator interaction. Conservation Biology in Asia, , 184–196.
Abstract: Snow leopard (Uncia uncial) is a flagship species of the Himalaya. Very few studies have been done on the ecology of this species in the Himalaya. This paper presents an overview of four studies conducted on snow leopards in Nepal and India, dealing with various aspects of snow leopard ecology including their status assessment, making behaviour, habitat selection, food habits, and impact on livestock. The information generated by these studies is useful in planning effective conservation and management strategies for this endangered top predator of high mountains.
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Ale, S., Thapa, K., Jackson, R., Smith, J.L.D. (2010). The fate of snow leopards in and around Mt. Everest. Cat News, 53(Autumn), 19–21.
Abstract: Since the early 2000s snow leopards Panthera uncia have re-colonized the southern slopes of Mt. Everest after several decades of extirpation. Are they now beginning to disperse to the adjoining valleys that may serve as habitat corridors linking the Everest region to other protected areas in Nepal? We conducted a cursory survey in autumn 2009 in Rolwaling lying west of Mt. Everest and detected snow leopard presence. We conclude that in these remote valleys snow leopards must rely upon livestock given the low abundance of natural prey, Himalayan tahr. Livestock-rearing is unfortunately declining in the region. Rolwaling requires immediate conservation attention for the continued survival of the endangered snow leopard and other high altitude flora and fauna.
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Schaller, G. B. (1976). Mountain mammals in Pakistan. Tigerpaper, III(4), 1–11.
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Cornish, C. J., Selous, F.C., Ingersoll, E., Johnston, H., Maxwell, H., Hutchinson, H.N., Gregory, J.W., Lydekker, R. (1908). The Standard Library of Natural History: Vol. 1 Living animals of the world, mammals: Snow leopard or ounce. The Standard Library of Natural History, 1, 48.
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Chubykina, H. L., Shilo, R.A. (1981). A study of diurnal activity rhythms in snow leopards and lynx (Panthera uncia and Felix lynx) at Novosibirsk Zoo. International Zoo Yearbook, 21, 193–196.
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Aspinall, J. (1978). Some aspects of breeding tigers and other big cats. Friends of Howletts and Port Lympne, 1(Spring), 26–32.
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Hemmer, H. (1972). Mammalian Species: Uncia uncia. Mammalian Species, 20, 1–5.
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Konrath, R. (1975). Snow leopard born at Milwaukee. Animal Keepers' Forum, 11(11).
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