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Author Filla, M., Lama, R. P., Filla, T., Heurich, M., Balkenhol, N., Waltert, M., Khorozyan, I. url  doi
  Title Patterns of livestock depredation by snow leopards and effects of intervention strategies: lessons from the Nepalese Himalaya Type (down) Journal Article
  Year 2022 Publication Wildlife Research Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume Issue Pages  
  Keywords Annapurna, co-existence, conservation biology, highland communities, human–wildlife conflict, large carnivore, livestock depredation, Panthera uncia, prey selection, snow leopard.  
  Abstract Context: Large carnivores are increasingly threatened by anthropogenic activities, and their protection is among the main goals of biodiversity conservation. The snow leopard (Panthera uncia) inhabits high-mountain landscapes where livestock depredation drives it into conflicts with local people and poses an obstacle for its conservation.

Aims: The aim of this study was to identify the livestock groups most vulnerable to depredation, target them in implementation of practical interventions, and assess the effectiveness of intervention strategies for conflict mitigation. We present a novel attempt to evaluate intervention strategies for particularly vulnerable species, age groups, time, and seasons.

Methods: In 2020, we conducted questionnaire surveys in two regions of the Annapurna Conservation Area, Nepal (Manang, n = 146 respondents and Upper Mustang, n = 183). We applied sample comparison testing, Jacobs’ selectivity index, and generalised linear models (GLMs) to assess rates and spatio-temporal heterogeneity of depredation, reveal vulnerable livestock groups, analyse potential effects of applied intervention strategies, and identify husbandry factors relevant to depredation.

Key results: Snow leopard predation was a major cause of livestock mortality in both regions (25.4–39.8%), resulting in an estimated annual loss of 3.2–3.6% of all livestock. The main intervention strategies (e.g. corrals during night-time and herding during daytime) were applied inconsistently and not associated with decreases in reported livestock losses. In contrast, we found some evidence that dogs, deterrents (light, music playing, flapping tape, and dung burning), and the use of multiple interventions were associated with a reduction in reported night-time depredation of yaks.

Conclusions and implications: We suggest conducting controlled randomised experiments for quantitative assessment of the effectiveness of dogs, deterrents, and the use of multiple interventions, and widely applying the most effective ones in local communities. This would benefit the long-term co-existence of snow leopards and humans in the Annapurna region and beyond.
 
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  Call Number SLN @ rakhee @ Serial 1684  
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Author Maheshwari, A., Sathyakumar, S. url 
  Title Patterns of Livestock Depredation and Large Carnivore Conservation Implications in the Indian Trans-Himalaya Type (down) Journal Article
  Year 2020 Publication Journal of Arid Environments Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume Issue Pages 1-5  
  Keywords Large carnivores Livestock depredation Participatory approach Snow leopard Kargil Himalaya  
  Abstract Livestock is one of the major sources of livelihood for the

agro-pastoral communities in central and south Asia. Livestock

depredation by large carnivores is a wide-ranging issue that leads to

economic losses and a deviance from co-existence. We investigated the

grass root factors causing livestock depredation in Kargil, Ladakh and

tested the findings of diet analysis in validating reported livestock

depredation. Globally vulnerable snow leopard (Panthera uncia) and more

common wolf (Canis lupus) were the two main wild predators. A total of

1113 heads of livestock were reportedly killed by wolf (43.6%) followed

by unknown predators (31.4%) and snow leopard (21.5%) in the study site

from 2009 to 2012, which comes to 2.8% annual livestock losses. Scat

analysis also revealed a significant amount of livestock in the diet of

snow leopard (47%) and wolf (51%). Poor livestock husbandry practices

and traditional livestock corrals were found to be the major drivers

contributing in the livestock depredation. Based on the research

findings, we worked with the local communities to sensitize them about

wildlife conservation and extended limited support for predator proof

livestock corrals at a small scale. Eventually it helped in reducing

conflict level and conserving the globally threatened carnivores. We

conclude that a participatory approach has been successful to generate

an example in reducing large carnivore-human conflict in the west

Himalaya.
 
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  Call Number Serial 1609  
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Author Khanal, G., Mishra, C., Suryawanshi, K. R. url 
  Title Relative influence of wild prey and livestock abundance on carnivore-caused livestock predation Type (down) Journal Article
  Year 2020 Publication Ecology and Evolution Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume Issue Pages 1-11  
  Keywords conservation conflict, human carnivore conflict, large mammalian carnivore, livestock depredation, Nepal, Shey Phoksundo National Park, snow leopard  
  Abstract Conservation conflict over livestock depredation is one of the

key drivers of large mammalian carnivore declines worldwide. Mitigating

this conflict requires strategies informed by reliable knowledge of

factors influencing livestock depredation. Wild prey and livestock

abundance are critical factors influencing the extent of livestock

depredation. We compared whether the extent of livestock predation by

snow leopards Panthera uncia differed in relation to densities of wild

prey, livestock, and snow leopards at two sites in Shey Phoksundo

National Park, Nepal. We used camera trap-based spatially explicit

capture–recapture models to estimate snow leopard density;

double-observer surveys to estimate the density of their main prey

species, the blue sheep Pseudois nayaur; and interview-based household

surveys to estimate livestock population and number of livestock killed

by snow leopards. The proportion of livestock lost per household was

seven times higher in Upper Dolpa, the site which had higher snow

leopard density (2.51 snow leopards per 100 km2) and higher livestock

density (17.21 livestock per km2) compared to Lower Dolpa (1.21 snow

leopards per 100 km2; 4.5 livestock per km2). The wild prey density was

similar across the two sites (1.81 and 1.57 animals per km2 in Upper and

Lower Dolpa, respectively). Our results suggest that livestock

depredation level may largely be determined by the abundances of the

snow leopards and livestock and predation levels on livestock can vary

even at similar levels of wild prey density. In large parts of the snow

leopard range, livestock production is indispensable to local

livelihoods and livestock population is expected to increase to meet the

demand of cashmere. Hence, we recommend that any efforts to increase

livestock populations or conservation initiatives aimed at recovering or

increasing snow leopard population be accompanied by better herding

practices (e.g., predator-proof corrals) to protect livestock from snow

leopard.
 
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  Call Number Serial 1611  
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Author Augugliaro, C., Christe, P., Janchivlamdan, C., Baymanday, H., Zimmermann, F. url 
  Title Patterns of human interaction with snow leopard and co-predators in the Mongolian western Altai: Current issues and perspectives Type (down) Journal Article
  Year 2020 Publication Global Ecology and Conservation Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume 24 Issue Pages 1-21  
  Keywords Depredation Human-carnivores interaction Mongolian altai Snow leopard Wolf Wolverine  
  Abstract Large carnivores can cause considerable economic damage,

mainly due to livestock depredation. These conficts instigate negative

attitude towards their conservation, which could in the extreme case

lead to retaliatory killing. Here we focus on the snow leopard (Panthera

uncia), a species of conservation concern with particularly large

spatial requirements. We conducted the study in the Bayan Olgii

province, one of the poorest provinces of Mongolia, where the majority

of the human population are traditional herders. We conducted a survey

among herders (N 261) through a semi-structured questionnaire with the

aim to assess: the current and future herding practices and prevention

measures, herders’ perceptions and knowledge of the environmental

protection and hunting laws; the perceived livestock losses to snow

leopard, wolf (Canis lupus), and wolverine (Gulo gulo), as well as to

non-predatory factors; the key factors affecting livestock losses to

these three large carnivores; and, finally, the attitudes towards these

three large carnivores. Non-predatory causes of mortality were slightly

higher than depredation cases, representing 4.5% and 4.3% of livestock

holdings respectively. While no depredation of livestock was reported

from wolverines, snow leopard and wolf depredation made up 0.2% and 4.1%

of total livestock holdings, respectively. Herders’ attitudes towards

the three large carnivores were negatively affected by the magnitude of

the damages since they had a positive overall attitude towards both snow

leopard and wolverine, whereas the attitude towards wolf was negative.

We discuss conservation and management options to mitigate herder-snow

leopard impacts. To palliate the negative consequences of the increasing

trend in livestock numbers, herd size reduction should be encouraged by

adding economic value to the individual livestock and/or by promoting

alternative income and/or ecotourism. Furthermore, co-management between

government and stakeholders would help tackle this complex problem, with

herders playing a major role in the development of livestock management

strategies. Traditional practices, such as regularly shifting campsites

and using dogs and corrals at night, could reduce livestock losses

caused by snow leopards.
 
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  Call Number Serial 1627  
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Author Karki, A., Panthi, S. url 
  Title Factors affecting livestock depredation by snow leopards (Panthera uncia) in the Himalayan region of Nepal Type (down) Journal Article
  Year 2021 Publication PeerJ Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume 9 Issue e11575 Pages 1-14  
  Keywords Conflict,Habitat,Himalaya,Livestockdepredation,Modeling,Snowleopard,Wildlife management  
  Abstract The snow leopard (Panthera uncia) found in central Asia is classified as vulnerable species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Every year, large number of livestock are killed by snow leopards in Nepal, leading to economic loss to local communities and making human-snow leopard conflict a major threat to snow leopard conservation. We conducted formal and informal stakeholder’s interviews to gather information related to livestock depredation with the aim to map the attack sites by the snow leopard. These sites were further validated by district forest office staffs to assess sources of bias. Attack sites older than 3 years were removed from the survey. We found 109 attack sites and visited all the sites for geo location purpose (GPS points of all unique sites were taken). We maintained at least a 100 m distance between attack locations to ensure that each attack location was unique, which resulted in 86 unique locations. A total of 235 km2 was used to define livestock depredation risk zone during this study. Using Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) modeling, we found that distance to livestock sheds, distance to paths, aspect, and distance to roads were major contributing factors to the snow leopard’s attacks. We identified 13.64 km2 as risk zone for livestock depredation from snow leopards in the study area. Furthermore, snow leopards preferred to attack livestock near livestock shelters, far from human paths and at moderate distance from motor roads. These identified attack zones should be managed both for snow leopard conservation and livestock protection in order to balance human livelihoods while protecting snow leopards and their habitats.  
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  Call Number Serial 1640  
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Author Pahuja, M., Sharma, R. K. pdf 
  Title Wild Predators, Livestock, and Free Ranging Dogs: Patterns of Livestock Mortality and Attitudes of People Toward Predators in an Urbanizing Trans-Himalayan Landscape Type (down) Journal Article
  Year 2021 Publication Frontiers in Conservation Science Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume 2 Issue 109 Pages 1-13  
  Keywords Canis lupus, human-wildlife relationships, human-wildlife conflict (HWC), livestock depredation, multiple use landscapes, Panthera uncia, pastoralism, urban wildlife  
  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.  
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  Call Number SLN @ rakhee @ Serial 1667  
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Author Kachel, S., Anderson, K., Shokirov, Q. pdf 
  Title Predicting carnivore habitat use and livestock depredation risk with false-positive multi-state occupancy models Type (down) Journal Article
  Year 2022 Publication Biological Conservation Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume 271 Issue 109588 Pages 1-10  
  Keywords Bayesian hierarchical model,False-positive,Multi-state occupancy,Human-carnivore conflict,Livestock depredation,Snow leopard,Lynx,Wolf,Bear  
  Abstract The cycle of livestock depredation and retaliatory killing constitutes a major threat to large carnivores worldwide and imposes considerable hardships on human communities. Mitigation efforts are often undertaken with little knowledge of ecological underpinnings and patterns of depredation, limiting conservationists' ability to develop, prioritize, and evaluate solutions. Carnivore detection and depredation data from interviews in affected communities may help address this gap, but such data are often prone to false-positive uncertainty. To address these challenges in the Pamir Mountains of Tajikistan we collected snow leopard, lynx, wolf, and bear detection and depredation reports from local communities via semi-structured interviews. We used a novel hierarchical multi-species multi-state occupancy model that accounted for potential false-positives to investigate carnivore site use and depredation concurrently with respondents' apparent vulnerability to that risk. Estimated false-positive probabilities were small, but failure to account for them overstated site use probabilities and depredation risk for all species. Although individual vulnerability was low, depredation was nonetheless commonplace. Carnivore site use was driven by clear habitat associations, but we did not identify any clearly important large-scale spatial correlates of depredation risk despite considerable spatial variation in that risk. Respondents who sheltered livestock in household corrals reinforced with wire mesh were less likely to report snow leopard depredations. Reducing depredation and retaliation at adequately large scales in the Pamirs will likely require a portfolio of species-specific strategies, including widespread proactive corral improvements. Our approach expanded inference on the often-cryptic processes surrounding human-carnivore conflict even though structured wildlife data were scarce.  
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  Call Number SLN @ rakhee @ Serial 1681  
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Author Maheshwari, A., Sharma, D., Sathyakumar, S. url 
  Title Snow Leopard (Panthera Uncia) surveys in the Western Himalayas, India Type (down) Journal Article
  Year 2013 Publication Journal of Ecology and Natural Environmnet Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume 5 Issue 10 Pages 303-309  
  Keywords Conflict, Himalayas, livestock depredation, prey, snow leopard, habitat, Uttarakhand.  
  Abstract We conducted surveys above 3000 m elevation in eight protected areas of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. These surveys provide new information on snow leopard in Uttarakhand on the basis of indirect evidence such as pugmark and scat. Snow leopard evidence (n = 13) were found between 3190 and 4115 m elevation. On an average, scats (n = 09) of snow leopard were found for every 56 km walked and pugmarks (n = 04) for every 126 km walked. Altogether, about 39% of the evidence were found on the hill-slope followed by valley floor (30%), cliff (15%) and 8% from both stream bed and scree slope. Genetic analysis of the scats identified three different individuals by using snow leopard specific primers. Snow leopard-human conflicts were assessed through questionnaire based interviews of shepherds from Govind Pashu Vihar Wildlife Sanctuary, Askot Wildlife Sanctuary and Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve areas of Uttarakhand. Surveys revealed that livestock depredation (mule, goat and sheep) is the only cause of snow leopard-human conflicts and contributed 36% of the diet of snow leopard. Blue sheep and rodents together comprised 36.4% of the total diet. We found that 68.1% of the surveyed area was used for pastoral activities in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh and 12.3% area was under tourism, defence and developmental activities.  
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  Call Number SLN @ rakhee @ Serial 1401  
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Author Li, J., Yin, H., Wang, D., Jiagong, Z., Lu, Zhi url 
  Title Human-snow leopard conflicts in the Sanjiangyuan Region of the Tibetan Plateau Type (down) Journal Article
  Year 2013 Publication Biological Conservs Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume Issue 166 Pages 118-123  
  Keywords Panthera uncia, Human-wildlife conflict, Traditional use, Livestock depredation, Economic value, Cultural image, Attitude  
  Abstract Conflicts between humans and snow leopards are documented across much of their overlapping distribution

in Central Asia. These conflicts manifest themselves primarily in the form of livestock depredation

and the killing of snow leopards by local herders. This source of mortality to snow leopards is a key conservation concern. To investigate human-snow leopard conflicts in the Sanjiangyuan Region of the Tibetan Plateau, we conducted household interviews about local herders’ traditional use of snow leopard

parts, livestock depredation, and overall attitudes towards snow leopards. We found most respondents

(58%) knew that snow leopard parts had been used for traditional customs in the past, but they claimed

not in the past two or three decades. It may be partly due to the issuing of the Protection of Wildlife Law

in 1998 by the People’s Republic of China. Total livestock losses were damaging (US$ 6193 per household

in the past 1 year), however snow leopards were blamed by herders for only a small proportion of those

losses (10%), as compared to wolves (45%) and disease (42%). Correspondingly, the cultural images of

snow leopards were neutral (78%) and positive (9%) on the whole. It seems that human-snow leopard

conflict is not intense in this area. However, snow leopards could be implicated by the retaliatory killing

of wolves. We recommend a multi-pronged conservation program that includes compensation, insurance

programs, and training local veterinarians to reduce livestock losses.
 
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  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number SLN @ rakhee @ Serial 1399  
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Author Khatiwada, J.R. & Chalise, M.K. url 
  Title Status of snow leopard and conflict perception in Kangchenjunga Conservation Area, Eastern Nepal Type (down) Journal Article
  Year 2006 Publication Nepalese Journal of Zoology Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume 1 Issue 1 Pages 1-8  
  Keywords Uncia uncia, Kangchenjunga Conservation Area, livestock depredation, blue sheep  
  Abstract Kangchenjunga Conservation Area (KCA) is situated in the Taplejung district at the north-eastern region of Nepal. Livestock keeping is the main activity of people for making a living amidst a conflict with snow leopard (Uncia uncia). Each year snow leopard kills a number of livestock resulting significant economic losses for the poor people living in this remote area. Unless the people – snow leopard conflicts is well understood and appropriate conflict management activities are implemented, the long run co-existence between people and snow leopard –especially the existence of snow leopard in this part of the world–will be in question. This has now become an utmost important as the aspiration of the people for economic development has risen significantly and the area has been open to tourism. Study was done by counting snow leopard signs walking systematically in total 18 snow leopard sign transects covering 18.01 km in length in three sites, i.e. Lonak, Khambachen and Dudhpokhari of the Conservation Area. The average sign density was 12.63/km. The livestock depredation by snow leopard for one year (2005-06) was studied by interviewing the herders to understand the responsible and specific bio-physical and economic factors. The study revealed that sub-adult yaks were mostly hunted by snow leopard. Cattle's' winter (December-April) pastures are most vulnerable sites for predation. Presence of bushes, forest and boulders and rugged mountain crevices make good hides for snow leopard. The study also showed that a lax animal guarding system was significantly responsible for high livestock depredation by snow leopard. Blue sheep was observed by walking in selected trails and from vantage points. A total of 354 individual sheep of different age and sex of 14 different herds were recorded during the study period. The study showed that improvement in livestock guarding system should be adopted as the most important activity. However despite the importance of livestock in the KCA it is still not well understood why the herders neglect for proper livestock guarding. Proper guarding system required in winter pastures to reduce the depredation pressure.  
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  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes September Approved no  
  Call Number SLN @ rana @ Serial 1319  
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