Abstract: It is necessary to look at the big picture when managing biological resources on the QinghaiXizang (Tibetan) plateau. Plateau pikas (Ochotona curzoniae) are poisoned widely across the plateau. Putative reasons for these control measures are that pika populations may reach high densities and correspondingly reduce forage for domestic livestock (yak, sheep, horses), and because they may be responsible for habitat degradation. In contrast, we highlight the important role the plateau pika plays as a keystone species in the Tibetan plateau ecosystem. The plateau pika is a keystone species because it: (i) makes burrows that are the primary homes to a wide variety of small birds and lizards; (ii) creates microhabitat disturbance that results in an increase in plant species richness; (iii) serves as the principal prey for nearly all of the plateau's predator species; (iv) contributes positively to ecosystem-level dynamics. The plateau pika should be managed in concert with other uses of the land to ensure preservation of China's native biodiversity, as well as long-term sustainable use of the pastureland by domestic livestock.

Abstract: The data on spreading, numbers and population density of snow leopard in Kazakhstan are given in this article. The total number of the snow leopard in Kazakhstan is evaluated in 100-110 individuals. The everywhere occurred numbers' reduction under the influence of the anthropogenic factors is observed. The snow leopard' inhabitation area varies from 20 to 120 square kilometers depending on its regions. Sex and composition of the population and its aggregative behavior are given. The dynamics of numbers and mortality are estimated.

Abstract: Snow leopards occur near the snow line in northern Pakistan in the districts of Swat, Dir and Chitral of the Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP), Muzaffarabad district in Azad Kashmir and Gilgit and Baltistan districts in the Northern Areas. Although a number of protected areas are present in the form of national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and game reserves (Table 1) where legal protection is available to all wildlife species, including snow leopards, the status of this endangered species is not improving satisfactorily. The reasons are many and range from direct persecution by livestock owners to the less than strict management of protected areas.
Because of remote and inaccessible locations and lack of proper communication with local communities, government officials and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) concerned with conservation find it difficult to obtain statistics on mortality of snow leopards. However, the killing of snow leopards is not uncommon. Because of the close and long-term association between local villagers and snow leopards, it is only through the support and cooperation of these peoples that protection of this endangered species can be assured against most of the existing threats. The effects of such cooperation has been clearly shown through some of the conservation projects of World Wildlife Fund (WWF) – Pakistan. Details of such projects and certain lessons that can be learned from these and similar projects are discussed in this paper.

Abstract: In the 1960s, the endangered snow leopard was locally extirpated from the Sagarmatha (Mt. Everest) region of Nepal. In this Sherpa-inhabited high Himalaya, the flourishing tourism since the ascent of Mt Everest in 1953, has caused both prosperity and adverse impacts, the concern that catalyzed the establishment of Mt. Everest National Park in the region in 1976. In the late 1980s, there were reports that some transient snow leopards may have visited the area from adjoining Tibet, but no biological surveys exist to confirm the status of the cats and their prey. Have snow leopards finally returned to the top of the world? Exploring this question was the main purpose of this research project. We systematically walked altogether 24 sign transects covering over 13 km in length in three valleys, i.e. Namche, Phortse and Gokyo, of the park, and counted several snow leopard signs. The results indicated that snow leopards have made a comeback in the park in response to decades of protective measures, the virtual cessation of hunting and the recovery of the Himalayan tahr which is snow leopard's prey. The average sign density (4.2 signs/km and 2.5 sign sites/km) was comparable to that reported from other parts of the cats' range in the Himalaya. On this basis, we estimated the cat density in the Everest region between 1 to 3 cats per 100 sq km, a figure that was supported by different sets of pugmarks and actual sightings of snow leopards in the 60 km2 sample survey area. In the study area, tahr population had a low reproductive rate (e.g. kids-to-females ratio, 0.1, in Namche). Since predators can influence the size and the structure of prey species populations through mortality and through non-lethal effects or predation risk, snow leopards could have been the cause of the population dynamics of tahr in Sagarmtha, but this study could not confirm this speculation for which further probing may be required.