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Author Suryawanshi, K.R. url 
  Title Towards snow leopard prey recovery: understanding the resource use strategies and demographic responses of bharal Pseudois nayaur to livestock grazing and removal; Final project report Type Report
  Year (up) 2009 Publication Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume Issue Pages 1-43  
  Keywords project; snow; snow leopard; snow-leopard; leopard; network; conservation; program; prey; recovery; resource; use; strategy; demographic; Response; bharal; Pseudois; pseudois nayaur; Pseudois-nayaur; nayaur; livestock; grazing; Report; decline; wild; populations; population; Himalayan; region; Competition; threats; threat; uncia; Uncia uncia; Uncia-uncia; study; diet; winter; Test; browse; nutrition; areas; area; young; Female; times; High; Adult; mortality; species; predators; predator; endangered; trans-himalaya; transhimalaya  
  Abstract Decline of wild prey populations in the Himalayan region, largely due to competition with livestock, has been identified as one of the main threats to the snow leopard Uncia uncia. Studies show that bharal Pseudois nayaur diet is dominated by graminoids during summer, but the proportion of graminoids declines in winter. We explore the causes for the decline of graminoids from bharal winter diet and resulting implications for bharal conservation. We test the predictions generated by two alternative hypotheses, (H1) low graminoid availability caused by livestock grazing during winter causes bharal to include browse in their diet, and, (H2) bharal include browse, with relatively higher nutrition, to compensate for the poor quality of graminoids during winter. Graminoid availability was highest in areas without livestock grazing, followed by areas with moderate and intense livestock grazing. Graminoid quality in winter was relatively lower than that of browse, but the difference was not statistically significant. Bharal diet was dominated by graminoids in areas with highest graminoid availability. Graminoid contribution to bharal diet declined monotonically with a decline in graminoid availability. Bharal young to female ratio was three times higher in areas with high graminoid availability than areas with low graminoid availability. No starvation-related adult mortalities were observed in any of the areas. Composition of bharal winter diet was governed predominantly by the availability of graminoids in the rangelands. Since livestock grazing reduces graminoid availability, creation of livestock free areas is necessary for conservation of grazing species such as the bharal and its predators such as the endangered snow leopard in the Trans-Himalaya.  
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  Notes Project funded by Snow Leopard Network's Snow Leopard Conservation Grant Program, 2008. Nature Conservation Foundation, Mysore. Post-graduate Program in Wildlife Biology and Conservation, National Centre for Biological Sciences, Wildlife Conservation Society -India program, Bangalore, India. Approved no  
  Call Number SLN @ rana @ 1077 Serial 952  
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Author Suryawanshi, K.R.; Bhatnagar, Y.; Mishra, C. url 
  Title Why should a grazer browse? Livestock impact on winter resource use by bharal Pseudois nayaur Type Journal Article
  Year (up) 2009 Publication Oecologia Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume Issue Pages 1-10  
  Keywords browse; livestock; impact; winter; resource; use; bharal; Pseudois; pseudois nayaur; Pseudois-nayaur; nayaur; diet; variation; diets; conservation; Media; study; decline; areas; area; grazing; Pressure; plants; plant; sign; feeding; location; population; structure; populations; using; young; Female; times; High; Competition; species; predators; predator; endangered; snow; snow leopard; snow-leopard; leopard; trans-himalaya; transhimalaya  
  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.  
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  Notes This study was made possible by a grant from the Snow Leopard Network. Additional support was given by the Wildlife Conservation Society-India Program and Nature Conservation Foundation, the Whitley Fund for Nature, the Ford Foundation, and the Nadathur Conservation Trust. Approved no  
  Call Number SLN @ rana @ 1062 Serial 951  
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Author Aryal, A. url 
  Title Final Report On Demography and Causes of Mortality of Blue Sheep (Pseudois nayaur) in Dhorpatan Hunting Reserve in Nepal Type Report
  Year (up) 2009 Publication Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume Issue Pages 1-53  
  Keywords Report; mortality; blue; blue sheep; blue-sheep; sheep; Pseudois; pseudois nayaur; Pseudois-nayaur; nayaur; Dhorpatan; hunting; reserve; Nepal; biodiversity; research; training; snow; snow leopard; snow-leopard; leopard; conservation; program; population; Population-Density; density; densities; change; Sex; study; area; High; poaching; Pressure; reducing; number; predators; predator; poison; wolf; wolves; canis; Canis-lupus; lupus; wild; wild boar; prey; prey species; prey-species; species; scats; scat; value; fox; cover; deer; diet; leopards; pika; snow leopards; snow-leopards; soil; Relationship  
  Abstract A total of 206 individual Blue sheep Pseudois nayaur were estimated in Barse and Phagune blocks of Dhorpatan Hunting Reserve (DHR) and population density was 1.8 Blue sheep/sq.km. There was not significant change in population density from last 4 decades. An average 7 animals/herd (SD-5.5) were classified from twenty nine herds, sheep per herds varying from 1 to 37. Blue sheep has classified into sex ratio on an average 75 male/100females was recorded in study area. The sex ratio was slightly lower but not significantly different from the previous study. Population of Blue sheep was seen stable or not decrease even there was high poaching pressure, the reason may be reducing the number of predators by poison and poaching which has

supported to increase blue sheep population. Because of reducing the predators Wolf Canis lupus, Wild boar population was increasing drastically in high rate and we can observed wild boar above the tree line of DHR. The frequency of occurrence of different prey species in scats of different predators shows that, excluding zero values, the frequencies of different prey species were no significantly different (ö2= 10.3, df = 49, p > 0.05). Most of the scats samples (74%) of Snow leopard, Wolf, Common Leopard, Red fox's cover one prey species while two and three species were present in 18% and 8%, respectively. Barking deer Muntiacus muntjak was the most frequent (18%) of total diet composition of common leopards. Pika Ochotona roylei was the most frequent (28%), and Blue sheep was in second position for diet of snow leopards which cover 21% of total diet composition. 13% of diet covered non-food item such as soil, stones, and vegetable. Pika was most frequent on Wolf and Red fox diet which covered 32% and 30% respectively. There was good positive relationship between the scat density and Blue sheep consumption rate, increasing the scat density, increasing the Blue sheep consumption rate. Blue sheep preference by different predators such as Snow leopard, Common leopard, Wolf and Red fox were 20%, 6%, 13% and 2% of total prey species respectively.
 
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  Notes The Biodiversity Research and Training Forum (BRTF) Nepal. Email: savefauna@yahoo.com Submitted to Snow Leopard Conservation Grants Program, USA. Approved no  
  Call Number SLN @ rana @ 1064 Serial 104  
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Author Anwar, M., Jackson, R., Nadeem, M., Janecka, J., Hussain, S., Beg, M., Muhammad, G., and Qayyum, M. url 
  Title Food habits of the snow leopard Panthera uncia (Schreber, 1775) in Baltistan, Northern Pakistan Type Journal Article
  Year (up) 2011 Publication European Journal of Wildlife Research Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume Issue 3 March Pages 1-7  
  Keywords Himalayas, Karakoram, Scat, Diet, Hair, Livestock, Biomass  
  Abstract The snow leopard (Panthera uncia) inhabits the high, remote mountains of Pakistan from where very little information is available on prey use of this species. Our study describes the food habits of the snow leopard in the Himalayas and Karakoram mountain ranges in Baltistan, Pakistan. Ninety-five putrid snow leopard scats were collected from four sites in Baltistan. Of these, 49 scats were genetically confirmed to have originated from snow leopards. The consumed prey was identified on the basis of morphological characteristics of hairs recovered from the scats. It was found that most of the biomass consumed (70%) was due to domestic livestock viz. sheep (23%), goat (16%), cattle (10%), yak (7%), and cattle–yak hybrids (14%). Only 30% of the biomass was due to wild species, namely Siberian ibex (21%), markhor (7%), and birds (2%). Heavy predation on domestic livestock appeared to be the likely cause of conflict with the local inhabitants. Conservation initiatives should focus on mitigating this conflict by minimizing livestock losses.  
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  Publisher Springer Berlin / Heidelberg Place of Publication Editor  
  Language English Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1612-4642 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number SLN @ rana @ Serial 1304  
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Author Wegge, P., Shrestha, R., Flagstad, O. url 
  Title Snow leopard Panthera uncia predation on livestock and wild prey in a mountain valley in northern Nepal: implications for conservation management Type Journal Article
  Year (up) 2012 Publication Wildlife Biology Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume 18 Issue 10.2981/11-049 Pages 131-141  
  Keywords bharal, blue sheep, diet, genetic sampling, naur, Panthera uncia, predation, Pseudois nayaur, scat analysis, snow leopard, wildlife conflict  
  Abstract The globally endangered snow leopard Panthera uncia is sparsely distributed throughout the rugged mountains in Asia.

Its habit of preying on livestock poses a main challenge to management. In the remote Phu valley in northern Nepal, we

obtained reliable information on livestock losses and estimated predator abundance and diet composition from DNA

analysis and prey remains in scats. The annual diet consisted of 42%livestock. Among the wild prey, bharal (blue sheep/

naur) Pseudois nayaur was by far the most common species (92%). Two independent abundance estimates suggested that

there were six snow leopards in the valley during the course of our study. On average, each snow leopard killed about one

livestock individual and two bharal permonth. Predation loss of livestock estimated fromprey remains in scats was 3.9%,

which was in concordance with village records (4.0%). From a total count of bharal, the only large natural prey in the area

and occurring at a density of 8.4 animals/km2 or about half the density of livestock, snow leopards were estimated to

harvest 15.1% of the population annually. This predation rate approaches the natural, inherent recruitment rate of this

species; in Phu the proportion of kids was estimated at 18.4%. High livestock losses have created a hostile attitude against

the snow leopard and mitigation measures are needed. Among innovative management schemes now being implemented

throughout the species’ range, compensation and insurance programmes coupled with other incentive measures are

encouraged, rather than measures to reduce the snow leopard’s access to livestock. In areas like the Phu valley, where the

natural prey base consists mainly of one ungulate species that is already heavily preyed upon, the latter approach, if

implemented, will lead to increased predation on this prey, which over time may suppress numbers of both prey and

predator.
 
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  Call Number SLN @ rakhee @ Serial 1386  
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Author Lovari, S., Ventimiglia, M., Minder, I. url 
  Title Food habits of two leopard species, competition, climate change and upper treeline: a way to the decrease of an endangered species? Type Journal Article
  Year (up) 2013 Publication Ethology Ecology & Evolution Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume 25 Issue 4 Pages 305-318  
  Keywords carnivore evolution, coexistence, sympatric species, diet, Panthera uncia, Panthera pardus.  
  Abstract For carnivore species, spatial avoidance is one of the evolutionary solutions to

coexist in an area, especially if food habits overlap and body sizes tend to coincide.

We reviewed the diets of two large cats of similar sizes, the endangered snow leopard

(Panthera uncia, 16 studies) and the near-threatened common leopard (Panthera par-

dus, 11 studies), in Asia. These cats share ca 10,000 km2 of their mountainous range,

although snow leopards tend to occur at a significantly higher altitude than common

leopards, the former being a cold-adapted species of open habitats, whereas the latter

is an ecologically flexible one, with a preference for woodland. The spectrum of prey

of common leopards was 2.5 times greater than that of snow leopards, with wild prey

being the staple for both species. Livestock rarely contributed much to the diet. When

the breadth of trophic niches was compared, overlap ranged from 0.83 (weight categories)

to one (main food categories). As these leopard species have approximately

the same size and comparable food habits, one can predict that competition will arise

when they live in sympatry. On mountains, climate change has been elevating the

upper forest limit, where both leopard species occur. This means a habitat increase

for common leopards and a substantial habitat reduction for snow leopards, whose

range is going to be squeezed between the forest and the barren rocky altitudes, with

medium- to long-term undesirable effects on the conservation of this endangered cat
 
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  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number SLN @ rakhee @ Serial 1403  
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Author Wu, D., Maming, R., Xu, G., Zhu X., Buzzard, P. url 
  Title Relationship between ibex and snow leopard about food chain and population density in Tian Shan Type Journal Article
  Year (up) 2015 Publication Selevinia Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume Issue Pages 186-190  
  Keywords diet, ibex, snow leopard  
  Abstract Many studies have demonstrated that ibex (Capra sibirica) are the most frequently eaten prey of snow

leopards (Panthera uncia) in Xinjiang, the west of China. Thus, an understanding of interactions between these species may have significant management and conservation of implications for both. In this study, we provide information on ibex grouping and density over a 24 month period in the Tian Shan of Xinjiang, China. We then use ibex density to estimate the density of snow leopards. We observed ibex primarily in ewe-lamb groups (N=880), but ibex sexual segregation and grouping changed seasonally with more mixed-sex groups during the winter rut. We observed the most ibex in April 2014 and 2015 with an average of (2422 ± 119 ibex). Over the 1643 km2 study area we then estimated an ibex density of 154 ± 23 ibex /100 km2 from which we estimated a density of 1.31~2.58 snow leopards/100 km2.
 
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  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number SLN @ rakhee @ Serial 1439  
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Author Weiskopf, S. R., Kachel, S. M., McCarthy, K. P. url 
  Title What Are Snow Leopards Really Eating? Identifying Bias in Food-Habit Studies Type Journal Article
  Year (up) 2016 Publication Wildlife Society Bulletin Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume Issue Pages 1-8  
  Keywords diet, DNA genotyping, feces, Panthera uncia, scat, snow leopard. Lack of  
  Abstract Declining prey populations are widely recognized as a primary threat to snow leopard (Panthera

uncia) populations throughout their range. Effective snow leopard conservation will depend upon reliable

knowledge of food habits. Unfortunately, past food-habit studies may be biased by inclusion of nontarget

species in fecal analysis, potentially misinforming managers about snow leopard prey requirements.

Differentiation between snow leopard and sympatric carnivore scat is now cost-effective and reliable using

genetics. We used fecal mitochondrial DNA sequencing to identify scat depositors and assessment bias in

snow leopard food-habit studies. We compared presumed, via field identification, and genetically confirmed

snow leopard scats collected during 2005 and 2012 from 4 sites in Central Asia, using standard forensic

microscopy to identify prey species. Field identification success varied across study sites, ranging from 21% to

64% genetically confirmed snow leopard scats. Our results confirm the importance of large ungulate prey for

snow leopards. Studies that fail to account for potentially commonplace misidentification of snow leopard

scat may mistakenly include a large percentage of scats originating from other carnivores and report

inaccurate dietary assessments. Relying on field identification of scats led to overestimation of percent

occurrence, biomass, and number of small mammals consumed, but underestimated values of these measures for large ungulates in snow leopard diet. This clarification suggests that the conservation value of secondary prey, such as marmots (Marmota spp.) and other small mammals, may be overstated in the literature; stable snow leopard populations are perhaps more reliant upon large ungulate prey than previously understood.
 
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  Call Number SLN @ rakhee @ Serial 1445  
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Author Khatoon, R., Hussain, I., Anwar, M., Nawaz, M. A. url 
  Title Diet selection of snow leopard (Panthera uncia) in Chitral, Pakistan Type Journal Article
  Year (up) 2017 Publication Turkish Journal of Zoology Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume Issue 14 Pages 914-923  
  Keywords Snow leopard, conservation, seasonal variation, diet composition, Chitral, Pakistan  
  Abstract Snow leopard (Panthera uncia) is an elusive endangered carnivore found in remote mountain regions of Central Asia, with

sparse distribution in northern Pakistan, including Chitral and Baltistan. The present study determined the food habits of snow leopard,

including preferred prey species and seasonal variation in diet. Fifty-six scat samples were collected and analyzed to determine the

diet composition in two different seasons, i.e. summer and winter. Hair characteristics such as cuticular scale patterns and medullary

structure were used to identify the prey. This evidence was further substantiated from the remains of bones, claws, feathers, and other

undigested remains found in the scats. A total of 17 prey species were identified; 5 of them were large mammals, 6 were mesomammals,

and the remaining 6 were small mammals. The occurrence of wild ungulates (10.4%) in the diet was low, while livestock constituted a

substantial part (26.4%) of the diet, which was higher in summer and lower in winter. Mesomammals altogether comprised 33.4% of

the diet, with palm civet (Paguma larvata) as a dominant (16.8%) species, followed by golden marmot (Marmota caudate) (8.8%), which

was higher in winter. There was a significant difference in seasonal variation in domestic livestock and small mammals. The livestock

contribution of 26.4% observed in the present study indicates a significant dependence of the population on livestock and suggests

that the study area is expected to be a high-conflict area for snow leopards. The results of the current study would help improve the

conservation efforts for snow leopards, contributing to conflict resolution and effective management of this endangered cat.
 
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  Call Number SLN @ rakhee @ Serial 1459  
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Author Shrestha, A., Thapa, K., Subba, S. A., Dhakal, M., Devkota, B. P., Thapa, G. J., Shrestha, S., Malla, S., Thapa, K. url 
  Title Cats, canines, and coexistence: dietary differentiation between the sympatric Snow Leopard and Grey Wolf in the western landscape of Nepal Himalaya Type Journal Article
  Year (up) 2019 Publication Journal of Threatened Taxa Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume 11 Issue 7 Pages 13815-13821  
  Keywords Canis lupus, dietary pattern, dietary overlap, livestock, Naur, negative interaction, Panthera uncia, scat analysis, sympatry  
  Abstract Understanding the dietary habits of sympatric apex carnivores advances our knowledge of ecological processes and aids their conservation. We compared the diets of the sympatric Snow Leopard Panthera uncia and Grey Wolf Canis lupus using standard micro-histological analyses of scats collected from the western complex of Nepal Himalaya. Our study revealed one of the highest recorded contributions of livestock to the diet of top predators (55% for Grey Wolf and 39% for Snow Leopard) and high dietary overlap (0.82) indicating potential exploitative or interference competition. Their diet composition, however, varied significantly based on their consumption of wild and domestic prey. Limitation in data precludes predicting direction and outcome of inter-specific interactions between these predators. Our findings suggest a high rate of negative interaction with humans in the region and plausibly retaliatory killings of these imperilled predators. To ensure the sustained survival of these two apex carnivores, conservation measures should enhance populations of their wild prey species while reducing livestock losses of the local community through preventive and mitigative interventions.  
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  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number SLN @ rakhee @ Serial 1485  
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