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Namgail, T., Fox, J., & Bhatnagar, Y. (2007). Carnivore-Caused Livestock Mortality in Trans-Himalaya (Vol. 39).
Abstract: The loss of livestock to wild predators is an important livelihood concern among Trans-Himalayan pastoralists. Because of the remoteness and inaccessibility of the region, few studies have been carried out to quantify livestock depredation by wild predators. In the present study, we assessed the intensity of livestock depredation by snow leopard Uncia uncia, Tibetan wolf Canis lupus chanku, and Eurasian lynx Lynx l. isabellina in three villages, namely Gya, Rumtse, and Sasoma, within the proposed Gya-Miru Wildlife Sanctuary in Ladakh, India. The three villages reported losses of 295 animals to these carnivores during a period of 2.5 years ending in early 2003, which represents an annual loss rate of 2.9% of their livestock holdings. The Tibetan wolf was the most important predator, accounting for 60% of the total livestock loss because of predation, followed by snow leopard (38%) and lynx (2%). Domestic goat was the major victim (32%), followed by sheep (30%), yak (15%), and horse (13%). Wolves killed horses significantly more and goats less than would be expected from their relative abundance. Snow leopards also killed horses significantly more than expected, whereas they killed other livestock types in proportion to their abundance. The three villages combined incurred an estimated annual monetary loss of approximately $USD 12,120 amounting to approximately $USD 190/household/y. This relatively high total annual loss occurred primarily because of depredation of the most valuable livestock types such as yak and horse. Conservation actions should initially attempt to target decrease of predation on these large and valuable livestock species.
Keywords: Gya-Miru; livestock depredation; Lynx; snow leopard; trans-himalaya; wolf
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Namgail, T., Bagchi, S. Bhatnagar, Y.V., Wangchuk, R. (2005). Occurrence of the Tibetan Sand Fox Vulpes Ferrilata Hodgson in Ladakh: A new record for the Indian subcontinent. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society, 102(2), 217–219. |
Namgail, T. (2007). Vigilance behaviour of the Tibetan argali Ovis ammon hodgsoni in the Indian Trans-Himalaya. Acta Zoologica Sinica, 53, 195–200.
Abstract: An inverse relationship between individual vigilance level and group size is widely reported in many behavioral studies on animals across several taxa. It is generally held that such a relationship is due to a reduced probability of an individual being killed in larger groups. in the present investigation, I studied the vigilance behavior of the endangered Tibetan argali Ovis ammon hodgsoni in relation to group size and escape terrain. I hypothesized that an individual argali has a higher vigilance level in smaller groups and in habitats closer to cliffs than individuals living in larger groups and open areas (escape terrain). The results show that the vigilance of argali decreased with increasing group size, but there was no effect of escape terrain on its vigilance behavior. There were significant differences between age-sex groups: male, female and yearling in their time budgets. Females, compared to males and yearlings, spent more time being vigilant. They also foraged more and moved less than males. It is suggested that vigilance is an important anti-predator behavior amongst argali sheep.
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Namgail, T., Fox, J., & Bhatnagar, Y. V. (2004). Habitat segregation between sympatric Tibetan argali Ovis ammon hodgsoni and blue sheep Pseudois nayaur in the Indian Trans-Himalaya. Journal of Zoology, 262, 57–63.
Abstract: Tibetan argali Ovis ammon hodgsoni and blue sheep Pseudois nayaur have almost completely overlapping distributions encompassing most of the Tibetan plateau and its margins. Such a sympatric distribution of related species with similar ecological requirements implies that there is some degree of resource partitioning. This may be accomplished on the basis of habitat and/or diet separation. This study evaluated such ecological separation on the basis of physical habitat partitioning by these two sympatric ungulates in Hemis High Altitude National Park, Ladakh, India, in an area where the argali established a small new population in 1978. Such separation was tested for
on the basis of expected difference between the species in their proximity to cliffs, associated with species-specific anti-predator behaviour. Tibetan argali selected habitats away from cliffs while blue sheep selected habitats close to cliffs. Blue sheep also selected steep slopes whereas argali selected gentle slopes. The two species did not differ in their use of habitats in terms of elevation. They did, however, differ in their use of plant communities; blue sheep selected sub-shrub and grass-dominated communities whilst argali selected forb-dominated communities. We suggest that the two species coexist in this site as a result of the differential use of habitat associated with their species-specific anti-predator strategies. |
Namgail, T. (2005). Winter birds of the Gya-Miru Wildlife Sanctuary, Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir, India. Indian Birds, 1(2), 26–28.
Abstract: A survey of the winter birds of the Gya-Miru Wildlife Sanctuary in the Trans-Himalayan region of Ladakh, India was carried out between December 2002 and March 2003. 30 species were recorded, constituting 60% of the total resident species in Ladakh excluding Nubra Valley, and 10% of the total birds recorded in Ladakh (11% of the post-1960 records). 29 species (97%) of the birds recorded breed in Ladakh, while one, Mallard Anas platyrhynchos is a passage migrant. The most noteworthy sightings were four species of pheasants (Phasianidae) and two of owls (Strigidae). A preliminary assessment of the potential threats to the birds in the reserve was made. This is the first avifaunal survey of the reserve, and has implications for assessing the importance of the area for bird protection.
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Namgail, T., Fox, J., & Bhatnagar, Y. (2007). Habitat shift and time budget of the Tibetan argali: the influence of livestock grazing (Vol. 22).
Abstract: Livestock production is the primary source of livelihood and income in most of the high steppe and alpine regions of the Indian Trans-Himalaya. In some areas, especially those established or proposed for biodiversity conservation, recent increases in populations of domestic livestock, primarily sheep and goats, have raised concern about domestic animals competitively excluding wild herbivores from the rangelands. We
evaluated the influence of domestic sheep and goat grazing on the habitat use and time budget of the endangered Tibetan argali Ovis ammon hodgsoni in the proposed Gya-Miru Wildlife Sanctuary, Ladakh, India. We asked if the domestic sheep and goat grazing and collateral human activities relegate the argali to suboptimal habitats, and alter their foraging time budgets. Data were collected on habitat use and time budget of a population of c. 50 argalis before and after c. 2,000 sheep and goats moved onto their winter pasture in the Tsabra catchment of the aforementioned reserve. Following the introduction of domestic sheep and goats, argalis continued to use the same catchment but shifted to steeper habitats, closer to cliffs, with lower vegetation cover, thus abandoning previously used plant communities with denser cover. Argalis' active time spent foraging also decreased by 10% in response to the presence of livestock. These results suggest a clear disturbance effect of livestock on argalis, and indicate a potential for competition, conceivably a significant disadvantage for argalis in winter when forage availability is minimal. Keywords: habitat shift; livestock; Tibetan argali; Time budget; trans-himalaya
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Namgail, T. (2004). Eurasian lynx in Ladakh. Cat News, 40, 21–22. |
Namgail, T. (2003). Gya-Miru: last refuge of the Tibetan argali. Sanctuary Asia, 23, 16–21. |
Namgail, T. (2004). Interactions between argali and livestock, Gya-Miru Wildlife Sanctuary, Ladakh, India, Final Project Report.
Abstract: Livestock production is the major land-use in Ladakh region of the Indian Trans-Himalaya, and is a crucial sector that drives the region's economy (Anon, 2002). Animal products like meat and milk provide protein to the diet of people, while products like wool and pashmina (soft fibre of goats) find their way to the international market. Such high utility of livestock and the recent socio-economic changes in the region have caused an increase in livestock population (Rawat and Adhikari, 2002; Anon. 2002), which, if continue apace, may increase grazing pressure and deteriorate pasture conditions. Thus, there is an urgent need to assess the impact of such escalation in livestock population on the regions wildlife. Although, competitive interaction between wildlife and livestock has been studied elsewhere in the Trans-Himalaya (Bhatnagar et al., 2000; Mishra, 2001; Bagchi et al., 2002), knowledge on this aspect in the Ladakh region is very rudimentary. The rangelands of Ladakh are characterised by low primary productivity (Chundawat & Rawat, 1994), and the wild herbivores are likely to compete with the burgeoning livestock on these impoverished rangelands (Mishra et al., 2002). Thus, given that the area supports a diverse wild ungulate assemblage of eight species (Fox et al., 1991b), and an increasing livestock population (Rawat and Adhikari, 2002), the nature of interaction between wildlife and livestock needs to be assessed. During this project, we primarily evaluated the influence of domestic sheep and goat grazing on the habitat use of Tibetan argali Ovis ammon hodgsoni in a prospective wildlife reserve in Ladakh.
Keywords: Interactions; interaction; argali; livestock; Gya-Miru; wildlife; sanctuary; sanctuaries; Ladakh; India; project; Report; land-use; land use; region; indian; trans-himalaya; transhimalaya; economy; Animal; products; meat; diet; people; wool; goats; goat; International; High; recent; change; population; grazing; Pressure; pasture; impact; 2000; knowledge; primary; Chundawat; wild; area; Support; ungulate; species; fox; nature; domestic; sheep; habitat; habitat use; use; tibetan; Tibetan argali; ovis; Ovis ammon hodgsoni; ammon; reserve; international snow leopard trust; International-Snow-Leopard-Trust; snow; snow leopard; snow-leopard; leopard; trust; program
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Vannelli, K., Hampton, M. P., Namgail, T., Black, S. A. (2019). Community participation in ecotourism and its effect on local
perceptions of snow leopard (Panthera uncia) conservation. Human Dimensions of Wildlife, , 1–14.
Abstract: Local support and involvement is often essential for effective
wildlife conservation. This study assessed the impact of local involvement in ecotourism schemes on perceptions of wildlife, promotion of conservation action, types of values that communities placed on wildlife, and contexts in which wildlife are considered to be most valuable. The study used qualitative semi-structured interviews conducted in seven villages in Ladakh, India, which is an important region of snow leopard (Panthera uncia) habitat. Results indicated that in these communities, ecotourism-based interventions encourage more positive perceptions of wildlife species, in particular the snow leopard. Achieving change in community perceptions of wildlife is key when implementing ecotourism schemes to enable more effective conservation, as well as generating local awareness and value for wildlife toward problematic keystone species such as the snow leopard, which are frequently the focus of human-wildlife conflict. |