Dietary overlap of snow leopard and other carnivores in the Pamirs of Northwestern China

Abstract

Information about competition between carnivore species for food within high altitude regions is limited. Data collected from the Taxkorgan Nature Reserve, China revealed important interactions between snow leopard (Panthera uncia), grey wolf (Canis lupus), red fox (Vulpes vulpes) and their prey species, including domestic livestock. Sixty-four line transects were conducted in order to identify field signs of habitat occupancy and collect scats for diet analysis. High dietary overlap was observed between all three carnivore species: snow leopard and red fox (Pianka’s index = 0.96), red fox and grey wolf (Pianka’s index = 0.90), snow leopard and grey wolf (Pianka’s index = 0.87). Snow leopard and grey wolf showed significant predation on livestock (36.8 % for snow leopard and 29.4 % for grey wolf in diet composition). As a pioneering exploration of the endangered snow leopard and its relationship with other species within the alpine ecosystem under livestock grazing pressure, this study contributes a greater understanding of the relationship within carnivore guild in the Pamirs whilst providing implications for conservation planning and project implementation activities in China.