First camera-trap record of the snow leopard Panthera uncia in Gaurishankar Conservation Area, Nepal

Abstract

AbstractThe snow leopard Panthera uncia is the flagship species of the high mountains of the Himalayas. There is potentially continuous habitat for the snow leopard along the northern border of Nepal, but there is a gap in information about the snow leopard in Gaurishankar Conservation Area. Previous spatial analysis has suggested that the Lamabagar area in this Conservation Area could serve as a transboundary corridor for snow leopards, and that the area may connect local populations, creating a metapopulation. However, there has been no visual confirmation of the species in Lamabagar. We set 11 infrared camera traps for 7 months in Lapchi Village of Gaurishankar Conservation Area, where blue sheep Pseudois nayaur, musk deer Moschus leucogaster and Himalayan tahr Hemitragus jemlahicus, all snow leopard prey species, had been observed. In November 2018 at 4,100 m, 5 km south-west of Lapchi Village, one camera recorded three images of a snow leopard, the first photographic evidence of the species in the Conservation Area. Sixteen other species of mammals were also recorded. Camera-trap records and sightings indicated a high abundance of Himalayan tahr, blue sheep and musk deer. Lapchi Village may be a potentially important corridor for snow leopard movement between the east and west of Nepal and northwards to Quomolongma National Park in China. However, plans for development in the region present increasing threats to this corridor. We recommend development of a transboundary conservation strategy for snow leopard conservation in this region, with participation of Nepal, China and international agencies.