Poaching, recruitment and conservation of Punjab urial Ovis vignei punjabiensis

Abstract

Poaching can accelerate extinction processes, particularly when driven by commercial gain. We studied Punjab urial Ovis vignei punjabiensis, an endangered wild sheep, in two areas of the Salt Range in Pakistan, with contrasting human population densities and management regimes. In the Eastern Salt Range (ESR), humans live adjacent to urial habitat and enforcement of antipoaching regulations is lax. In the Kalabagh Game Reserve (KGR), human population density is low and regulations are strictly enforced. In ESR, about a quarter of the lamb crop was removed by poachers, and all rams > 6 years old were eliminated by illegal shooting. In KGR, < 5% of lambs were removed and about 34% of adult rams were ≥ 6 years old. Yearly recruitment was only four yearling females per 100 ewes in ESR, compared to about 13 yearling females per 100 ewes in KGR. Recruitment was insufficient to maintain the population in ESR. Poaching of newborn lambs to be kept as pets appears to be the greatest short-term threat to Punjab urial, recently exacerbated by the granting of licences to legally possess pet urial. Over the long term, the increasing human population in the area presents additional challenges.