Preliminary results from applying satellite-tracking on snow leopards for the first time in China

Abstract

The lack of snow leopards telemetry studies in China has hampered researchers in studying the movement ecology and home range sizes of snow leopards, the knowledge gap of which has affected effective planning and improvement of snow leopard protected areas in China. In 2021, we conducted China’s first snow leopard satellite-tracking project in Qilianshan National Park, China, one of the most representative mountain areas of snow leopard habitat. The outcomes of the research aims to apply gained understanding on snow leopard home range to enhance management and planning of snow leopard protected area. Here we summarize the preliminary home range results on the first three satellite-tracked snow leopards in China. The three snow leopards were followed between 3 and 6 months yielding a total of 7845 GPS locations. Using 95% MCP, 95% KDE, and aLoCoH, home range estimates of tracked individuals ranged from 106 to 872 km2, 92 – 783 km2, and 47 − 261 km2, respectively. Our preliminary results provide the first home range estimates of snow leopards in China and marks the need for further studies in Qilianshan National Park by implicating potential new aspects of how age, gender and habitat may contribute to snow leopard home range.