Snow Leopard Panthera Uncia Research Articles

Large carnivores and low diversity of optimal prey: a comparison of the diets of snow leopards Panthera uncia and wolves Canis lupus in Sarychat-Ertash Reserve in Kyrgyzstan

AbstractIn the cold and arid mountains of Central Asia, where the diversity and abundance of wild ungulates are generally low, resource partitioning among coexisting carnivores is probably less distinct than in prey-rich areas. Thus, similar-sized carnivores are likely to compete for food. We compared the summer diets of snow leopards Panthera uncia and wolves Canis lupus in Sarychat-Ertash Reserve in the Tien-Shan mountains of Kyrgyzstan, based on analysis of genetically confirmed scats. Abundances of the principal prey species, argali Ovis ammon and Siberian ibex Capra sibirica, were estimated from field surveys. The diets consisted of few species, with high interspecific overlap (Pianka's index = 0.91). Argali was the predominant prey, with > 50% frequency of occurrence in both snow leopard and wolf scats. This was followed by Siberian ibex and marmots Marmota baibacina. Being largely unavailable, remains of livestock were not detected in any of the scats. In the snow leopard diet, proportions of argali and ibex were in line with the relative availabilities of these animals in the Reserve. This was in contrast to the diet of wolf, where argali occurred according to availability and ibex was significantly underrepresented. The high diet overlap indicates that the two predators might compete for food when the diversity of profitable, large prey is low. Competition may be more intense in winter, when marmots are not available. Hunting of argali and ibex outside the Reserve may be unsustainable and therefore reduce their abundances over time. This will affect both predators negatively and intensify competition for food. Reduction in ibex populations will directly affect the snow leopard, and the wolf is likely to be indirectly affected as a result of increased snow leopard predation of argali.

BENIGN GASTRIC NEUROENDOCRINE TUMORS IN THREE SNOW LEOPARDS (PANTHERA UNCIA)

Neuroendocrine tumors are relatively rare neoplasms arising from neuroendocrine cells that are distributed throughout the body and are predominant in the gastrointestinal tract. This report describes benign, well-differentiated gastric neuroendocrine tumors in three captive snow leopards (Panthera uncia). All tumors were well circumscribed, were within the gastric mucosa or submucosa, and had histologic and immunohistochemical features of neuroendocrine tumors. Histologic features included packeted cuboidal to columnar epithelial cells that were arranged in palisades or pseudorosettes and contained finely granular cellular cytoplasm with centrally placed, round nuclei. Cytoplasmic granules of neoplastic cells strongly expressed chromogranin A, variably expressed neuron-specific enolase, and did not express synaptophysin or gastrin. Each leopard died or was euthanatized for reasons unrelated to its tumor.

People, predators and perceptions: patterns of livestock depredation by snow leopards and wolves

Summary Livestock depredation by large carnivores is an important conservation and economic concern and conservation management would benefit from a better understanding of spatial variation and underlying causes of depredation events. Focusing on the endangered snow leopard Panthera uncia and the wolf Canis lupus, we identify the ecological factors that predispose areas within a landscape to livestock depredation. We also examine the potential mismatch between reality and human perceptions of livestock depredation by these carnivores whose survival is threatened due to persecution by pastoralists. We assessed the distribution of the snow leopard, wolf and wild ungulate prey through field surveys in the 4000 km2 Upper Spiti Landscape of trans‐Himalayan India. We interviewed local people in all 25 villages to assess the distribution of livestock and peoples' perceptions of the risk to livestock from these carnivores. We monitored village‐level livestock mortality over a 2‐year period to assess the actual level of livestock depredation. We quantified several possibly influential independent variables that together captured variation in topography, carnivore abundance and abundance and other attributes of livestock. We identified the key variables influencing livestock depredation using multiple logistic regressions and hierarchical partitioning. Our results revealed notable differences in livestock selectivity and ecological correlates of livestock depredation – both perceived and actual – by snow leopards and wolves. Stocking density of large‐bodied free‐ranging livestock (yaks and horses) best explained people's threat perception of livestock depredation by snow leopards, while actual livestock depredation was explained by the relative abundance of snow leopards and wild prey. In the case of wolves, peoples' perception was best explained by abundance of wolves, while actual depredation by wolves was explained by habitat structure. Synthesis and applications. Our results show that (i) human perceptions can be at odds with actual patterns of livestock depredation, (ii) increases in wild prey populations will intensify livestock depredation by snow leopards, and prey recovery programmes must be accompanied by measures to protect livestock, (iii) compensation or insurance programmes should target large‐bodied livestock in snow leopard habitats and (iv) sustained awareness programmes are much needed, especially for the wolf.

Snow leopard Panthera uncia predation on livestock and wild prey in a mountain valley in northern Nepal: implications for conservation management

The globally endangered snow leopard Panthera uncia is sparsely distributed throughout the rugged mountains in Asia. Its habit of preying on livestock poses a main challenge to management. In the remote Phu valley in northern Nepal, we obtained reliable information on livestock losses and estimated predator abundance and diet composition from DNA analysis and prey remains in scats. The annual diet consisted of 42% livestock. Among the wild prey, bharal (blue sheep/naur) Pseudois nayaur was by far the most common species (92%). Two independent abundance estimates suggested that there were six snow leopards in the valley during the course of our study. On average, each snow leopard killed about one livestock individual and two bharal per month. Predation loss of livestock estimated from prey remains in scats was 3.9%, which was in concordance with village records (4.0%). From a total count of bharal, the only large natural prey in the area and occurring at a density of 8.4 animals/km2 or about half the density of livestock, snow leopards were estimated to harvest 15.1% of the population annually. This predation rate approaches the natural, inherent recruitment rate of this species; in Phu the proportion of kids was estimated at 18.4%. High livestock losses have created a hostile attitude against the snow leopard and mitigation measures are needed. Among innovative management schemes now being implemented throughout the species' range, compensation and insurance programmes coupled with other incentive measures are encouraged, rather than measures to reduce the snow leopard's access to livestock. In areas like the Phu valley, where the natural prey base consists mainly of one ungulate species that is already heavily preyed upon, the latter approach, if implemented, will lead to increased predation on this prey, which over time may suppress numbers of both prey and predator.

Population monitoring of snow leopards using noninvasive collection of scat samples: a pilot study

AbstractThe endangered snow leopardPanthera unciaoccurs in rugged, high‐altitude regions of Central Asia. However, information on the status of this felid is limited in many areas. We conducted a pilot study to optimize moecular markers for the analysis of snow leopard scat samples and to examine the feasibility of using noninvasive genetic methods for monitoring this felid. We designed snow leopard‐specific primers for seven microsatellite loci that amplified shorter segments and avoided flanking sequences shared with repetitive elements. By redesigning primers we maximized genotyping success and minimized genotyping errors. In addition, we tested a Y chromosome‐marker for sex identification and designed a panel of mitochondrial DNA primers for examining genetic diversity of snow leopards using scat samples. We collected scats believed to be from snow leopards in three separate geographic regions including north‐western India, central China and southern Mongolia. We observed snow leopard scats in all three sites despite only brief 2‐day surveys in each area. There was a high rate of species misidentification in the field with up to 54% of snow leopard scats misidentified as red fox. The high rate of field misidentification suggests sign surveys incorporating scat likely overestimate snow leopard abundance. The highest ratio of snow leopard scats was observed in Ladakh (India) and South Gobi (Mongolia), where four and five snow leopards were detected, respectively. Our findings describe a species‐specific molecular panel for analysis of snow leopard scats, and highlight the efficacy of noninvasive genetic surveys for monitoring snow leopards. These methods enable large‐scale noninvasive studies that will provide information critical for conservation of snow leopards.

Status and conservation of the snow leopard Panthera uncia in the Gouli Region, Kunlun Mountains, China

The elusive snow leopard Panthera unica is a rare and little studied species in China. Over 1 March–15 May 2006 we conducted a survey for the snow leopard in the Gouli Region, East Burhanbuda Mountain, Kunlun Mountains, Qinghai Province, China, in an area of c. 300 km2 at altitudes of 4,000–4,700 m. We surveyed 29 linear transects with a total length of c. 440 km, and located a total of 72 traces (pug marks, scrapes and urine marks) of snow leopard along four of the transects. We obtained eight photographs of snow leopard from four of six camera traps. We also recorded 1,369 blue sheep, 156 Tibetan gazelles, 47 argali, 37 red deer and one male white-lipped deer. We evaluated human attitudes towards snow leopard by interviewing the heads of 27 of the 30 Tibetan households living in the study area. These local people did not consider that snow leopard is the main predator of their livestock, and thus there is little retaliatory killing. Prospects for the conservation of snow leopard in this area therefore appear to be good. We analysed the potential threats to the species and propose the establishment of a protected area for managing snow leopard and the fragile alpine ecosystem of this region.

The complete mitochondrial genome structure of snow leopard Panthera uncia

The complete mitochondrial genome (mtDNA) of snow leopard Panthera uncia was obtained by using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique based on the PCR fragments of 30 primers we designed. The entire mtDNA sequence was 16 773 base pairs (bp) in length, and the base composition was: A-5,357 bp (31.9%); C-4,444 bp (26.5%); G-2,428 bp (14.5%); T-4,544 bp (27.1%). The structural characteristics [0] of the P. uncia mitochondrial genome were highly similar to these of Felis catus, Acinonyx jubatus, Neofelis nebulosa and other mammals. However, we found several distinctive features of the mitochondrial genome of Panthera unica. First, the termination codon of COIII was TAA, which differed from those of F. catus, A. jubatus and N. nebulosa. Second, tRNA(Ser) ((AGY)), which lacked the ''DHU'' arm, could not be folded into the typical cloverleaf-shaped structure. Third, in the control region, a long repetitive sequence in RS-2 (32 bp) region was found with 2 repeats while one short repetitive segment (9 bp) was found with 15 repeats in the RS-3 region. We performed phylogenetic analysis based on a 3 816 bp concatenated sequence of 12S rRNA, 16S rRNA, ND2, ND4, ND5, Cyt b and ATP8 for P. uncia and other related species, the result indicated that P. uncia and P. leo were the sister species, which was different from the previous findings.

Évolution des grands Carnivores au Plio Pléistocène en Afrique et en Europe occidentale

This paper provides an overview of current knowledge of Plio Pleistocene Carnivora from Africa and Europe. In Plio Pleistocene times, many genera extend their ranges in Africa and Eurasia but their evolution are quite distinct in the two continents. In Africa, the modern carnivoran guild of sub saharian Africa originated in the early Pleistocene when took place extinction of archaic species. The north African fossil record is far from complete until the middle Pleistocene. In the middle and late Pleistocene, the modern carnivoran guild is associated with other elements: the simian jackal Canis simensis and two species of ursids Ursus arctos and Ursus deningeri which evolved towards Ursus spelaeus. Western European carnivore faunas show due to migration a constant turn-over of the species. Among felids, Panthera schaubi described by Viret (1954) and attributed to the genus Puma by Hemmer et al. (2004), is morphologically close to the snow leopard Panthera (Uncia) uncia. Canis etruscus is the sister group pf the clade including wolf and coyote and Canis arnensis is close to the African jackals. Ursus deningeri appears in the early Pleistocene together with two arctoid forms Ursus rodei and Ursus dolinensis that may be synonymous to Ursus arctos. The genus Hyaena is present in Europe in the middle and late Pleistocene.

Three decades of Snow leopards Panther a uncia in captivity

The international studbook for Snow leopards Panthera uncia was established at Helsinki Zoo in 1976. This paper reports on the status of the captive population over the last three decades and contains genetic and demographic analysis using the Single Population Analysis and Records Keeping System computer program. The number of collections maintaining the species has increased from ten in 1961 to 160 in 1991 and the captive population as at 1 January 1992 was 541. A total of 1599 Snow leopards have been listed in the studbook of which 27% (428), one‐third of wild‐caught and a quarter of captive‐bred animals, have bred. The captive population has 53 founders 11 of which are still living. Founder genetic contribution ranges from 0–1 to 8‐6% with a mean representation of 1–8±1–95%. As at January 1992 98% of the living population was captive bred.

Snow leopard Panthera uncia predation of livestock: An assessment of local perceptions in the Annapurna Conservation Area, Nepal

Public attitudes towards snow leopard Panthera uncia predation of domestic livestock were investigated by a questionnaire survey of four villages in snow leopard habitat within the Annapurna Conservation Area, Nepal. Most local inhabitants were subsistence farmers, many dependent upon yaks, oxen, horses and goats, with an average livestock holding of 26.6 animals per household. Reported losses to snow leopards averaged 0.6 and 0.7 animals per household in two years of study, constituting 2.6% of total stockholding but representing in monetary terms almost a quarter of the average annual Nepali national per capita income. Local people held strongly negative attitudes towards snow leopards and most suggested that total extermination of leopards was the only acceptable solution to the predation problem. Snow leopards were reported to be killed by herdsmen in defence of their livestock. The long-term success of snow leopard conservation programmes may depend upon the satisfactory resolution of the predation conflict. Some possible ways of reducing predation losses are also discussed.

Sustainable use of West African moist forest lands: D. U. U. Okali, Biotropica, 24(2B), 1992, pp 335–344

Observations were made on the hunting of musk deer Moschus moschiferus moschiferus, blue sheep Pseudois nayaur and snow leopard Panthera uncia by Bhotia tribesmen during a survey of snow leopard populations in the remote Langu Valley of West Nepal. Exploitation of wildlife provides an important source of income to some villagers following pervasive economic and political changes in the region.

Ecological significance of Xishuangbanna Dai nationality's Holy Hill (in Chinese): Liu Hongmao, Xu Zaifu & Tao Guoda, Chinese Journal of Ecology, 11(2), 1992, pp 41–43, 60

Observations were made on the hunting of musk deer Moschus moschiferus moschiferus, blue sheep Pseudois nayaur and snow leopard Panthera uncia by Bhotia tribesmen during a survey of snow leopard populations in the remote Langu Valley of West Nepal. Exploitation of wildlife provides an important source of income to some villagers following pervasive economic and political changes in the region.

Status and conservation of large mammals in Ladakh

The distribution and status of large mammals was surveyed in a 15 000 km 2 study area in Ladakh, India. Snow leopard Panthera uncia, wolf Canis lupus, ibex Capra ibex and bharal Pseudois nayaur have an almost continuous distribution throughout; Ladakh urial Ovis vignei, Tibetan argali Ovis ammon, wild ass Equus kiang and brown bear Ursus arctos have a limited distribution. Snow leopard prefer lower altitudes and rocky, undisturbed areas. Ibex and bharal occupy similar rocky habitats but their ranges are mostly separate, with a small area of overlap. The Ladakh urial shows signs of recovery from an earlier decline. Natural resources are widely used for fuel, fodder and grazing, but favourable factors include a low human population, low level of hunting and the existence of some uninhabited and undisturbed areas. A comprehensive Protected Area Network has been proposed.

Status of the snow leopard Panthera uncia in Northwest India

A nine-month survey of snow leopard Panthera uncia status was carried out in selected regions of India's three northwestern Himalayan states. Evidence of snow leopard presence was most abundant in central Ladakh, decreased southward toward the crest of the Himalaya, and was least on the southern side of the main Himalaya, where evidence of common leopard Panthera pardus was also found near the timberline. Prey populations, primarily blue sheep Pseudois nayaur and Asiatic ibex Capra ibex, were also more plentiful in the areas surveyed to the north of the main Himalaya. Perhaps 400 snow leopard occur throughout northwest India. Several national parks in India's Himalaya probably include small numbers of snow leopard, but the stronghold of this species in India is apparently the trans-Himalayan ranges in Ladakh where new parks and reserves are being established, some in association with a ‘snow leopard recovery programme’ of the state of Jammu and Kashmir and a ‘Project Snow Leopard’ of the central Indian government. Because of the generally low density of snow leopard, conservation measures must also be considered within the large areas of its range lying outside parks and reserves.

Mandibular Osteomyelitis in a Snow Leopard (Panthera uncia) with a Review of Osteomyelitis in Other Species and Man

Mandibular Osteomyelitis in a Snow Leopard (Panthera uncia) with a Review of Osteomyelitis in Other Species and Man

Status of the snow Leopard Panthera uncia in Qinghai and Gansu Provinces, China

The status and distribution of snow leopard Panthera uncia were investigated in two provinces of China. The cats occur over about 65 000 km 2 or 9% of Qinghai Province, and in a few places along the western edge of Gansu Province. In many areas the animals have in recent decades been decimated or locally eradicated, as has their prey. Counts of wild ungulates in 9 mountain blocks, totalling 1375 km 2, known for abundant wildlife, had an average of 1·4–5·4 animals km −2, principally blue sheep Pseudois nayaur, which, together with marmot Marmot himalayana, represent the snow leopard's main prey. Possibly 650 snow leopard survive in Qinghai but shooting and trapping of this legally protected animal and the hunting of blue sheep for local consumption and export threaten their existence.

Aboriginal hunting in West Nepal with reference to musk deer Moschus moschiferus moschiferus and snow leopard panthera uncia

Observations were made on the hunting of musk deer Moschus moschiferus moschiferus, blue sheep Pseudois nayaur and snow leopard Panthera uncia by Bhotia tribesmen during a survey of snow leopard populations in the remote Langu Valley of West Nepal. Exploitation of wildlife provides an important source of income to some villagers following pervasive economic and political changes in the region.