National Geographic Stock / Steve Winter / WWF Conservation of Snow Leopards in the Kargil Himalayas, Ladakh, India Aishwarya Maheshwari Species and Landscapes WWF-India amaheshwari@wwfindia.org 19 April 2013-1 Snow leopard Panthera uncia Height about 60 cm Length: 90-130 cm (head to base of the tail) Tail length 80 100 cm! Weight: 35-40 kg, Male: 45-55 kg IUCN Status: Endangered 1
Renihard-ARCO/WWF-Canon http://www.redlist.org, Map credit: WCS/IUCN Milan Trykar, Courtesy: ISLT Why Conserve and Study the Snow leopard? An animal that lives in some of the most remote and inaccessible places on earth The snow leopard is at the apex of the high altitude ecosystem and is an indicator species of such environments Information on snow leopard is as scanty as the animal itself 19 April 2013-3 Challenges in studying snow leopards Extremely remote and rugged habitat Sparse distribution: < 7,000 cats across 2 million km 2 2
Snow leopard: Distribution and Range in India Population: 400-700 (Not precise) Seems recovering in Kargil, Ladakh Total potential habitat: 1,29,000 km² Prey species: Asiatic ibex, Ladakh urial, blue sheep, markhor, Tibetan argali, marmot. 19 April 2013-5 Why Kargil? War during late 1990s and later the demands of land for Army settlements, establishing firing range and hunting of wildlife by local communities have resulted in detrimental effects on wildlife due to direct losses, habitat destruction and degradation. Due to the sensitive nature of the area, hardly any scientific studies on wildlife were undertaken in Kargil. 19 April 2013-6 3
Kargil: Accessibility to the habitats can be interesting Your mind will answer most questions if you learn to relax and wait for the answer. W.S.Burroughs It s a huge area (14,000 km²) to search and not just snow leopards are using it! 4
Yash Veer Bhatnagar Himalayan Brown bear (Ursus arctos isabellinus) 19 April 2013-9 Tibetan wolf (Canis lupus chanco) 19 April 2013-10 5
Red fox (Vulpes vulpes) 19 April 2013-11 Blue sheep (Pseudois nayaur) 19 April 2013-12 6
Asiatic ibex (Capra ibex) 19 April 2013-13 Marmot (Marmota spp.) 19 April 2013-14 7
And of course Humans! 19 April 2013-15 Objectives of this Study I. To determine the status and distribution of snow leopard and associated species Snow leopard population monitoring II. To estimate abundance of prey species Vantage sampling III. To assess food habits of snow leopard Scat analysis IV. To assess the snow leopard-human conflict Interviews V. To enhance awareness among stakeholders about snow leopard conservation in Kargil Meetings and workshops 19 April 2013-16 8
ReinhardARCO /WWF-Canon Snow Leopard Population Monitoring Sign Surveys to assess the distribution and abundance of snow leopard 9
Summary of direct and indirect evidence of large carnivores in Kargil (2009-2011) Large Carnivores Sighting Scat Pugmark/ Track Scrap/ Claw mark Kill Snow leopard 2 23 11 10 4 Tibetan wolf 10 52 36-13 Himalayan brown bear Unidentified carnivores 4 12 6-2 - 26 14-13 19 April 2013-19 Camera Trapping 10
Impressive Results 19 April 2013-21 Impressive Results: High Capture Rates 11
19 April 2013-23 Estimating abundance of prey species Vantage Sampling Prey availability: Asiatic ibex (0.09/km²) Ladakh urial (0.06/km²) 12
Snow leopard - Human Conflict Preliminary interviews Livestock depredation Predator proof livestock Corral Interface with Human Precentage frequency (%) of prey species in the diet of snow leopard Long tailed marmot 9% Dzo 9% Sheep 9% n=23 Asiatic ibex 28% Diet of Snow leopard Wild prey: 55 % Domestic Livestock: 45 % Cow 18% Rodent 18% Goat 9% Total value (USD) of livestock loss by large carnivores in Kargil and Drass Large carnivore-human conflicts 30000 25000 Total livestock cost= $ 3035159/- Total livestock loss= $ 297446/- Total livestock 13356 and loss 1323 by Snow leopard: 18% Tibetan wolf: 41% Unidentified: 37% Cost in USD 20000 15000 10000 5000 0 Snow leopard Tibetan wolf Himalayan brown bear Unidentified Large carnivores 19 April 2013-26 13
Existing Enclosure to Maintain Livestock in Kargil 19 April 2013-27 Improvement in Enclosure to Maintain Livestock in Kargil 19 April 2013-28 14
Snow leopard Conservation Awareness Meetings Workshop with the Administrators and District Officials: to deliberate on wildlife conservation issues Meetings with the locals, teachers, students and villagers: to generate awareness 19 April 2013-29 Acknowledgements SCCS Organizers at The University of Queensland Department of Wildlife Protection, Govt. of J&K Colleagues at WWF-India and Wildlife Institute of India Rufford Small Grants Field Assistants and Local Communities at Kargil and Leh, Ladakh. 19 April 2013-30 15
Thank you www.wwfindia.org 2013 WWF-India. All photographs used in this presentation are copyright protected and courtesy of the WWF-Canon Global Photo Network and the respective photographers. 19 April 2013-32 16