Snow Leopard Survival Strategy - Panthera

Ramakrishnan, U., R. G. Coss and N. W. Pelkey.
1999. Tiger decline caused by the reduction of large
ungulate prey: evidence from a study of leopard diets
in southern India. Biological Conservation 89(2):113-
120.
Populations of leopards and tigers in the Kalakad-
Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve, India, appear to be
declining. To identify the cause of this decline, we
examined the diets and the relative densities of leopards
and tigers, comparing seat from this park with that from
the Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary, a park known to have
high leopard and tiger densities. Results suggested that the
leopard density in Mudumalai was approximately twice
that in Mundanthurai. No evidence of tigers was found in
Mundanthurai. Prey species found in leopard diets in the
two parks was similar; albeit, mean prey weight and the
proportion of large ungulates were markedly lower in the
Mundanthurai leopard diet. These dietary differences are
consistent with the infrequent sightings of large ungulates
in Mundanthurai. Analyses of satellite data revealed that
large areas of grazing land in Mundanthurai have shifted
to thicket, reducing available forage for large ungulates.
Since large ungulates constitute important tiger prey, the
low density of ungulates in Mundanthurai might explain
the apparent absence of tigers. Our findings suggest that
the tiger population in the Kalakad- Mundanthurai Tiger
Reserve could be enhanced via the application of habitat
management for large ungulates.
Rasker, R. and A. Hackman. 1996. Economic
development and the conservation of large carnivores.
Conservation Biology 10:991-1002.
Conserving large carnivores in North America binges
on protecting vast wildlands, a strategy often assumed
to carry significant economic costs in terms of jobs and
income foregone. Using case studies, we tested whether
there is enough evidence to support the assertion that
the protection of wildlands is detrimental to economic
development in the northern U.S. Rocky Mountains
and the Rocky Mountains of southern British Columbia
and Alberta. We analyzed employment and income
trends in northwestern Montana (U.S.A.) for counties
with a high degree of wildland protection versus
counties with high levels of resource extraction and
little wildland protection. Employment and personal
income levels in ‘’wilderness’’ counties grew faster
than in ‘’resource- extraction’’ counties. Wilderness
counties also showed higher degrees of economic
diversification and lower unemployment rates. No direct
cause-and-effect relationship was established between
wildlands protection and economic development, but
to the assertion that protecting wildland habitat for large
carnivores is detrimental to a region’s economy, enough
counterevidence is presented to suggest an alternative
hypothesis: the protection of wilderness habitat that
sustains wild carnivores such as grizzly bears (Ursus
arctos horribilis) and wolves (Canis lupus) does not
have a detrimental effect on local or regional economies.
Evidence presented suggests that economic growth is
stimulated by environmental amenities. Further, case
studies in southern British Columbia and Alberta in
Canada and the Greater Yellowstone region, in the U.S.,
where environmental protection has been explicitly
recognized as an economic development strategy,
suggest that environmental protection and economic
development are complementary goals. In some areas,
however, ‘’amenity-based’’ economic growth is rapidly
leading to urban sprawl and subsequent loss of wildlife
habitat, and there is a need for growth management.
Reading, R. P., S. Amgalanbaatar, H. Mix and B.
Lhagvasuren. 1997. Argali Ovis ammon surveys in
Mongolia’s south Gobi. Oryx 31(4): 285-294.
The argali, Ovis ammon, a species of wild sheep, is
threatened in Mongolia, suffering from poaching and
competition with domestic livestock. The authors
conducted ground and aerial surveys of argali in
Dundgobi, Omnogobi and Dornogobi aimags (or
provinces) of the South Gobi region of Mongolia.
Ground surveys were conducted by vehicle and on
foot, while aerial surveys were conducted using two
Soviet AN-2 aircraft flying 40-km parallel transects.
The interactive computer programme Distance was used
to estimate population size and density. The authors
observed a total of 423 argali in 85 groups (mean
group size = 5.0 plus or minus 0.6 SE), including 300
individuals in 61 groups on the ground survey (mean size
= 4.9 plus or minus 0.8 SE) and 123 animals in 24 groups
during the aerial survey (mean size = 5.1 plus or minus
1.2 SE). Population structure of the groups observed
during the ground survey was 14.3 per cent males, 53.3
per cent females, 19.7 per cent lambs, and 12.7 per
cent animals of undetermined sex (means = 0.7 plus or
minus 0.2 SE males, 2.6 plus or minus 0.6 SE females,
1.0 plus or minus 0.2 SE lambs, and 0.6 plus or minus
0.4 SE undetermined). We estimated a population size
of 3900 plus or minus 1132 SE argali in the study area
for a population density of 0.0187 plus or minus 0.0054
SE animals/sq km. More rigorous and comprehensive
surveys for argali, preferably for each distinct population,
should be conducted for more accurate estimates. Argali
require more active conservation and management,
especially with respect to poaching and competition with
domestic livestock.
Reading, R. P., H. Mix, B. Lhagvasuren and N.
Tseveenmyadag. 1998. The commercial harvest
of wildlife in Dornod Aimag, Mongolia. Journal of
Wildlife Management 62(1): 59-71.
We analyzed commercial harvest data from 1932 to 1933
for Mongolian gazelle (Procapra gutturosa), gray wolves
(Canis lupus), corsac foxes (Vulpes corsac), red foxes
(Vulpes vulpes), Siberian polecats (Mustela eversmanni),
Siberian marmots (Marmota sibirica), and Tolai rabbits
(Lepus tolai) from Dornod Aimag, Mongolia. Analyses
94 | SNOW LEOPARD SURVIVAL STRATEGY