Bikram Shrestha

Global Change research Institute of Czech Academy of Science · Department of Biodiversity Research

The snow leopard is one of the most endangered large mammals. Its population, already low, is declining, most likely due to the consequences of human activity, including a reduction in the size and number of suitable habitats. With climate change, habitat loss may escalate, because of an upward shift in the tree line and concomitant loss of the alp...

Epiphytic species are ecologically important and a significant component of biodiversity. To ensure their efficient conservation, we need to understand their ecology and host plant associations. It is also important to investigate how the predicted temperature change will affect their future distribution. Here, we use data collected in Nepal to inv...

Livestock depredation by leopards is a pervasive issue across many Asian and African range countries, particularly in and around protected areas. Developing effective conflict mitigation strategies requires understanding the landscape features influencing livestock depredation. In this study, we investigated predictors associated with livestock dep...

Endemic to India and Nepal, the swamp deer (Rucervus duvaucelii) is crucial for restoring and sustaining populations of top predators like tigers. Despite recent signs of species recovery in protected areas, the species remains vulnerable to extinction due to increasing anthropogenic activities. Information on factors influencing the occurrence of...

The Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) has experienced a rapid population decline throughout its distribution. In Nepal, it mostly occurs outside protected areas; therefore, habitat degradation due to anthropogenic activities is one of the major threats to its survival. However, the scarcity of information on the ecology and distribution of pang...

To optimize the conservation strategies of snow leopard, it is necessary to know its distribution within an area and relative abundance in different habitats (Sheng et al. Biodivers Conserv 19:3195–3206, 2010). Its secretive lifestyle makes this quite difficult. Estimation methods of snow leopard abundance include search for signs of their presence...

In this introductory chapter, we present facts about snow leopard. We start with a general description of snow leopard, its ecology and typical habitats in Sect. 1.1. Details on snow leopard distribution in the world follow in Sect. 1.2. We then enumerate the main threats to this animal, which include conflicts with people, illegal trade and climat...

Large carnivores like snow leopard are solitary and elusive species, which makes observing their hunting and feeding behaviour difficult. In addition, small prey are completely consumed and it is not easy to determine where they were killed (Oli et al. in J Zool Lond 231:365–370, 1993). However, as the hair of prey is not damaged during mastication...

Snow leopard is threatened particularly by habitat loss, reduction in the availability of prey, conflict with herders, and poaching in connection with traditional Asian medicine. Therefore, an effective conservation strategy for snow leopard is needed. For this, however, we need estimates of its abundance and map of its spatial distribution. The pr...

Here we describe the five areas used for monitoring snow leopards and their prey, and the snow leopard-human conflict study. They are: Lower Mustang, Upper Mustang, Upper Manang, Tsum Valley (Chhekampar VDC) and Sagarmatha National Park. The first three are parts of the Annapurna Conservation Area (ACA), and Tsum Valley is a part of the Manaslu Con...

Understanding the dynamics of snow leopard-human conflicts and the perceptions of local people of the threats posed by snow leopards is important for gaining local support for mitigating the effects of the conflicts. This chapter presents an assessment of the knowledge and perception of local people of livestock losses due to snow leopards in the c...

This chapter focuses on changes in the numbers of snow leopard and their prey over time. We present a large set of empirical data collected by Bikram Shrestha during several grant-funded projects. This data is valuable considering the lack of detailed data on snow leopards and might be used in various contexts in the future. Although it is a large...

Habitat suitability models based on particular environmental variables are increasingly being used to predict occurrence of species for wildlife management issues. A variety of techniques and statistical methods are used in species distribution modelling. In this case we use MaxEnt and data on the distribution of snow leopard in Nepal based on a la...

Barking deer is found in dense tropical and subtropical forests of Asia. It is listed as “least concerned” by the International Union of Conservation of Nature and as “vulnerable” in Nepal, where it is also protected. Due to the habitat loss and fragmentation by human activities, barking deer abundance is decreasing, which may even ultimately lead...

Climate change is something no one can ignore. While some people are still questioning the source of this issue, many are already working on solutions for the world’s species, for which climate change might mean another step toward extinction. We are presenting here the basic idea of an innovative conservation approach, climate-smart conservation,...

Dactylorhiza hatagirea is a terrestrial orchid listed in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and classified as threatened by International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). It is endemic to the Hindu-Kush Himalayan region, distributed from Pakistan to China. The main thre...

To date, the Jungle Cat Felis chaus has been recorded in the lowlands and mid-hills in Nepal. Photographic evidence, however, is scarce, particularly in alpine habitat. Here we present the first photographic records of the Jungle Cat in an alpine habitat in Lower Mustang of the Annapurna Conservation Area, Nepal. It was recorded by camera traps at...

In this article, we used published and grey literature and expert observations to re- view the distribution and conservation status of the Near Threatened Pallas’s cat or manul Otocolobus manul in Bhutan, China, India, and Nepal. The species appears widespread in China; however, distribution in the Himalayas is patchy and not clear- ly understood....

In this article, we used published and grey literature and expert observations to review the distribution and conservation status of the Near Threatened Pallas’s cat or manul Otocolobus manul in Bhutan, China, India, and Nepal. The species appears widespread in China; however, distribution in the Himalayas is patchy and not clearly understood. Rece...

In this article, we used published and grey literature and expert observations to review the distribution and conservation status of the Near Threatened Pallas’s cat or manul Otocolobus manul in Bhutan, China, India, and Nepal. The species appears widespread in China; however, distribution in the Himalayas is patchy and not clearly understood. Rece...

Visual attractiveness and rarity often results in large carnivores being adopted as flagship species for stimulating conservation awareness. Their hunting behaviour and prey selection can affect the population dynamics of their prey, which in turn affects the population dynamics of these large carnivores. Therefore, our understanding of their troph...

In total four species of Ochotona are distributed in Nepal, Black-lipped Pika (Ochotona curzoniae), Nubra Pika (Ochotona nubrica), Large-eared Pika (Ochotona macrotis) and Royle‘s Pika (Ochotona roylii)

The Eurasian lynx Lynx lynx is poorly studied in most of Asia and almost nothing is known about its status in Nepal. We present new data on lynx in Nepal collected during 2014 to 2017 based on non-invasive genetic sampling, camera trap survey, live observation and local report from the districts of Dolpa, Mustang and Humla. We combined this data wi...

Annapurna Conservation Area (ACA) is highly potential and domineering ecological habitats for wildlife and fauna. The region is home to elusive wild animals such as Himalayan wolf, Snow leopard and Tibetan fox. Himalayan Wolf (Canis lupus chanco) is the ancient linage of the dog-clade which is historically inhabiting in the Nepalese Himalaya, which...

Annapurna Conservation Area (ACA) is highly potential and domineering ecological habitats for wildlife and fauna. The region is home to elusive wild animals such as Himalayan wolf, Snow leopard and Tibetan fox. Himalayan Wolf (Canis lupus chanco) is the ancient linage of the dog-clade which is historically inhabiting in the Nepalese Himalaya, which...

Associations between epiphytes and their hosts are among the main factors affecting the biodiversity and distribution of epiphytes. While several previous studies explored the association between epiphyte diversity and host characteristics, very little is known about the generality of such associations at larger spatial scales. We aim to explore th...

Upper Manang and Khangsar are the village in the Annapurna Conservation Area (ACA) in Nepal is located at 3540m and 3734m msl respectively and physically in the central north of the country. Animal husbandry is the main activity of the people making a living amidst a conflict with snow leopard (Panthera uncia). The snow leopard is possibly baromete...

We conducted a status-survey on Snow Leopard Panthera uncia and its main prey, the Blue Sheep Pseudois nayaur, in the Mustang District of Nepal’s Annapurna Conservation Area, in 2010 and 2011. Sign transects, covering a total linear distance of 19.4km, revealed an average density of 5.8 signs per kilometer, which compares with those from other Snow...

We report the first record of Pallas’s cat Otocolobus manul, from Nepal. The discovery occurred in Manang valley of Annapurna Conservation Area in Midwestern Nepal during the course of snow leopard Panthera uncia monitoring using remote camera traps. This is the first documented record in the country and produced 14 images (11 full and 3 partial im...

Competition between wild ungulates and livestock for resources and interactions between these two and large predators are widely regarded as a major management issue in the Himalayas. Real data supporting these claims are scarce, but badly needed for developing good management strategies, which will effectively protect both wild ungulates and their...

Study on status, distribution and potential habitat of Himalayan tahr (Hemitragus jemlahicus), and conflict areas with livestock in Sagarmatha National Park, Nepal was carried out from 21th June to 14th July 2004 in Sagarmatha National Park, which is important for conservation of this animal, pastureland and snow leopard. The numbers of tahr sighte...

Indirect methods are widely used in biological monitoring such as recording occurrence, abundance and distribution of wildlife species and their habitats, which are important to facilitate wildlife conservation program and protected area management. The main objective of this study was to explore diversity of mammalian species in Shivapuri National...

Status, Distribution, Predator Impact, Crop Depredation and Mitigation Measures of Himalayan Tahr in Sagarmatha National Park