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Snow leopard conservation in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, WWF India, New Delhi.

September 2015

September 2015

DOI:10.13140/RG.2.1.4456.3681

Authors:

Base-line surveys on snow leopards in Uttarakhand and some areas of Himachal Pradesh provided meaningful insights on occurrence and distribution of snow leopard in these two province of the Western Himalayas.

Evidence of large carnivores in GPV.

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Food habits of snow leopard in Uttarakhand (April to December) 2009.

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Evidence used for determining the occurrence of large mammals during survey in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.

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Total value ($) of livestock and loss by snow leopard in 2007 in three areas of Uttarakhand.

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Total number of direct and indirect evidence of large carnivores.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

During the surveys in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh many individuals

contributed their time, expertise and advice. Firstly, we are extremely grateful to

Shri Ravi Singh (SG and CEO, WWF-India) for taking an interest and providing a

grant for the survey. Shri Sujoy Banerjee (Species Conservation Programme,

WWF-India) is thanked for his interest and encouragement of the survey.

Thanks are due to Shri S. Chandola, PCCF (Wildlife), Uttarakhand and Shri Vinay

Tandon, PCCF (Wildlife), Himachal Pradesh for providing valuable inputs to plan

the survey and granting permission to undertake it. We are thankful to Shri

Param Jeet Singh, Chief Conservator of Forest, Shri S. S. Rasaily, Chief

Conservator of Forest, Shri Shushant Patnaik, DFO, Uttarkashi, Shri Komal Singh,

Director, Gangotri National Park, Shri Ram Gopal, DFO, Pithoragarh, Shri Shravan

Kumar, DFO, Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve of the Uttarakhand Forest

Department. We similarly thank Shri L. S. Thankur, ACF, Great Himalayan

National Park, Smt Sarita, DFO, Chamba and Shri Vikram, DFO, Chamba of

Himachal Pradesh Forest Department, for their help and logistical support. The

frontline forest department staff of both the states helped in several ways without

which this survey would not have been possible.

Special thanks in this regard are due to the officers and staff of the forest

departments of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, Indo-Tibet Border Police

(ITBP), porters, field assistants as well as locals and shepherds who provided

valuable information through interviews and correspondence. We are very

thankful to ITBP for their unrelenting support during the survey in remote

localities. We thank Dr. Manvendra Singh (DC), Shri Rakesh (DC), Shri Manish

Bhatia (DC), Shri Kanta, (I), Shri Chhan S. Thakur (SI) and Shri Kanta (SI) for

their help and support.

Dr. V. B. Mathur, Dean, Wildlife Institute of India (WII) is thanked for providing

permission to use boundary maps of PAs and laboratory facilities for scat analysis.

Dr. S. P. Goyal, Scientist, WII is thanked for guidance in scat analysis. Dr. S.

Sathyakumar, Scientist, WII provided valuable inputs throughout the survey. Dr.

Yash Veer Bhatnagar, Director, Snow leopard Trust-India is thanked for valuable

comments and suggestions that helped in improving the report. Mr. Qamar

Qureshi, Scientist, WII and Dr. P. Lal Programmer (Computer and GIS), WII are

thanked for providing help and support in preparing GIS maps of Uttarakhand and

Himachal Pradesh states. Mr. Umesh Kumar, Researcher, WII, is thanked for

identifying the flora in this survey. Mr. Mukesh, Researcher, WII is thanked for

providing support for the survey.

At WWF-India, Secretariat, New Delhi, Dr. G. Areendran and Mr. Himanshu are

thanked for preparing maps. Mr. Jagdish Upadhyay, Santram, Mr. Chandan Singh

Snow leopard conservation in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh

III

Snow leopard conservation in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh

Bajetha, Ms. Renu Atwal and colleagues at Finance Division are thanked for their

support.

Last but not the least, Mr. Ameen Ahmed, Mr. Anil Cherukupalli, Ms. Nikita

Aggrawal, and Ms. Copal Mathur from Communications are thanked for their

support to give the final shape to this report.

FOREWORD

The Himalayas, the highest mountain system on planet Earth have always been a

source of awe, inspiration and spiritual solace. Home to a wide diversity of flora

and fauna, this mountain range has fostered human civilisations and cultures

across ages. The Himalayas encompass a number of unique features, including

wetlands, glaciers and the source of several rivers truly making it the water tower

of Asia. As such, it is imperative to conserve this unique range of mountain

ecosystems for the future well being of many natural species, including humanity.

WWF-India is priviledged to be working in this region to support its conservation.

The snow leopard, an elusive and iconic species of the Greater and Trans-

Himalayas is one about which little is known even today. This is especially true of

the Indian Himalayas where information on snow leopard status and distribution

is sketchy across most of its range. WWF-India has conducted surveys in parts of

Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh in the Northern Himalayas to assess the

status and distribution of snow leopard, its co-predators and prey species. This

document presents the findings of our surveys which we trust will serve as a

useful reference on the species in India and also as a base line on the areas

surveyed . We further hope that some of the findings will be useful in the

implementation of the recently launched Project Snow Leopard by the Ministry of

Environment and Forests.

For upscaling conservation initiatives in the Himalayas, the need for more

individuals to come forth is an imperative. We believe that such reports will

inspire those who may like to study snow leopards in the field - though this is not

the easiest of conservation efforts, given the terrain and climatic conditions - the

environment in a larger sense, is unsurpassed on earth.

WWF-India compliments Aishwarya Maheshwari, the author of this report for his

tenacity, diligence and hard work in carrying out the field work and preparing this

report. We also compliment the initiatives of Dr. Diwaker Sharma, Mr. Sujoy

Banerjee and many others, including the Forest Department personnel who

supported the work in the mountains.

Ravi Singh,

Secretary General and CEO

WWF-India

Snow leopard conservation in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh

Om Parvat at Askot WLS

Camping site at Kugti WLS

LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES

LIST OF FIGURES

Fig 1: Landform and habitat use by snow leopard.

Fig 2: Food habits of snow leopard in Uttarakhand (April to December) 2009.

Fig 3: Total value ($) of livestock and loss by snow leopard in 2007 in three

areas of Uttarakhand.

Fig 4: Livestock depredation by snow leopard in Govind Pashu Vihar, Askot

Wildlife Sanctuary and Munsiari areas of Uttarakhand.

Fig 5: Summary of threats (Miradi 2.4) to snow leopard and its habitat in the

surveyed areas of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.

IST OF TABLES

Table 1: Total distance walked and sampling efforts (Km) in Uttarakhand and

Himachal Pradesh.

Table 2: Evidence used for determining the occurrence of large mammals during

survey in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.

Table 3. Total number of direct and indirect evidence of large carnivores.

Table 4: Altitude at which evidence of mammal species were recorded during the

survey in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.

Snow leopard conservation in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh

ABBREVIATIONS

AC Assistant Commandant

AWLS Askot Wildlife Sanctuary

DC Deputy Commandant

GHNP Great Himalayan National Park

GNP Gangotri National Park

GPV Govind Pashu Vihar

HP Himachal Pradesh

I Inspector

KWLS Kugti Wildlife Sanctuary

NP National Park

SDGl Sunderdhunga Glacier

SI Sub-Inspector

SWLS Sangla Wildlife Sanctuary

VoFNP Valley of Flower National Park

WII Wildlife Institute of India

WLS Wildlife Sanctuary

WWF World Wide Fund for Nature

Snow leopard conservation in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh

Snow leopard Conservation in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh

ABSTRACT

The Greater and Trans Himalayan regions of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh

have great potential in terms of wildlife (flora and fauna). This survey was the

first ever survey for the snow leopard in Uttarakhand and some of the areas of

Himachal Pradesh till date. It confirms the presence of snow leopard in

Uttarakhand on the basis of indirect evidence. We could not find any evidence of

snow leopard from surveyed areas in Himachal Pradesh – but it certainly does not

mean that there are no snow leopards in the surveyed areas.

Areas above 3000m elevation were selected for this survey in 10 protected areas

of both the states. Status and distribution of snow leopard was assessed through

indirect evidence (n=13) found between 3190 and 4115m. On average, one

indirect evidence of snow leopard was found for every 39km walked. About 39%

of the evidence was found on the hill-slope followed by valley floor (30%), cliff

(15%) and 8% from both stream bed and scree slope. Preferred mean slope was

28° (maximum 60°). Snow leopard-human conflicts were assessed through

questionnaire surveys from Govind Pashu Vihar, Askot Wild Life Sanctuary and

Dung (Munsiari) areas. They revealed that livestock depredation is the only

component of conflict and contributed to 36% of the total diet (mule, goat and

sheep) of snow leopard. Blue sheep and rodents together comprised 36.4% of

the total diet.

Threats to snow leopard and its habitat were investigated through discussions

with officials, staff in field, locals and through primary observations. Of the area

surveyed, we found that 68.1% was used for pastoral activities in Uttarakhand

and Himachal Pradesh and 12.3% area was affected by tourism, defence and

developmental activities.

We also investigated the occurrence of other mammals such as Himalayan brown

bear, Asiatic black bear, common leopard, wolf, red fox, blue sheep, Asiatic ibex,

goral, Himalayan tahr, musk deer and Himalayan marmot in the areas surveyed.

The intensity and occurrence of threats (snow leopard-human conflicts, tourism,

developmental activities, grazing and human settlements) varied among areas

surveyed. Based on detailed analysis of scope (geographic extent), severity and

irreversibility of threats, it is found that developmental activities pose medium

level threat while grazing, tourism and human-snow leopard conflicts pose low to

medium levels of threats.

No grazing was observed in Gangotri National Park, Valley of Flower National Park

and Great Himalayan National Park as it is not allowed by forest department.

Developmental activities such as construction of roads are a threat to snow

leopard habitat at Nilang Valley, Askot Wildlife Sanctuary and Nanda Devi

Biosphere Reserve. Shepherds reported livestock depredation from snow leopard,

Himalaya brown bear, Asiatic black bear and wolf.

Quantitative data on species abundance could not be collected in this survey and

therefore, we recommend a comprehensive survey of snow leopard, associated

species and potential habitats for snow leopard conservation. We propose

Gangotri National Park, Askot Wildlife Sanctuary and Nanda Devi Biosphere

Reserve be seen as potential habitats for snow leopard under Project Snow

Leopard. There are other areas, viz., the Valley of Flower National Park, Tundah

wildlife sanctuary, Great Himalayan National Park and Lippa Asrang wildlife

sanctuary which should also be taken into consideration for snow leopard

conservation.

The remote areas of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh suffer from inadequate

field staff, lack of checkposts, lack of allowances/ incentives for field staff and

lack of management plans for most of the Protected Areas. Therefore, we

recommend well developed management plans, infrastructure and capacity

building for field staff of PAs in both states.

To minimise different levels of threats such as developmental activities and

grazing pressures in the high altitude areas we recommend well planned

development and adequate grazing policy with local participation.

Snow leopard Conservation in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh

CONTENTS

CKNOWLEDGEMENTS III

FORWARD V

LIST OF FIGURES, TABLES AND APPENDICES XI

ABBREVIATIONS XII

ABSTRACT 9

1. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND 13

1.1. OBJECTIVES 14

2. SNOW LEOPARD HABITATS IN UTTARAKHAND AND

IMACHAL PRADESH

3. METHODS 21

4. OCCURRENCE AND DISTRIBUTION OF SNOW LEOPARD

4.1. DISTRIBUTION AND HABITAT USE 26

4.2. OCCURRENCE OF PREY SPECIES 29

4.3. FOOD HABITS OF SNOW LEOPARD 29

4.4. THREATS TO SNOW LEOPARD AND ITS HABITAT 30

4.5. LIMITATIONS 33

4.6. OTHER OBSERVATIONS 34

5. OTHER HIGH ALTITUDE WILDLIFE OF UTTARAKHAND AND HIMACHAL

PRADESH

6. POTENTIAL HABITATS FOR SNOW LEOPARD CONSERVATION IN

UTTARAKHAND AND HIMACHAL PRADESH

7. RECOMMENDATIONS 41

8. REFERENCES 43

APPENDICES

1. Detailed findings of each study area surveyed 47

2. Encounter rates for large carnivore evidence along survey

efforts (per Km walked)

3. Details of survey schedule and routes taken 58

4. Approximate area covered (% of the total area) in the

survey under snow leopard habitat

5. Local and scientific names of mammals covered in survey

in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh with their legal

conservation status

6. Shepherd responses (n=16) on livestock depredation (%)

by large carnivores in Govind Pashu Vihar, Askot Wildlife

Sanctuary and Munsiari to Dung

Snow leopard Conservation in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh

7. Comparative elevation and slope for snow leopard and co-

predators

8. Maps:

Map 2. Location of common leopard evidence in Uttarakhand

and Himachal Pradesh

Map 3. Location of Asiatic black bear and Himalayan brown

bear evidence in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh

Map 4. Location of wolf evidence in Uttarakhand and

Himachal Pradesh

Map 5. Location of routes surveyed in snow leopard habitat

of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh

Snow leopard Conservation in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

The snow leopard (Uncia uncia) is a large cat native to the mountain ranges of

central and southern Asia. It is widely distributed over an area of 3.02 million

km² (Hunter and Jackson 1997) and highly threatened throughout its range. The

total snow leopard population is estimated to be between 4,500 and 7,500 across

12 countries, viz., Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,

Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan (Fox 1994; Jackson

and Hunter 1996). It is categorized as endangered in the IUCN Red Data Book

and is listed in Appendix I of the CITES. Habitat of snow leopard is characterized

by cold, arid and semiarid shrub land, grassland or barren areas (Jackson and

Hunter 1996).

Positions at the top of food chains make predator species, such as snow leopard,

good indicators of the health of ecosystems. Wide diversity, high abundance and

regular presence of predators are sure signs of good availability of broad range of

prey species and other biodiversity within ecosystems (Wilson and Delahay

2001). The snow leopard serves as an indicator species for Asia's high mountain

ecosystems and, requires large home ranges. Therefore, by protecting the snow

leopard, entire high altitude ecosystem can be protected.

Unfortunately, information on the distribution and abundance is as scanty as the

animal itself. Snow leopard is less studied than any other large felid such as tiger,

lion and leopard in India. Its current range is poorly mapped due to the high and

inhospitable terrain inhabited by snow leopard. Any attempt to study snow

leopard in India started only in 1988 when Chundawat et al. estimated 95,000

km² as potential habitat for snow leopard in India, of which 72,000 km² was

within Ladakh (includes about 20,000 km² within the disputed area between

Pakistan and China). Hunter and Jackson (1997) estimated total potential habitat

for snow leopard as 75,000 km² in India out of which only 14.4% area is

protected.

Similarly, there are very few population estimates available. Fox et al. (1991),

based on mean density of one animal/110 km² for good habitat and one

animal/190 km² for lower quality habitat, estimated a population of some 500

animals in India. Mallon’s (1984) estimated a population of only 100 - 300 snow

leopards in Ladakh. These estimates are generally extrapolations based on the

quality of snow leopard habitat in the surveyed areas.

Snow leopard has not been surveyed systematically in its range in India. Its

presence is reported in Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh (12 protected

areas in each state); out of which the status of the species in many protected

areas is uncertain. Similarly, other states such as Uttrakhand with 05, Sikkim

Snow leopard Conservation in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh

with 03 and Arunachal Pradesh with 01 protected areas have reported the

presence of snow leopard. The information on the status, distribution and

abundance of this elusive cat is generally poor.

In India, studies had been conducted in some of the protected areas of Jammu

and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh. But in rest of the states such as Sikkim and

Arunachal Pradesh, the unprotected areas of snow leopard distribution range

have been still unexplored. In Uttarakhand, wildlife surveys were conducted by

Green (1985), Sathyakumar (1993 and 2003a) and Rawat (2005). But specific

surveys on snow leopard were lacking. Researchers documented snow leopard

information while conducting other studies in various regions of Uttarakhand

(Green 1985, Sathyakumar 1993 and 2003a, Rawat 2002). Though Uttarakhand

has very little area under Trans-Himalayan Biogeographic zone i.e. ideal habitat

for snow leopard, there are many areas which fall in the transitional zone of

Trans-Himalayas and Greater Himalayas. Similarly, the Trans-Himalayan zone of

Himachal Pradesh, Lahaul-Spiti and Pangi Valley were studied for snow leopard

and wildlife values by Bhatnagar (1996, 1997, and 2002) and Saberwal (1996)

but some of the areas of Himachal Pradesh have very poor information about

snow leopard.

Therefore, realising gaps in the available information on snow leopard in

Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, WWF-India initiated field surveys for snow

leopard in these states.

OBJECTIVES:

The objectives of the survey were:

1. To study the occurrence and distribution of snow leopard.

2. To assess snow leopard – human conflicts.

3. To investigate grazing pressure and human disturbance in snow

leopard habitat.

Snow leopard Conservation in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh

CHAPTER 2

SNOW LEOPARD HABITATS IN UTTARAKHAND AND HIMACHAL PRADESH

The snow leopard habitats for surveys were selected based on the information

available and discussion with experts. The consultative process towards Project

Snow Leopard was also of help in deciding the areas for survey.

In the precursor meeting of Project Snow Leopard (PSL) in 2006, Uttarakhand

Forest Department proposed six districts for snow leopard conservation. These

were Uttarkashi, Tehri, Rudraprayag, Chamoli, Pithoragarh and Bageshwar. The

existing seven protected areas (PAs) , viz. Gangotri NP (including Nelong Valley,

Gomukh and Tapovan), Govind Pashu Vihar, Kedarnath Musk Deer Sanctuary,

Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve, Pindari, Sunderdhunga and Askot WLSs within

these districts were included for PSL. All these PAs were taken into consideration

and surveyed in this survey, except Kedarnath Musk Deer Sanctuary and Pindari

as these areas have been surveyed in detail in the past (Satyakumar 1995; and

ongoing project in Pindari). On the other hand additional areas - Dung and Valley

of Flower NP were included after detailed discussions with biologists who reported

the presence of prey species such as blue sheep from these areas.

During the PSL meeting (2006), Himachal Pradesh Forest Department proposed

the inclusion of all areas above 3000m, in the survey. These were Lahaul, Spiti,

Pangi, Kinnaur, Upper Chamba, Upper Kangra, Upper Kullu and Upper Simla.

These districts include the following eleven PAs: Pin Valley NP, Kibber WLS Great

Himalayan NP, Sainj WLS Tirthan WLS Lippa Asrang WLS Bandi WLS Kugti WLS

Tundah WLS Dhauladhar WLS and Sangla (Raksham Chitkul) WLS. Of these,

Lahaul, Spiti, Pangi were not included in this survey because information is

already available from these areas on snow leopard. Therefore, five protected

areas were selected for this survey: Great Himalayan NP, Kugti WLS Tundah WLS

Sangla (Raksham Chitkul) WLS and Lippa Asrang WLS. But due to limitations of

time only three PAs - Kugti WLS, Sangla (Raksham Chitkul) WLS and Great

Himalayan NP were surveyed. Of these three, even the Great Himalayan NP was

not studied extensively.

Overall, 13 Protected Areas (PAs) were selected for this survey, out of which ten

were surveyed and are described here. Due to limitations three of PAs - Tundah

WLS Lippa-Asrang WLS and Pangi Valley were not surveyed. Efforts made for the

survey in each PA are summarised in table 1 and details regarding the survey

routes and schedule are given in appendix 3.

Snow leopard Conservation in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh

Table 1: Total distance walked and sampling efforts (KM) in Uttarakhand and

Himachal Pradesh.

S.No. Area surveyed

Survey

transects

(Km)

Total

distance

walked

(Km)

Uttarakhand

1 Gangotri NP 142 226

2 Askot WLS 80 121

3 Govind Pashu Vihar 60 114

4 Sunderdhunga Gl 11 98

5 Munsiari to Dung 36 118

Nanda Devi Biosphere

Reserve

82 92

7 Valley of National Park 28 54

Himachal Pradesh

8 Great Himalayan NP 16 60

Sangla (Raksham

Chitkul) WLS

36 54

10 Kugti WLS 13 50

Snow leopard Conservation in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh

2.1 GOVIND PASHU VIHAR (GPV):

The GPV (77° 45’ to 78° 37’ North and

30° 55’ to 31° 18’ East) is located in

District Uttarkashi of Uttarakhand. The

altitude of GPV WLS varies from 1290

m to 6387 m above MSL (Mean Sea

Level). It falls under Biogeographic

zone-2B of North-West Himalayas

(Rodgers and Panwar, 1988). The

major floral species found in the GPV

are chir pine (Pinus roxburghii), cedar

(Cedrus deodara), oak (Quercus sp.), rhododendron (Rhododendron sp.) etc. The

area also harbours other endangered mammal species such as common leopard

(Panthera pardus), Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus), Himalayan tahr

(Hemitragus jemlahicus), blue sheep (Pseudois nayaur) and musk deer (Moschus

chrysogaster).

2.2

GANGOTRI NATIONAL PARK (GNP):

The GNP (30° 50’ to 3

1° 12’ North and

78° 45’ to 79° 02’ East) is located in

the upper catchments of Bhagirathi

river in Uttarakhand’s Uttarkashi

District. The park’s north-eastern

boundary is located along the

International boundary with China. It

falls under the Biogeographic zone-2B

North-West Himalaya (Rodgers and

Panwar, 1988).

The park area forms a viable continuity between Govind Pashu Vihar and

Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary. High ridges, deep gorges and precipitous cliffs,

rocky craggy glaciers and narrow valleys characterize the area. There is a variety

in the elevation gradients ranging from 1800m to 7083m above MSL, which in

turn reflects in the diverse biomes, from alpine meadows to subtropical

communities.

So far 15 species of mammals and 150 bird species have been documented in the

park (Paramanand et al. 2000). This includes some rare and charismatic species

such as snow leopard, black bear, Himalayan brown bear (Ursus arctos), musk

deer, blue sheep, Himalayan tahr, Himalayan monal (Lophophorus impejanus),

Koklass (Pucrasia macrolopha) and Himalayan snowcock (Tetraogallus

himalayensis).

Snow leopard Conservation in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh

2.3 SUNDERDHUNGA GLACIER (SDGL):

The SDGl is located adjacent to Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve in the Bageshwar

District of Uttarakhand. It represents the Biogeographic zone-2B of North-West

Himalayas (Rodgers et al. 1988). Information on the area’s wildlife is poor.

2.4

ASKOT WILDLIFE SANCTUARY (AWLS): The AWLS is situated in the Pithoragarh

District of Uttarakhand State.

Established in 1986, it represents the

Biogeographic zone-2B of North-West

Himalayas (Rodgers et al. 1988) and

spreads over an area of 599.93 sq km. It

is located at Lat. 29.30-29.45 to Long.

80.20-80.25. The altitude varies from

2400 m to 5000 m above MSL. The

broad vegetation types of the area are

sub-alpine forest, Himalayan moist

forest and alpine moist pasture.

2.5

MUNSIARI TO DUNG:

Munsiari and Dung areas are located in

the Pithoragarh District of Uttarakhand.

It represents the Biogeographic zone-2B

of North-West Himalayas (Rodgers et al.

1988). There is very little information

available about wildlife of Munsiari and

Dung areas.

2.6

NANDA DEVI BIOSPHERE RESERVE

(NDBR):

The NDBR (79° 40’ and 80° 5’ East and

30° 17’ and 30° 41’ North) is spread

over an area of 2236.74 sq km across

three districts – Chamoli, Bageshwar

and Pithoragarh in Uttarakhand. It

represents the Biogeographic zone-2B

of North-West Himalayas (Rodgers et al.

1988). Large altitudinal variation (1800

m–7817 m) and the varied topography support rich biological diversity in NDBR.

About 27% of the total area of the Reserve is covered by forest and alpine

meadows while 66% is buried under perpetual snow. Human settlements,

agriculture and wasteland (Sahai et al. 1995) occupy the rest. Asiatic black bear,

Snow leopard Conservation in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh

brown bear, musk deer, blue sheep, Himalayan tahr are some of the species

found in the NDBR, in addition to snow leopard.

2.7

VALLEY OF FLOWER NATIONAL PARK (VOFNP):

The VOFNP (30° 41’- 30° 48’ North and 79° 33’ 79° 46’ East) is spread over an

area of 87.5 sq km in Chamoli District of Uttarakhand. The National Park is

bounded by Gauri Parvat (6,590 m) and Rataban (6,126 m) in the east, Kunt Khal

(4,430 m) in the west, Saptsring (5,038 m) in the south and Nilgiri Parvat (6,479

m) in the north. VOFNP became a World Heritage Site in 2005. The biological

significance of VOFNP lies in its exquisite floral and faunal biodiversity with a

myriad of alluring flowers.

2.8

GREAT HIMALAYAN NATIONAL

PARK (GHNP):

The GHNP is situated between 31°

38’ – 31° 45’ North and 77° 20’ –

77° 52’ in Kullu District of Himachal

Pradesh covering a total area of 755

sq km. The park consists of the

catchments of Tirthan, Sainj, Jiwa

and Parvati rivers flowing into the

Beas river. The altitude varies from

1300 m to 6110 m above MSL. The

GHNP represents the Biogeographic zone-2A North-West Himalayas (Rodgers et

al. 1988). The area is characterized by high ridges, deep gorges, precipitous

cliffs, rocky glaciers and narrow valleys.

2.9

SANGLA (RAKSHAM-CHITKUL)

WILDLIFE SANCTUARY (SWLS):

The SWLS was established in 19

89.

It is located in the Kinnaur District of

Himachal Pradesh. It represents the

Biogeographic zone-2B of North-West

Himalayas (Rodgers et al. 1988)

covering an area of 304 sq km. The

broad vegetation types of this area

are alpine arid pastures, alpine dry

scrub and Himalayan dry temperate.

Snow leopard Conservation in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh

2.10 KUGTI WILDLIFE SANCTUARY

(KWLS):

The KWLS is situated in the Chamba

District of Himachal Pradesh. It

represents the biogeographic zone-

2A of North-West Himalayas

(Rodgers et al. 1988). KWLS (Lat 32°

20’ N and 32° 35’ N and Long 76° 35’

E and 76° 55’ E), covers an area of

379 sq km. The altitude of KWLS

varies from 2400 m to 5000 m above

MSL and it touches the Lahul-Spiti District of Himachal Pradesh State. The broad

vegetation type represents the Himalayan moist temperate. The annual rainfall in

KWLS is recorded as 1400 mm.

Snow leopard Conservation in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh

METHODS

The survey methods included scanning snow leopard habitats on the mountains

after climbing within an altitudinal range in an area. Discussions were held with

the locals aided by a well developed questionnaire. The methods were adopted

based on the total time and other resources available. The details are given

below:

3.1

SELECTION OF THE SITES FOR SURVEY

Based on the scarcity of information available on snow leopard from Uttarakhand

and Himachal Pradesh, we identified these two states as gaps in the Snow

leopard Information Management System (SLIMS). Altitudinal range of snow

leopard (i.e. above 3000 m from MSL), prey availability, and continuity with the

other snow leopard habitats at national and international levels were taken into

consideration while designing the survey. In addition, discussions were held with

the forest department and biologists who surveyed and worked in these areas

and information was gathered on overall habitat and on the wildlife significant for

snow leopard. A preliminary map was generated based on this information and

areas were identified for the survey in these two states.

CHAPTER 3

Snow leopard Conservation in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh

3.2 SNOW LEOPARD OCCURRENCE AND DISTRIBUTION SURVEY

Sign surveys were conducted in almost all snow leopard habitats above 3000m

above MSL (the lowest snow leopard range in India) in Uttarakhand and Himachal

Pradesh. Five types of signs were recorded:

a) scat - snow leopard scat tends to be uniform in diameter (an average 1.8

cm) and comprises of several slightly constricted cords or connected with

blocky segments (up to 8-10 cm; Janecka et al. 2008) with blunt ends

b) pug-marks (i.e. tracks)

c) scrape – a mark with hind paw consisting of an oblong depression with a

pile of earth at one end

d) spray/urine (scent-mark on rock surfaces by spraying them with urine)

e) claw-marking – snow leopards may leave claw marks on tree trunks or

rock faces.

Trekking routes and transects in potential snow leopard habitats (such as

ridgelines, cliff edges) were used where snow leopard signs were most likely to be

found. These routes were walked by a single observer and all signs of snow

leopard and co-predators (such as common leopard (Panthera pardus), Asiatic

black bear (Ursus thibetanus), Himalayan brown bear (Ursus arctos) and Tibetan

wolf (Canis lupus chanko) were recorded. At each site, information on location,

date, elevation, slope, aspects, land ruggedness, habitat types, distance from

human habitation and nearest water point were recorded with the help of GPS.

The habitats where snow leopard evidence was found were classified based on the

parameters (such as landforms and habitats) of the Snow Leopard Information

Management System (SLIMS) by Jackson and Hunter (1996); a standardized

approach widely used in snow leopard research.

3.3

OCCURRENCE OF PREY SPECIES

Population distribution and behaviour of prey influence the quality of a predator’s

habitat and the health of predator populations. Therefore, knowledge about the

prey species of any predator is a must to understand the ecology of the predator.

During the present surveys, data were collected on the prey species of snow

leopard. Survey routes were scanned carefully using an 8X binocular. On each

sighting, animals were counted, classified and habitat variables such as

topographic features, aspect, slope, altitude, major habitat features and activity

of the group were recorded. Total number of animals sighted, group composition

and mean altitude were recorded for prey species. The occurrence of many

smaller prey species such as rodents, pika and hare was difficult to determine

because of their habitat preference and behaviour.

Snow leopard Conservation in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh

Livestock at Govind Pashu Vihar

3.4

Food habits of snow leopard

The predator distribution coincides closely with its principal prey species.

Estimating the consumption of any particular prey type by carnivores depends

upon the reliable analysis of diet. The analysis of scats (Reynolds and Abeischer

1991, Chundawat and Rawat 1994) is one of the most reliable and thoroughly

used techniques that have become fundamental tools in carnivore research and

conservation.

Scats were collected on all survey routes wherever they were encountered. All

scats were stored in polythene bags, and their GPS location, place, habitat and

other parameters were recorded at the time of collection. These scats were oven

dried and then crushed and teased for the indigestible material such as hairs,

hooves, bones etc. All prey species were identified on the basis of the typical hair

structure (cuticle and medullar). Composition of prey species in snow leopard diet

was calculated based on the evidence found in scats.

3.5

SNOW LEOPARD – HUMAN CONFLICTS

The increasing interface between humans and large carnivores is resulting in a

world-wide escalation of large carnivore – human conflicts (Madhusudan et al.

2003; Treves et al. 2003). Carnivores often cause serious economic losses.

Livestock depredation by snow leopard has been reported throughout its range

(Bhatnagar et al. 1999, Hussain 2003, Oli et al. 1994, Jackson et al. 1996, Mishra

1997, Jaypal 2000, Jackson et al. 2003, Sathyakumar 2003). Inadequate

understanding of ecological and social issues of such conflicts makes the

resolution of such conflicts more critical. Keeping this in view, information

gathering of snow leopard-human conflicts was made an integral component of

the survey.

Snow leopard Conservation in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh

During the survey, information on the attacks on livestock was gathered from all

the shepherds who graze their livestock in the snow leopard habitat at more than

3000 m above MSL. Details about livestock such as number of livestock, animals

owned by the family and livestock protection methods were asked informally,

based on the questionnaire.

3.6

THREATS TO SNOW LEOPARD AND ITS HABITAT

During this survey, information such as evidence of human and livestock,

developmental activity (road construction and hydroelectric dams), permanent or

temporary human settlement present, construction of roads, tourism, signs of

grass and tree cutting and lopping was collected. In addition, discussions were

held with locals and forest department on the threats to snow leopard and its

habitat. On the basis of the intensity of disturbances, these were categorized as

high, medium and low – as described below:

Pressures* High Medium Low

Grazing 10-15 livestock

groups

6-9 livestock

groups

<5 livestock

group

Human

settlements

26-50

households

15-25

households

<15

households

Tourism 75-200 tourists

/ day

20-74 tourists

/day

<20 tourists/

day

* Pressures are further explained below:

Grazing:

Average number of livestock in one group is 500. Only seasonal grazing

takes place in snow leopard habitats

Human settlements:

permanent / temporary

Tourism:

Number of tourists per day and garbage material dumped by tourists

The intensity of pressures was analyzed with the Software Miradi Version 2.4

under three step analyses: scope, severity and irreversibility defined below:

I. Scope - Most commonly defined spatially as the proportion of snow leopard

and its habitat that can reasonably be expected to be affected by a threat within

ten years, given the continuation of current circumstances and trends.

 Very High: The threat is likely to be pervasive in its scope, affecting the

snow leopard and / or its habitat across all or most (71-100%) of the

surveyed areas.

 High: The threat is likely to be widespread in its scope, affecting the snow

leopard and / or its habitat across much (31-70%) of the surveyed areas.

Snow leopard Conservation in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh

 Medium: The threat is likely to be restricted in its scope, affecting the

snow leopard and / or its habitat across some (11-30%) of the surveyed

areas.

 Low: The threat is likely to be very narrow in its scope, affecting the snow

leopard and / or its habitat across a small proportion (1-10%) of the

surveyed areas.

II. Severity - Within the scope, the level of damage to snow leopard and its

habitat from the threat that can reasonably be expected, given the continuation

of current circumstances and trends. For habitat, it is typically measured as the

degree of destruction or degradation within the scope. For snow leopard, usually

measured as the degree of reduction of its population within the scope.

 Very High: Within the scope, the threat is likely to destroy or eliminate,

or reduce snow leopard and / or its habitat by 71-100% within ten years

or three generations.

 High: Within the scope, the threat is likely to seriously degrade/reduce

snow leopard and/or its habitat by 31-70% within ten years or three

generations.

 Medium: Within the scope, the threat is likely to moderately

degrade/reduce the target or reduce snow leopard and/or its habitat by

11-30% within ten years or three generations.

 Low: Within the scope, the threat is likely to only slightly degrade/reduce

the target or reduce snow leopard and/or its habitat by 1-10% within ten

years or three generations.

III. Irreversibility (Permanence) - The degree to which the effects of a threat

can be reversed and the snow leopard and/or its habitat affected by the threat

restored.

 Very High: The effects of the threat cannot be reversed and it is very

unlikely the snow leopard and/or its habitat can be restored, and/or it

would take more than 100 years to achieve this (e.g., habitat converted to

a reservoir).

 High: The effects of the threat can technically be reversed and the snow

leopard and/or its habitat restored, but it is not practically affordable

and/or it would take 21-100 years to achieve this (e.g., wetland converted

to agriculture).

 Medium: The effects of the threat can be reversed and snow leopard

and/or its habitat restored with a reasonable commitment of resources

and/or within 6-20 years (e.g., grazing by livestock).

 Low: The effects of the threat are easily reversible and the snow leopard

and/or its habitat can be easily restored at a relatively low cost and/or

within 0-5 years (e.g., hunting of prey base of snow leopard).

Target-Threat Rating - Miradi calculates threat ratings using a rule-based

system for combining the scope, severity, and irreversibility criteria. These

procedures involve specifying rules as to how different parameters should be

combined with one another.

Snow leopard Conservation in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh

CHAPTER 4

OCCURRENCE AND DISTRIBUTION OF SNOW LEOPARD

4.1 D

ISTRIBUTION AND HABITAT USE

Our survey confirms the presence of snow leopard in Uttarakhand, but we could

not find any sign of snow leopard from surveyed areas in Himachal Pradesh. Due

to weather limitations we were not able to cover all the areas of Himachal

Pradesh that we initially planned to survey.

A total of 13 signs of evidence of snow leopard were found during the survey.

These were in the form of scats (9) and pugmarks (4).

Snow leopard evidence was recorded from 3190 to 4115 m from MSL with mean

altitude of 3783 m. Almost 54% of the evidence was recorded from shrub land

habitat and 21.4% evidence was recorded from grassland and barren land. About

31% of the snow leopard evidence was recorded at a slope of 35°. About 39% of

the evidence was found on the hill-slopes followed by valley floor (30%) and cliff

(15%). Details about land form and habitat used by snow leopard are shown in

Fig 1.

Snow leopard pugmark

Snow leopard Conservation in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh

Fig 1: Landform and habitat use by snow leopard.

Elevation

3000-3500 3500-4000 4000-4500

Altitude (m) above MSL

Slope

0-20 21-40 41-60

Slope (°)

Habitat type

Shrubland Grassland Barrenland

Habitat type

Aspect

North East North South South

West

South East

Aspect

Dominant top

Hill slope Valley floor Cliff Stream bed Scree

slope

Domt. Topo . feature

ographic feature

Snow leopard Conservation in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh

Map 1: Location of snow

leopard indirect evidence in surveyed areas of

Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.

N = 13

4.2 OCCURRENCE OF PREY SPECIES

The most common wild prey species found was bharal or blue sheep. A total of

340 individuals were recorded in 23 groups from Gangotri NP, Nanda Devi BR,

Askot WLS and Sangla (Raksham-Chitkul) WLS. Almost 73% sightings were

recorded from open areas or areas classified as grasslands, 17% from shrub land

and 10% from riverine patches. Another wild prey species recorded was

Himalayan marmot along three survey routes in Askot WLS and Gangotri NP. A

total of eight individuals were recorded from grasslands. One group of Asiatic ibex

was recorded from Kugti WLS Himachal Pradesh with five individuals in shrub land

habitat.

4.3 F

OOD HABITS OF SNOW LEOPARD

A total of nine scats were found during the survey and were analysed for

assessing the food habits of snow leopard. Prey species were identified on the

basis of hair remains in the scats after examining their unique cuticle and medulla

pattern under a microscope. A total of six prey species were identified in the scats

(Fig 2), while three could not be identified. About 80% of the scats had single

prey and 20% of the scats consisted of two prey species. Scat analysis showed

that 36% of snow leopard diet comprised of domestic livestock (mule, goat and

sheep) followed by blue sheep (18.2%) and rodents (18.2%).

The findings of snow leopard scat analysis are similar in some aspects with

Chundawat et al. (1994) who reported that almost 96% scats consisted of single

prey species. They reported 23.4% blue sheep in snow leopard diet followed by

12.5% domestic livestock (yak, goat and sheep) in Ladakh. But due to low

sample size we are not able to document the food preference of snow leopard.

Snow leopard Conservation in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh

Fig 2: Food habits of snow leopard in Uttarakhand (April to December) 2009.

Percentage frequency of occurrence of different

prey in snow leopard diet

Blue sheep,

18.18

Mule, 9.09

Goat, 18.18

Sheep, 9.09

Rodent, 18.18

Unidentified,

27.27

Blue sheep Mule Goat Sheep Rodent Unidentified

4.4 T

HREATS TO SNOW LEOPARD AND ITS HABITAT

The intensity and occurrence of threats (snow leopard-human conflicts, tourism,

developmental activities, grazing and human settlements) varied among areas

surveyed. We found that 68.1% of the area surveyed in Uttarakhand and

Himachal Pradesh is under grazing and 12.3% area faces threats from tourism

and defence activities. The details about these threats are given below:

4.4.1 S

NOW LEOPARD – HUMAN CONFLICTS

We interviewed shepherds in Govind Pashu Vihar, Sunderdhunga Glacier, Askot

WLS and Dung areas. No information was available from rest of the areas of

Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh because no shepherd was found during the

survey as the shepherds had moved down from snow leopard habitats in the

months of August-September.

Livestock losses vary widely. For example, our survey in GPV indicated that the

maximum livestock loss from snow leopard was 6.25% but it averaged 1.6% for

four herds. The total loss was about USD 59,535. Similarly, in AWLS we found

that the maximum livestock loss by snow leopard was about 1.25% in a herd but

for eight herds it averaged 0.78%. The loss in Askot WLS is valued at USD

31,329 (Fig 3). The cost of livestock was estimated during interviews of the

shepherds and includes cost of sheep and goats that varied among areas. All

depredations occurred in summers when these shepherds visited the higher

ranges of snow leopard habitat in Uttarakhand.

Snow leopard Conservation in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh

Our survey suggested that the shepherds are primarily concerned about the

livestock depredation and there are very few permanent human settlement in the

snow leopard habitats (>3000 m elevation) in Uttarakhand. The shepherds who

graze their livestock in the snow leopard habitats reported livestock depredation

in some areas of Uttarakhand. The other species involved in conflicts with

humans were Asiatic black bear, common leopard, wolf and brown bear

(Appendix 6).

Fig 3: Total value ($) of livestock and loss by snow leopard in 2007 in three

areas of Uttarakhand.

10 0 0 0

20000

30000

40000

50000

60000

70000

80000

Livestock total cost and loss (USD) by

snow leopard

Total livestock value

(USD)

59535 31329 72794

Loss (USD)

3721 392 291

GPV AWLS Munsiari

Snow leopard Conservation in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh

Fig 4: Livestock depredation by snow leopard in Govind Pashu Vihar, Askot

Wildlife Sanctuary and Munsiari areas of Uttarakhand.

100

% loss

Livestock depredation (%) by snow leoaprd

% loss

6.25 0.67 0.4

GPV AWLS Munsiari

Tourism posed low threat to snow leopard habitat because tourism is confined to

defined trek routes such as from Gangotri temple to Bhojbasa at Gangotri NP and

Kailash-Mansarovar trek at Askot WLS.

Developmental activities such as road construction were categorized as

medium threat to snow leopard habitat at Nilang Valley, Askot WLS and Nanda

Devi BR. There is a great need to provide basic amenities to the local people and

defence personnel in areas along the international borders in Uttarakhand and

Himachal Pradesh. But many activities, such as construction of roads, are causing

side effects that need to be dealt with immediately. At Nilang valley, it was

observed that a gorge was blasted through to make a road. With the widening of

existing roads and building of newer ones the threat of landslides has multiplied.

The other important issue is the influx of labour from outside areas in large

numbers who largely depend on natural resources for survival and some of them

are also involved in illegal activities affecting wildlife.

Grazing was presently found as a medium threat to snow leopard habitat. No

grazing was observed from Gangotri NP, Valley of Flower NP and Great Himalayan

NP where it is not allowed by Forest Department. The severity of grazing was

medium. It is interesting to note that in Govind Pashu Vihar, Askot WLS, Dung

(Uttarakhand) as well as in Kugti WLS and Sangla WLS (Himachal Pradesh)

several families drive their unproductive livestock to sub-alpine and alpine areas

for unsupervised grazing during the snow free period (May to October).

Human settlements posed low threat to snow leopard habitat because there

were very few human settlements that settled in snow free period and utilized

natural resources. Human settlements (locals) were recorded from Govind PV,

where one village was located in snow leopard habitat. In Askot WLS, three

Snow leopard Conservation in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh

villages that provide shelter for Kailash-Mansarovar tourists and two villages in

Munsiari to Dung areas were settled in snow leopard habitat.

Defence settlements were recorded along India’s international border with China

and Nepal at Gangotri NP, Askot WLS Nanda Devi BR and Sangla WLS. Unlike

human settlements, these settlements were permanent and occupying snow

leopard habitats but not dependent on the natural resources and therefore posed

low threat to snow leopard habitats.

Fig 5: Summary of threats (Miradi 2.4) to snow leopard and its habitat in the

surveyed areas of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.

Threat Ratings

⇓Threats⇓ / ⇒Targets⇒

Snow leopard

Snow leopard habitat

Snow leopard-human conflicts

Low

Tourism

Low

Human settlements

Low

Grazing

Medium

Developmental activity

Medium

Target threat rating Low Low

4.5 Limitations

The Trans-Himalayan zone of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh represents ideal

habitat for snow leopard. But Uttarakhand has very little portion under Trans-

Himalayas and limits our accessibility in terms of International Borders, difficult

terrain and harsh climatic conditions. The Trans-Himalayan zone of Himachal

Pradesh has adequate information on snow leopard. Therefore, this survey was

focused on the Trans-Himalayas of Uttarakhand and transitional zone with

Greater Himalayas of both Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.

The transitional zone of Trans-Himalayas and Greater Himalayas of Uttarakhand

and Himachal Pradesh overlaps with common leopard (Panthera pardus) and

snow leopard. It was very difficult to distinguish between indirect evidence such

as scats and pugmarks, of these two felids by physical characteristics unless

some additional parameters were not recorded such as scraps which can be easily

differentiated between common and snow leopard. The other parameters which

were utilized in this survey to overcome the confusion between these two felids

were the secondary information provided by the shepherds (sighting, indirect

evidence and livestock depredation reported), the overall characteristics of snow

leopard habitat (rugged and broken terrain), and prey availability (primarily blue

sheep and Asiatic ibex).

Snow leopard Conservation in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh

4.6 Other Observations

These rapid surveys were conducted in the remote areas of Uttarakhand and

Himachal Pradesh. In these remote areas, the presence of forest department

needs strengthening to combat poaching, regulate tourism and grazing.

Otherwise, the chances of maintaining and improving snow leopard and its prey

base and habitat will be poor. It is reiterated that protection of snow leopard and

its habitat augurs well for the survival of the large human population that

depends on the entire Himalayas for many products – ranging from water to

medicinal plants.

Snow leopard Conservation in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh

CHAPTER 5

OTHER HIGH ALTITUDE WILDLIFE OF UTTARAKHAND AND

HIMACHAL PRADESH

Occurrence

The survey recorded the occurrence of 11 large mammal species in the areas of

Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. We derive our inferences based on direct and

indirect evidence recorded and based on information given by shepherds.

Determination of occurrence of snow leopard and associated species through sign

surveys and persons interviewed is summarized in Table 2. We recorded a total of

87 direct and indirect signs of evidence of large carnivores. Details of evidence for

other co-predators are given in Table 3.

Table 2: Evidence used for determining the occurrence of large mammals during

survey in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.

Animal species Type of Indirect

evidence

recorded

Direct

Sightings

Confirmed by

Shepherds

Carnivores

Common leopard Scat, pugmark None Yes

Asiatic black bear Scat, track Yes Yes

Brown bear Scat, track,

digging, stone-

turning

Yes Yes

Tibetan wolf Scat, pugmark No Yes

Red fox Scat, Pugmark Yes Yes

Herbivores

Blue sheep Pellet groups,

horns, hoof mark

Yes Yes

Himalayan tahr Pellet groups None Yes

Asiatic ibex Pellet groups, hoof

mark

Yes Yes

Musk deer Pellet groups No Yes

Grey goral Pellet groups Yes Yes

Himalayan

marmot

Faeces Yes Yes

Snow leopard Conservation in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh

Table 3. Total number of direct and indirect evidence of large carnivores.

Large

Carnivores

Sightings

Scat

Pugmark/

Track

Digging Total

Snow leopard 0 10 3 0 13

Leopard 0 4 0 0 4

Asiatic Black

bear

2 7 1 0 10

Himalayan

Brown bear

1 18 3 5 27

Tibetan Wolf 0 2 2 0 4

Unidentified 0 28 1 0 29

Total 3 69 10 5 87

Common Leopard: This leopard has a

wide distribution in India. It is known to

go to higher elevation areas in

Himalayas in summers. Our surveys

showed the elevation range of leopard

(based on indirect evidence) to be from

3190 m to 3610 m with mean elevation

of 3398 m. The indirect evidence was

recorded on slopes ranging from 20° to

50°. Other details are provided below.

Leopard (n=04)

Aspect Slope Habitat type Landform-

ruggedness

North 1

North east 1

South 1

South west 1

20° – 25°

Shrubland

Forest

Rolling 3

Flat 1

Asiatic Black Bear: Asiatic black bear is

found in the forests of Himalayas. Similar to

common leopard it also tends to go to higher

elevations in summers and come down in

winters. Our surveys showed the elevation

range to be from 3200 m to 3535 m (with

mean elevation of 3374 m) for Asiatic black

bear. Other parameters such as aspect, slope,

habitat type and landform ruggedness where

the evidence was found are given below.

Asiatic black bear (n

=10)

Aspect Slope Habitat type Landform-

ruggedness

North 3

North east 2

East 3

South 2

10° – 60°

Shrubland 6

Forest 4

Cliff 2

Very broken 4

Rolling 3

Flat 1

Himalayan Brown bear: Very few studies

have been conducted on the status and

distribution of Himalayan brown bear so far

(Sathyakumar 2001 and 2006). Our surveys

indicated that the mean elevation for brown

bear is 3279 m. The evidence was recorded at

slopes ranging from 0° to 60° with a mean of

24°. Information about other parameters is

given below.

malayan Brown bear (n=27)

Aspect Slope Habitat type Landform-

ruggedness

North 7

North east 5

South 2

South west 4

West 4

North west 5

0° – 60°

Barren 1

Grassland 14

Shrubland 12

Cliff 2

Very broken 9

Rolling 6

Flat 10

Snow leopard Conservation in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh

Tibetan wolf: Tibetan wolf is a trans-

Himalayan species. Its indirect

evidence was found at an altitude of

3993 m. This species is a true co-

predator for snow leopard in its range.

The preferred slope was recorded from

0° to 30°. Other parameters are given

below.

Wolf (n=

)

Aspect Slope Habitat type Landform-

ruggedness

North 1

South 2

South east 1

0° – 60°

Grassland 3

Shrubland 1

Flat 4

Snow leopard Conservation in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh

Table 4: Altitude at which evidence of mammal species was recorded during the

survey in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.

Species Altitudinal

range (m)

Mean

Altitude (m)

Carnivores

Snow leopard 3190-4115 3783

Common leopard 3190-3610 3398

Asiatic black bear 3205-3535 3374

Himalayan Brown bear 3100-4080 3279

Tibetan wolf 3720-4350 3993

Herbivores

Blue sheep 3500-4600 3783

Himalayan tahr 3600 3600

Asiatic ibex 3660-3700 3680

Musk deer 3600-3700 3650

Himalayan marmot 4000-4405 4203

Himalayn Tahr

Musk deer

Snow leopard Conservation in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh

CHAPTER 6

POTENTIAL HABITATS FOR SNOW LEOPARD CONSERVATION IN

UTTARAKHAND AND HIMACHAL PRADESH

Selection of the potential habitats for snow leopard in Uttarakhand and Himachal

Pradesh was done on the basis of direct and indirect evidence of snow leopard,

co-predators, and prey and biotic pressure recorded. As far as the wildlife is

concerned, a very important characteristic of the Greater and Trans-Himalayan

region of Uttarakhand is that it provides almost continuous wildlife habitat.

Almost the entire landscape has large mammals, including snow leopard,

common leopard, Tibetan wolf, brown bear, Asiatic black bear, blue sheep, musk

deer, Himalayan tahr and Asiatic ibex but the densities may vary depending on

the quality of habitat. Snow leopard is threatened by grazing (leads to

competition between wild and domestic ungulates), conflicts relating to crop and

livestock depredation, and some levels of poaching of snow leopard, co-predators

and prey species. On the basis of overall analysis (area profile) we propose that

the following areas have good potential for snow leopard conservation.

1. Gangotri National Park

2. Askot Wildlife Sanctuary

3. Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve.

There are some other areas which also represent the potential habitat for snow

leopard but due to unfavourable climatic conditions and limitation of available

time, these could not be properly surveyed or not surveyed at all. These areas

should be surveyed to get a better picture of conservation status of snow leopard.

1. Valley of Flower National Park

2. Great Himalayan National Park

3. Tundah Wildlife Sanctuary*

4. Lippa Asrang Wildlife Sanctuary*.

(* areas were not surveyed)

Snow leopard Conservation in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh

CHAPTER 7

RECOMMENDATIONS

The present survey was a fairly rapid one and attempted to cover maximum snow

leopard areas in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Though, it had its own

limitations, it could still collect and collate information to the extent of having a

baseline and make suggestions for improved conservation of snow leopard and

other wildlife in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. This, despite the fact that it

constituted the first and longest survey of the snow leopard in Uttarakhand till

date. It is also hoped that this information will be useful to the Government of

India in its “Project snow leopard” by the Ministry of Environment and Forest,

India (MoEF).

Based on the observation of the overall occurrence of wildlife and its habitat in

the surveyed areas, the following measures are suggested to improve snow

leopard conservation efforts:

1. Research and monitoring of wildlife: Information regarding occurrence and

distribution of snow leopard from surveyed areas was largely lacking at the time

when the survey was planned. We have assessed broad trends of wildlife

occurrence with special emphasis on snow leopard in these regions but have not

been able to get useful population estimates and seasonal movement of wildlife.

It is important that the population estimates and seasonal wildlife movement be

monitored to study the trend in the overall population so that conservation

applications can be planned and implemented on a landscape level. We feel that

there is a good chance of occurrence of better populations of wildlife in Himachal

Pradesh state, which due to paucity of time this survey could not ascertain.

2. Mitigating snow leopard – human conflicts: Our survey suggested that

shepherds are primarily concerned about their livestock depredation by snow

leopard at Govind PV, Askot WLS and Munsiari areas. However, we do not have

information about other areas. Therefore, we recommend that while interventions

are made to mitigate the human snow leopard conflicts, there should be more

efforts in the field at appropriate time to get information about snow leopard –

human conflicts. In general, it is important to understand the causes of conflicts,

as they can often be a manifestation of habitat degradation due to over-

harvesting of the natural resources by humans. Conservation education efforts

can help enhance the understanding of the value of sustainable use of natural

resources and importance of wildlife and help in mitigating conflicts.

3. Livestock grazing and its impact on local vegetation and wildlife: This

survey showed that livestock grazing is at present a low threat to snow leopard

habitat. But overstocking of livestock may lead to habitat degradation and

Snow leopard Conservation in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh

decimation of wildlife as has been reported from other parts of Himalayas (Bagchi

et al. 2004, and Mishra et al. 2000,). In general, we recommend that some areas

need to be earmarked to be grazing free where wild ungulates can thrive without

competition. Based on further study, rotational grazing regimes can be worked

out and implemented with local support. This will need working with communities

to sensitize them about the dangers of large population of livestock and limited

resource availability in near future, and also to assure that longevity of better but

less number of livestock increases due to better care.

4. Well planned development: Our survey showed that road construction at

Nilang Valley, Askot WLS and Nanda Devi BR, if not adequately planned, may

threaten existence of snow leopard. The roads cause habitat fragmentation and

open the inaccessible areas to people and many times result in increased illegal

activities (including hunting of snow leopard and its prey). It is suggested that

while roads are planned, care should be taken to minimize habitat destruction.

Furthermore, there should be provision of strong security and check points to

curtail wildlife crime. Other developmental activity that can destroy the habitat of

snow leopard is Hydropower projects in high altitude areas. It is suggested that

an honest and credible Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) should be done

before planning hydropower projects and snow leopard habitats should be

excluded from such development as much as possible.

5. Infrastructure and Capacity building of field staff: During surveys, it was

observed that infrastructure (chowkis and basic facilities for field staff) and

strength of field staff was inadequate in the remote localities of Uttarakhand and

Himachal Pradesh. Therefore, it is recommended that chowkis be constructed and

basic facilities such as field gear and medical facilities be provided and staff be

posted in these localities. It is important to deploy well trained staff in the

required strength in protected areas. Continued on-job training is needed on

numerous fronts such as: wildlife monitoring (for correct identification of wildlife

evidence), wildlife law and legislation (for taking appropriate steps when

recording wildlife crime).

Snow leopard Conservation in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh

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Snow leopard Conservation in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh

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Hussain, S. 2003. The status of the snow leopard in Pakistan and its conflict with

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Jackson, Rodney and Hunter, Don O. 1996 (Second Edition). Snow Leopard

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Hemis National Park, with Special Reference to the Conservation of Large

Predators. SLC Field Series Document No 7. 29 pages.

Janecka, J., Jackson, R. and Munkhtog, B. 2008. Scat survey methodology for

snow leopards. Available at

www.snowleopardconservancy.org

/pdf/dna/m

ethodology.pdf.

Jayapal R. 2000. Livestock depredation by wild animals in zanskar, Ladakh. report

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Valley of Flowers National Park, Garhwal Himalaya. Wildlife Institute of India,

Dehradun.

Madhusudan, M. D. and Mishra, C. 2003. Why big, fierce animals are threatened:

conserving large mammals in densely populated landscapes. Pages 31-55 in

Saberwal, V. and M. Rangarajan, editors. Battles Over Nature: Science and the

Politics of Conservation. Permanent Black, New Delhi.

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Snow leopard Conservation in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh

Mishra, C. 1997. Livestock depredation by large carnivores in the Indian trans-

Himalaya: conflict perceptions and conservation prospects. Environmental

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Trans-Himalaya. Journal Bombay Natural History Society 97(1):25-32.

Oli, M.K., Taylor, I.R. and Rogers, M.E.. 1994. Snow leopard Panthera uncia

predation of livestock - an assessment of local perceptions in the Annapurna

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-11

July, 2006, Leh, Ladakh.

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International Snow Leopard Trust , Mysore, India.

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Singh, Dehradun, India.

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Baldev Sahai and M. M. Kimothi. 1995. Resources Survey of Nanda Devi

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741–749.

Sathyakumar, S. 1993. Scientific and Ecological Expedition to Nanda Devi: Status

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Snow leopard Conservation in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh

Sathyakuam, S. 2001. Status and management of Asiatic black bear and brown

bear in India. Ursus 12: 21-30.

Sathyakumar S. 2003a.Conservation status of Mammals and Birds in Nanda Devi

National Park: An assessment of changes over two decades (IN) Biodiversity

Monitoring Expedition Nanda Devi 2003. A report. Pp. 1-14.

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abundance of terrestrial carnivores using field signs and observation. Wildlife

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Snow leopard Conservation in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh

APPENDICES

DETAILED FINDINGS OF EACH OF THE AREAS SURVEYED

GOVIND PASHU VIHAR (GPV):

The survey was carried out during April 2008 and two areas viz., Har ki Doon and

Ruinsara Valley, having snow leopard habitat were surveyed.

a. Snow leopard evidence

A total of 04 routes were surveyed for collecting the information on occurrence

and distribution of snow leopard. Evidence (n=01) of snow leopard was collected

from GPV, i.e. scat at the height of 3190 m from shrub land habitat, seasonal

grazing (rangeland-use) area and in the high human disturbance area. The

information about the other co – predators is summarised in the Fig 1.

Fig 1. Evidence of large carnivores in GPV.

Evidences of large carnivores in GPV

Snow

leopard

Leopard Brown

bear

Black

bear

Wolf Identified

Large carnivores

No. of evidences

b. Snow leopard – human conflicts

Livestock depredation was reported from GPV. Shepherds (n=04) were

interviewed and there was one shepherd who reported livestock depredation by

snow leopard. Overall, there was 6.25% livestock loss by snow leopard from GPV.

Other large carnivores such as brown bear, wolf and leopard were also found

involved in livestock depredation.

c. Grazing pressure and human disturbance

A total of 29 Km were surveyed for collecting information on grazing pressure and

human disturbance. Of the total area surveyed we found 66% area under grazing

and 02% under crop field. It posed medium level of threat to snow leopard

habitat at GPV. Snow leopard-human conflicts (livestock depredation Fig. 3 and 4

of main text) were reported in the interviews by shepherds and they posed a low

threat to snow leopard.

n=24

Snow leopard Conservation in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh

Fig 2. Summary of threats (Miradi 2.4) to snow leopard and its habitat in the

surveyed areas of Govind Pashu Vihar.

Threat Ratings

⇓Th

rea

ts⇓ / ⇒Targets⇒

Snow leopard

Snow leopard habitat

Snow leopard-human conflicts

Low

Tourism None

Human settlements

Low

Grazing

Medium

Developmental activity None

Target threat rating Low Low

GANGOTRI NATIONAL PARK (GNP):

The survey was carried out during May, 2008 and Bhojbasa, Tapoban and Nelong

Valley were surveyed.

a. Snow leopard evidence

A total of 29 signs of evidence of large carnivores were found in the sampled area

in GNP. Of these, nine (seven scats and three pugmarks) were of snow leopard.

Of these nine, three were recorded from Nilang Valley to Tripani along 10 routes.

The altitude varied from 3580 to 4100m in barren, grassland and shrub land

habitats. The pressures were tourism and seasonal livestock grazing. The

occurrence of evidence of the co-predators has been summarised here in Fig 3.

Fig 3. Evidence of large carnivores in GNP.

Evidences of large carnivores in GNP

Snow

leopard

Leopard Brown bear Wolf Unidentified

Large carnivores

No. of evidences

n=29

b. Snow leopard – human conflicts

No shepherd was found in GNP during the surveys and the forest department

does not keep the snow leopard – human conflicts data. Therefore, it is not

possible to comment on the conflicts situation in GNP.

c. Grazing pressure and human disturbance

There is no permanent human settlement in GNP except at Bhojbasa and Defence

settlements at Nilang Valley. GNP faces pressures of tourism but is mostly

restricted up to Gau-Mukh and tourist movements posed low threat for wildlife

because number of tourists permitted per day was regulated. The movement on

mules was banned inside the NP and tourist sites removed, except at Chirbasa

and Bhojbasa. At Gangotri, construction of Hydro-Electricity Dam is categorized

as medium threat to snow leopard habitat. In contrast, Nilang Valley faces

grazing pressures (46%) and is categorized as medium threat to snow leopard

habitat. Construction and widening of roads in Nilang Valley was categorized as

low threat (23%) to snow leopard and its habitat.

Fig 4. Disturbance at snow leopard habitats in Gangotri NP and Nilang Valley.

Threat Ratings in Gangotri NP

⇓Th

rea

ts⇓ / ⇒Targets⇒

Snow leopard

Snow leopard habitat

Snow leopard-human conflicts

None

Tourism None

Human settlements None

Grazing None

Developmental activity

Medium

Target threat rating None Low

Threat Ratings in Nilang Valley

⇓Threa

ts⇓ / ⇒Targets⇒

Snow leopard

Snow leopard habitat

Snow leopard-human conflicts

None

Tourism None

Human settlements

Low

Grazing

Medium

Developmental activity

Low

Target threat rating None Low

SUNDERDHUNGA GLACIER (SDGL)

There was no evidence found of snow leopard in this area. Extreme livestock

grazing, human disturbance and high seasonal grazing (80%) is found at SDGL.

Snow leopard Conservation in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh

ASKOT WILDLIFE SANCTUARY (ASKOT WLS):

The Kailash-Mansarovar track was surveyed till Nabidhang and Om Parvat during

June, 2008 in AWLS in snow leopard base-line survey.

a. Snow leopard evidence

One evidence (scat) of snow leopard was found at the height of 4000 m from MSL

at shrub land habitat. The occurrence of evidence of the co-predators has been

summarised in Fig 5.

Fig 5. Evidence of large carnivores in Askot WLS.

Evidences of large carnivores in AWLS

Snow leopard Black bear Unidentified

Large carnivores

No. of evidences

b. Snow leopard – human conflicts

Based on the interview of four shepherds, it was found that total livestock

depredation (Fig. 3 and 4 of main text) by snow leopard is 0.67% (i.e. 10 of

1525) in 2007 in the areas surveyed of AWLS.

c. Grazing pressure and human disturbance

Seasonal grazing (54%) is one of the major threats and categorized as a medium

threat to snow leopard habitat in AWLS. In addition, Kailash-Mansarovar track

and Aadi-Kailash are one of the pilgrim sites in Askot WLS. Permanent human

settlements till Gunji offer shelter for pilgrims on these tracks. But tourists are

restricted to these tracks and posed a low threat to snow leopard habitat. Efforts

from forest department are also minimizing these threats through awareness

programmes for locals. Construction of roads was categorized as low threat to

snow leopard habitat because it was started recently from Garbadhar and has not

yet reached snow leopard habitats. Direct threat to snow leopard through conflict

with humans was categorized as low. Livestock depredation by snow leopard and

co-predators was also reported from Askot WLS (Appendix 6).

n=05

Snow leopard Conservation in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh

Fig 6. Human disturbance at snow leopard habitat in Askot WLS.

Threat Ratings

⇓Th

rea

ts⇓ / ⇒Targets⇒

Snow leopard

Snow leopard habitat

Snow leopard-human conflicts

Low

Tourism

Low

Human settlements

Low

Grazing

Medium

Developmental activity

Low

Target threat rating Low Low

MUNSIARI TO DUNG:

Millam and Dung areas were surveyed to collect information on direct and indirect

evidence of snow leopard during June, 2008.

a. Snow leopard evidence

Data were collected along 02 routes (36 Km). There was one evidence (scat)

found of snow leopard at 3500m, in shrub land habitat and the rangeland-use

was for seasonal grazing. The information about the co–predators is summarised

in Fig 7.

Fig 7. Evidence of large carnivores at Dung.

Evidences of large carnivores at Dung

areas

Snow leopard Wolf Unidentified

No. of evidences

Large carnivores

b. Snow leopard – human conflicts

A total of four shepherds were interviewed for investigating snow leopard-human

conflicts in Munsiari areas. They reported livestock depredation (0.40%) by snow

leopard (Fig. 3 and 4 of main text).

n=03

c. Grazing pressure and human disturbance

Most of the areas surveyed at snow leopard habitat found under seasonal grazing

(56%) and posed medium threat to snow leopard habitat. Human settlements

were found in snow leopard habitat and categorized as low threat because all

settlements were temporary. Cases of snow leopard-human conflict (livestock

depredation) were recorded and categorized as low threat to snow leopard (Fig

8).

Fig 8. Human disturbance at snow leopard habitat in Munsiari to Dung.

Threat Ratings

⇓Th

rea

ts⇓ / ⇒Targets⇒

Snow leopard

Snow leopard habitat

Snow leopard-human conflicts

Low

Tourism None

Human settlements

Low

Grazing

Medium

Developmental activity None

Target threat rating Low Low

NANDA DEVI BIOSPHERE RESERVE:

In broad terms, Lapthal, Rimkhim, Sumna and Niti Valleys were surveyed in

September 2008 for collecting information on snow leopard along 05 trekking

routes.

a. Snow leopard evidence:

A total of 102 km was walked, of which 92 km was surveyed as it was above

3000m in the snow leopard habitat. One fresh track of snow leopard was

recorded in the Rimkhim Valley at an elevation of 4000 m above MSL and one

scat was collected from Lapthal Valley. The occurrence of other co-predators has

been summarized in Fig 9.

Snow leopard Conservation in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh

Fig 9. Evidence of large carnivores in Nanda Devi BR.

Evidences of large carnivores in

NDBR

Snow leopard Wolf Unidentified

Large carnivores

No. of evidences

b. Grazing pressure and human disturbance

In Nanda Devi BR, grazing was recorded in 47% of the areas surveyed and it

posed a low threat to snow leopard habitat. Construction of roads was

categorized as medium threat to snow leopard habitat and roads were

constructed at 21 Point i.e. 05 km before from Sumna. Defence posts were the

only human settlements in Nanda Devi BR and posed low threat to snow leopard

habitat (Fig 10).

Fig 10. Human disturbance at snow leopard habitat in Nanda Devi BR.

Threat Ratings

⇓Th

rea

ts⇓ / ⇒Targets⇒

Snow leopard

Snow leopard habitat

Snow leopard-human conflicts

None

Tourism None

Human settlements

Low

Grazing

Low

Developmental activity

Low

Target threat rating None Low

VALLEY OF FLOWER NATIONAL PARK (VOFNP):

Two areas were surveyed in the base-line survey on snow leopard in VOFNP a)

Kunt Khal and b) Tipra Glacier during September, 2008.

n=05

Snow leopard Conservation in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh

a. Snow leopard evidence:

In a total of 28 km sampling effort, there was one unidentified (snow

leopard/leopard) scat collected from Kunt Khal at an elevation of 3520 m of

VOFNP and one track was recorded of black bear.

Fig 11. Evidence of large carnivores in VOFNP.

Evidences of large carnivores in

VOFNP

Leopard Black bear Unidentified

Large carnivores

No. of evidences

b. Grazing pressure and human disturbance

There is no grazing activity allowed inside VOFNP. At the time of survey

(September 2008), the tourist activity was very low and could not be treated as

human disturbance inside the Park. Thus, there is no disturbance found in VOFNP

during survey.

GREAT HIMALAYAN NATIONAL PARK (GHNP):

In GHNP, due to a heavy land-slide in the month of September 2008, much of the

high altitude snow leopard habitats were not accessible. Therefore, information

was collected only from Kobri areas of GHNP during September, 2008.

a. Snow leopard evidence:

We could not find any evidence of snow leopard in the areas surveyed of GHNP.

One unidentified scat was collected of a carnivore species at an elevation of 3635

m and one scat was unidentified, which may be of Asiatic black bear or brown

bear.

n=04

Snow leopard Conservation in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh

Fig 12. Evidence of large carnivores in GHNP.

Evidences of lar

e carnivores in

GHNP

Black bear Unidentified

Large carnivores

No. of evidences

b. Grazing pressure and human disturbance:

Grazing is not allowed inside the park therefore there is no grazing pressure in

GHNP. Similarly, there was no human disturbance recorded during the survey

since there is no permanent human settlement inside GHNP.

SANGLA (RAKSHAM-CHITKUL) WILDLIFE SANCTUARY (SWLS):

Dumti was surveyed (October, 2008) for snow leopard base-line survey in SWLS.

There was no evidence recorded of snow leopard. No direct or indirect evidence of

co-predators was found in SWLS during the survey.

10.

KUGTI WILDLIFE SANCTUARY (KUGTI WLS):

Duggi-Relang and Baggi-Tal areas were surveyed during November, 2008 for

collecting direct and indirect evidence of snow leopard in Kugti WLS.

a. Snow leopard evidence:

We could not find any evidence of snow leopard during the survey from KWLS.

Rather, one unidentified scat of a carnivore was collected at an elevation of 3150

m above MSL. Kugti WLS is well-known for frequent sightings of brown bear and

we recorded 13 signs of evidence of brown bear including one direct sighting.

Informants (locals and forest staff) were familiar with common leopard but could

not identify snow leopard in Kugti WLS.

n=03

Snow leopard Conservation in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh

Fig 13. Evidence of large carnivores in Kugti WLS.

Evidences of large carnivores in

KWLS

Brown bear Unidentified

Large carnivores

No. of evidences

b. Grazing pressure and human disturbance:

Grazing pressure was recorded in 68% of the areas surveyed in Kugti WLS. Kugti

WLS faced grazing from neighbouring districts (Lahul and Spiti) also and

unsupervised livestock grazing was also recorded from there, which is categorized

as medium threat to snow leopard habitat. Burning of alpine meadows was

observed in areas surveyed of Kugti WLS and categorized as medium threat to

snow leopard habitat. There was no shepherd found during the survey. Thus, no

information was available on snow leopard-human conflict from Kugti WLS.

Fig 14. Human disturbance at snow leopard habitat in Kugti WLS.

Threat Ratings

⇓Th

rea

ts⇓ / ⇒Targets⇒

Snow leopard

Snow leopard habitat

Snow leopard-human conflicts

None

Tourism None

Human settlements None

Grazing

Medium

Developmental activity None

Target threat rating None Low

n=14

Appendix 2: Encounter rate of large carnivores’ evidence along survey efforts

(per Km walked).

Encounter rate for evidences of

Large carnivores

10 0

12 0

14 0

Snow

leopard

Leopard Black bear Brown

bear

Wolf

Large carnivores

Snow leopard Conservation in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh

Appendix 3: Details of survey schedule and routes taken in the survey.

Date Route taken Distance walked (Km)

Surveyed

distance

Total distance

walked

Govind Pashu Vihar

19 Ap. 08 Sankri to Taluka - 12

20 Ap. 08 Taluka to Osla - 15

21 Ap. 08 Osla to Harki Doon 12 12

22 Ap.08 Harki Dun to Mandal lake 04 (*2) 08

22 Ap. 08 Harki Doon to Osla 12 12

23 Ap. 08 Osla to Ruinsara 10 10

24 Ap. 08 Ruinsara Valley 04 04

24 Ap. 08 Ruinsara to Osla 14 14

25 Ap. 08 Osla to Taluka - 15

26 Ap. 08 Taluka a to Sankri - 12

Gangotri National Park and Nelong Valley

05 My.08 Gangotri to Bhojbasa 14 14

06 My. 08 Bhojbasa to Tapovan 08 08

07 My. 08 Tapovan 04 04

08 My.08 Tapovan to Bhojbasa 08 08

09 My.08 Bjojbasa to Gangotri 14 14

15 My. 08 Bheroghati to Sonam* (by

vehicle)

42 (*2) 84

16 My. 08 Nelong Valley 11 11

17 My.08 Nelong to Naga to Jadon 13 (*2) 26

18 My.08 Naga to Sonam 10 10

19 My.08 Sonam to Tripani 10 (*2) 20

20 My. 08 Sonam to Hindoligad 27 27

Sunderdhunga Glacier

27 My. 08 Khalidhar to Dhakuli - 11

28 My. 08 Dhakuli to Jatoli - 15

29 My. 08 Jatoli to Kothalia - 16

30 My. 08 Kothalia to Madtoli 5.5 (*2) 11

30 My. 08 Kothalia to Khati - 11

31 My. 08 Khati to Khalidhar - 22

Askot Wildlife Sanctuary

07. Jn. 08 Garbadhar to Bundi - 19

08 Jn. 08 Bundi to Gunji 15 18

09 Jn. 08 Gunji to Nabidhang 18 18

10 Jn. 08 Nabidhang to Om Parvat 5.5 (*2) 11

10 Jn. 08 Nabidhang to Gunji 18 18

11 Jn. 08 Gunji to Bundi 15 18

12. Jn. 08 Bundi to Garbadhar - 19

Snow leopard Conservation in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh

Munsiari-Dung

16 Jn. 08 Dummer to Rergari - 15

17 Jn. 08 Rergari to Relikot - 16

18 Jn. 08 Relikot to Milam 18 18

19 Jn. 08 Milam to Dung 09 (*2) 18

20 Jn. 08 Milam to Relikot 18 18

21 Jn. 08 Relikot to Lilam - 24

22 Jn. 08 Lilam to Selapani - 09

Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve

02 Sept.

21 Point to Sumna - 05

03 Sept.

Sumna to Lapthal 14 14

04 Sept.

Lapthal to Chudang 08 08

04 Sept.

Chudang to Lake 02 02

05 Sept.

Chudang to Laha 04 (*2) 08

05 Sept.

Chudang to Lapthal 08 08

06 Sept.

Lapthal to Sumna 14 14

07 Sept.

Sumna to Rimkhim 14 14

08 Sept.

Rimkhim to Sumna 14 14

08 Sept.

Sumna to 21 Point - 05

Valley of Flower National Park

14 Sept.

Govindghat to Ghangharia - 13

15 Sept.

Ghangharia to Kunt Khal 07 (*2) 14

16 Sept.

Ghangharia to Tipra Glacier 07 (*2) 14

17 Sept.

Ghangharia to Govindghat - 13

Great Himalayan National Park

27 Sept.

Gushaini to Rolla - 10

28 Sept.

Rolla to Nada - 12

29 Sept.

Nada to Kobri 08 08

Snow leopard Conservation in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh

30 Sept.

Kobri to Rolla 08 20

01 Oct. 08 Rolla to Gushaini - 10

Sangla (Raksham Chitkul) Wildlife Sanctuary

11 Oct. 08 Chitkul to Nagasti - 03

12 Oct. 08 Nagasti to Dumti 18 24

14 Oct. 08 Dumti to Chitkul 18 27

Kugti Wildlife Sanctuary

11 Nov.

Dharol to Kugti - 07

13 Nov.

Kugti to Duggi - 08

14 Nov.

Duggi to Relang 3.5 (*2) 07

15 Nov.

Duggi to Kugti - 8

17 Nov.

Kugti to Baggi 01 07

18 Nov.

Baggi to Tal 2.5 (*2) 05

19 Nov.

Baggi to Kugti 01 07

(*2): return track.

Snow leopard Conservation in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh

Appendix 4: Approximate area covered (% of the total area) in the survey under

snow leopard habitat.

Area

(total area

sqkm)

Parts surveyed

% of the

total

Area

Routes taken

% of

Parts

Surveyed

Govind PV

(481 km²)

Osla, Har ki

Doon, Jamdar Gl,

Mandal lake,

Ruinsara

15%

Osla-Har ki Doon

Osla-Ruinsara

10%

Gangotri NP

(2200 km²)

Gaumukh

Uttarakhand ,

Tapoban,

Shivling, Nilang,

Jadon, Sonam,

Tripani

20%

Gaumukh

Uttarakhand -

Shivling

Nilang-Tripani

15%

Sunderdhunga

SDGlacier

10% Kothalia-SDGl 05%

Askot WLS

(599.93 km²)

Bundi, Gunji,

Kalapani,

Nabidhang, Om

Parvat

15% Bundi-Om Parvat 10%

Munsiari

Milam, Dung

15% Relikot-Dung 10%

Nanda Devi

(5148km²)

Sumna, Lapthal,

Chudang, Laha,

Rimkhim

15%

Sumna-Laha

Sumna-Rimkhim

12%

Valley of

Flower NP

(87.5 km²)

Kunt Khal, Tipra

Glacier

10%

Ghangharia- Kunt

Khal

Ghangharia-Tipra

08%

Great

Himalayan NP

(755 km²)

Kobri, Rolla

05% Nada-Rolla 03%

Sangla WLS

(304 km²)

Dumti

10% Nagasti-Dumti 05%

Kugti WLS

(379 km²)

Duggi, Baggi

05%

Kugti-Duggi

Kugti-Baggi

03%

Appendix 5: Local and scientific names of mammals covered in survey in

Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh with their legal conservation status.

Species

Name

Scientific Name

Local Name

(referred as in

Uttarakhand and

Himachal Pradesh)

Indian Wildlife

Protection Act,

1972

Snow leopard Uncia uncia Barfani cheetah,

tharua

(Uttarakhand)

Common

leopard

Panthera pardus Bagh (Uttarakhand,

HP)

Asiatic black

bear

Ursus thibetanus Bhalu

(Uttarakhand), richh

(HP)

Brown bear Ursus arctos Lal bhalu

(Uttarakhand), ghai

(HP)

Tibetan wolf Canis lupus chanko Shanku

Red fox Vulpes vulpes Lomdi

Blue sheep Pseudois nayaur Bharad

(Uttarakhand)

Himalayan tahr Hemitragus

jemlahicus

Karth (HP)

Asiatic ibex Capra ibex Tringol (HP)

Musk deer Moschus

chrysogaster

Kasturi

(Uttarakhand, HP)

Grey goral Nemorhaedus goral Pirj (HP)

III

Himalayan

marmot

Mormota

himalayana

Phea (Uttarakhand)

Snow leopard conservation in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh

Appendix 6: Shepherd responses (n=16) on livestock depredation (%) by large

carnivores in Govind Pashu Vihar, Askot Wildlife Sanctuary and Munsiari to Dung.

Livestock depredation (%) by large

carnivores in GPV, AWLS and Munsiari

Wolf, 19.6

Black bear,

51.3

Brown bear,

9.0

Leopard,

10.3

Snow

leopard, 9.8

n=16

pendix 7: Comparative elevation and slope for snow leopard and co-

predators.

Category Snow

leopard

Common

leopard

Asiatic

Black

bear

Himalayan

Brown

bear

Wolf

Mean elevation

(m)

3783 3397 3374 3279 3992

Mean slope (°) 28 32 41 23 15

Snow leopard conservation in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh

Appendix 8. Maps

Map 2: Locations of common leopard evidence in Uttarakhand and Himachal

Pradesh.

N = 4

Snow leopard conservation in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh

Map 3: Locations of Asiatic Black bear and Himalayan Brown bear evidence in

Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.

N ▪ = 27

N▲= 10

Snow leopard conservation in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh

Map 4: Locations of wolf evidence in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh

Snow leopard conservation in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh

Map 5: Routes surveyed for occurrence and distribution of snow leopard in

Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh

Snow leopard conservation in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh

The contents of this report can be used with due

acknowledgement and citation

Photocredits:

Front Cover : SUJOY BANERJEE/WWF-India

Inside images: Aishwarya Maheshwari, Yash Veer Bhatnagar,

David Forsyth, S. Sathyakumar

On field at Gangotri National Park

Predicting Habitat Suitability of Snow Leopards in the Western Himalayan Mountains, India

Article

Full-text available

Nov 2020
BIOL BULL+

The population of snow leopard (Panthera uncia) is declining across their range, due to poaching, habitat fragmentation, retaliatory killing, and a decrease of wild prey species. Obtaining information on rare and cryptic predators living in remote and rugged terrain is important for making conservation and management strategies. We used the Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) ecological niche modeling framework to predict the potential habitat of snow leopards across the western Himalayan region, India. The model was developed using 34 spatial species occurrence points in the western Himalaya, and 26 parameters including, prey species distribution, temperature, precipitation, land use and land cover (LULC), slope, aspect, terrain ruggedness and altitude. Thirteen variables contributed 98.6% towards predicting the distribution of snow leopards. The area under the curve (AUC) score was high (0.994) for the training data from our model, which indicates pre-dictive ability of the model. The model predicted that there was 42432 km 2 of potential habitat for snow leopards in the western Himalaya region. Protected status was available for 11247 km 2 (26.5%), but the other 31185 km 2 (73.5%) of potential habitat did not have any protected status. Thus, our approach is useful for predicting the distribution and suitable habitats and can focus field surveys in selected areas to save resources, increase survey success, and improve conservation efforts for snow leopards.

Retaliatory Asiatic Black Bear (Ursus thibetanus) Killings in District Mansehra, Pakistan

Research

Full-text available

Sep 2016

Muhammad Awais

On Nov 12, 2015, a female black bear and her cub wandered into Jabori village (Siran Valley) and attacked various people and school children, fortunately with no injuries but resulting in a chase that ended with the mother being shot in a house. Her cub was later killed in a field. On Nov 09, 2015, another female black bear in Hungrai village (Kaghan Valley) was killed by locals when it entered a pen and injured a sheep. In a fit of rage, villagers chased the bear and pounded her with gunfire and sticks. On Nov 08, 2015, a bear family of 4 was cruelly killed when they entered Paras village (Kaghan Valley). Villagers put down 2 black bears and 2 cubs to avenge the brutal mauling of village boy Sajid and his mother. Another bear (date of incident unknown in November, 2015, Kaghan Valley) was killed by people in the area with sticks and gunfire when it came down from a nearby mountain.

Cat News 77 Zaheer et al

Article

Full-text available

Jun 2023

Biodiversity Status and Seasonal Dynamics of Butterfly Fauna in and Around Askot Wildlife Sanctuary, Western Himalaya

Chapter

Mar 2023

Askot Wildlife Sanctuary (AWLS) located in the north of Pithoragarh of Uttarakhand in Western Himalaya is an eco-sensitive and biodiversity rich zone, conserved primarily for the protection of endangered Himalayan musk deer (Moschus chrysogaster) and other wildlife. Despite of its national importance, there remains a large gap in the existing knowledge on insect diversity including butterflies which are crucial for long term conservation and planning in the sanctuary. Therefore, the species richness, status and diversity of butterflies was quantified and analyzed in and around the AWLS using Pollard walk method during 2022. A total of 58 species under six families of butterflies were documented and Nymphalidae with 28 species was the most dominant family. Species such as Aglais caschmirensis, Pieris brassicae, Pieris canidia, Heliophorus sena, Eurema hecabe and Eurema brigitta were the most abundant and common butterflies, while Aulocera brahminus dokwana, Arhopala ganesa, Polygonia c-albium cognata, Tajuria diaeus, Carterocephalu avanti, Parnassius hardwickii and Lethe sidonis were the least abundant and rare species. Six species namely, Arhopala ganesa, Euploea core, Euploea midamus, Neptis sankara, Aporia agathon and Tajuria diaeus were legally protected under the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. The species

Prey Preferences of the Large Predators of Asia

Chapter

Full-text available

Oct 2022

DETERMINANTS OF OCCURRENCE OF SNOW LEOPARD AND ITS PREY SPECIES IN THE INDIAN GREATER AND TRANS HIMALAYA

Thesis

Full-text available

Jun 2017

Abhishek Ghoshal

Understanding patterns of species occurrences and how their distribution and abundance are affected by abiotic and biotic factors have been a major theme of ecological research. The range and changes in the distribution of a species are important parameters to assess conservation status. Robust assessment of factors affecting species distribution and abundance contribute to the identification of conservation issues, appropriate scale(s) for species conservation and key stakeholders. Through this thesis, I have attempted to understand how distribution and abundance of a large-ranging and difficult-to-sample carnivore and its primary wild-prey species are affected by topographic, vegetation and land-use variables, at wide and fine spatial scales. I have focused on the snow leopard (Panthera uncia), the elusive, rare and endangered apex predator of the Central and South Asian mountain systems, and its main prey, blue sheep or bharal (Pseudois nayaur) and Asiatic ibex (Capra sibirica) for the work. I have utilized tools from quantitative ecology and social sciences through the thesis. The presumed snow leopard, blue sheep and ibex habitats are cliff- and pasture-dominated areas between 3,200m-5,200m amsl in the Indian Himalaya and Trans-Himalaya. However, robust estimation of snow leopard and prey distribution across vast areas has rarely been attempted and hence remain poorly understood. The Himalayas also support resident and transhumant or migratory livestock grazing. Owing to limited arable lands and modern livelihood options in the rugged and remote mountainous terrain, livestock grazing has been a major livelihood. Although considered ‘traditional’, resident and migratory livestock grazing practices have been evolving in response to environmental, socio-economic and geo-political changes. The rangelands or pastures grazed by livestock are often overstocked, compromising livestock productivity, forage availability and wild-ungulate densities. This, in turn, impacts snow leopard densities, since snow leopard density is directly related to prey abundance. The results based on occupancy surveys across an area of 14,616 km2 of potential snow leopard habitat suggest snow leopard and wild-prey were widespread, not restricted to protected areas. A considerable proportion (25%) of surveyed area was not likely to be used by snow leopards. Blue sheep and ibex had distinct distributions within the study area. Snow leopard and wild-prey (blue sheep and ibex combined) site-use were best explained by altitude and ruggedness. Blue sheep was likely to occur in areas without migratory livestock grazing, while ibex occurred in areas with intensive migratory livestock grazing. At a finer scale, effects of migratory livestock grazing on vegetation cover and biomass, and ibex population density and young:adult female ratios were tested in a grazed and ungrazed area across spring, summer and autumn seasons of 2015 and 2016. Graminoid and herb biomass were significantly lowered by migratory livestock grazing owing to humongous forage removal by livestock during two months of peak summer. Palatable species biomass was 2.25 times lower in grazed than that of ungrazed area. Ibex population density was 1.8-7 times lower in grazed than that of ungrazed area across two years, with six times lower yearling:adult female ratios in grazed area during peak summer. Significantly reduced forage availability led to exploitative competition between ibex and migratory livestock. Given the severe impacts of migratory livestock grazing on vegetation and wild-prey, the changes in migratory livestock grazing practice over the past decade were assessed. Additionally, perceptions of migratory herder and local communities on effects of grazing on pasture quality were examined. Herd size nearly doubled over the past decade, along with precipitous rise in prices of goat, sheep and wool. Pasture quality was perceived to be degrading by migratory herder and local communities and availability of palatable forage declining as a result of pasture degradation. This work contributes to empirical understanding of snow leopard and wild-prey distributions across a vast landscape of the Indian Greater and Trans-Himalaya. It points to the importance of landscape-scale science-based participatory conservation planning for effective snow leopard and wild-prey conservation in the Indian Himalaya, rather than a protected area-centric approach. At a finer scale, this work establishes prevalence of exploitative competition between ibex and migratory livestock owing to palatable forage depletion by livestock. The findings on palatable forage reduction by migratory livestock grazing in Trans-Himalayan rangelands is in line with perceptions of the key stakeholders, providing a platform to engage with migratory herder community. The results provide insights for conservation management of the Indian snow leopard habitat and Himalayan rangelands at regional and local scales.

Melting the Snow: Monitoring Illegal Trade in Snow Leopards

Technical Report

Full-text available

Nov 2016

Ecology and Conservation of Himalayan Wolf

Technical Report

Full-text available

Feb 2013

Wolves in the Trans-Himalaya of India and neighbouring countries are existing as small population facing numerous threat for their survival. Recent studies suggest that the wolves in this part of world are the oldest lineage and played important role in the evolution of modern day wolf-dog clad. Moreover, the distinction of these wolves is considerable to recognise them as a separate species. Almost no information pertaining their ecology was available and this project was initiated with an aim of generating basic information on the wolf of the Himalayas. Major objectives of the study were (1) to determine the status and distribution of the wolf in the Himalayan and Trans-Himalayan landscape of India, (2) to understand the level and pattern of human-wolf conflict, and (3) to identify the key areas of wolf presence for their conservation. We selected 17 high-altitude protected areas in three states of India, viz., Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, sharing the Trans-Himalayan landscape in India. Considering the rare records of wolf presence in scientific literature and the occasional reports of wolf-human conflict, conducting questionnaires was, therefore, adapted to cover the vast landscape in limited time duration. We developed customized indices for wolf-human conflict and wolf-presence to analyse the data collected during this survey. Distribution of the wolf in the Trans-Himalayan and Himalayan landscape falling within the three states was predicted by maximum entropy model using software MaxEnt. The range of habitat variables that limits their distribution was also estimated. Presence of wolf and the conflict level were estimated region-wise and state-wise and it helped in identifying the key areas of wolf conservation. Northern Kashmir Valley, Leh and Changthang Wildlife Sanctuary (WLS) in Ladakh and Kibber WLS in Himachal Pradesh are the prime areas of wolf presence. Although most of the wolf distribution is lying outside of existing protected area network and wolf conservation is dependent on management of these areas as well. A discrepancy in the nomenclature and identification of wolf populations in the region was found during the study. It is of utmost importance to recognize any species and name it correctly to give an impetus to the conservation efforts. Therefore, a landscape level genetics study to sort out the issues regarding their nomenclature is also recommended.

Diet selection of snow leopard (Panthera uncia) in Chitral, Pakistan

Article

Full-text available

Jan 2017

Snow leopard (Panthera uncia) is an elusive endangered carnivore found in remote mountain regions of Central Asia, with sparse distribution in northern Pakistan, including Chitral and Baltistan. The present study determined the food habits of snow leopard, including preferred prey species and seasonal variation in diet. Fifty-six scat samples were collected and analyzed to determine the diet composition in two different seasons, i.e. summer and winter. Hair characteristics such as cuticular scale patterns and medullary structure were used to identify the prey. This evidence was further substantiated from the remains of bones, claws, feathers, and other undigested remains found in the scats. A total of 17 prey species were identified; 5 of them were large mammals, 6 were mesomammals, and the remaining 6 were small mammals. The occurrence of wild ungulates (10.4%) in the diet was low, while livestock constituted a substantial part (26.4%) of the diet, which was higher in summer and lower in winter. Mesomammals altogether comprised 33.4% of the diet, with palm civet (Paguma larvata) as a dominant (16.8%) species, followed by golden marmot (Marmota caudate) (8.8%), which was higher in winter. There was a significant difference in seasonal variation in domestic livestock and small mammals. The livestock contribution of 26.4% observed in the present study indicates a significant dependence of the population on livestock and suggests that the study area is expected to be a high-conflict area for snow leopards. The results of the current study would help improve the conservation efforts for snow leopards, contributing to conflict resolution and effective management of this endangered cat.

Snow Leopard Habitat Modeling Using Neuro-Fuzzy Technique and a Comparative Analysis Between Traditional Overlay and Neuro-Fuzzy Technique—A Case Study of Chamoli and Pithorgarh District of Uttarakhand

Chapter

Sep 2017

Snow leopard (uncia uncia) is the elusive, mysterious predator of the Himalayan region, found in the 5 Himalayan states of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh in India. The species is classified as endangered as per the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List. India, has 10 % of the snow leopard population in less than 5 % of its habitat area which faces serious danger from several natural and anthropogenic factors. Moreover, the animal is not restricted to wildlife sanctuaries only but is also found spread across the whole area. In the following work, habitat suitability modeling for snow leopards has been undertaken to accommodate this behavior of the cats. The study has been carried out in the state of Uttaranchal using the neuro-fuzzy technique. A comparison with the general weighted overlay method has been drawn to analyze which model is more accurate to predict the habitat suitability surface. Landsat images of ETM+ as well as TM have been used to extract the land use land cover of the study area. ASTER DEM has been used to find the slope, relief, aspect, and ruggedness index of the area. Prey citation data along with the snow leopard citation data further completes the database that is required for snow leopard habitat modeling. Finally, a neuro-fuzzy model has been developed using the MATLAB ANFIS editor to determine the suitable habitat zones for snow leopards in the Himalayan state. The surface generated has been then divided into six suitability zones, ranging from very high suitability to very low suitability areas, depending upon the combination of various input parameters. The model has been finally validated with ground observation data and has been compared with the traditional weighted overlay method. It was seen that while the neuro-fuzzy modeling has successfully defined specific suitability zones, the weighted overlay technique has given a much more general idea about the suitability of the area for the snow leopard habitat. Though this technique is being used for studies including landslide susceptibility and pollution vulnerability, implementing it in habitat modeling is a comparatively new endeavor. Since it takes into consideration the fact that in reality, there exist a range of possibilities, it has the ability to provide a more realistic approach toward habitat modeling. Thus, geospatial techniques used here will give a cost effective solution toward conservation of these elusive yet endangered cats.

A REGIONAL PERSPECTIVE FOR SNOW LEOPARD CONSERVATION IN THE INDIAN TRANS-HIMALAYA

Chapter

Full-text available

Sep 2002

The Trans-Himalaya is a vast biogeographic region in the cold and arid rain-shadow of the Greater Himalaya and is spread over three Indian states. From the conservation standpoint this region has several unique characteristics. Unlike most other biogeographic regions of the country, it has wildlife, including large mammals, spread over the entire region. Another feature is that the harsh climate and topography provides limited agricultural land and pastures, all of which are currently utilized by people. The harsh environment has given rise to a specialized assemblage of flora and fauna in the region that include the endangered snow leopard, a variety of wild sheep and goat, Tibetan antelope, Tibetan gazelle, kiang and wild yak. Among the 10 Biogeographic Zones in the country, the Trans-Himalaya has a comparatively large Protected Area (PA) coverage, with over 15,000 km 2 (8.2 %) of the geographical area under the network. In spite of this, the bulk of the large mammal populations still exist outside the PAs, which include highly endangered species such as snow leopard, chiru, wild yak, Ladakh urial, kiang and brown bear. Given the sparse resource availability in the Trans-Himalaya and the existing human use patterns, there are few alternatives that can be provided to resource dependent human communities in and around PAs. The existing PAs themselves pose formidable conservation challenges and a further increase in their extent is impractical. The problem is further compounded by the fact that some of the large PAs have unclear boundaries and include vast stretches that do not have any direct wildlife values. These issues call for an alternative strategy for conservation of the Trans-Himalayan tracts based on a regional perspective, which includes reconciling conservation with development. The snow leopard is one of the most charismatic species of the Trans-Himalaya. This apex predator, with a wide distribution, has ecological importance and international appeal, and is eminently suitable to be used as both a 'flagship' and an 'umbrella species' to anchor and guide conservation efforts in the Trans-Himalayan region. In this paper we stress that conservation issues of this region, such as competition for forage between wild and domestic herbivores and human-wildlife conflicts need to be addressed in a participatory manner. We suggest an alternative scheme to look at the zonation of existing PAs and also the Trans-Himalayan region as a whole, to facilitate better conservation in the region. Also, we emphasize that there is a vital need for additional resources and a formal setup for regional planning and management under a centrally sponsored scheme such as the 'Project Snow Leopard'.

Status and management of Asiatic black bear and Himalayan brown bear in India

Article

Full-text available

Jan 2000
URSUS

Sathyakumar Sambandam

I review the current status of Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus) and Himalayan brown bear (Ursus arctos) in India based on a questionnaire, interviews, and a literature survey. The Himalayan region and the hills of northeastern India probably support one of the largest populations of Asiatic black bear in Asia. Asiatic black bears live in forested mountain habitats (1,200-3,300 m) in the states of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, West Bengal, Mizoram, Meghalaya, and Tripura. Asiatic black bears were reported to occur in 53 protected areas (PAs) and in 62 other localities, but their population status is not known. The potential range of Asiatic black bear habitat in India is estimated to be about 14,500 km2, of which <5% is in PAs. Asiatic black bear numbers are decreasing in many areas due to (1) large-scale habitat degradation, (2) poaching for gall bladder and skins, and (3) control to reduce crop depredation. Very little information exists on the relative abundance of Himalayan brown bear (Ursus arctos isabellinus) in India. The Himalayan brown bear occurs in very low densities in the subalpine and alpine regions (>3,300 m) of the Greater and Trans-Himalayan regions in India and has been reported in the states of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttaranchal. They are reported to occur in 23 PAs and in 18 other localities. Their potential habitat range in India is estimated at 4,300 km2, of which very little is protected. Questionnaire results indicate that there has been a marginal decline in Asiatic black bear relative abundance, but information for brown bear is insufficient to elucidate a trend. The long-term conservation of both species in India depends on adequately protecting the species and their habitats, reducing habitat degradation, strictly controlling poaching and illegal trade of gall bladder and skin, and in reducing bear-human conflicts.

Ranging and Habitat Utilization by the Himalayan Ibex (Capra ibex sibirica) in Pin Valley National Park

Thesis

Full-text available

Oct 1997

Yash Veer Bhatnagar

Ecology and Conservation of the Valley of Flowers National Park, Garhwal Himalaya

Book

Full-text available

Jan 1998

Local People's Attitudes toward Wildlife Conservation in the Hemis National Park with Special Reference to the Conservation of Large Predators

Article

Full-text available

STATUS REPORT ON SNOW LEOPARD IN INDIA

Article

Full-text available

Snow leopard conservation in the wild a comprehensive perspective on a low density and highly fragmented population

Article

Jan 1994

J.L. Fox

A review of methods to estimate the abundance of terrestrial carnivores using field signs and observation

Article

Apr 2001

This paper reviews field methods for estimating and monitoring the abundance of terrestrial carnivores that do not involve capture. Effective methods of monitoring abundance are important tools for the management and conservation of many species. The development of methods for carnivores presents particular challenges, as they are often secretive and widely dispersed. Nevertheless, a variety of approaches based on direct observations and quantification of field signs have been employed. These techniques are described in relation to carnivore ecology and resource implications, and the advantages and deficiencies of each are discussed with reference to case studies.

Pastoral Politics: Gaddi Grazing, Degradation, and Biodiversity Conservation in Himachal Pradesh, India

Article

Jun 1996
CONSERV BIOL

Vasant Saberwal

Two assumptions underlie the current conservation focus worldwide. The first is that democratic governments can restrict human resource use within protected areas, and the second is that human land use for subsistence leads to degradation and is incompatible with the maintenance of high levels of biological diversity. An examination of official policy documents over the past century indicates that Gaddi herders of Himachal Pradesh, northwestern Indian Himalaya, have used political influence to circumvent bureaucratic policies of exclusion and that there is an absence of scientific evidence to support the notion that Gaddi grazing leads to land degradation. Although grazing intensity has profoundly shaped the structure and composition of the Siwalik forests (the Gaddi winter grazing grounds), as demonstrated by transect-based data presented here, deviations from a supposed “climax” community need not constitute degradation. A growing rather than declining cattle population attests to the regenerative capacities of these forests. Within the alpine meadows grazed by the Gaddi in summer, mean plant species richness increased along transects originating at herder camps and extending 250 m north of border camp sites. Intense grazing pressure or heavy manuring by livestock bedded at night are likely to be responsible for the observed low species diversity adjacent to the campsite, but the effect is insignificant at the level of the overall landscape. Interviews with borders also suggest the presence of a sizable, though hunted, mammalian fauna in these high altitude meadows. Recognition of the difficulties associated with implementing restrictive policies, and the fact that human land-use practices need not lead to degradation or to a decline in biological diversity, should lead to more inclusive conservation policies within protected areas as well as an expansion of the conservation focus beyond protected-area boundaries.

The status of the snow leopard in Pakistan and its conflict with local farmers

Article

Feb 2003
ORYX

Shafqat Hussain

Between 1998 and 2001 I carried out surveys in four areas in the Baltistan district of the Northern Areas of Pakistan to estimate the population of the snow leopard and to examine the threats to its future conservation. I estimate that a total of 36–50 snow leopards are present in the areas surveyed. Based on the availability of suitable snow leopard habitat and of its prey species, I estimate that 90–120 snow leopards are potentially present in Baltistan and 300–420 throughout its range within Pakistan's borders. Although this estimate is higher than extrapolations based on earlier surveys, the long-term future of the snow leopard is under threat. This is mainly due to retaliatory killings by farmers, and poaching for pelts and other body parts. Species-focused conservation policies, particularly those targeting ungulates for the promotion of trophy hunting, may constitute an additional threat to snow leopard conservation in the region. However, all forms of threats to the snow leopard in Baltistan appear to emanate from the relatively poor economic conditions of the local people.

Snow leopard conservation in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, WWF India, New Delhi.

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