Dataset Information

Multiple factors influence local perceptions of snow leopards and Himalayan wolves in the central Himalayas, Nepal.

ABSTRACT: An understanding of local perceptions of carnivores is important for conservation and management planning. In the central Himalayas, Nepal, we interviewed 428 individuals from 85 settlements using a semi-structured questionnaire to quantitatively assess local perceptions and tolerance of snow leopards and wolves. We used generalized linear mixed effect models to assess influential factors, and found that tolerance of snow leopards was much higher than of wolves. Interestingly, having experienced livestock losses had a minor impact on perceptions of the carnivores. Occupation of the respondents had a strong effect on perceptions of snow leopards but not of wolves. Literacy and age had weak impacts on snow leopard perceptions, but the interaction among these terms showed a marked effect, that is, being illiterate had a more marked negative impact among older respondents. Among the various factors affecting perceptions of wolves, numbers of livestock owned and gender were the most important predictors. People with larger livestock herds were more negative towards wolves. In terms of gender, males were more positive to wolves than females, but no such pattern was observed for snow leopards. People's negative perceptions towards wolves were also related to the remoteness of the villages. Factors affecting people's perceptions could not be generalized for the two species, and thus need to be addressed separately. We suggest future conservation projects and programs should prioritize remote settlements.

SUBMITTER: Chetri M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7568854 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Multiple factors influence local perceptions of snow leopards and Himalayan wolves in the central Himalayas, Nepal.

Chetri Madhu M Odden Morten M Devineau Olivier O McCarthy Thomas T Wegge Per P

PeerJ 20201015

An understanding of local perceptions of carnivores is important for conservation and management planning. In the central Himalayas, Nepal, we interviewed 428 individuals from 85 settlements using a semi-structured questionnaire to quantitatively assess local perceptions and tolerance of snow leopards and wolves. We used generalized linear mixed effect models to assess influential factors, and found that tolerance of snow leopards was much higher than of wolves. Interestingly, having experienced ...[more]

PMID: 33088621

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Project description:Top carnivores play an important role in maintaining energy flow and functioning of the ecosystem, and a clear understanding of their diets and foraging strategies is essential for developing effective conservation strategies. In this paper, we compared diets and prey selection of snow leopards and wolves based on analyses of genotyped scats (snow leopards n = 182, wolves n = 57), collected within 26 sampling grid cells (5×5 km) that were distributed across a vast landscape of ca 5000 km2 in the Central Himalayas, Nepal. Within the grid cells, we sampled prey abundances using the double observer method. We found that interspecific differences in diet composition and prey selection reflected their respective habitat preferences, i.e. snow leopards significantly preferred cliff-dwelling wild ungulates (mainly bharal, 57% of identified material in scat samples), whereas wolves preferred typically plain-dwellers (Tibetan gazelle, kiang and argali, 31%). Livestock was consumed less frequently than their proportional availability by both predators (snow leopard = 27%; wolf = 24%), but significant avoidance was only detected among snow leopards. Among livestock species, snow leopards significantly preferred horses and goats, avoided yaks, and used sheep as available. We identified factors influencing diet composition using Generalized Linear Mixed Models. Wolves showed seasonal differences in the occurrence of small mammals/birds, probably due to the winter hibernation of an important prey, marmots. For snow leopard, occurrence of both wild ungulates and livestock in scats depended on sex and latitude. Wild ungulates occurrence increased while livestock decreased from south to north, probably due to a latitudinal gradient in prey availability. Livestock occurred more frequently in scats from male snow leopards (males: 47%, females: 21%), and wild ungulates more frequently in scats from females (males: 48%, females: 70%). The sexual difference agrees with previous telemetry studies on snow leopards and other large carnivores, and may reflect a high-risk high-gain strategy among males.

Project description:The snow leopard Panthera uncia is a vulnerable wild felid native to mountainous regions of 12 Asian countries. It faces numerous overlapping threats, including killings by herders retaliating against livestock losses, the illegal wildlife trade, loss of prey and habitat, infrastructure, energy and mining developments, and climate change. The species ranges over large territories that often lie outside of protected areas (PA), so coexistence with human populations across its range is key to its persistence. Human attitudes to snow leopards may be an important factor to consider in reducing overlapping threats to this species. However, this nexus has not been widely studied to date. Attitudes to snow leopard conservation, including actors and interventions, may also be a significant aspect of coexistence. These have also received limited empirical attention. This study therefore explored human attitudes to snow leopards and to snow leopard conservation, the motivations for these attitudes and the individual factors that best explained them. Using systematic sampling, a quantitative questionnaire was administered to 705 households at two sites in the Nepal Himalayas: Sagarmatha National Park, with a less decentralised governance model, and Annapurna Conservation Area, with a more decentralised model. Linear regression models were the main form of analysis. Based on these, attitudes to snow leopard conservation emerged as the strongest influence on local attitudes to snow leopards, and vice versa. This was true in both PAs, despite their differing management regimes. Other important explanatory factors included numbers of livestock owned, years of education, household livelihoods and age. Furthermore, a positive intrinsic motivation was the most common reason given by respondents to explain their attitudes to both snow leopards and snow leopard conservation. These findings demonstrate that, in addition to the usual suite of factors that influence attitudes to a species, the way in which its conservation is pursued and perceived also needs consideration. How the snow leopard is conserved may strongly influence its coexistence with local communities.

Project description:There is a growing agreement that conservation needs to be proactive and pay increased attention to common species and to the threats they face. The blue sheep (Pseudois nayaur) plays a key ecological role in sensitive high-altitude ecosystems of Central Asia and is among the main prey species for the globally vulnerable snow leopard (Panthera uncia). As the blue sheep has been increasingly exposed to human pressures, it is vital to estimate its population dynamics, protect the key populations, identify important habitats, and secure a balance between conservation and local livelihoods. We conducted a study in Manang, Annapurna Conservation Area (Nepal), to survey blue sheep on 60 transects in spring (127.9 km) and 61 transects in autumn (134.7 km) of 2019, estimate their minimum densities from total counts, compare these densities with previous estimates, and assess blue sheep habitat selection by the application of generalized additive models (GAMs). Total counts yielded minimum density estimates of 6.0-7.7 and 6.9-7.8 individuals/km2 in spring and autumn, respectively, which are relatively high compared to other areas. Elevation and, to a lesser extent, land cover indicated by the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) strongly affected habitat selection by blue sheep, whereas the effects of anthropogenic variables were insignificant. Animals were found mainly in habitats associated with grasslands and shrublands at elevations between 4,200 and 4,700 m. We show that the blue sheep population size in Manang has been largely maintained over the past three decades, indicating the success of the integrated conservation and development efforts in this area. Considering a strong dependence of snow leopards on blue sheep, these findings give hope for the long-term conservation of this big cat in Manang. We suggest that long-term population monitoring and a better understanding of blue sheep-livestock interactions are crucial to maintain healthy populations of blue sheep and, as a consequence, of snow leopards.

Project description:Livestock depredation across the trans-Himalaya causes significant economic losses to pastoralist communities. Quantification of livestock predation and the assessment of variables associated with depredation are crucial for designing effective long-term mitigation measures. We investigated the patterns and factors of livestock depredation by snow leopards (Panthera uncia) using semi-structured questionnaires targeting herders in the Narphu valley of the Annapurna Conservation Area, Nepal. During the two years (2017/18 and 2018/19), 73.9% of the households interviewed (n = 65) lost livestock to snow leopards, with an annual average loss of two livestock per household. Of the total depredation attributed to snow leopards, 55.4% were yak (mainly female: 79%), 31.7% goat, 6.8% sheep, 3.2% horse and 2.8% cattle. Results from applying Generalized Linear Mixed Models (GLMMs) revealed the total number of livestock owned and the number of larger bodied livestock species as the main explanatory covariates explaining livestock depredation. Forty-one (41%) of all herders considered snow leopard's preference for domestic livestock as the main factor in livestock predation, whereas only 5% perceived poor herding practice as the main reason for the loss. Our study found poor and changing herding practices in the valley, whereby 71% herders reported careful herding as a solution to snow leopard depredation, and 15% of herders considered the complete extermination of snow leopards as the best solution to the problem. Tolerance levels and awareness among herders towards snow leopard conservation is increasing, mainly due to the Buddhist religion and strict law enforcement within this protected area. We recommend the effective implementation of a community-based livestock insurance scheme to compensate the economic loss of herders due to predation and improved herding practices as the recommended mitigation measures for ensuring livestock security and snow leopards' conservation in the valley.

Project description:AbstractThe population of snow leopards (Unciauncia) maintained in US zoos is no longer sustainable due to poor reproductive success. Our objective was to assess reproductive traits in male snow leopards and identify factors (markers of oxidative stress in seminal fluid, surveys of husbandry practices, gonadal and adrenocortical activity, dietary intake of various nutrients, and genetics) that may affect ejaculate traits and subsequent fertility. Ejaculates (2.9 ± 0.2 mL) from 32 male snow leopards (9.8 ± 0.7 years; 38.6 ± 0.8 kg) housed at 27 institutions contained 119.2 + 26.0 x 106 spermatozoa, of which 75.1 ± 2.3% were motile and 28.6 ± 2.6% exhibited normal morphology. Overall, 34% of males produced <5 million spermatozoa and 27% of males produced spermatozoa with <20% normal morphology. Activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) in the seminal fluid was negatively correlated (P < 0.05, r 2 = 0.90) with normal sperm morphology. Husbandry practices, mean concentrations of fecal androgen metabolites (fAM), and baseline concentrations of fecal glucocorticoid metabolites (fGM), inbreeding coefficients, and generations each male was removed from the founders in their lineages were not correlated (P > 0.05) with the total number of spermatozoa or the proportion of spermatozoa with normal morphology. Total sperm count was positively correlated (P < 0.05, R 2 = 0.86) with the weekly intake of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) and the proportion of spermatozoa with normal morphology tended (P < 0.10, R 2 = 0.31) to be positively correlated with copper intake. Altering the nutrient composition of snow leopard diets could provide managers with a possible method of improving reproductive traits in this endangered species.Lay summaryThe population of snow leopards (Uncia uncia) maintained in US zoos has been declining since 1993 due to poor breeding success. Our objective was to assess the reproductive traits of male snow leopards and identify factors (e.g. hormones, diet, genetics) that may be affecting the quality of semen produced and therefore subsequent fertility. Within a cohort of 32 male snow leopards maintained at 27 US zoos, we found that 34% produced less than 5 million sperm and 27% of males produced sperm where less than 20% looked normal. The quantity and quality of the recovered sperm was not correlated with husbandry practices, concentrations of hormones (androgens and glucocorticoids) in feces, or genetics. However, the number of sperm was positively correlated with polyunsaturated fatty acids in the diet. Altering the nutrient composition of snow leopard diets could provide managers with a possible method of improving reproductive traits in this endangered species.

Dataset Information

Multiple factors influence local perceptions of snow leopards and Himalayan wolves in the central Himalayas, Nepal.

Publications

Multiple factors influence local perceptions of snow leopards and Himalayan wolves in the central Himalayas, Nepal.

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