Pralad Yonzon Conservation Forum- Series 106
- By : resourceshimalaya.org
- November 15, 2021
Resources Himalaya Foundation and Environmental Graduates in Himalaya successfully organized our monthly talk program PYCF with Dr. Madhu Chetri, Project Coordinator at Gaurishankar Conservation Area Project of NTNC on November 12, 2021. He presented a talk on “Ecology of Snow Leopards in the Central Himalayas, Nepal.”
The talk proceeded with a general introduction and current status of snow leopards focusing on its elusive nature. Gradually, the talk focused on the necessity of particular research as the ecological information on snow leopard is lacking on a large spatial scale.Through the diet analysis, the study identified that the snow leopard preferred wild prey, and also found that there was no seasonal difference in diet. Snow leopards typically preferred cliff-dwelling wild ungulates (mainly bharal) and goats as they are of optimal body size. Male snow leopards consumed more livestock than females. Also, the study showed that the abundance estimate within the 4393km2 was 48 individuals and the predicted density was 1.09/100km2 which was much lower than the national population estimate. Described by the fact, abundance and density estimates previously were mainly based on the projection from the small study area and from different methods which could be a bias. Thus, the study highlighted the importance of spatial scale in research, monitoring and protection of snow leopards. The presentation was followed by a discussion session and ended with the vote of thanks from Prof. Pitamber Sharma, Board Member of RHF.
