Thapa Kamal, Schmitt Natalie, Pradhan Narendra M B, Acharya Hem Raj, Rayamajhi Santosh
Tribhuvan University, Institute of Forestry Kritipur Nepal.
Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences McMaster University Hamilton Ontario Canada.
Ecol Evol. 2021 Nov 1;11(23):16413-16425. doi: 10.1002/ece3.8279. eCollection 2021 Dec.
In this study, we investigated the impact of domestic and wild prey availability on snow leopard prey preference in the Kangchenjunga Conservation Area of eastern Nepal-a region where small domestic livestock are absent and small wild ungulate prey are present. We took a comprehensive approach that combined fecal genetic sampling, macro- and microscopic analyses of snow leopard diets, and direct observation of blue sheep and livestock in the KCA. Out of the collected 88 putative snow leopard scat samples from 140 transects (290 km) in 27 (4 × 4 km) sampling grid cells, 73 (83%) were confirmed to be from snow leopard. The genetic analysis accounted for 19 individual snow leopards (10 males and 9 females), with a mean population size estimate of 24 (95% CI: 19-29) and an average density of 3.9 snow leopards/100 km within 609 km. The total available prey biomass of blue sheep and yak was estimated at 355,236 kg (505 kg yak/km and 78 kg blue sheep/km). From the available prey biomass, we estimated snow leopards consumed 7% annually, which comprised wild prey (49%), domestic livestock (45%), and 6% unidentified items. The estimated 47,736 kg blue sheep biomass gives a snow leopard-to-blue sheep ratio of 1:59 on a weight basis. The high preference of snow leopard to domestic livestock appears to be influenced by a much smaller available biomass of wild prey than in other regions of Nepal (e.g., 78 kg/km in the KCA compared with a range of 200-300 kg/km in other regions of Nepal). Along with livestock insurance scheme improvement, there needs to be a focus on improved livestock guarding, predator-proof corrals as well as engaging and educating local people to be citizen scientists on the importance of snow leopard conservation, involving them in long-term monitoring programs and promotion of ecotourism.
在本研究中,我们调查了尼泊尔东部干城章嘉峰保护区内家养猎物和野生猎物的可获得性对雪豹猎物偏好的影响——该地区没有小型家养牲畜,但有小型野生有蹄类猎物。我们采用了一种综合方法,将粪便基因采样、雪豹饮食的宏观和微观分析以及在干城章嘉峰保护区对岩羊和家畜的直接观察结合起来。在27个(4×4千米)采样网格单元的140条样带(290千米)中收集的88份疑似雪豹粪便样本中,有73份(83%)被确认为来自雪豹。基因分析确定了19只个体雪豹(10只雄性和9只雌性),平均种群数量估计为24只(95%置信区间:19 - 29只),在609平方千米范围内平均密度为每100千米3.9只雪豹。岩羊和牦牛的总可利用猎物生物量估计为355,236千克(每千米505千克牦牛和78千克岩羊)。根据可利用猎物生物量,我们估计雪豹每年消耗7%,其中包括野生猎物(49%)、家养牲畜(45%)和6%的不明物品。估计的47,736千克岩羊生物量得出雪豹与岩羊的重量比为1:59。雪豹对家养牲畜的高度偏好似乎受到野生猎物可利用生物量比尼泊尔其他地区小得多的影响(例如,干城章嘉峰保护区为每千米78千克,而尼泊尔其他地区为200 - 300千克/千米)。除了改进牲畜保险计划外,还需要关注改进牲畜防护、防捕食者畜栏,以及让当地居民参与并教育他们成为公民科学家,了解雪豹保护的重要性,让他们参与长期监测计划并促进生态旅游。