Snow leopard (Panthera uncia)

This paper uses remote sensing data from the Sanjiangyuan National Park (SNP) to explore the divergence between the boundaries of national parks and the distribution of natural habitats. Results are used to argue that these discrepancies evolve along with the potential impact of global warming. Using the example of the habitat change of snow leopards and the conflicts between local people and snow leopards, we reflect on the consequences of this divergence. Results show that divergence between the political boundaries and natural habitats as well as the consequent influence on the living conditions of local people are strikingly visible, and the effects of global warming on such conflicts are apparent. The authors conclude that both notions of ‘political boundaries’ and ‘natural habitats’ are expected to come together as the SNP region is spatially configured, while ‘global warming’ seems to be relevant as an essential reference when delimiting the region in the future. Finally, the proposal for the establishment of cooperative conservation areas is presented, emphasizing the role of cooperative governance in/around national parks.

The habitats of snow leopards (Panthera uncia) are heavily utilized as pasturelands on the Tibetan Plateau. Livestock can benefit the snow leopard populations via providing extra prey resources. However, livestock can negatively impact upon the distribution of snow leopards by competing with their wild prey. Therefore, how grazing affects snow leopard space use is variable and its underlying mechanisms are unclear. We used 188 camera traps to systematically investigate the activities of snow leopards, their main wild prey, i.e., blue sheep (Pseudois nayaur), and livestock (i.e. yaks) across 650 km² of Gongga Mountain. We found that: (1) snow leopards were detected only in areas with higher occurrences of blue sheep, and the presence of blue sheep was crucial in driving snow leopard space use. (2) The detection frequencies of snow leopards and blue sheep were lower at sites with yaks than without yaks. (3) Yaks limited snow leopard space use mainly by competing with its main prey, blue sheep. Our results highlight that the competition pressure of livestock on wild ungulates can limit the activities of snow leopards. Grazing management should be improved for conservation of snow leopards at Gongga Mountain.

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 predictive ability of the model. The model predicted that there was 42 432 km² of potential habitat for snow leopards in the western Himalaya region. Protected status was available for 11 247 km² (26.5%), but the other 31 185 km² (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.

The snow leopard (Panthera uncia) is commonly seen in the cultural landscape within the Republic of Kazakhstan. This contrasts rather starkly with the endangered species’ presence on the natural landscape there. Three contemporary cultural landscape sightings of the snow leopard in Kazakhstan—the Almaty zoological park, the Kazakhstan 2030 strategy initiative, and the 2011 Asian Winter Games—are explored here. The positive imagery and symbolism linking the snow leopard to the Republic of Kazakhstan cements the non-human animal’s status as an unofficial state symbol. The borderlands of snow leopard landscapes, those spaces of cultural and natural environmental overlap, are vital for conservation efforts. Reincorporating non-human animals into social science research offers the opportunity for cultural landscape investigations. For the snow leopard, cultural landscape research may prove as important as traditional natural landscape research in Kazakhstan and throughout this majestic non-human animal’s territorial range.