Status And Conservation Of The Endangered Snow Leopard(Panthera Uncia) In Qomolangma National Nature Reserve,Tibet

Little is known about the status of snow leopard(Panthera uncia)in the Qomolangma National Nature Reserve located on the northern aspect of Mt.Everest.From 2014,we conducted line transects,camera trapping and social interviews to assess the current living status of snow leopards,human-wildlife conflict,conservation status in this reserve.1)During May-June 2015,we carried out the research on snow leopard distribution,results showen:Approximately one half of the snow leopards' signs(50.7%)were at 4200-4700m;The blue sheep(Pseudois nayaur)are the most prey be found,with a median group size of 5.5(range:1-40);The distribution of snow leopards in nature reserve is mainly distributed close to the border between China and Nepal by MaxEnt Model.The isotherm and elevation are the two values with the highest contribution rate in the snow leopard distribution prediction model.2)We gathered 9193 conflict records over 2011-2013 to determine the extent and tempo-spatial patterns of the depredation.Data showed that wolves(Canis lupus),lynx(Lynx lynx),and snow leopards were the major livestock predators.Total livestock loss accounted for 1.2%of the entire stockholding(n=846 707)in the region.Wolves and lynx tended to take sheep and goats,whereas snow leopards favored yaks and cattle in relation to their proportional abundance.Predation mostly occurred in March through July.Livestock depredation by all predators was best explained by terrain ruggedness and density of small-and large-bodied livestock.3)For the human wildlife conflict compensentation scheme,most respondents(74%)attributed depredation causes to an increase in carnivore abundance.The compensation scheme was found to be flawed in all aspects—predation verification,application procedure,compensation standard,operational resource allocation,making payment,and other problems.Semi-structured interviews with 46(59%)households found that local people were generally supportive of snow leopard conservation,for a variety of economic,legislative and religious reasons.We discuss the current threats posed to snow leopards,and recommend that more rigorous,comprehensive,and interdisciplinary research be undertaken to provide evidential knowledge for the formulation of effective conservation policies and programs.