IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
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| Maheshwari, A.; Sharma, D. | |
| Snow leopard conservation in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh | |
| 2010 Full Book | |
The Greater and Trans Himalayan regions of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh have great potential in terms of wildlife (flora and fauna). This survey was the first ever survey for the snow leopard in Uttarakhand and some of the areas of Himachal Pradesh till date. It confirms the presence of snow leopard in Uttarakhand on the basis of indirect evidence. We could not find any evidence of snow leopard from surveyed areas in Himachal Pradesh - but it certainly does not mean that there are no snow leopards in the surveyed areas. Areas above 3000m elevation were selected for this survey in 10 protected areas of both the states. Status and distribution of snow leopard was assessed through indirect evidence (n=13) found between 3190 and 4115m. On average, one indirect evidence of snow leopard was found for every 39km walked. About 39% of the evidence was found on the hill-slope followed by valley floor (30%), cliff (15%) and 8% from both stream bed and scree slope. Preferred mean slope was 28ø (maximum 60ø). Snow leopard-human conflicts were assessed through questionnaire surveys from Govind Pashu Vihar, Askot Wild Life Sanctuary and Dung (Munsiari) areas. They revealed that livestock depredation is the only component of conflict and contributed to 36% of the total diet (mule, goat and sheep) of snow leopard. Blue sheep and rodents together comprised 36.4% of the total diet. Threats to snow leopard and its habitat were investigated through discussions with officials, staff in field, locals and through primary observations. Of the area surveyed, we found that 68.1% was used for pastoral activities in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh and 12.3% area was affected by tourism, defence and developmental activities. We also investigated the occurrence of other mammals such as Himalayan brown bear, Asiatic black bear, common leopard, wolf, red fox, blue sheep, Asiatic ibex, goral, Himalayan tahr, musk deer and Himalayan marmot in the areas surveyed. The intensity and occurrence of threats (snow leopard-human conflicts, tourism, developmental activities, grazing and human settlements) varied among areas surveyed. Based on detailed analysis of scope (geographic extent), severity and irreversibility of threats, it is found that developmental activities pose medium level threat while grazing, tourism and human-snow leopard conflicts pose low tomedium levels of threats. No grazing was observed in Gangotri National Park, Valley of Flower National Park and Great Himalayan National Park as it is not allowed by forest department. Developmental activities such as construction of roads are a threat to snow leopard habitat at Nilang Valley, Askot Wildlife Sanctuary and Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve. Shepherds reported livestock depredation from snow leopard, Himalaya brown bear, Asiatic black bear and wolf. Quantitative data on species abundance could not be collected in this survey and therefore, we recommend a comprehensive survey of snow leopard, associated species and potential habitats for snow leopard conservation. We propose Gangotri National Park, Askot Wildlife Sanctuary and Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve be seen as potential habitats for snow leopard under Project Snow Leopard. There are other areas, _viz_., the Valley of Flower National Park, Tundah wildlife sanctuary, Great Himalayan National Park and Lippa Asrang wildlife sanctuary which should also be taken into consideration for snow leopard conservation. The remote areas of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh suffer from inadequate field staff, lack of checkposts, lack of allowances/ incentives for field staff and lack of management plans for most of the Protected Areas. Therefore, we recommend well developed management plans, infrastructure and capacity building for field staff of PAs in both states. To minimise different levels of threats such as developmental activities and grazing pressures in the high altitude areas we recommend well planned development and adequate grazing policy with local participation. |
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