@article {161128, title = {Exceedingly low genetic diversity in snow leopards due to persistently small population size.}, journal = {Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A}, volume = {122}, year = {2025}, month = {2025 Oct 14}, pages = {e2502584122}, abstract = {

Snow leopards () serve as an umbrella species whose conservation benefits their high-elevation Asian habitat. Their numbers are believed to be in decline due to numerous anthropogenic threats; however, their conservation is hindered by numerous knowledge gaps. In particular, the dearth of genetic data, unique among all big cat species, hinders a full understanding of their population structure, historical population size, and current levels of genetic diversity. Here, we use whole-genome sequencing data for 41 snow leopards (37 newly sequenced) to offer insights into these unresolved aspects of snow leopard biology. Among our samples, we find evidence of a primary genetic divide between the northern and southern part of the range around the Dzungarian Basin-as previously identified using landscape models and fecal microsatellite markers-and a secondary divide south of Kyrgyzstan around the Taklamakan Desert. Most noteworthy, we find that snow leopards have the lowest genetic diversity of any big cat species, likely due to a persistently small population size throughout their evolutionary history rather than recent inbreeding. We also find that snow leopards have significantly less highly deleterious homozygous load compared to numerous species, suggesting effective purging during their evolutionary history at small population sizes. Without a large population size or ample standing genetic variation to help buffer them from any forthcoming anthropogenic challenges, snow leopard persistence may be more tenuous than currently appreciated.

}, keywords = {Animals, Conservation of Natural Resources, Ecosystem, Felidae, Genetic Variation, Microsatellite Repeats, Panthera, Population Density}, issn = {1091-6490}, doi = {10.1073/pnas.2502584122}, author = {Solari, Katherine A and Morgan, Simon and Poyarkov, Andrey D and Weckworth, Byron and Samelius, Gustaf and Sharma, Koustubh and Ostrowski, Stephane and Ramakrishnan, Uma and Kubanychbekov, Zairbek and Kachel, Shannon and Johansson, {\"O}rjan and Lkhagvajav, Purevjav and Hemmingmoore, Heather and Alexandrov, Dmitry Y and Bayaraa, Munkhtsog and Grachev, Alexey and Korablev, Miroslav P and Hernandez-Blanco, Jose A and Munkhtsog, Bariushaa and Rosenbaum, Barry and Rozhnov, Viatcheslav V and Madad Rajabi, Ali and Noori, Hafizullah and Suryawanshi, Kulbhushansingh R and Armstrong, Ellie E and Petrov, Dmitri A} } @article {83634, title = {Relative influence of wild prey and livestock abundance on carnivore-caused livestock predation}, journal = {ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION}, year = {2020}, month = {2020}, abstract = {

Conservation conflict over livestock depredation is one of the key drivers of large mammalian carnivore declines worldwide. Mitigating this conflict requires strategies informed by reliable knowledge of factors influencing livestock depredation. Wild prey and livestock abundance are critical factors influencing the extent of livestock depredation. We compared whether the extent of livestock predation by snow leopardsPanthera unciadiffered in relation to densities of wild prey, livestock, and snow leopards at two sites in Shey Phoksundo National Park, Nepal. We used camera trap-based spatially explicit capture-recapture models to estimate snow leopard density; double-observer surveys to estimate the density of their main prey species, the blue sheepPseudois nayaur; and interview-based household surveys to estimate livestock population and number of livestock killed by snow leopards. The proportion of livestock lost per household was seven times higher in Upper Dolpa, the site which had higher snow leopard density (2.51 snow leopards per 100 km(2)) and higher livestock density (17.21 livestock per km(2)) compared to Lower Dolpa (1.21 snow leopards per 100 km(2); 4.5 livestock per km(2)). The wild prey density was similar across the two sites (1.81 and 1.57 animals per km(2)in Upper and Lower Dolpa, respectively). Our results suggest that livestock depredation level may largely be determined by the abundances of the snow leopards and livestock and predation levels on livestock can vary even at similar levels of wild prey density. In large parts of the snow leopard range, livestock production is indispensable to local livelihoods and livestock population is expected to increase to meet the demand of cashmere. Hence, we recommend that any efforts to increase livestock populations or conservation initiatives aimed at recovering or increasing snow leopard population be accompanied by better herding practices (e.g., predator-proof corrals) to protect livestock from snow leopard.

}, doi = {10.1002/ece3.6815}, author = {Khanal, Gopal and Mishra, Charudutt and Suryawanshi, Kulbhushansingh R} } @article {20349, title = {Impact of wild prey availability on livestock predation by snow leopards.}, journal = {R Soc Open Sci}, volume = {4}, year = {2017}, month = {2017 Jun}, pages = {170026}, abstract = {

An increasing proportion of the world{\textquoteright}s poor is rearing livestock today, and the global livestock population is growing. Livestock predation by large carnivores and their retaliatory killing is becoming an economic and conservation concern. A common recommendation for carnivore conservation and for reducing predation on livestock is to increase wild prey populations based on the assumption that the carnivores will consume this alternative food. Livestock predation, however, could either reduce or intensify with increases in wild prey depending on prey choice and trends in carnivore abundance. We show that the extent of livestock predation by the endangered snow leopard Panthera uncia intensifies with increases in the density of wild ungulate prey, and subsequently stabilizes. We found that snow leopard density, estimated at seven sites, was a positive linear function of the density of wild ungulates-the preferred prey-and showed no discernible relationship with livestock density. We also found that modelled livestock predation increased with livestock density. Our results suggest that snow leopard conservation would benefit from an increase in wild ungulates, but that would intensify the problem of livestock predation for pastoralists. The potential benefits of increased wild prey abundance in reducing livestock predation can be overwhelmed by a resultant increase in snow leopard populations. Snow leopard conservation efforts aimed at facilitating increases in wild prey must be accompanied by greater assistance for better livestock protection and offsetting the economic damage caused by carnivores.

}, issn = {2054-5703}, doi = {10.1098/rsos.170026}, author = {Suryawanshi, Kulbhushansingh R and Redpath, Stephen M and Bhatnagar, Yash Veer and Ramakrishnan, Uma and Chaturvedi, Vaibhav and Smout, Sophie C and Mishra, Charudutt} }