Does livestock benefit or harm snow leopards

摘要: Large carnivores commonly prey on livestock when their ranges overlap. Pastoralism is the dominant land use type across distributional range of endangered snow leopard Panthera uncia. Snow leop- ards are often killed in retaliation against depredation. Whether livestock, by forming an alter- native prey, could potentially benefit leopards, or, whether area detrimental to leopards poorly understood. We examined habitat a multiple landscape that was comprised sites varying abundance, wild abundance and human population size. photographically sampled ten (average size 70 sq. km) using camera traps each site, deployed for period 60 days. computed as Relative Use Index based total independent photographic captures number individuals captured at site. quantified terrain ruggedness sites. Key variables influencing were identified Information Theory model selection approach. best explained density, showed positive linear relationship with ungulates. found hump-shaped between stocking initial increase followed decline beyond threshold density. Our results suggest absence direct persecution grazing compatible up certain which declines, presumably due depressed ungulate associated anthropogenic disturbance.