A transboundary study of spatiotemporal patterns of livestock predation and prey preferences by snow leopard and wolf in the Pamir

Abstract

Livestock depredation by the snow leopard and the wolf is an eliciting human-carnivore conflict across their overlapping ranges and augments the economic burden of the disadvantaged agro-pastoralist communities who share the mountain ecosystem with the carnivores. Hence, understanding of the patterns and drivers of the conflict is essential to establish informed conservation measures. Human-carnivore conflict is poorly understood in the transboundary region of Pamir, covering Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Tajikistan. In this paper, we have investigated the spatiotemporal dynamics of livestock depredation and prey selection by the snow leopard and the wolf, through a questionnaire survey of trans-border pastoralist communities living around the Pamir Knot. Our results revealed an explicit seasonal and spatial variation in livestock depredation by snow leopard and wolf across the study sites. The mixed-effect regression model reflected the effect of the valley and season-valley interactions to be influential over the predation count. The snow leopard contrary to the wolf showed more spatial variability for predation in Afghan Pamir as compared to Pakistan and Tajik Pamir. Similarly, the snow leopard predation on livestock varied over time as compared to the wolf. On the temporal scale, the snow leopard was exclusively crepuscular, while the wolf was found to be an opportunist. Both the predators preferred young animals over adults. Amongst livestock type, sheep and goat accounted for 92% offtake. Our results reinstate that livestock predation by these two large carnivores is a serious conservation issue in the Pamir. We recommend short and long term conservation measures and promotion of transboundary cooperation to protect the snow leopard and sympatric predators in tandem with safeguards for mountain livelihoods.