DOI: 10.5061/dryad.vq83bk3rn
title: No silver bullet? Snow leopard prey selection in Mt. Kangchenjunga, Nepal

description: In this study, we investigated the impact of domestic and wild prey
 availability on snow leopard prey preference in the Kangchenjunga
 Conservation Area of eastern Nepal—a region where small domestic livestock
 are absent and small wild ungulate prey is present. We took a
 comprehensive approach that combined fecal genetic sampling, macro- and
 microscopic analyses of snow leopard diets, and direct observation of blue
 sheep and livestock in the KCA. Out of the collected 88 putative snow
 leopard scat samples from 140 transects (290 km) in 27 (4 × 4 km2)
 sampling grid cells, 73 (83%) were confirmed to be from snow leopard. The
 genetic analysis accounted for 19 individual snow leopards
 (10 males and 9 females), with a mean population size estimate of
 24 (95% CI: 19–29) and an average density of 3.9 snow
 leopards/100 km2 within 609 km2. The total
 available prey biomass of blue sheep and yak was estimated at
 355,236 kg (505 kg yak/km2 and 78 kg
 blue sheep/km2). From the available prey biomass, we estimated snow
 leopards consumed 7% annually, which comprised wild prey (49%), domestic
 livestock (45%), and 6% unidentified items. The estimated 47,736 kg blue
 sheep biomass gives a snow leopard-to-blue sheep ratio of 1:59 on a weight
 basis. The high preference for snow leopards to domestic livestock appears
 to be influenced by a much smaller available biomass of wild prey than in
 other regions of Nepal (e.g., 78 kg/km2 in the KCA compared with
 a range of 200–300 kg/km2 in other regions of Nepal). Along with
 livestock insurance scheme improvement, there needs to be a focus on
 improved livestock guarding, and predator-proof corrals as well as
 engaging and educating local people to be citizen scientists on the
 importance of snow leopard conservation, involving them in long-term
 monitoring programs and promotion of ecotourism.
description: Scat samples were collected from the natural habitat of snow
 leopards in defined sampling grids and transects.  The collected samples were
 processed for identification of species, sex, and individuals. Genetic
 analyses (DNA extraction, species identification, sex identification, and
 individual identification) of putative snow leopard scat samples were
 conducted following the protocol developed by Karmacharya et al., 2011,
 adopted from Janecka et al. (2008).
description: # No silver bullet? Snow leopard prey selection in Mt. Kangchenjunga,
 Nepal
 [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.vq83bk3rn](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.vq83bk3rn) ## Description of the data and file structure Note: To protect this species, coordinates were removed from the data files. ### File 1 Name: Data\_genetic\_file1.csv File 1 Description: Snow leopard genetic file of Kanchenjunga Nepal File 1 Variables: * Primers: Nucleic acid sequence that provides a starting point for DNA synthesis (allele size) * Sequence: One-dimensional ordering of monomers, covalently linked within a biopolymer * Sample ID: Unique scat sample for analysis of genotype * Internal ID: Unique name of each sample identification to cross verify with sample ID * Sex: Male and female-identified from sex identification genetic analysis * Individual: Unique individual identified by genetic analysis * Location: Specific site of individual sample and snow leopard derived from GPS location * Allele 1: One of two or more versions of DNA sequence (a single base or a segment of bases) at a given genomic location * Allele 2: One of two or more versions of DNA sequence (a single base or a segment of bases) at a given genomic location ### File 2 Name: Plate\_1\_Microscopic\_Characteristics\_of\_Some\_Wild\_and\_Livestock.zip.pdf File 2 Description: Microscopic characteristics of some wild and livestock hair reference samples ## Sharing/Access information NA ## Code/Software NA