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Tracking the Ghosts of the Himalayas: Snow Leopard Conservation Insights from Satellite Collar Data
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  • Pratistha Shrestha,
  • Dayaram Pandey,
  • Dipesh Sharma,
  • Pemba Sherpa,
  • Prakash Shah
Pratistha Shrestha
Tribhuvan University Institute of Science and Technology
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Dayaram Pandey
Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC), Ministry of Forests and Environment
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Dipesh Sharma
Universit�� du Qu��bec �� Rimouski

Corresponding Author:dipeshkumar.sharma@uqar.ca

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Pemba Sherpa
Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC), Ministry of Forests and Environment
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Prakash Shah
Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC), Ministry of Forests and Environment
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Abstract

The snow leopard (Panthera uncia) inhabits mountainous areas of Central and South Asia, including the northern region of Nepal, sharing borders with both India and China. For low-density, far-ranging species inhabiting inaccessible terrain, GPS collars are effective, given the volume of data, the accuracy of locations, and the ability to track numerous individuals simultaneously. For the first time, we analyzed spatiotemporal dynamics using satellite telemetry data to understand differences in movement patterns, time budgeting, and home range utilization between male and female snow leopards, satellite-collared in the northeastern Himalayas of Nepal. The ecological behaviour and time budgeting of snow leopards were modeled by the hidden Markov model (HMM) whereas home ranges were estimated and compared by various methods, such as the minimum convex polygon (MCP) and Kernel Density Estimation (KDE) methods with href and the Brownian bridge movement model. This research showed clear sex differences in movement patterns and home range sizes, which indicate different ecological needs and resource-use techniques. Furthermore, this study provides reliable information on snow leopards from the telemetry data and links it to conservation implications in eastern Nepal to ensure their long-term survival, promote coexistence, and foster cross-border collaboration.
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