Interactions between the Himalayan Tahr, Livestock and Snow Leopards in the sagarmatha national park

Abstract

Competition between wild ungulates and livestock for resources and interactions between these two and large predators are widely regarded as a major management issue in the Himalayas. Real data supporting these claims are scarce, but badly needed for developing good management strategies, which will effectively protect both wild ungulates and their predators in the Himalayas. Our study was done in August/September of 2006 in the Mongla and Phortse regions of the Sagarmatha National Park (SNP) with the aim of determining: (i) habitat overlap between tahr and domestic livestock, (ii) overlap in diets of tahr and domestic livestock, (iii) the effect of predators on tahr and (iv) explore the composition of vegetation in the region. Vantage points and regular monitoring from trails were used to observe the tahr and livestock. Direct observation and micro histological techniques were used to determine the overlap in diets of tahr and livestock. Diet of snow leopard was determined by scat analyses, which involved the microscopic identification of hair. There is overlap both in space and diet between tahr and livestock. Analysis of faecal samples revealed 24 species of plants in the faeces of tahr and 31 in those of livestock, of which 22 species were common to both. In total, 45 plant species were recorded at Mongla and 54 at Phortse. Two species of wild and four species of domestic mammals were identified in the scats of snow leopard, with that of Himalayan tahr being the most frequent. In terms of domestic animals, the hair of yak was most frequently found in the faeces of snow leopard. The results of a questionnaire revealed that the snow leopard is the main predator of domestic livestock. We conclude that there is currently no serious competition between livestock and tahr for food, the main threat now comes from the decline in plant productivity in the region due to overgrazing. This trend could seriously change the situation, as tahr and livestock would then compete for food. The most effective way of reversing this trend is to introduce measures that limit the amount of grass that is harvested for feeding livestock during winter, which is rapidly increasing.