Bharat Budhathapa
Distribution Modelling of Snow Leopard in Midwestern Trans Himalayas of Nepal
A herd of blue sheep which is one of preferred pry species of Snow Leopard.
A small trail in rocky slope for upper Dolpa.
| Town/Region | Country | Categories | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shey Phoksundo National Park | Nepal | Asia, Mammals | 11 Mar 2010 |
Shey Phuksundo National Park, encompasses the area of 3555 Km2, is main study area of this project. This is the largest National Park of Nepal which has been supporting the largest population of snow leopard of the country. The National Park is located in Dolpa and Mugu districts of Midwestern region. The Northern boundary of the National Park boarders Tibet. The park has 20 mammals, 176 species of birds; a total of 28 species of butterflies has been recorded.
Snow leopards are apex predators in high altitude ecosystem of Central Asia. In study area, unfortunately, baseline data on snow leopard and its habitat requirements are still lacking. This prevents formulating an effective conservation strategy at the habitat level.
The main output of the project will be a predective map of the snow leopard and its prey species. Government, NGOs and other organizations who are working on snow leopard conservation can use this output for effective conservation and land use planning.
The achievement of following expected outputs from this project will have long lasting impact to conserve this endangered Felid and its high altitude ecosystem.
– The proposed study will help in quantifying the potential population of snow leopard in Shey Phuksundo National Park, Humla and Mugu districts.
– Provide base line data on hotspot for snow leopard conservation and management in a sustainable way.
– Establish the spatial distribution of snow leopard in Shey Phuksundo National Park and adjoining districts.
– The findings will also be disseminated through publication in a peer reviewed journal and using local and national level media to enhance the knowledge
– Habitat mapping will also act as a tool for larger scale conservation planning and implementation of effective conservation measures.
For further information contact basantibharat@yahoo.co.uk or visit http://www.karnalionline.com