Snow Leopard (Panthera uncia) Classification

Many carnivores rely on marking behavior for intraspecific communication with potential mates and competitors, using scent and visual markings to advertise their use of a territory and allow potential mates to assess their quality. However, obtaining data on communication behaviors of rare and elusive animals can be challenging.

To better understand marking behavior of snow leopard (Panthera uncia), we combined camera-trapping, snow-tracking and transect counts of scrapes in the Altai Mountains, Mongolia, and measured frequencies of communication behaviors in both space and time. Next, we explored if this information could be used to improve the efficiency of snow leopard population monitoring through camera-trapping.

Using the combination of all three methods, we detected seven communication behaviors. Most visits at marking sites began with sniffing (recorded at 56.4% visits) before progressing to other behaviors. Urine spraying (17.7% of visits) and scraping (16.8%) were exhibited at significantly more visits than other communication behaviors (flehmen, head/body rubbing, fecal deposition, claw marking).

According to the snow-tracking data conducted in optimal habitats, scraping was the most frequent marking behavior with 12.8 scrapes/km, followed by urine marking with 10.5 marks/km. Along 32 transects, we recorded a mean of 8.0 cumulative scrapes/km, with highest marking rates recorded in gorges, which we recommend as prime habitats for deploying camera-traps.

Finally, our results suggest that the number of scrapes observed at potential camera-trapping sites represents a good predictor of snow leopard visitation rate. Therefore, this parameter can be used when choosing camera-trapping locations to increase the efficiency of monitoring programs.

Krofel, Miha & Oliveira, Teresa & Rovero, Francesco & Groff, Claudio & Augugliaro, Claudio & Oberosler, Valentina & Allen, Max. (2025). Communication behavior of the snow leopard (Panthera uncia): understanding marking-behavior patterns to optimize camera-trapping studies. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology. 79. 10.1007/s00265-025-03574-8.

Olfactory communication is important for many solitary carnivores to delineate territories and communicate with potential mates and competitors. Pallas's cats (Otocolobus manul) are small felids with little published research on their ecology and behaviour, including if they avoid or change behaviours due to dominant carnivores.

We studied their olfactory communication and visitation at scent-marking sites using camera traps in two study areas in Mongolia. We documented four types of olfactory communication behaviours, and olfaction (sniffing) was the most frequent.

Pallas's cats used olfactory communication most frequently at sites that were not visited by snow leopards (Panthera uncia) and when they used communal scent-marking sites, they were more likely to use olfactory communication when a longer time had elapsed since the last visit by a snow leopard.

This suggests that Pallas's cats may reduce advertising their presence in response to occurrence of snow leopards, possibly to limit predation risk.

Allen, M.L.; Rovero, F.; Oberosler, V.; Augugliaro, C.; Krofel, M.
Effects of snow leopards (Panthera uncia) on olfactory communication of Pallas's cats (Otocolobus manul) in the Altai Mountains, Mongolia
2023 Behaviour (1): 1-9

Livestock depredation by snow leopards Panthera uncia poses a significant threat to the livelihoods of pastoral communities and engenders negative attitudes towards the species, threatening its survival.

We conducted 104 semi-structured interviews within local communities (livestock herders and owners) in the Nyesyang valley of Manang District, in the Annapurna Conservation Area, western Nepal, to assess the status of livestock depredation and community attitudes towards snow leopards.

During February 2016-January 2018, respondents reportedly lost 279 livestock to snow leopards (mean loss of 1.3 livestock per household), comprising 3.7% of the total stockholding in 2018. This loss amounts to a monetary loss of USD 319 per annum for each household. Only half of the households who lost livestock to snow leopards in the previous 2 years received compensation from the Conservation Area.

Almost an equal proportion of respondents held positive (42%) and negative (41%) attitudes towards snow leopards. An ordered logistic regression analysis revealed that being a woman, being illiterate, owning a high number of large-bodied livestock and relying primarily on agropastoralism were factors associated significantly with negative attitudes towards snow leopards.

We recommend focusing conservation education on illiterate community members and engaging more women in conservation programmes, along with a community-based insurance scheme for large-sized livestock to mitigate losses and improve local community attitudes towards snow leopards.

Shahi, K.; Aryal, S.; Blon, R.; Khanal, G.
Examining livestock depredation and the determinants of people's attitudes towards snow leopards in the Himalayas of Nepal
2023 Oryx (57): 489-496

The snow leopard (Panthera uncia) inhabits a human-altered alpine landscape and is often tolerated by residents in regions where the dominant religion is Tibetan Buddhism, including in Qomolangma NNR on the northern side of the Chinese Himalayas. Despite these positive attitudes, many decades of rapid economic development and population growth can cause increasing disturbance to the snow leopards, altering their habitat use patterns and ultimately impacting their conservation.

We adopted a dynamic landscape ecology perspective and used multi-scale technique and occupancy model to better understand snow leopard habitat use and coexistence with humans in an 825 km2 communal landscape. We ranked eight hypothetical models containing potential natural and anthropogenic drivers of habitat use and compared them between summer and winter seasons within a year.

HABITAT was the optimal model in winter, whereas ANTHROPOGENIC INFLUENCE was the top ranking in summer (AICcw<=2). Overall, model performance was better in the winter than in the summer, suggesting that perhaps some latent summer covariates were not measured. Among the individual variables, terrain ruggedness strongly affected snow leopard habitat use in the winter, but not in the summer. Univariate modeling suggested snow leopards prefer to use rugged land in winter with a broad scale (4000 m focal radius) but with a lesser scale in summer (30 m); Snow leopards preferred habitat with a slope of 22° at a scale of 1000 m throughout both seasons, which is possibly correlated with prey occurrence. Furthermore, all covariates mentioned above showed inextricable ties with human activities (presence of settlements and grazing intensity).

Our findings show that multiple sources of anthropogenic activity have complex connections with snow leopard habitat use, even under low human density when anthropogenic activities are sparsely distributed across a vast landscape. This study is also valuable for habitat use research in the future, especially regarding covariate selection for finite sample sizes in inaccessible terrain.

Xiao, C.; Bai, D.; Joseph, P.L.; Li, Y.; Lhaba, C.; Gong, Z.; Philip, R.; Shi, K.
How Snow Leopards Share the Same Landscape with Tibetan Agro-pastoral Communities in the Chinese Himalayas
2022 Journal of Resources and Ecology (13): 483-500

Conservation of big cats Panthera spp., a taxonomic group including tigers, lions, jaguars, leopards and snow leopards, is a daunting challenge. As expanding human populations across Panthera range countries exacerbate competition for land and prey, conflicts between humans and big cats are inevitable.

Through a systematic review of the peer-reviewed literature published from 1991 to 2014 and indexed in Web of Science and Google Scholar (186 articles), our study explored the current state of knowledge regarding human-Panthera conflict and potential solutions, examining variables such as spatial and temporal distribution of research, methods used to study conflict, evaluation of interventions, and management recommendations.

Our synthesis revealed several key data gaps and research needs. More studies could utilize diverse data collection approaches to focus on both the ecological and socio-cultural context for conflict. Additionally, only 21% of articles included in the review evaluated conflict mitigation interventions, and few of these yielded conclusive results. Success ratios suggest that compensation schemes and livestock management strategies were more effective tools for addressing conflict than either direct interventions (lethal removal or translocation of animals) or community interventions (e.g. education, ecotourism, local management). More studies should systematically evaluate the efficacy of conflict mitigation strategies, many of which are consistently recommended without empirical support.

Results highlight trends and opportunities that can be used to inform future research and management efforts focused on human-Panthera conflict, ultimately enhancing the potential for coexistence between humans and carnivore species worldwide

Holland, K.K.; Larson, L.R.; Powell, R.B.
Characterizing conflict between humans and big cats Panthera spp: A systematic review of research trends and management opportunities
2018  PLoS ONE (13): 1-19