The first ever snow leopard prey survey in Bhutan’s newest
national park has revealed interesting footage of scent-marking by
sub-adult snow leopard; besides footage of other species have also been recorded, like Tibetan wolf, threatened Himalayan serow, musk deer and
a healthy population of blue sheep, the main food source for snow leopards.
This is
the first pictorial evidence that snow leopards are thriving in Wangchuck Centennial Park, a vital
snow leopard corridor between Jigme Dorji National Park in the West and
Bumdeling Wildlife Sanctuary in the East. Field biologists from the Government
of Bhutan and World Wildlife Fund (WWF) captured
over 10,000 images during the camera trap survey in Wangchuck Centennial Park.
The survey
was focused on snow leopard prey species, but in addition to snow leopard
images, they also captured images and footage of Tibetan wolf, wild dog, red
fox, blue sheep, Himalayan serow, musk deer, Pika, pheasants and several birds
of prey.
“The
findings are phenomenal as these are the first snow leopard images recorded in
Wangchuck Centennial Park,” said WWF’s Dr. Rinjan Shrestha, who led the survey
team. “It suggests that the network of protected areas and corridors is helping
to link local snow leopard populations, which will be invaluable to ensure
long-term persistence of snow leopards in the region.”
Snow
leopards are elusive and endangered, with around 4,500-7,500 in the wild.
Bhutan is the only country on Earth where the habitat of snow leopards and
tigers intersect. It’s unknown how many exist there, but it’s critical to find
out as threats are mounting – from retaliatory killing from herders, loss of
habitat to farmers and poaching for their pelts. And then there’s climate
change.
Warming at
high elevations in the Himalayas is causing treelines to ascend and isolating
snow leopard populations. Under a high emission scenario, as much as 30 percent
of their range could be lost. Their ability to move higher is limited by oxygen
availability.
The
overall goal of the survey is to determine how many snow leopards are there in
Wangchuck, and where they are existing, in order to prioritize the best areas for
conservation.
"The snow
leopard images from the park show the incredible richness of wildlife thriving
in Wangchuck Centennial Park" and this is a strong point that the park must be supported by donor
agencies for conservation, said Dr. Pema Gyamtsho, Minister of Agriculture and
Forests, Royal Government of Bhutan. “For snow leopard conservation in Bhutan,
Wangchuck Centennial Park acts as the critical linkage between Bumdeling
Wildlife Sanctuary and Jigme Dorji National Park, thereby ensuring the
functionality of the northern Bhutan conservation complex.”
The
Government of Bhutan and WWF have partnered to co-manage Wangchuck Centennial
Park since it was designated as Bhutan’s tenth national park in 2008. With 244 vascular
plant species, 23 mammal species and 134 bird species, the park is rich in
biodiversity.
The dedication of the Wangchuck Centennial Park resulted in Bhutan having more than half its land
under protection. The Government of Bhutan and WWF work together on species
conservation, climate change studies, monitoring, patrolling and community
conservation projects.
“WWF has a
special commitment to Wangchuck Centennial Park, especially because we were
invited to co-manage it with the government in 2009,” said Shubash Lohani of
WWF’s Eastern Himalayas program. “It was the first time Bhutan entrusted an
entity other than government to co-manage a protected area.”
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