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Current Status of the Eastern Sayan Snow Leopard (Panthera uncia) Grouping and Its Nutritive Base

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Abstract—A field survey of snow leopard (Panthera uncia) habitats was carried out in the southeastern part of the Eastern Sayan Mountains (Okinskii and Tunkinskii districts of the Republic of Buryatia and the Kaa-Khemskii district of Tuva Republic). Seven or eight adult snow leopards were observed as constant inhabitants of the Tunkinskie Gol’tsy, Munku-Sardyk, and Bol’shoi Sayan mountain ridges. The presence of eight snow leopards was confirmed using DNA-based analyses of scats collected in 2014–2016. The main prey species of the snow leopard in Eastern Sayan is the Siberian ibex (Capra sibirica), but its abundance has steadily decreased over the past 20 years. The red deer (Cervus elaphus) and the wild boar (Sus scrofa), which were some of the most numerous ungulates in the survey area, are replacing the Siberian ibex in the snow leopard’s diet. In addition, the mountain hare (Lepus timidus) is also of importance to the snow leopard’s diet.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This work was conducted by the continuous expedition of the Russian Academy of Sciences on the study of animals by Red Books of the Russian Federation and other important animals of the fauna of Russia in the Program for studying and monitoring the snow leopard population of Siberia with the support of the Russian Geographical Society. Studies conducted in 2016 were financed by the World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF Russia).

The authors thank S.V. Istomov, E.P. Kashkarov, D.Yu. Bekhterev, and D.N. Kochetkov for comments and suggestions during preparation of the article.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Science, 119071, Moscow, Russia

    A. S. Karnaukhov, S. V. Malykh, M. P. Korablev, Yu. M. Kalashnikova, A. D. Poyarkov & V. V. Rozhnov

  2. World Wildlife Fund for Nature Russia (WWF), 109240, Moscow, Russia

    A. S. Karnaukhov

  3. Magistratsvagen, Lund, Sweden

    Yu. M. Kalashnikova

  4. National Research Tomsk State University, 634050, Tomsk, Russia

    V. V. Rozhnov

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  1. A. S. Karnaukhov
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Correspondence to V. V. Rozhnov.

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Statement on the welfare of animals. All applicable international, national, and/or institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed.

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Translated by N. Smolina

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Karnaukhov, A.S., Malykh, S.V., Korablev, M.P. et al. Current Status of the Eastern Sayan Snow Leopard (Panthera uncia) Grouping and Its Nutritive Base. Biol Bull Russ Acad Sci 45, 1106–1115 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1134/S106235901809008X

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