Livestock depredation by large predators and its implications for conservation and livelihoods in the Karakoram Mountains of Pakistan
Abstract Livestock depredation has particular significance in pastoral societies across the Himalayas. The dynamics of depredation by the snow leopard Panthera uncia and wolf Canis lupus were investigated by means of household surveys in the Hushey Valley, in the Karakoram Mountains of Pakistan. Dur...
| Published in: | Oryx |
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| Main Authors: | , , , |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Cambridge University Press (CUP)
2017
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0030605316001095 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0030605316001095 |
| Summary: | Abstract Livestock depredation has particular significance in pastoral societies across the Himalayas. The dynamics of depredation by the snow leopard Panthera uncia and wolf Canis lupus were investigated by means of household surveys in the Hushey Valley, in the Karakoram Mountains of Pakistan. During 2008–2012 90% of the households in the valley lost livestock to snow leopards and wolves, accounting for 0.8 animals per household per year. The cost of depredation per household was equivalent to PKR 9,853 (USD 101), or 10% of the mean annual cash income. The majority (41%) of predation incidents occurred in summer pastures, predominantly at night in open spaces. Of the total number of predation incidents, 60% were attributed to snow leopards and 37% to wolves; in 3% of cases the predator was unknown. As an immediate response to predation the majority of the local people (64%, n = 99) opted to report the case to their Village Conservation Committee for compensation and only 1% preferred to kill the predator; 32% did not respond to predation incidents. The perceived causes of predation were poor guarding (77%), reduction in wild prey (13%), and livestock being the favourite food of predators (10%). The most preferred strategies for predator management, according to the respondents, were enhanced guarding of livestock (72%), followed by increasing the availability of wild prey (18%), and lethal control (10%). Livestock depredation causing economic loss may lead to retaliatory killing of threatened predators. For carnivore conservation and livestock security in this area we recommend improved livestock guarding through collective hiring of skilled shepherds and the use of guard dogs. |
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