Community-Based Snow Leopard Monitoring through Mobile Technology
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.56510/slr.v3.40360Keywords:
Snow leopard Panthera uncia, Human-wildlife conflict, Mobile data collectionAbstract
The snow leopard (Panthera uncia), a flagship species of high-altitude ecosystems, faces critical threats, including human-wildlife conflict driven by livestock depredation. We developed a community-based snow leopard monitoring system in Nepal's Nar and Phu Valley, integrating mobile-based tools for data collection and conflict mitigation. Using the mobile app, local communities documented 483 snow leopard observations (e.g., footprints) between 2023 and 2024. Additionally, we found that the majority of the existing 91 livestock corrals lacked protection from predators. In response, we constructed eight predator-proof corrals to improve livestock protection. A total of 21 herders filed applications to claim livestock loss compensation, demonstrating the utility of our app to facilitate conflict management efforts. The app usage rate has increased over the years, but challenges like limited mobile connectivity in remote areas and the need for continuous training and local engagement remain to improve its long term uptake. The findings contribute to strategies aimed at reducing human-snow leopard conflicts while fostering coexistence.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Arun Pratihast, Nawaraj Sharma, Christina Cappello, Joshua Schlueter, Michiel Van Eupen, Ashok Subedi, Ivan Tymofeiev, Katja Kaupisch, Naresh Subedi
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