Using Remote Camera Traps
to Better Estimate Snow Leopard Numbers
While SLIMS (Snow Leopard Information System) sign surveys can be improved through better training and the use of more sophisticated sampling regimes (e.g., for estimating statistical probabilities enabling better characterization of presence-absence), the relationship between the amount of sign present and the number of cats in the same area is considered too variable and imprecise to produce sufficiently reliable or consistent results.
For these reasons and other reasons, the Snow Leopard Conservancy has pioneered the use of non-invasive, remote camera traps for photographically “capturing” this seldom-seen carnivore. Individuals are identified on the basis of their unique pelage patterns making it possible to estimate population size, identify resident cats and to track specific individuals over time. In 2001-2003, working with filmmakers Hugh Miles and Mitchell Kelly, we obtained the first remote video of snow leopards scraping and scent-marking their home ranges. See the PBS Nature Series (Silent Roar). Such footage helped determine what works best for identification purposes, a task made more difficult by the snow leopard’s thick, luxuriant coat.
A series of photos showing how markings can identify individual snow leopards.
Example of identification of two separate individuals based on pelage pattern; HNP-1 (top row) and HNP-3 (bottom row). Red lines indicate the primary features and the blue lines indicate the secondary features used for identification. The number of features varies with body posture. Biologists then use “capture-mark-recapture” algorithms to estimate the number of snow leopards present within the area surveyed. But since each snow leopard has its own distinctive pelage “fingerprint,” there is no need for them to physically capture or artificially mark animals for future recognition.
Disadvantages of this technique includes the high initial cost of buying cameras, a current lack of fast digital cameras, the difficulty of deploying cameras across large areas, and low visitation rates in areas supporting few snow leopards. On balance, however, we feel the technique has great potential, especially with the emergence of inexpensive passive infrared-sensing cameras, and a move from film to the digital media. For more details see the paper titled Estimating snow leopard population abundance using photography and capture-recapture techniques by Rodney Jackson, Jerry Roe, Rinchen Wangchuk and Don Hunter published in 2006 in the Wildlife Society Bulletin Volume 34, pages 772-781). It is available upon request.
Camera Trap Handbook for Snow Leopards
Our definitive Surveying Snow Leopard Populations with Emphasis on Camera Trapping: A Handbook is based on four years of in-depth research undertaken in the Hemis National Park, Ladakh supplemented with training workshops held in Nepal and Pakistan. We anticipate that this non-invasive technology will be more widely applied as camera traps become more affordable and easier to operate, and as digital technology improves. Download your own copy of the handbook below.
Surveying Snow Leopard Populations
with Emphasis on Camera Trapping: A Handbook
There are three versions available of increasing print quality:
Lower resolution “Screen Version” (pdf file – 2.7 Mb).
Higher resolution “eBook” (pdf – 4.3 Mb).
If you would prefer to have this document on CD at nominal cost, please email us with your address and preferred postage option: Snow Leopard Conservancy
Handbook Now Available in Chinese
This definitive handbook on camera-trapping of snow leopards has now been translated into Chinese. This translation brings an important non-invasive survey technique to researchers and protected area managers working in the four provinces: Gansu, Qinghai, Sichuan and Yunnan, and two autonomous regions: Xinjiang Uygur, and Xizang (Tibet) harboring the endangered snow leopard.
Download the Chinese language handbook
Scientists estimate that China contains as much as 60% of all snow leopard habitat, with the primary threats being the growing trade in furs and bones (for traditional Asian medicine) and retaliation by shepherds when snow leopards kill their livestock.
Translation of the handbook is a collaborative effort between the Conservancy and the Xinjiang Conservation Fund, Irbis Mongolia, Fauna and Flora International-China, and the Japanese Wildlife Research Center in Tokyo.
For details contact the Conservancy or
Ge Yun at the Xinjiang Conservation Fund (XCF):
Liu Fang Bei Li No.9 Building, Unit 10, Room 102,
Chaoyang District, Beijing 100028, China
Phone: +86-10-64650701
Next Steps
We are focusing on training range-country biologists and village stewards in conducting sign transects and setting remote camera traps for deriving reliable population estimates or counts. Our work shows that wildlife guards and local villagers can be trained in remote camera trapping using relatively inexpensive passive infrared cameras deployed over long time spans at frequently visited rock-scents. The identification of individuals from their pelage pattern and the on-going cataloging of all images accrued over time will provide information on the minimum number of individuals present and the duration of their “residency” within the area surveyed. Knowing the individual snow leopards inhabiting a particular area helps promote stewardship of the species among interested households in the local community.
As exciting as this is the emergence of an entirely new non-invasive technique based on genetics, in which the Snow Leopard Conservancy is also playing a pioneering role (see Genetic Surveys). We believe this technique will prove extremely helpful to answering the question of how many snow leopards reside within a particular area, and which are the best corridors for conservationists to target to ensure snow endure over the long-term.
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