Snow leopard (Panthera uncia) depredation and mass kills during 1992-2013 in the Hemis National Park of the Trans-Himalayas

The Hemis National Park of the Trans-Himalayas is home to a large population of Snow leopards (Panthera uncia) and increasing numbers of agro-pastoralists. To persist in this harsh terrain, famers domesticate livestock, while non-locals hunt free-ranging, native ungulates. However, with fewer natural prey available, Snow leopards have depredated livestock. Consequently, the government enacted a cost-compensation scheme for farmers in 1992. Following a decade of marginal improvements, in 2002, several new strategies were deployed. Predator-proof holding pens and the Himalayan Homestay Program were implemented. The latter was an eco-tourism initiative to reduce retaliatory killings. Our objectives were to assess 22 years (1992-2013) of depredation under the compensation scheme with particular reference to the periods before, and after, these initiatives. Government records showed 1,624 livestock were reported from 339 sites with ~USD15,000 paid in remuneration. There were (x)=41 kills annually before-and 3.5 kills after-the initiatives ((H(2)=14.13, p<0.001). Mass killings were reduced from 5.5 events to 0.5 ((H(2)=11.76, p