Lodhi, Asad M.S. May 2007 Wildlife Biology
Conservation of leopard in Ayubia National Park, Pakistan
Committee Chair: Dr. Daniel H. Pletscher
Large carnivores are important for biodiversity and ecosystem function, yet are very difficult to conserve because of their large home ranges and conflicts with humans. I examined human-leopard conflicts in and near Ayubia National Park, Pakistan, to provide management recommendations for the conservation of leopards. Persecution of leopards by humans has been on the rise primarily due to depredation on livestock and risk to human lives. Since 1989, 16 humans have either been killed or injured in and around Ayubia National Park while leopards faced 44 human-caused mortalities during the same period. I examined the management strategy adopted by NWFP Wildlife Department for leopard conservation, identify gaps, and suggest possible management actions to mitigate the conflicts. For this purpose, I reviewed the management of carnivores including mountain lions, wolves, and grizzly bears to learn from management successes and failures in North America. Based on my review, I make the following recommendations to improve leopard management in and near Ayubia. First, to minimize human-leopard conflicts, educational and information programs to modify human behavior to reduce risks should be developed. Second, predator compensation programs and livestock vaccination programs would help reduce livestock conflicts. Lastly, broader scale management changes such as enhanced protection of areas surrounding Ayubia National Park, re-introduction of extirpated native ungulates as prey for leopards, and improvements in monitoring could benefit leopard conservation.
