Research and Monitoring
SLF prioritizes objective-driven research to gather crucial data necessary for effective conservation. This includes assessing snow leopard populations, other carnivores, and their prey, identifying suitable habitats, evaluating wildlife-human conflict levels, and uncovering opportunities for new conservation initiatives. Research serves as both a foundation for designing and a tool for assessing the impact of conservation programs. Since its inception, SLF has introduced state-of-the-art ecological research protocols in Pakistan, pioneering innovative methods that are vital for preserving biodiversity in some of the country’s most rugged and challenging landscapes.
Understanding Species Occurrence and Occupancy
The occupancy surveys are considered reliable in scientific circles for being statistically robust and cost-effective in long-term monitoring of a species. This technique proves significant when dealing with threatened species like the iconic snow leopard. Since its inception in 2008, SLF has been involved in obtaining data through occupancy based on sign tracks using Snow […]
GIS and Remote Sensing in SLF conservation projects
GIS & Remote Sensing technologies are a very effective tool used by SLF for managing, analyzing, and visualizing wildlife data in order to target areas where conservation practices are needed. Habitat geospatial analysis is an important key to understand the population and health of species in the wild. Monitoring change in wildlife habitats is feasible […]
Population Assessment of Snow Leopards
To study snow leopards that are shy and elusive species, camera trapping is the most favored non-invasive method. Motion-trigger cameras are deployed at various locations in the study area using scent-based lures to maximize the visits of targeted species. Photographs obtained from these camera traps are then further studied to reach deductions. SLF has established […]
Human-Carnivore Conflict
For centuries, snow leopards and human populations have co-existed in the mountainous terrains of Central and South Asia. The natural habitats of snow leopards, therefore, are multi-use landscapes where agro-pastoral communities have grazed livestock for millennia. When communities lose their livestock to large carnivores such as the snow leopard resulting in great financial loss, a […]