However, even assessments based on prey biomass are unlikely to be accurate as we do not know whether the actual size of the prey consumed corresponds to the average size used to calculate the biomass eaten. Diet studies based on frequency of occurrence of prey tend to overestimate the importance of small prey, which may be consumed more often, but contribute less energy than large prey. Studies solely based on visual identification of samples may be strongly biased. Unlike most other studies carried out in the same area, our study uses genetic methods for identifying the source of the scat. It preferred domestic to wild prey only in winter, and in SNP. Snow leopard preferred large prey and avoided small prey in summer but not in winter, with regional differences. In terms of relative biomass consumed, yak was the main prey everywhere in both seasons. In LM and UM, its main prey was blue sheep in winter, but yak and goat in summer. In the SNP, the most frequent prey in snow leopard faeces was the Himalayan tahr in both winter and summer. We determined prey availability using 32–48 camera-traps and 4,567 trap nights. Their diet was identified by comparing hairs in scats with our reference collection of the hairs of potential prey. We collected 268 scats along 139.3 km linear transects, of which 122 were genetically confirmed to belong to snow leopard. We studied the prey of snow leopard in three Himalayan regions in Nepal (Sagarmatha National Park (SNP), Lower Mustang (LM) and Upper Manang (UM) in the Annapurna Conservation Area, during winter and summer in 2014–2016. Most previous studies on snow leopard diet lack information on prey availability and/or did not genetically check, whether the identification of snow leopard scats is correct, as their scats are similar to those of other carnivores. Here we concentrate on an endangered species of carnivores, the snow leopard, in the Himalayas. Therefore, our understanding of their trophic ecology and foraging strategies is important for predicting their population dynamics and consequently for developing effective conservation programs. Their hunting behaviour and prey selection can affect the population dynamics of their prey, which in turn affects the population dynamics of these large carnivores. Visual attractiveness and rarity often results in large carnivores being adopted as flagship species for stimulating conservation awareness.
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