NZ scientists seek blue sheep as part of Nepal leopard study

6 Nov 2009

A Nepali PhD student at Massey University, Achyut Aryal, and his professor are tramping through the Annapurna Conservation Area -- at the start of the northern hemisphere winter -- carrying out the groundwork for using satellite tracking to study the sheep.

It has taken Mr Aryal and co-researcher, Massey nutritional ecology professor David Raubenheimer, several days of travel by foot and on horseback through Nepal to reach the study site near the Tibetan border.

Their initial study of the animals' movements, grazing habits and population structure within a limited range will pave the way for the next phase of the study using global positioning satellite (GPS) transmitters.

These will allow researchers to track on computer screens in New Zealand the movements of 10 sheep in different herds for two years continuously across the high-altitude region.

The researchers face logistical difficulties, working at altitudes of 3000m to 6500m in a cold desert dominated by strong winds.

"There has been little study of the home range, movement and habitat use of blue sheep in this region," Mr Aryal said.

They resemble mountain goats with blue-tinged hair and curled horns and are preyed on by other high-altitude species, such as the brown bear as well as human trophy hunters.

"This region is one of the last refuges for species such as snow leopards, brown bear, wolf, lynx and, importantly, their keystone prey species, the blue sheep," Mr Aryal said.

Population estimates for the snow leopard worldwide are between 5000 and 10,000, with numbers dropping as the animals are hunted for fur and as a trophy, killing by farmers worried they will attack livestock. "There is evidence that climate change is causing the blue sheep to come into frequent contact with local villages," Prof Raubenheimer said.

They raid crops, and also attract snow leopards closer to livestock.

In New Zealand, Associate Professor Dianne Brunton, co-supervisor of the study, said detailed information on population estimates and distribution for blue sheep and snow leopards was vital for conservation management.

She would travel to Nepal next year to carry out further observational field work and data collection, including collecting scat from snow leopards.

Dr Brunton hoped New Zealand school pupils would become involved in the snow leopard and blue sheep study next year by observing the movement of satellite-tracked animals on classroom computers.

NZPA

Add a comment

Share this article:

Digg   Facebook   Google   del.icio.us   reddit   StumbleUpon   Yahoo