The enteric virome, comprising a complex community of viruses inhabiting the gastrointestinal tract, plays a significant role in health and disease dynamics. In this study, the fecal sample of a wild snow leopard was subjected to viral metagenomic analysis using a double barcode Illumina MiSeq platform. The resulting reads were de novo assembled into contigs with SOAPdenovo2 version r240. Additional bioinformatic analysis of the assembled genome and genome annotation was done using the Geneious prime software (version 2022.0.2). Following viral metagenomic analysis and bioinformatic analysis, a total of 7 viral families and a novel specie of bocaparvovirus tentatively named Panthera uncia bocaparvovirus (PuBOV) with GenBank accession number OQ627713 were identified. The complete genome of PuBOV was predicted to contain 3 open reading frames (ORFs), contains 5433 nucleotides and has a G + C content of 47.40 %. BLASTx analysis and pairwise sequence comparison indicated the novel virus genome was a new species in the genus Bocaparvovirus based on the species demarcation criteria of the International Committee on the Taxonomy of Viruses. This study provides valuable insights into the diversity and composition of the enteric virome in wild endangered snow leopards. The identification and characterization of viruses in wildlife is crucial for developing effective strategies to manage and mitigate potential zoonotic and other viral disease threats to human and animal health.

To determine incidence, trends in presentation, associated ocular lesions and other diseases, treatment modalities, and case outcomes of eyelid coloboma cases in snow leopards.
49 snow leopards with eyelid coloboma living under managed care in North America.
Medical records were retrospectively searched to identify snow leopards in which eyelid coloboma was diagnosed between January 1, 2000, and December 31, 2020. Data recorded from each animal included signalment, ophthalmic examination information, clinical signs, concurrent health conditions, medical and/or surgical interventions, time to resolution of signs, recurrence of clinical signs, and direct relatives with a history of eyelid coloboma.
Ocular clinical signs were present at diagnosis in most cases but not seen in all cases. Corrective procedures were undertaken in 39 cases. Clinical signs were resolved by the total combination of interventions in 84.6% of individuals; however, signs resolved in only 33.3% of cases after a single surgical reconstruction or cryoablation procedure per eye.
Eyelid coloboma is widespread in the North American snow leopard population. A high percentage (73.5%) have an affected sibling, parent, or grandparent, suggesting a heritable component. Surgical correction resolves or improves clinical signs in most cases, but there is a high rate of postprocedural complications with all procedure types employed. Most complications are minor and manageable, but these can also impact case outcomes. Animals require long-term monitoring, as clinical signs may recur (in some cases, years after initial signs are reported to be resolved), and some animals may require long-term care to manage signs.

Spatial responses to risk from multiple predators can precipitate emergent consequences for prey (i.e. multiple-predator effects, MPEs) and mediate indirect interactions between predators. How prey navigate risk from multiple predators may therefore have important ramifications for understanding the propagation of predation-risk effects (PREs) through ecosystems. The interaction of predator and prey traits has emerged as a potentially key driver of antipredator behaviour but remains underexplored in large vertebrate systems, particularly where sympatric prey share multiple predators. We sought to better generalize our understanding of how predators influence their ecosystems by considering how multiple sources of contingency drive prey distribution in a multi-predator-multi-prey system. Specifically, we explored how two sympatric ungulates with different escape tactics-vertically agile, scrambling ibex Capra sibirica and sprinting argali Ovis ammon-responded to predation risk from shared predators with contrasting hunting modes-cursorial wolves Canis lupus and vertical-ambushing, stalking snow leopards Panthera uncia. Contrasting risk posed by the two predators presented prey with clear trade-offs. Ibex selected for greater exposure to chronic long-term risk from snow leopards, and argali for wolves, in a nearly symmetrical manner that was predictable based on the compatibility of their respective traits. Yet, acute short-term risk from the same predator upended these long-term strategies, increasing each ungulates\' exposure to risk from the alternate predator in a manner consistent with a scenario in which conflicting antipredator behaviours precipitate risk-enhancing MPEs and mediate predator facilitation. By contrast, reactive responses to wolves led ibex to reduce their exposure to risk from both predators-a risk-reducing MPE. Evidence of a similar reactive risk-reducing effect for argali vis-à-vis snow leopards was lacking. Our results suggest that prey spatial responses and any resulting MPEs and prey-mediated interactions between predators are contingent on the interplay of hunting mode and escape tactics. Further investigation of interactions among various drivers of contingency in PREs will contribute to a more comprehensive understanding and improved forecasting of the ecological effects of predators.
Пространственные реакции на риск со стороны нескольких видов хищников могут привести к возникновению последствий для жертвы (т.е. влияние различных хищников, ВРХ) и опосредовать косвенные взаимодействия между хищниками. Таким образом, то, как жертва ориентируется в риске, исходящем от нескольких разных хищников, может иметь важное значение для понимания распространения последствий риска хищничества (ПРХ) в экосистемах. Взаимодействие свойств хищников и жертв стало потенциально ключевым фактором, влияющим на противо хищническое поведение, но остается малоизученным у больших позвоночных, особенно когда симпатрические виды животных служат добычей для нескольких видов хищников. Мы стремились углубить наше понимание того, как хищники влияют на свои экосистемы, изучая, как различные источники непредвиденных обстоятельств определяют распределение добычи в системе с несколькими хищниками и несколькими жертвами. В частности, мы изучили реакцию двух симпатрических копытных с различной тактикой бегства от хищников - вертикально скачущего козерога Capra sibirica и быстро бегущего архара Ovis ammon - на риск хищничества со стороны хищников с общей кормовой базой с различными способами охоты, бегущего за добычей волка Canis lupus и устраивающего засады с возвышенности и преследующего добычу снежного барса Panthera uncia. Противоположные риски, создаваемые двумя хищниками, поставили добычу перед очевидным выбором. Козероги подвержены более постоянному, долгосрочному риску со стороны снежных барсов, в то время как архары подвергаются риску со стороны волков почти симметрично, что было предсказуемо на основе совместимости их соответствующих признаков. Однако редкий краткосрочный риск от одного и того же хищника меняет эти долгосрочные стратегии, увеличивая подверженность каждого копытного риску от альтернативного хищника, что соответствует сценарию, в котором конфликтующее поведение против хищников ускоряет увеличение риска ВРХ и опосредует содействие хищников. Напротив, ответная реакция на волков привела к тому, что козероги снизили свою подверженность риску от обоих хищников, что привело к снижению риска ВРХ. Доказательства аналогичного эффекта снижения риска для архаров по отношению к снежным барсам отсутствуют. Наши результаты свидетельствуют о том, что пространственные реакции добычей и любые результирующие ВРХ и опосредованные видами добычи взаимодействия между хищниками зависят от взаимодействия способа охоты и тактики бегства их добычи. Дальнейшее изучение взаимодействий между различными факторами, обуславливающими зависимость последствий риска хищничества, будет способствовать более полному пониманию и лучшему прогнозированию экологических последствий деятельности хищников.

Knowledge of large carnivore population abundance is essential for wildlife management and conservation, but these data are often difficult to obtain in inherently low-density species. In particular, the snow leopard, Panthera uncia, an enigmatic cat occupying remote mountains in Central Asia, has received insufficient assessments of its population abundance because of logistical and methodological challenges. Here, we aimed to develop a robust density estimation of snow leopards based on 81 days of camera trapping within a contiguous and previously unsurveyed 1950 km2 area of habitat on the Tibetan Plateau (Mayue Township, Shenzha County, Tibet Autonomous Region, China). By applying spatially explicit capture-recapture models, we produced an estimate of 1.40 (95%CI: 1.06-1.84) individuals per 100 km2 . Results also suggested sex-specific variation in the range of movement around activity centers, with male (N = 10, σ = 4.02) movement considerably greater than female (N = 8, σ = 1.84) movement. The findings can serve as a reliable baseline reference for assessing the population trends of this endangered felid species with future estimates. This study will provide context to contribute toward a better understanding of ecological factors shaping the distribution and abundance of snow leopards and the related conservation measures needed to sustain their long-term survival on the Tibetan Plateau.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is one of seven coronaviruses known to infect humans. Different from other concerned coronavirus and influenza viruses, SARS-CoV-2 has a higher basic reproduction number and thus transmits more efficiently among hosts. Testing animals for SARS-CoV-2 may help decipher virus reservoirs, transmission and pathogenesis. Here, we report the first detection of SARS-CoV-2 in three snow leopards (Panthera uncia) in a zoo in Kentucky in 2020, the first year of the pandemic. Sequence analysis revealed that snow leopard SARS-CoV-2 strains were non-variant B.1.2 lineage and closely correlated with human strains. One snow leopard shed SARS-CoV-2 in faeces up to 4 weeks. Based on clinical signs and viral shedding periods and levels in the three snow leopards, animal-to-animal transmission events could not be excluded. Further testing of SARS-CoV-2 in animals is needed.

Mammalian communities inhabiting temperate grasslands are of conservation concern globally, especially in Central Asia, where livestock numbers have dramatically increased in recent decades, leading to overgrazing and land-use change. Yet, how this pervasive presence of livestock herds affects the community of wild mammals remains largely unstudied. We used systematic camera trapping at 216 sites across remote, mountainous areas of the Mongolian Altai Mountains to assess the spatial and temporal patterns of occurrence and the interspecific relationships within a mammalian community that includes different categories of livestock. By adopting a recently proposed multispecies occupancy model that incorporates interspecific correlation in occupancy, we found several statistically strong correlations in occupancy among species pairs, with the majority involving livestock. The sign of such associations was markedly species-dependent, with larger wild species of conservation concern, namely, snow leopard and Siberian ibex, avoiding livestock presence. As predicted, we found evidence of a positive correlation in occupancy between predators and their respective main prey. Contrary to our expectations, a number of intraguild species pairs also showed positive co-occurrence, with no evidence of spatiotemporal niche partitioning. Overall, our study suggests that livestock encroaching into protected areas influences the whole local community of wild mammals. Though pastoralism has coexisted with wildlife for millennia in central Asian grasslands, our findings suggest that policies and practices to decrease the pressure of livestock husbandry on wildlife are needed, with special attention on large species, such as the snow leopard and its wild prey, which seem to be particularly sensitive to this pervasive livestock presence.

The population of snow leopards (Unciauncia) maintained in US zoos is no longer sustainable due to poor reproductive success. Our objective was to assess reproductive traits in male snow leopards and identify factors (markers of oxidative stress in seminal fluid, surveys of husbandry practices, gonadal and adrenocortical activity, dietary intake of various nutrients, and genetics) that may affect ejaculate traits and subsequent fertility. Ejaculates (2.9 ± 0.2 mL) from 32 male snow leopards (9.8 ± 0.7 years; 38.6 ± 0.8 kg) housed at 27 institutions contained 119.2 + 26.0 x 106 spermatozoa, of which 75.1 ± 2.3% were motile and 28.6 ± 2.6% exhibited normal morphology. Overall, 34% of males produced <5 million spermatozoa and 27% of males produced spermatozoa with <20% normal morphology. Activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) in the seminal fluid was negatively correlated (P < 0.05, r 2 = 0.90) with normal sperm morphology. Husbandry practices, mean concentrations of fecal androgen metabolites (fAM), and baseline concentrations of fecal glucocorticoid metabolites (fGM), inbreeding coefficients, and generations each male was removed from the founders in their lineages were not correlated (P > 0.05) with the total number of spermatozoa or the proportion of spermatozoa with normal morphology. Total sperm count was positively correlated (P < 0.05, R 2 = 0.86) with the weekly intake of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) and the proportion of spermatozoa with normal morphology tended (P < 0.10, R 2 = 0.31) to be positively correlated with copper intake. Altering the nutrient composition of snow leopard diets could provide managers with a possible method of improving reproductive traits in this endangered species.
The population of snow leopards (Uncia uncia) maintained in US zoos has been declining since 1993 due to poor breeding success. Our objective was to assess the reproductive traits of male snow leopards and identify factors (e.g. hormones, diet, genetics) that may be affecting the quality of semen produced and therefore subsequent fertility. Within a cohort of 32 male snow leopards maintained at 27 US zoos, we found that 34% produced less than 5 million sperm and 27% of males produced sperm where less than 20% looked normal. The quantity and quality of the recovered sperm was not correlated with husbandry practices, concentrations of hormones (androgens and glucocorticoids) in feces, or genetics. However, the number of sperm was positively correlated with polyunsaturated fatty acids in the diet. Altering the nutrient composition of snow leopard diets could provide managers with a possible method of improving reproductive traits in this endangered species.

In this study, we investigated the impact of domestic and wild prey availability on snow leopard prey preference in the Kangchenjunga Conservation Area of eastern Nepal-a region where small domestic livestock are absent and small wild ungulate prey are present. We took a comprehensive approach that combined fecal genetic sampling, macro- and microscopic analyses of snow leopard diets, and direct observation of blue sheep and livestock in the KCA. Out of the collected 88 putative snow leopard scat samples from 140 transects (290 km) in 27 (4 × 4 km2) sampling grid cells, 73 (83%) were confirmed to be from snow leopard. The genetic analysis accounted for 19 individual snow leopards (10 males and 9 females), with a mean population size estimate of 24 (95% CI: 19-29) and an average density of 3.9 snow leopards/100 km2 within 609 km2. The total available prey biomass of blue sheep and yak was estimated at 355,236 kg (505 kg yak/km2 and 78 kg blue sheep/km2). From the available prey biomass, we estimated snow leopards consumed 7% annually, which comprised wild prey (49%), domestic livestock (45%), and 6% unidentified items. The estimated 47,736 kg blue sheep biomass gives a snow leopard-to-blue sheep ratio of 1:59 on a weight basis. The high preference of snow leopard to domestic livestock appears to be influenced by a much smaller available biomass of wild prey than in other regions of Nepal (e.g., 78 kg/km2 in the KCA compared with a range of 200-300 kg/km2 in other regions of Nepal). Along with livestock insurance scheme improvement, there needs to be a focus on improved livestock guarding, predator-proof corrals as well as engaging and educating local people to be citizen scientists on the importance of snow leopard conservation, involving them in long-term monitoring programs and promotion of ecotourism.

BACKGROUND: While recent advances in genomics has enabled vast improvements in the quantification of genome-wide diversity and the identification of adaptive and deleterious alleles in model species, wildlife and non-model species have largely not reaped the same benefits. This has been attributed to the resources and infrastructure required to develop essential genomic datasets such as reference genomes. In the absence of a high-quality reference genome, cross-species alignments can provide reliable, cost-effective methods for single nucleotide variant (SNV) discovery. Here, we demonstrated the utility of cross-species genome alignment methods in gaining insights into population structure and functional genomic features in cheetah (Acinonyx jubatas), snow leopard (Panthera uncia) and Sumatran tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae), relative to the domestic cat (Felis catus).
RESULTS: Alignment of big cats to the domestic cat reference assembly yielded nearly complete sequence coverage of the reference genome. From this, 38,839,061 variants in cheetah, 15,504,143 in snow leopard and 13,414,953 in Sumatran tiger were discovered and annotated. This method was able to delineate population structure but limited in its ability to adequately detect rare variants. Enrichment analysis of fixed and species-specific SNVs revealed insights into adaptive traits, evolutionary history and the pathogenesis of heritable diseases.
CONCLUSIONS: The high degree of synteny among felid genomes enabled the successful application of the domestic cat reference in high-quality SNV detection. The datasets presented here provide a useful resource for future studies into population dynamics, evolutionary history and genetic and disease management of big cats. This cross-species method of variant discovery provides genomic context for identifying annotated gene regions essential to understanding adaptive and deleterious variants that can improve conservation outcomes.

The cold and arid mountains and plateaus of High Asia, inhabited by a relatively sparse human population, a high density of livestock, and wildlife such as the iconic snow leopard Panthera uncia, are usually considered low risk for disease outbreaks. However, based on current knowledge about drivers of disease emergence, we show that High Asia is rapidly developing conditions that favor increased emergence of infectious diseases and zoonoses. This is because of the existing prevalence of potentially serious pathogens in the system; intensifying environmental degradation; rapid changes in local ecological, socio-ecological, and socio-economic factors; and global risk intensifiers such as climate change and globalization. To better understand and manage the risks posed by diseases to humans, livestock, and wildlife, there is an urgent need for establishing a disease surveillance system and improving human and animal health care. Public health must be integrated with conservation programs, more ecologically sustainable development efforts and long-term disease surveillance.