Silent Signals in the Snow: Tracking the Spatio-Temporal Territorial Marking Behavior of Snow Leopards (<i>Panthera uncia</i>) in the Mountainous Region of Baltistan, Pakistan.

ABSTRACT: Mammals, being social creatures communicate through a variety of signal cues, thus it is vital to understand how wild carnivores create and maintain connections with their neighbors for their survival. However, observing elusive species in their natural habitats poses significant challenges leading to scarcities of data. In this study, we aimed to provide a detailed long-term observation of snow leopards in the northern region of Pakistan, hence we utilized data from 136 camera traps between 2018 and 2023 in order to investigate the territorial marking behavior of snow leopards in Baltistan. We documented 813 sightings of snow leopards with 103 videos showing territorial marking behavior from 40 sightings during snow presence and 63 on snow-free days. Nine unique communication behaviors we

SUBMITTER: Zaman M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11634815 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature