Eurasian lynx recorded in Kargil, better conservation steps needed

The first photographic evidence of Central Asian lynx is recorded in Ladakh’s Kargil district. The medium-sized wild cat, until now, was recorded only in the Leh district of the Union Territory. The cat was recorded during a camera trap study conducted by a team of researchers to study flagship species such as snow leopard in the region.

The Central Asian lynx (Lynx lynx isabellinus) is a subspecies of the Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) which is listed as a Schedule I species in India’s Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. Even though the Eurasian lynx is listed as a species of least concern in the International Union for Convention of Nature (IUCN) Red List, which indicates a stable population, the population of its subspecies found in India, Central Asian lynx, is very low. The subspecies, also known as Himalayan or Tibetan lynx, was recently included in the Appendix II of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species (CMS) of Wild Animals, giving it a greater protection status.

Before being recorded in Kargil, that lies on the west in Ladakh, the Central Asian lynx were reported from the Hemis National Park, Chang Chenmo area, Nubra Valley, Changthang, proposed Gya-Miru Wildlife Sanctuary – all from eastern Ladakh. The species is known for feeding on rodents as well as on small and juvenile mammals.

Welcome to Kargil

An individual of Central Asian lynx was captured on a camera trap on October 28, 2020 in the Rangdum area of Kargil district. The location is at the altitude of 4,154 metres above sea level.

“We could easily distinguish the species as Eurasian Lynx (Lynx lynx) based on unique characteristics such as tufts on the ears and a short black tail. The valley where the lynx was captured on camera is on the route to Rangdum-Kanji and Dibling village,” noted the recently-published research paper.

“The camera trap method was the first extensive project of the Wildlife Protection Department, Kargil for population estimation of snow leopard in Kargil. Rangdum is one of the prime habitats of snow leopard. The first photographic record of Eurasian lynx in Rangdum is highly significant for the conservation of rare elusive species in western region of Ladakh (Kargil),” said Niazul Khan, a member of the Ladakh Biodiversity Council and lead author of the study.

In the paper, the researchers also described the meadow-dominated habitat where the primary vegetation is willow, wild onion, twisted knotweed and Webb’s rose. Some other wild animals captured on cameras during the study period were red fox (Vulpes vulpes), Himalayan wolf (Canis lupus) and domestic cattle (yak).

The trail where the adult lynx was captured is an important trekking route from Rangdum to Kanji and Dibling.

With this new evidence, the presence of the species in the western part of Ladakh is established but the population still looks to be quite scanty in this region. “The presence of lynx can possibly be there at multiple locations, but out of the 223 camera traps deployed in Kargil only one camera trap recorded Eurasian lynx presence. This evidence indicates exclusivity of the species in Kargil region,” Khan said.

Tsewang Namgail, Director and Senior Scientist at the Snow Leopard Conservancy India Trust, a non-profit focused on wildlife conservation in Ladakh, suggested that there has been anecdotal evidence of the lynx’s occurrence in Kargil but the density is not that high compared to the eastern part of Ladakh.

“The Rangum area, where this particular picture was taken, it’s a pretty good lynx habitat in many ways. We had been expecting its presence in that area and this shows that the species occurs there,” Namgail, who also reviewed the paper, said.

Khan is also planning to understand the distribution and habitat use of lesser known carnivores in the western region of Ladakh.

Threats in Kargil

The species is known for livestock depredation in Ladakh and earlier studies ascribed 2% of total livestock depredation by wild predators to lynx in Ladakh. This leads to a potential threat of retaliatory killing. The paper suggests measures for the safety of livestock. “It is important to safeguard livestock in adjoining villages of Rangdum, which is remotely located from Kargil headquarters,” the paper suggested.

Habitat loss and poaching are also major threats to the species in this region but the increasing population of free-ranging dogs is a growing concern.

“There is some hunting pressure in Kargil that is known to everyone now, compared to eastern part of Ladakh, the Leh district mostly. We know in certain valleys in the Kargil district people still hunt for food. If the prey population is depleted there because of some hunting pressure by people, definitely that would have a bearing on the lynx population also,” said Namgail.

Earlier, the issue of free-ranging dogs was less rampant in Kargil, compared to the district of Leh. But now Kargil too is facing the issue of free-ranging dogs.

A study published last year, investigated the patterns of free-ranging dogs’ predation on livestock and wildlife in the Changthang Wildlife Sanctuary of Ladakh, from 2015 to 2017, and found that there are 310 free-ranging dogs per 100 sq km in Hanle area and 61 free-ranging dogs per 100 sq km in Tso Moriri area of the sanctuary.

These places are known habitats of Central Asian lynx and even though these dogs don’t kill the cats, they still affect them by stealing resources and intimidation.

“The intensity of free-ranging dogs was not prevalent in the Kargil region because of less tolerance towards dogs. Presently, there is an increase in the dogs’ presence near the army camps due to food subsidies,” said Khan.

No Kashmir connection

In the year 2019, a Eurasian lynx was sighted and photographed by the officials of the wildlife department at Dobjan forest area in Shopian district of the neighbouring South Kashmir region. When asked about a possibility of a corridor connecting Shopian, Kargil and other parts of Ladakh where the cat occurs, Namgail ruled out the possibility.

“These animals occur generally in the landscape of Ladakh which is the southern edge of their distribution. It does occur in the dense thickets of the sea buckthorn bushes in Nubra valley. The one that was found in Kashmir is more significant because that means it kind of progressed further down south into the temperate forest area. But I don’t think there is any corridor that links the Shopian area,” said Namgail.

Need for more awareness

With potential threats such as retaliatory killing because of livestock depredation, hunting and the sighting location being a famous trekking route, awareness about the conservation of this species among locals and tourists becomes a crucial step.

When compared to Leh district in Ladakh, the Kargil district lags behind in wildlife and environmental conservation. Namgail terms it ‘the conservation backwaters of Ladakh’ as not much happens there in terms of awareness.

“Not much is known about the larger species in Ladakh, let alone smaller ones like the pikas and weasels and all. If we don’t know much about big species like these, it shows that we are really lagging behind. It’s important that all organisations and governments put some effort in developing some understanding of the species and their distribution. It’s high time we spend some time invested in understanding the distribution (of lynx) where these animals are,” Namgail said.

Read more: The Eurasian lynx in Ladakh needs more research for conservation

Banner image: A Eurasian lynx in its habitat in Rangdum valley of Kargil. Image by Niazul Khan/Wildlife Protection Division Kargil.l