Title
Conservation Status of Ladakh Urial (Ovis vignei vignei Blyth, 1841) in Gilgit Baltistan, Pakistan
Author(s)
Siraj-ud-Din, Muhammad ;Minhas, Riaz Aziz ;Khan, Mayoor ;Ali, Usman ;Bibi, Syeda Shaista ;Ahmed, Basharat ;Awan, Muhammad Siddique
Published
2016
Publisher
Pakistan Journal of Zoology
Abstract
Ladak hurial (Ovis vignei vignei) is a threatened wild sheep, vulnerable and listed in the Appendix 1 of Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora, present in small pockets of northern Pakistan including Chitral district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), and in Ladakh (Jammu and Kashmir) in India. Based on rapidly declining population due to various threats and restricted geographic range, these urial are considered Vulnerable globally as per IUCN Red List 2015.2 of threatened animals. The present study was designed to collect information on the current conservation status of these urial in Gilgit-Baltistan during January to September, 2013. Data were collected through direct observations, using trail walks and vantage points, as well as by collecting information from local residents, shepherds, and hunters using a questionnaire. A sum total of 172 individuals were recorded from four main localities (Bunji, Nanga Parbat, Nagar, and Skardu) comprising twenty four herds (mean size=7.17±3.19) with 1.91 animals/km2 overall population density. Of these, 128 individuals could be classified as females (n=66; 38.37%) and males (n=62; 36.05%), while remaining 44 (25.58%) individuals including young ones (n=29) could not be sexually identified. Besides direct sighting minimum population (172 individuals), an overall estimated population comprising ca. 432 individuals (4.79 urial/km2) was also figured out based on local information as collected through questionnaires. The population of Ladakh urial has been declining during the last few decades due to illegal hunting and habitat degradation by increasing livestock population and extraction of wood, fodder and medicinal plants. Its distribution range has also been shrinking and they have been extirpated from at least six previously known localities during the last decade. To ensure the continuous survival of the existing urial population, a comprehensive research based integrated strategy is required.
Keywords
Wild sheep;Vulnerable animals;Conservation status;Ladakh urial

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