Snow leopard-mediated apparent competition between wild ungulates and domestic livestock in the Trans-Himalaya

Across High Asia, snow leopards Panthera uncia share habitats with pastoralists and consume both wild and domestic herbivores. Increasing wild prey is vital for predator conservation, but its effect on livestock depredation is unclear: it could decrease depredation through apparent facilitation or increase it through apparent competition. We investigated this association using a 13-year time series dataset from Upper Spiti Landscape in the Indian Trans-Himalaya. Long-term data on elusive carnivores are rare, making this time series especially valuable for testing predator-mediated interactions. We found higher wild ungulate density was accompanied by significantly greater depredation of free-ranging livestock, and this association remained positive after bootstrapping to account for uncertainty in density estimates. These results suggest snow leopard-mediated apparent competition between wild and domestic herbivores. We recommend conservation efforts that increase wild prey must also integrate effective livestock protection and support strategies to enhance coexistence between predators, prey and pastoralists.