Determinants of local attitudes towards snow leopards in Shey Phoksundo National Park, Nepal

Abstract Livestock depredation by the snow leopard Panthera uncia threatens the livelihood of communities and the survival of snow leopard populations. Shey Phoksundo National Park in Nepal supports some of the highest densities of snow leopards in the country. The support of local communities is essential for effective snow leopard conservation, yet these communities are heavily affected by livestock depredation. We conducted a quantitative questionnaire survey in the lower Dolpo and upper Dolpo regions of the Park in 2022 to assess local attitudes towards the snow leopard and understand the factors that best explain these attitudes. We found that households residing in the lower Dolpo had a more positive attitude towards snow leopards than those living in the upper Dolpo. Whilst the number of livestock lost to snow leopard depredation did not significantly influence attitude, respondents were more likely to hold a positive attitude if they had more years of formal education, lived in the lower Dolpo, were male, had received a greater level of external conflict mitigation support, and if they perceived a greater change in the level of support from government and snow leopard conservation groups over the last 5 years. Our findings show that attitudes can become more positive if conflict mitigation strategies are accessible to those with fewer years of education and if they are available to households in the upper Dolpo. We recommend greater access to this support to promote coexistence between snow leopards and local communities.