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Pallas Cat Working Group

UPDATING INFORMATION ON CONSERVATION STATUS OF PALLAS’S CAT IN

Short final report Anna Barashkova & Maria Gritsina

Novosibirsk – Bishkek – Tashkent 2018 Project Goal: To update information on Pallas’ cat in Kyrgyzstan Present project is in the frames of the activity of the Pallas’ Cat Working Group with the collaboration with the Leopard Trust (Kyrgyzstan), Sarychat-Ertash Nature Reserve and NABU in Kyrgyzstan. The project was supported by the Mohamed bin Zayed Conservation Fund and funds raised by the Pallas’ Cat International Conservation Alliance (PICA) Project duration: July 2017 – December 2018 Project Objectives: 1. Update knowledge of species distribution: - Analyze data from existing camera studies (almost all these studies are devoted to and conducted in the highest parts of Tyan-Shan); - Interview specialists of protected areas and other organizations using specially developed questionnaire; - Interview local people at the cattle- Interviewing in the foothills of Moldotau range breeding camps and in villages (interviews will be made mostly in the Osh, Jalalabad and Naryn provinces where the possible boundary of global species range situated); - Conduct camera trapping in the western part of the country basing on interview and literature data. 2. Create national database on Pallas’s cat records and base for species monitoring - Organize the keeping of data on national level by the participation of local partner - Provide regular update of the online database “Small Wild Cast of ” http://wildcats.wildlifemonitoring.ru 3. Raising awareness Team: Anna Barashkova (project’s leader, Novosibirsk, ), Maria Gritsina (coordinator of field-work, Tashkent, Uzbekistan), Maxim Koshkin and Kubanychbek Jumabai uulu (camera-trapping, data management, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan), Valentin Soldatov (field assistant, driver, Uzbekistan), Denis Nuridjanov, Anna Ten, Timur Abduraupov (researchers, field assistants, Uzbekistan), and Andrey Timchenko, Dinara Adilova (field assistants, Uzbekistan). Activities: 1. 17 July – 7 August, 2017. The central and western parts of the country were investigated: (1) local people in the western and central parts of the country were interviewed using special protocol and standard questions developed by the PICA and modified by our group; 200 educational posters about the manul were distributed; (2) 9 camera traps were set (see table below, map 1).

Map 1. Survey routes, interview sites and camera trap locations

№№ Camera trap Landscape photo species information recorded

1. 21 July 2017 – 4 July vulpes 2018 Martes foina Kegetysai tract, Mustela erminea Kyrgyz Range, Chui Marmota baibacina province Ochotona rutila 42.45303N 75.06275E Al=2849 m

2. 22 July 2017 – 18 Marmota baibacina August 2018 Vulpes vulpes Alabel Mts., NW Lynx spurs of Terskei leucurus Alatoo, Issyk-Kul Lepus tolai province 42.45299N Gerbil 75.06277E Al=1839 m

3. 24 July 2017 – 10 Lynx lynx April 2018 Lepus tolai Ortok mountains, SE spurs of Kyrgyz Range, Naryn province 42.25454N 75.38307E Al=2462 m

4. 25 July 2017 – 25 Vulpes vulpes September 2017 Lynx lynx Western part of Marmota baibacina Terskei Alatoo Alticola sp. Range, Naryn province 42.04905N 075.71288E Al=2423 m

5. 26 July 2017 – 12 Marmota baibacina March 2018 Lepus tolai At-Bashi River valley, Naryn province 42.22035N 75.44113E 10. Al=2162 m

6. 11. 28 July 2017 – 30 Alticola sp. July 2017 Berelu pass, Naryn province 12. 41.06868N 75.04207E 13. Al=3045 m

7. 14. 30 July 2017 – 27 Capra sibirica April 2018 Lynx lynx Kokomeren river Meles leucurus valley, Chui province 15. 42.06673N 74.13871E 16. Al=2021 m

8. 17. 1 July 2017 – 19 Hystrix hystrix September 2017 Vulpes vulpes Fergana Range, Apodemus sp. Jalalabad province 18. 42.06524N 74.13735E 19. Al=1179 m

9. 20. 3 July 2017 – 13 Otocolobus manul? August 2018 silvestris ornata Karatebe mountain lupus surroundings, Alai Vulpes vulpes Range, Osh province Meles leucurus 21. 40.11012N Lepus tolai Rattus turkestanicus? 71.65824E

22. Al=1455 m

10. 3 January – 25 Capra sibirica February 2018 Martes foina Too-Ashu pass, Vulpes vulpes Kyrgyz Range, Chui Alticola sp. province 42.34215N 73.82326E Al=3632 m

11. 3-20 January 2018 Capra sibirica Ular-Ashu pass, Vulpes vulpes Kyrgyz Range, Chui province 42.34073N 73.83049E Al=3673 m

12- 11 February – 22 Lynx lynx 13. August 2018 Meles leucurus Chok-Mazar river Lepus tolai valley, Kyrgyz Range 42.40512N 73.76167E Al=2529 m

2. Interviewing of zoologists and other specialists who may have data on the manul (including the specialists of protected areas) was made during all project’s period. 3. January-February, 2018. 4 additional camera traps were installed by local team members in the Kyrgyz ridge (see table above, map 1). 4. August-September 2018. The camera traps set during first field trip were removed. 10 camera traps were installed in Moldotau range (border of Jalalabad and Naryn provinces) (map 1). 5. September-December 2018. Camera trap and other data treatment.

Results

Camera trapping and field observations Camera trap data from 14 camera traps (2257 camera trap days) were obtained. There were reliably recorded 12 mammal species: Siberian ibex (Capra sibirica), Turkestan lynx (Lynx lynx isabellinus), Asian wildcat (Felis silvestris ornata), grey wolf (Canis lupus), red (Vulpes vulpes), Asian (Meles leucurus), beech (Martes foina), (Mustela erminea), Indian crested porcupine (Hystrix indica), Altai marmot (Marmota baibacina), tolai (Lepus tolai), Turkestan red pika (Ochotona rutila).

Asian wildcat

Turkestan lynx

Indian crested porcupine

Asiatic badger

Some kind of rock voles (Alticola), rats (possibly Himalayan rat Rattus turkestanicus), gerbils and field mouses (Apodemus) were recorded.

Unfortunately the manul was not reliably recorded but we assume that it was camera trapped in the northern foothills of the Alai range (Osh province). Upon careful viewing of the images we found a night shot of the head of the beast, a silhouette very similar to the manul. Unfortunately, the passed by the camera only once and very close to it so that it is impossible to distinguish the head details due to the flash. But comparing this silhouette with the silhouettes of other species that were recorded by the camera, as well as with the night pictures of manuls that we have received in the Russian Altai and , we came to the conclusion that the manul is very likely.

Interview survey

29 zoologists and specialists of protected areas were interviewed including the specialists from international organisations which work in Kyrgyzstan (Snow Leopard Foundation in Kyrgyzstan, NABU, OSI-).

102 local people from 65 points were interviewed during field trips (map 1).

Northern foothills of the Alai range – the site where the manul was possibly recorded

Creation of national database on manul

We asked camera trap projects mostly of which concern the study of snow leopard (Snow Leopard Foundation in Kyrgyzstan, NABU, OSI-PANTHERA) to share data on the manul if they have. Total 13 locations with manul camera trap records were obtained. Specialists of the Institute of Zoology of Kazakhstan, Almaty, kindly provided two more locations that are situated almost on the border with Kyrgyzstan (map 2).

Map 2. Data on the manul in Kyrgyzstan

All data obtained during the project (including camera trap data and other records) were entered to the national database on the manul in Kyrgyzstan (map 2). In total 44 confirmed contemporary records are known now (2005-2018). Confirmed georeferenced data were also entered to the Small Wild Cats of Eurasia Database http://wildcats.wildlifemonitoring.ru

The important result of the project is the general understanding of local situation in the investigated area. This project was reconnaissance - we have inspected a large area and now we better understand how to work further. The results of this project were used in the creation of review of Pallas’ Cat global status in the special issue of the bulletin of the IUCN SSC Cat Specialist Group “Cat News” (planned to be released in April 2019) and presented at the Pallas’s cat Global Action Planning Meeting (12—16th November 2018, Nordens Ark, Sweden).

Next steps

We are going to continue the research of manul distribution and status in Kyrgyzstan, focusing on a detailed survey of the area. In particular we plan to continue camera trap research. We have already set camera traps in Moldotau range and plan to check them next summer. This we intend to make intensive camera trap survey in the northern foothills of the Alai range (where the manul was assumingly recorded). It might be quite important for our understanding of species presence on the border of Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan as no confirmed contemporary data were obtained from this area before. We plan to continue the collaboration with other organisations (we have good contacts with main ones which work with camera traps).

Turkestan red pika – possible prey of the manul in Kyrgyzstan

Dens of the Altai marmot – the source of shelters for the manul and others species