Research overview: livestock-wild prey competition and snow leopard depredation

This overview synthesises evidence that competition between domestic livestock and wild ungulates, blue sheep, ibex, argali, depresses natural prey and increases snow leopard reliance on livestock. It reviews studies linking heavy grazing pressure and herd expansion to declining wild-prey density, which in turn elevates depredation and conflict. The literature argues that managing grazing, setting aside village wild-prey reserves, and recovering ungulate populations are foundational, if slow, conflict-mitigation strategies that address a root cause rather than a symptom. The survey connects rangeland ecology, pastoral economics, and predator behaviour, framing prey-base restoration as central to long-term coexistence with snow leopards across the high mountains of Asia.