Corral Predator-proofing in Ladakh
In the late evening, after our sheep and goats had spent the day grazing, we herded them into the
new pen, locked the door and walked the two miles to our home. When we returned in the morning, there were tracks of a snow
leopard all around the pen. This happened two nights in a row, but we lost none of our animals. As Buddhists, we are very
happy, for the sake of our livestock, and for the snow leopards who might now go back to hunting blue sheep. Also we are
very happy because now we shepherds no longer have to lie awake on the cold ground next to the pen. We can go home and get
a good night’s sleep.
...Tashi Largyal, Sku-Kaya Village Corral Committee
- 2000 - 2002:
- Community-based conservation and corral predator-proofing in Markha, Skyu-Kaya, Rumbak and Hankar, all within Hemis High Altitude National Park.
- 2003:
- Conducted livestock alleviation APPA workshop, and initiated corral predator-proofing, in Kanji village near Lamuyuru Monastery (outside Hemis National Park), and in Tsogsti (inside Hemis National Park)
- 2005:
- With corrals predator-proofed in more than 80% of Hemis National Park, the program has moved to vulnerable areas in other parts of Ladakh. Eight settlements outside the Park have participated, protecting some forty additional snow leopards from retributive killing. Corrals have also been predator-proofed in Zanskar, immediately south of Ladakh.
- 2006:
- With the completion of ten new corrals in the Zanskar and Nubra areas, we have now predator-proofed twenty-two corrals since the program began, serving 194 households and some 3,000 head of livestock. These corrals are protecting from herder retaliation up to twenty snow leopards in Zanskar, five in Nubra and ten in Ladakh.
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