Recovery of Snow Leopard Uncia uncia in Tomur National Nature Reserve of Xinjiang, Northwestern China

Tomur National Nature Reserve (TNNR) is one of the biggest reserves in northwestern China containing the endangered snow leopards. But only a few snow leopard signs were found here by Schaller in 1988. And it was reported that more than 10 snow leopards were illegally killed by local herders the next year after Schaller's survey, so the snow leopard was assumed to have nearly disappeared in this nature reserve. From October to November 2004 and October to December 2005, we conducted snow leopard sign surveys in four major valleys in TNNR using the Snow Leopard Information Management System (SLIMS). We ran 69 transects covering c. 39.7 km and located 56 sites with 131 snow leopard signs. Combined with the results of previous snow leopard sign surveys and camera trapping studies in Muzart valley of TNNR, we conclude that snow leopards appear to have re-inhabited the nature reserve. But conflict between snow leopard and herders still exist in this area and we are far from resolving it.