Silent Signals in the Snow: Tracking the Spatio-Temporal Territorial Marking Behavior of Snow Leopards (Panthera uncia) in the Mountainous Region of Baltistan, Pakistan

Mammals, being social creatures communicate through a variety of signal cues, thus it is vital to understand how wild carnivores create and maintain connections with their neighbors for their survival. However, observing elusive species in their natural habitats poses significant challenges leading to scarcities of data. In this study, we aimed to provide a detailed long-term observation of snow leopards in the northern region of Pakistan, hence we utilized data from 136 camera traps between 2018 and 2023 in order to investigate the territorial marking behavior of snow leopards in Baltistan. We documented 813 sightings of snow leopards with 103 videos showing territorial marking behavior from 40 sightings during snow presence and 63 on snow-free days. Nine unique communication behaviors were identified during the presence or absence of snow cover. We observed that snow leopard marking behavior occurred more often at night in the absence of snow and less often during the day in the presence of snow. The marking activities were higher during the crepuscular period in the presence of snow and showed a preference for marking activities in open areas over mixed herbaceous and shrub habitats. Olfaction and scraping were observed more frequently in open areas while fecal deposition was found in herbaceous and shrub habitats. Scraping and urine spraying were associated with cliffs, rocky outcrops and boulders in open areas. In conclusion, our findings discovered new insights into the marking patterns of snow leopards during both day and night, having taken into consideration the influence of snow conditions. Moreover, the identified marking locations hold significant potential as powerful assets for wildlife preservation initiatives.