Tso Kar- a complete overview of the the Tso Kar basin.

The project will carry forward the conservation work initiated during the project entitled ‘Towards the survival of endangered Tibetan argali (Ovis ammon hodgsoni) in India’ during the year 2006-2007 through the first RSG. Specifically it is aimed at updating the status and distribution of Tibetan argali in entire eastern Ladakh region, which is the stronghold of argali population in India. There is an urgent need for these updates as, since surveys in 2001, many new argali populations have been discovered and larger populations have been identified in the already known areas.

The project will primarily focus at surveying argali in the entire eastern Ladakh region using the habitat suitability models prepared from the information generated on argali habitat use during the first RSG funded study in the Tso Kar basin area, in the same region. Prioritising the potential argali habitat using these models will assist in identifying the core areas for argali conservation in eastern Ladakh.

Additionally, we will also study the present land use patterns in the identified argali habitat to assess the potential threats to argali and reasons for their absence in the suitable habitat.