Himalayan Brown Bear Conservation in Zanskar

The Snow Leopard Conservancy - India Trust (SLCT-IT) has been working with local communities all across Ladakh for the conservation of wildlife for over 15 years. It is only in the past few years that we have recorded a sudden rise in villagers reporting conflict with the Himalayan brown bear. Although the causes of this conflict are not clear, the consequences are apparent largely in the form of local people's growing negative attitude towards the bear, and the result persecution of the animal by angry villagers, which is disconcerting for conservationists. SLC-IT  in collaboration with like-minded organisations are exploring the causes of this growing conflict.

In 2017, SLC-IT started the Himalayan Brown Bear Project to study and mitigate the human-bear conflict in Zanskar, which is the stronghold of bears in Ladakh. With the generous support from donors at Milaap, we were able to survey 221 households who have had direct interactions with the brown bear.
Read about the 2017 Campaign

At the end of phase 1 of the project in 2018, we were able to secure 24 sites with predator deterrent lights. These lights have been successful in discouraging the bears from breaking into people's homes.

In 2019, we completed phase 2 of the project where we introduced techniques of bear-proofing homes. We also conducted 10 awareness workshops in the villages that have acute human -bear conflict. We agreed to help villagers in building bear-proof ration stores if they promised not to harm any bear.

Phase 3 of the project will focus on bear-proofing an entire village in Zanskar. This village may act as a model village for bear conservation in India.

Providing bear-proof food storage containers that we designed in 2019:
Bear-proof food containers, as well as the bear-proof garbage containers, have proved to be one of the most successful technique of bear-proofing practiced around the world. According to a study conducted in southwest Colorado, USA, the use of bear-proof canisters and containers has helped bring down human-bear conflicts by 60%.

Working with the villages to improve garbage management and disposal:
Across the globe, conservationists have associated garbage as one of the main reasons why bears are getting attracted to the villages. Bears get easy access to food at garbage dumps. This puts both people and bears at risk.

Spreading awareness to reduce  human-bear interactions in Kargil district
Apart from Zanskar, many areas in Kargil district have reported incidents of bears attacking ration stores in the villages. SLC-IT will conduct awareness workshops in Kargil district and help people reduce the rising human-bear interactions.

With your support, we can help humans and bears live in harmony as they did for centuries.