The Red Panda Ailurus fulgens Cuvier, 1825 is a shy and charismatic mammal occurring in Asia. It is an exceptional member of the order Carnivora as it is nearly entirely herbivorous, living largely on a diet of leaves and shoots of bamboo, berries, mushrooms (Yonzon & Hunter 1991;Pradhan et al. 2001) and occasionally small mammals, birds, eggs, insects, blossoms and acorns (Johnson et al. 1988). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species classifies the Red Panda currently as 'Vulnerable' (Wang et al. 2008). This animal is found

Pikas (Ochotona Link, 1795) are high‐altitude specialist species making them a useful bioindicator species to warming in high‐altitude ecosystem. The Himalayan Mountains are an important part of their range, supporting approximately 23%–25% of total pika species worldwide, yet we lack basic information on the distribution patterns. We combine field‐based surveys with genetics‐based identification and phylogeny to identify differences in species‐environment relationships. Further, we suggest putative evolutionary causes for the observed niche patterns. Location Himalayan high‐altitude region. Methods We sampled 11 altitudinal transects (ranging from ~2,000 to 5,000 m) in the Himalaya to establish occurrence records. We collected 223 species records using genetic analyses to confirm species' identity (based on some invasive and mostly noninvasive biological samples). Niche and geographic overlap were estimated using kernel density estimates. Results Most pikas in the Himalaya span wide elevation ranges and exhibit extensive spatial overlap with other species. However, even in areas of high species diversity, we found species to have a distinct environmental niche. Despite apparent overlapping distributions at broad spatial scales, in our field surveys, we encountered few cases of co‐occurrence of species in the sampled transects. Deeply diverged sister‐species pair had the least environmental niche overlap despite having the highest geographic range overlap. In contrast, sister‐species pair with shallow genetic divergence had a higher environmental niche overlap but was geographically isolated. We hypothesize that the extent of environmental niche divergence in pikas is a function of divergence time within the species complex. We assessed vulnerability of species to future climate change using environmental niche and geographic breadth sizes as a proxies. Our findings suggest that O. sikimaria may be the most vulnerable species. Ochotona roylii appears to have the most unique environmental niche space, with least niche overlap with other pika species from the study area.

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Translocations are an important tool for the conservation of biodiversity, but although ecological feasibility studies are frequently conducted prior to implementation, social feasibility studies that consider how local communities perceive such projects are less common. The translocation of blue sheep Pseudois nayaur to Sagarmatha National Park, Nepal, has been proposed, to reduce livestock depredation by snow leopards Panthera uncia by providing an alternative prey base in addition to the small population of Himalayan thar Hemitragus jemlahicus. This study used systematic sampling, a quantitative questionnaire and qualitative interviews within the Park to provide data on the social viability of the proposed translocation. Quantitative analysis revealed moderate levels of support but qualitative analysis suggested that there are significant concerns about the proposal. In addition, multiple regression analysis found that women and livestock owners were significantly less supportive, although the model had low explanatory power. Potential crop damage and competition for forage were frequently cited as concerns, especially amongst those with a high level of dependence on natural resources. Given the mixed response to the proposed translocation of blue sheep to the Everest region, alleviating the reservations of local residents is likely to be key to any further consultation, planning or implementation.

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