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It is known that the Leopard (Panthera pardus) feeds on a range of mammalian species, but studies of leopard food habits are hampered by the animals secretive and nocturnal habits. In Dachigam National Park this challenge is made even more difficult by thick forests, which preclude direct observation of leopard behaviour. This study was undertaken to provide information on the food preferences of leopard in Dachigam National Park via scat analysis. Study AreaDachigam National Park, (34 0 05-34 0 12N & 74 0 54-75 0 09E) is situated 21km northeast of Srinagar (Fig. 1). Roughly rectangular, the park has a total area of 141km 2 . It is approximately 24km in length and 6km in breadth ranging in altitude from 1700m to 4000m. A more or less continuous range of mountains borders the national park except in the west, where it has been artificially fenced. The average climate of Dachigam is sub-Mediterranean. The park is generally divided into lower (26km 2 ) and upper Dachigam (115km 2 ) by the beginning of fir forest. Materials and MethodsAnalysis of leopard scats was carried out to estimate the proportion of different prey species consumed in a nondestructive, cost and time effective manner (Schaller 1967;

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Schizothorax labiatus is one of the economically valuable food fish among indigenous schizothoracids (snow trouts), inhabiting the Jhelum River system in Kashmir along with other snow trouts of family Cyprinidae. The present study was conducted to understand and bring forward various reproductive traits of S. labiatus inhabiting River Jhelum. The investigation was carried on 310 samples (221 males and 89 females) with total length and total weight ranging between 143 to 350 mm and 62 to 449 g, respectively, for a period twelve months. Gonadosomatic index (GSI) was recorded maximum during April for both males (6.19) and females (11.12), indicating that the fish fully matures during this month and spawns during coming months i.e., May when the GSI values start decreasing abruptly. The average values of absolute and relative fecundity in the fish were recorded per gm body weight as 10323 and 42, respectively. Sex ratio was found in 1:0.41 ratio, indicating a significant dominance of males over opposite sex and L , i.e., length at first maturity was m estimated to be 196 mm and the corresponding age at this length was 2+ years. The fish breeds once in a year in natural/wild habitat. These findings on reproductive biology of the endemic snow trout, and the influence of environmental conditions on breeding biology will serve as a baseline data towards planning seed production and conservation strategies.

Parasitic infection represents an emerging threat to wild ungulates and a challenge to their management. Although a lot of work has been carried out on helminth parasitic infestation of domestic ungulates of Kashmir but the data pertaining to this aspect of wild ungulates has being ignored. The study on gastrointestinal helminth parasitic infestation of wild ungulates was carried out during post livestock grazing period (November to May) of 2018/2019 in Hirpora Wildlife sanctuary (HWLS) to fill the gap in the existing literature. During the study fresh faecal samples of musk deer Moschus sp.(n=44) and markhor Capra falconeri (n=41)were collected and examined qualitatively and quantitatively for gastrointestinal helminth parasites. A total of seven helminth parasites were recorded which are arranged in the descending order of their overall prevalence as Haemonchus spp. (44.70%),Nematodirus spp. (40%), Trichuris spp. (37.64%), Strongyloides spp. (34.11%)Trichostrongylus spp. (28.23%),Monieziaspp. (23.52%) and Fasciola spp. (20%). The mean EPG (eggs per gram) of different parasites showed a considerable variation in both the wild ungulates. The highest mean EPGwas that of Haemonchus spp. and the lowest mean EPG was that of Fasciola spp. in both hosts. A statistically significant difference was observed in the mean EPG of different parasites among two wild hosts (t=3.606, p=0.01).