Assessing the impact of Livestock Grazing on Fecal Glucocorticoid Metabolites Levels and Gastrointestinal Parasites in Himalayan Ibex in Spiti Valley, Western Himalayas Assessing the impact of Livestock Grazing on Fecal Glucocorticoid Metabolites Levels and Gastrointestinal Parasites in Himalayan Ibex in Spiti Valley, Western Himalayas

TYPE: Research Article

Assessing the impact of Livestock Grazing on Fecal
Glucocorticoid Metabolites Levels and Gastrointestinal
Parasites in Himalayan Ibex in Spiti Valley, Western Himalayas

Anuja Pandey¹, Priya Iyer²⁺, Vinod Kumar¹, Govindhaswamy Umapathy¹*

¹Laboratory for the Conservation of Endangered Species (LaCONES), CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad – 500007, Telangana, India
²Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore – 560012, Karnataka, India

⁺Deceased

RECEIVED 20 December 2024
ACCEPTED 01 February 2025
ONLINE EARLY 05 February 2025

https://doi.org/10.63033/JWLS.UVJZ6291

Abstract

Livestock grazing in protected areas is considered a threat and detrimental to many wildlife species and their habitats. In the current study, we examined the impact of livestock grazing on the physiological stress response and parasite prevalence in the Himalayan ibex population of Spiti valley, Himalayas. We standardized cortisol enzyme immunoassay to measure the fecal glucocorticoid metabolites (fGCM) concentrations. A total of 192 fecal samples were collected from eight different locations of livestock grazing and ungrazed areas of Spiti valley during 2015 and 2016. We also collected fecal samples from livestock grazing areas to examine the prevalence of parasites in Himalayan ibex. We found no significant difference in cortisol levels between livestock in grazed and ungrazed areas. However, parasite prevalence was higher in ibex fecal samples collected from livestock grazing locations. Our study provides preliminary insights into the stress physiology and parasitic prevalence of the Himalayan ibex. Further, long-term research with a larger sample size and more quantitative methods is needed to explore a comprehensive understanding of its physiology and pathology.

Keywords: Fecal glucocorticoid metabolites, Himalayan Ibex (Capra sibirica hemalayanus), Livestock grazing, Parasite prevalence, Physiological stress

Introduction

The Himalayan ibex (Capra sibirica hemalayanus) are mountain goats and are regarded as a subspecies of the Siberian ibex (Capra sibirica). However, a recent study suggested that Himalayan ibex is genetically distinct from Siberian ibex (Jabin et al., 2023). The Himalayan ibex is found in the Trans-Himalayan regions of the northern Indian subcontinent and their ranges include the western Himalayas, particularly in areas like Himachal Pradesh and Ladakh (Reading et al., 2020). This species thrives in high-altitude environments, is adapted to steep, rugged terrains, and is typically found at elevations ranging from 2,500 to 4,500 meters above sea level (m asl) (Schaller et al., 1977). Their habitats are alpine meadows, rocky slopes, steep, mountain cliffs, and outcrops. They are known to graze on a variety of plant species, including grasses and lichens, which are abundant in their high-altitude environment. They often form herds that vary in size, with males and females typically segregating into different groups outside the breeding season (Fedosenko et al., 2001).

The Himalayan ibex faces several threats, including hunting, habitat loss due to human encroachment, resource competition for grazing with livestock, and impacts of climate change, which have led to concerns about its conservation status. The Himalayan ibex has been categorized as a “Near Threatened” species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List (Reading et al., 2020). However, in India it is a protected species under Schedule I criteria of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. Interspecific competition among species at the same trophic level for limited resources negatively impacts species fitness. These changes cause conflict between wildlife and livestock and are responsible for the decline of wildlife populations and lead to the extinction of various species (Krausman et al., 2009). The conflict between wild herbivores and livestock is upsurge in many landscapes (Ren et al., 2021). Himalayan rangeland in Spiti supports a large domestic herbivore population, reaching up to ten times the biomass of wild ungulates (Bagchi et al., 2004). The foraging competition between domestic and wild herbivores for grazing caused local extinctions of four wild herbivore species including wild yak, kiang, Tibetan argali, and chiru from spiti (Mishra et al., 2002).

The short-term release of hormones enhances energy and improves health, but long-term release causes a negative impact on reproduction, development, social behavior etc. An invasive technique for physiological stress analysis requires animal handling, which causes animal stress and it is not feasible to handle animals in the wild (Kumar et al., 2019). Here, the non-invasive method plays an important role in assessing the glucocorticoid metabolites in feces enabling a cumulative evaluation of adrenal activity over time (Möstl et al., 2002). Prolonged chronic stress can lead to immunosuppression, making an organism more vulnerable to parasitic infections (Sapolsky et al., 2000). The occurrence of parasitic diseases in wild herbivores is rapidly increasing due to the interaction and co-existence of livestock and wild animals. This results in mortality, a significant decline in population, and contributes to local extinction events (Gortázar et al., 2007). Studies have revealed that wild animals in human-dominated landscapes experience a high prevalence and diversity of directly transmitted parasites. This suggests that changes in habitat caused by human activities are increasing the risk of infectious diseases for wildlife (Hussain et al., 2013).

While the studies have considered the impacts of livestock on vegetation and wild herbivore population performance (Huber et al., 2003, Foley et al., 2001), no study has yet considered the physiological and parasite load impacts of the co-existence of livestock and wild herbivores in Spiti valley, except the recent study by Iyer et al. (2022) on Indian Trans-Himalayas on physiological stress and parasite prevalence in blue sheep. Iyer et al. (2022) concluded that blue sheep had higher cortisol levels and parasite loads in grazed areas by domestic livestock. Furthermore, numerous studies show elevated glucocorticoid levels in free-ranging animals due to human-dominated landscapes and anthropogenic disturbance activities. For instance, tigers have been shown to have increased physiological stress due to high tourism activities in National parks (Tyagi et al., 2019), while Asian elephants who participated in public processions and festivals showed significantly higher glucocorticoid metabolite levels (Kumar et al., 2014, 2019, Vijayakrishnan et al.,2018). Moreover, African lion shows significantly higher fecal glucocorticoid metabolite levels in human-settled buffer zones than in conservation areas, and glucocorticoid concentrations decreased with the increasing distance from human settlements (Creel et al., 2013). Van meter et al. (2009) showed that fecal glucocorticoids were elevated due to pastoralist activity in the form of anthropogenic disturbance and not because of tourism in wild spotted hyenas. However, some studies show no significant impact of cattle grazing on Algerian mice (Navarro et al., 2017). We hypothesized that blue sheep and ibex use similar terrain and habitats as sympatric species and co-exist with the domestic livestock to share the available resources. A previous study (Iyer et al., 2022) demonstrated the impact of livestock grazing on fecal glucocorticoid metabolite levels in blue sheep and the prevalence of human-associated parasites. Therefore, the current study aimed to examine whether ibex is similarly impacted by livestock grazing on their physiology and potential transmission of parasites from humans or livestock. The objectives of the current study were (1) to develop and standardize cortisol enzyme immunoassay (EIA) in Himalayan ibex, (2) to understand the impact of livestock grazing by measuring fecal glucocorticoid metabolites (fGCM) levels in Himalayan ibex, and (3) to examine the prevalence of gastrointestinal parasite infections.

Material and Methods

Study Area

The study was conducted in 12 locations viz., Gechang, Chhomo, Thidim, Noor, Dhar Dum Bachen, Nimaloksa, Koksar, Ensa valley (Opposite and Right), Kilung, Kilung upper and Debsa in Spiti valley of Himachal Pradesh, India (Figure 1). Out of 12 locations, six were livestock grazed areas i.e., Chhomo, Nima Loksa, Kilung, Debsa pass, Kilung upper, and Ensa valley Right, two were ungrazed areas i.e., Gechang and Ensa valley Opposite (Table 1) and four locations (Noor, Thidim, Dhar Dum Bachen, and Koksar) were used for parasite screening sampling. We also collected samples from Gechang, Chhomo, and Ensa valley Right for parasite screening (Table 2). These locations serve as home to pastoralist and agro-pastoral communities, who depend substantially on these ecosystems for their livelihoods (Mishra et al., 2003). These are also home to wildlife species of global conservation concern, such as the vulnerable snow leopard (Panthera uncia), blue sheep (Pseudois nayaur), wolves (Canis lupus chanco), and Himalayan ibex (Capra sibirica hemalayanus) (Pandit et al., 2014). Livestock such as goat, cattle, and sheep share similar dietary habits with the Himalayan ibex (Bagchi et al., 2004). In areas where goat, cattle, sheep, and ibex coexist, they may compete for herbs, shrubs, and small grass species during the grazing season. Moreover, in grazing season, the dietary overlap between livestock and ibex increases particularly for grasses and herbs available in alpine meadows. This increased grazing pressure leads to increased competition and stress during critical seasons (Bagchi et al., 2004, Dias-Silva et al., 2020).

Figure 1. Map of Lahaul & Spiti valley, Himachal Pradesh, India with numbers denoting study points: (1) Gechang, (2) Nimaloksa, (3) Kilung and Kilung upper, (4) Debsa pass, (5) Noor, (6) Dhar Dum Bachen, (7) Thidim, (8) Chhomo, (9) Ensa valley (Right and Opposite), (10) Koksar

Table 1. Details of sample collection locations, human settlements and livestock grazing and mean fGCM concentrations in Himalayan ibex

Table 2. Details of sample collection for parasite analysis and parasite prevalence for the different populations

Sample Collection

A total of 192 fecal samples were collected from Himalayan ibex during 2015 and 2016. Among 192 fecal samples, 129 were used for hormone analysis and 63 were used for parasite analysis (Table 1). The fecal samples were collected from grazed and ungrazed areas. Fresh fecal pellets were collected that appeared isolated from others and based on pellet morphology such as pellet size, shape, and texture. For example, a larger pellet comes from larger individuals (e.g. adult males), and a smaller pellet indicates young or small individuals. We used 10×50 binoculars to locate herds of Himalayan ibex before carefully approaching them to gather fecal samples. Depending on the terrain, we kept a distance of 20 to 100 meters to prevent disturbing the animals. After identifying a herd, we used binoculars to see individual animals until they defecated. Each fecal deposit’s exact position was noted using distinguishing local markers, including particular rocks or plants/shrubs. We collected the fecal samples after the herd had left the area. Two sections of each sample were separated: one for parasite screening and the other for hormone analysis. The fecal samples were dried in a conventional hot air oven at 70°C at the field station and pulverized into a fine powder for hormone analysis. For parasite analysis samples were stored in 10% formalin solution and transported to the LaCONES-CCMB, Hyderabad for further analysis.

Parasite Screening

We used sedimentation and flotation methods according to Chakraborty et al. (2019) for fecal gastrointestinal parasites. The percentage of samples containing a certain faunal taxonomic community was used to define the parasite prevalence (Iyer et al., 2022).

Extraction of fecal glucocorticoid metabolites

Fecal glucocorticoid metabolites were extracted using the previously published procedure (Umapathy et al., 2013, Mithileswari et al., 2016). Approximately 0.2 g of fine fecal powder was weighed and boiled in 5 mL of 90 % ethanol for 20 min. The fecal extracts were centrifuged at 500 g for 10 min, the supernatants were transferred to fresh tubes and the pellet was resuspended in 5 mL of 90 % ethanol (Iyer et al., 2022). The samples were then vortexed, centrifuged, and pooled with previous supernatants. The supernatants were dried at 40ºC and resuspended in 1 mL of absolute methanol. The fecal extracts were kept at -20ºC until used for enzyme immunoassay.

Cortisol Enzyme Immunoassay (EIA)

Fecal cortisol concentration was measured using polyclonal cortisol antibody (R4866, provided by Dr. Coralie Munro, University of California, Davis, CA, USA). The cortisol antibody showed cross-reactivity with cortisol 100%, prednisolone 9.9%, prednisone 6.3%, cortisone 5%, and <1% with corticosterone, deoxycorticosterone, 21-desoxycortisone, testosterone, androstenedione, androsterone and 11-desoxycortisol (Kumar et al., 2014, 2019, Budithi et al., 2016). The cortisol EIA was performed as described previously (Kumar et al., 2014, 2019, Umapathy et al., 2015, Iyer et al., 2022). Parallel displacement curves were plotted to examine the parallelism between pooled serial dilutions of Himalayan ibex fecal extracts (endogenous antigen) and corresponding standards (exogenous antigen). The sensitivity of the cortisol assay was found to be 1.95 pg/well at 90% binding (Kumar et al., 2014). The coefficient of variation (CV) for inter and intra-assay were 9.34% and 6.98%.

Statistical Analyses

fGCM concentrations are presented as mean ± SE. Mann–Whitney U test (M–W test) was performed to test the differences in fGCM concentrations in grazed and ungrazed habitats as data were not normally distributed. We carried out the Kruskal-Wallis test to determine the difference in fGCM concentrations among the locations. SPSS version 17 was used to perform all the statistical analyses.

Results

We found that ibex in Nima Loksa had significantly higher fGCM (mean = 44.06 ± 5.14 ng/g of dry fecal powder) than ibex in Ensa valley (mean = 17.85 ± 2.47; Mann-Whitney U test: W = 126, p = 0.001; Figure 2). The Nima Loksa location is a highly grazed area by livestock as this area has a population of sheep and goats compared to Ensa valley which is reported to have an ungrazed area. Similarly, Ensa valley Right had significantly higher fGCM (40.30 ± 6.68 ng/g; Mann-Whitney U test: W = 132, p = 0.002; Figure 2) than Ensa valley Opposite. However, we did not find a significant difference between Debsa, which is known to have a grazed area (mean = 33.70 ± 7.58 ng/g) and Gechang ungrazed area (mean = 37.74 ± 2.30 ng/g; Mann-Whitney U test: W = 230, p = 0.28; Figure 2). We found that fGCM concentrations were significantly varied among the (Kruskal-Wallis’s test: X2 = 35.561, df = 7, p < 0.0001). However, when eight locations fGCM concentrations of eight locations were grouped into grazed and ungrazed categories, no significant difference was observed in fGCM concentrations between grazed habitats (Chhomo, Nima Loksa, Kilung, Debsa, Kilung upper and Ensa Valley Right: mean = 34.04 ± 2.30) and ungrazed habitats (Gechang and Ensa valley Opposite; mean = 33.02 ± 2.14; Mann-Whitney U test: W = 4.790, p = 0.766, Figure 3).

Figure 2. Box-plot showing fGCM concentrations in ibex populations of eight study areas

Parasite prevalence

We found 3 parasite taxa consisting of two nematodes (Trichostrongyloides and Trichuris) and one protozoan (Coccidia). Thidim (Coccidia and Trichostrongyloides) and Ensa valley Right (Coccidia and Trichuris) had a higher number of parasite species followed by Gechang, Chhomo, Noor, Dhar Dum Bachen, and Koksar (Table 2). When infected samples were compared for the number of parasite taxa per sample, again Thidim (1.66) and Ensa valley Right (1.75) had the highest taxa per infected sample (Table 2). The percentage of samples infected by each of the three parasite species is given in (Table 3).

Table 3. Percentage of samples infected with the parasites (prevalence) in the different populations

Discussion and Conclusion

The interspecies competition between livestock and wild ungulates for available food resources is highly prevalent and the impact of this co-existence negatively affects the species fitness (Robinson et al., 2014). In the current study, we investigated the effect of physiological stress and parasite prevalence in the Himalayan ibex in Trans Himalayas, India. We found no significant difference in fecal glucocorticoid levels between areas of domestic livestock grazing and non-grazing. However, the parasitic load was higher in ibex individuals from livestock grazing than in non-livestock grazing areas. Previous studies on other wildlife species show that competitive foraging and resource competition elevates fecal glucocorticoid metabolite concentrations. For instance, mountain ungulates such as musk deer and goral showed higher fecal

Figure 3. Box plot showing fGCM concentrations in livestock-grazed
(Chhomo, Nima Loksa, Kilung, Debsa pass, Kilung Upper and Ensa valley Right) areas versus ungrazed areas (Gechang and Ensa valley Opposite).

glucocorticoid metabolite concentrations when their diet quality was the highest and they faced livestock grazing and resource competition (Srivastav et al., 2021). Champoux et al. (1993) reported that cortisol levels and behavioural changes were increased during the period of high foraging demand in the adult female squirrel monkeys. However, a report suggests that high-ranking dominant female blue monkeys experienced lower glucocorticoid levels during times of high food competition which helps to reduce their energetic stress (Foerster et al., 2011). On the contrary, Iyer et al. (2022) found significantly higher levels of fecal glucocorticoids concentrations in blue sheep in areas where domestic livestock grazed than in non-grazed areas. In addition, higher parasitic load was found in livestock grazing areas than non-grazing in blue sheep. These stressors make blue sheep more prone to parasitic infections (Iyer et al., 2022). Although Himalayan ibex and blue sheep share the similar habitat variables such as in terms of slope angle, altitude, rock types, and rugged terrain to get away from the predators (Mallon et al., 1991, Bhatnagar et al., 1997). However, ibex usually avoids moderate slopes and areas devoid of snow, whereas blue sheep inhabit only the higher ranges and avoid altitudes that are too low. These differences in the habitat selection suggest that both species have evolved particular preferences in that specific mountainous region (Namgail et al., 2007).

The co-existence between ibex and livestock is lower during summer as they do not utilize the same terrain and altitude type. However, the competition for available resources is higher during spring and summer. Moreover, ibex was observed to forage into the vicinity of the livestock and sometimes into the same livestock grazing group, which shows the likelihood of interference competition was minimal during the period of overlap (Bhatnagar et al., 2000). Similarly, the current study did not find significant differences in fecal glucocorticoid metabolite levels in ibex while co-existing with livestock grazing and non-grazing periods. However, parasitic load was higher in grazing areas as compared to non-grazing areas.

Khanyari et al. (2024), show that domestic livestock rarely shares the pastures with ibex due to seasonal movement and therefore have low parasitic loads. We found high parasite load in Thidim and Ensa valley Right locations where human disturbance and livestock grazing were higher. Previous reports also showed higher parasite prevalence in human-dominated areas and species richness of gastrointestinal parasites in lion-tailed macaque groups which were directly associated with increased human activities, and high host density (Hussain et al., 2013). The parasites recorded in the current study were strongyloides, trichostrongyloides, and coccidia, which are commonly available in goat, sheep, and humans (Sanyal et al., 1996). These parasites are extremely harmful to the animals and could lead to severe infections such as anemia, reproductive disorders, intestine infection, and the risk of life of juveniles after weaning (Roberts et al., 2009). The results from the current study suggest that parasites could be transmitted from domestic livestock to ibex since most of the water bodies are shared between domestic livestock, wild animals, and humans. Furthermore, pastures are also shared by domestic livestock and wild animals whereby open defecation is a common practice by humans. Several studies reported the transmission of parasites from domestic animals to the wild animals including ungulates (Martin et al., 2011) and also recommended limiting the interaction between domestic and wild mammals (Pedersen et al., 2007)

The current study suggests that livestock grazing did not have a significant effect on fecal glucocorticoid levels in Himalayan ibex. However, we found the presence of livestock and human parasites in Himalayan ibex. Future studies should focus on investigating host-parasite relationships in an ecological significance context to understand the parasite dynamics and their species-specific impacts. Moreover, parasite presence alone may not have much impact on the species, rather theits occurrence of extreme parasitic load may lead to pathological effects. Although our study aimed to provide baseline information on the stress physiology and parasitic load of the Himalayan ibex, additional long-term research data is required with a larger sample size and quantitative methods for a clear understanding of Himalayan ibex physiology and pathology.

Acknowledgment

The authors gratefully acknowledge the funding from the Rufford Foundation and the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). The authors express their gratitude to the Forest Department of Himachal Pradesh for granting permission to conduct this study and to field assistants for helping in sample collection. Thanks to Swapnil Kiran for staying beside in preparing map figure.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST
Govindhaswamy Umapathy is an academic editor at the Journal of Wildlife Science. However, he did not participate in the peer review process of this article except as an author. The authors declare no other conflict of interest.

DATA AVAILABILITY
Data are available from the corresponding author on request.

AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS
Conceptualization and design of the study: Priya Iyer and Govindhaswamy Umapathy; Sample and data collection: Priya Iyer; Data Analysis: Vinod Kumar, Anuja Pandey; Original draft Writing: Anuja Pandey, Vinod Kumar; Review and editing: Anuja Pandey, Vinod Kumar, Govindhaswamy Umapathy

Edited By
Mewa Singh
University of Mysore, Mysore, India

*CORRESPONDENCE
Govindhaswamy Umapathy
guma@ccmb.res.in

CITATION
Pandey, A., Iyer, P., Kumar, V. & Umapathy, G. (2025). Assessing the impact of Livestock Grazing on Fecal Glucocorticoid Metabolites Levels and Gastrointestinal Parasites in Himalayan  Ibex in Spiti Valley, Western Himalayas. Journal of Wildlife Science, Online Early Publication, 01-06.
https://doi.org/10.63033/JWLS.UVJZ6291

COPYRIGHT
© 2025 Pandey, Iyer, Kumar & Umapathy. This is an open-access article, immediately and freely available to read, download, and share. The information contained in this article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), allowing for unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited in accordance with accepted academic practice. Copyright is retained by the author(s).

FUNDING
Rufford Foundation and the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)

PUBLISHED BY
Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 248 001 INDIA

PUBLISHER'S NOTE
The Publisher, Journal of Wildlife Science or Editors cannot be held responsible for any errors or consequences arising from the use of the information contained in this article. All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organisations or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated or used in this article or claim made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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Ren, Y., Zhu, Y., Baldan, D., Fu, M., Wang, B., Li, J. & Chen, A. (2021). Optimizing livestock carrying capacity for wild ungulate-livestock coexistence in a Qinghai-Tibet Plateau grassland. Scientific reports, 11(1), p.3635. 10.1038/s41598-021-83207-y

Roberts LS, Janovy J & Schmidt JD (2009). Foundations of Parasitology, New York: McGraw Hill; 2009.

Robinson, T.P., Wint, G.W., Conchedda, G., Van Boeckel, T.P., Ercoli, V., Palamara, E., Cinardi, G., D'Aietti, L., Hay, S.I. & Gilbert, M. (2014). Mapping the global distribution of livestock. PloS one, 9(5), p.e96084. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1751731118001349 Schaller, G.B., 1977. Mountain monarchs. Wild sheep and goats of the Himalaya (pp. 425-pp).

Sanyal, P.K. (1996, April). Gastrointestinal parasites and small ruminant production in India. In ACIAR PROCEEDINGS (pp.109-112).

Sapolsky, R.M., Romero, L.M. & Munck, A.U. (2000). How do glucocorticoids influence stress responses? Integrating
permissive, suppressive, stimulatory, and preparative actions. Endocrine reviews, 21(1), pp.55-89.10.1210/edrv.21.1.0389

Srivastava, T., Kumar, A., Kumar, V., & Umapathy, G. (2021). Diet drives differences in reproductive synchrony in two sympatric mountain ungulates in the Himalaya. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 9, 647465 https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2021.647465

Tyagi, A., Kumar, V., Kittur, S., Reddy, M., Naidenko, S., Ganswindt, A. & Umapathy, G. (2019). Physiological stress responses of tigers due to anthropogenic disturbance especially tourism in two central Indian tiger reserves. Conservation Physiology, 7(1), p. coz045. https://doi.org/10.1093/conphys/coz045

Umapathy G, Deepak V, Kumar V, et al. (2015). Endocrine profiling of endangered tropical chelonians using noninvasive
fecal steroid analyses. Chelonian Conservation and Biology. 14(1):108-115. https://doi.org/10.2744/ccab-14-01-108-115.1

Umapathy, G., Kumar, V., Kabra, M. & Shivaji, S. (2013). Detection of pregnancy and fertility status in big cats using an enzyme immunoassay based on 5α-pregnan-3α-ol-20-one. General and Comparative Endocrinology, 180, pp.33-38.10.1016/j.yg¬cen.2012.10.009

Van Meter, P.E., French, J.A., Dloniak, S.M., Watts, H.E., Kolowski, J.M. & Holekamp, K.E. (2009). Fecal glucocorticoids reflect socio-ecological and anthropogenic stressors in the lives of wild spotted hyenas. Hormones and behavior, 55(2), pp.329-337. 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2008.11.001

Vijayakrishnan, S., Kumar, M.A., Umapathy, G., Kumar, V. & Sinha, A. (2018). Physiological stress responses in wild Asian elephants Elephas maximus in a human-dominated landscape in the Western Ghats, southern India. General and Comparative Endocrinology, 266, pp.150-156. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yg¬cen.2018.05.009

Edited By
Mewa Singh
University of Mysore, Mysore, India

*CORRESPONDENCE
Govindhaswamy Umapathy
guma@ccmb.res.in

CITATION
Pandey, A., Iyer, P., Kumar, V. & Umapathy, G. (2025). Assessing the impact of Livestock Grazing on Fecal Glucocorticoid Metabolites Levels and Gastrointestinal Parasites in Himalayan  Ibex in Spiti Valley, Western Himalayas. Journal of Wildlife Science, Online Early Publication, 01- 06.
https://doi.org/10.63033/JWLS.UVJZ6291

COPYRIGHT
© 2025 Pandey, Iyer, Kumar & Umapathy. This is an open-access article, immediately and freely available to read, download, and share. The information contained in this article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), allowing for unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited in accordance with accepted academic practice. Copyright is retained by the author(s).

FUNDING
Rufford Foundation and the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)

PUBLISHED BY
Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 248 001 INDIA

PUBLISHER'S NOTE
The Publisher, Journal of Wildlife Science or Editors cannot be held responsible for any errors or consequences arising from the use of the information contained in this article. All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organisations or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated or used in this article or claim made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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Reading, R., Michel, S., Suryawanshi, K. & Bhatnagar, Y.V. (2020). Capra sibirica. https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-2.RLTS.T42398A22148720.en

Ren, Y., Zhu, Y., Baldan, D., Fu, M., Wang, B., Li, J. & Chen, A. (2021). Optimizing livestock carrying capacity for wild ungulate-livestock coexistence in a Qinghai-Tibet Plateau grassland. Scientific reports, 11(1), p.3635. 10.1038/s41598-021-83207-y

Roberts LS, Janovy J & Schmidt JD (2009). Foundations of Parasitology, New York: McGraw Hill; 2009.

Robinson, T.P., Wint, G.W., Conchedda, G., Van Boeckel, T.P., Ercoli, V., Palamara, E., Cinardi, G., D'Aietti, L., Hay, S.I. & Gilbert, M. (2014). Mapping the global distribution of livestock. PloS one, 9(5), p.e96084. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1751731118001349 Schaller, G.B., 1977. Mountain monarchs. Wild sheep and goats of the Himalaya (pp. 425-pp).

Sanyal, P.K. (1996, April). Gastrointestinal parasites and small ruminant production in India. In ACIAR PROCEEDINGS (pp.109-112).

Sapolsky, R.M., Romero, L.M. & Munck, A.U. (2000). How do glucocorticoids influence stress responses? Integrating
permissive, suppressive, stimulatory, and preparative actions. Endocrine reviews, 21(1), pp.55-89.10.1210/edrv.21.1.0389

Srivastava, T., Kumar, A., Kumar, V., & Umapathy, G. (2021). Diet drives differences in reproductive synchrony in two sympatric mountain ungulates in the Himalaya. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 9, 647465 https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2021.647465

Tyagi, A., Kumar, V., Kittur, S., Reddy, M., Naidenko, S., Ganswindt, A. & Umapathy, G. (2019). Physiological stress responses of tigers due to anthropogenic disturbance especially tourism in two central Indian tiger reserves. Conservation Physiology, 7(1), p. coz045. https://doi.org/10.1093/conphys/coz045

Umapathy G, Deepak V, Kumar V, et al. (2015). Endocrine profiling of endangered tropical chelonians using noninvasive
fecal steroid analyses. Chelonian Conservation and Biology. 14(1):108-115. https://doi.org/10.2744/ccab-14-01-108-115.1

Umapathy, G., Kumar, V., Kabra, M. & Shivaji, S. (2013). Detection of pregnancy and fertility status in big cats using an enzyme immunoassay based on 5α-pregnan-3α-ol-20-one. General and Comparative Endocrinology, 180, pp.33-38.10.1016/j.yg¬cen.2012.10.009

Van Meter, P.E., French, J.A., Dloniak, S.M., Watts, H.E., Kolowski, J.M. & Holekamp, K.E. (2009). Fecal glucocorticoids reflect socio-ecological and anthropogenic stressors in the lives of wild spotted hyenas. Hormones and behavior, 55(2), pp.329-337. 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2008.11.001

Vijayakrishnan, S., Kumar, M.A., Umapathy, G., Kumar, V. & Sinha, A. (2018). Physiological stress responses in wild Asian elephants Elephas maximus in a human-dominated landscape in the Western Ghats, southern India. General and Comparative Endocrinology, 266, pp.150-156. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yg¬cen.2018.05.009