Conservation conflict over livestock depredation is one of the key drivers of large mammalian carnivore declines worldwide. Mitigating this conflict requires strategies informed by reliable knowledge of factors influencing livestock depredation. Wild prey and livestock abundance are critical factors influencing the extent of livestock depredation. We compared whether the extent of livestock predation by snow leopards Panthera uncia differed in relation to densities of wild prey, livestock and snow leopards at two sites in Shey Phoksundo National Park, Nepal. We used camera trap-based spatially explicit capture-recapture models to estimate snow leopard density; double-observer surveys to estimate the density of their main prey species, the blue sheep Pseudois nayaur; and interview-based household surveys to estimate livestock population and number of livestock killed by snow leopards. The proportion of livestock lost per household was seven times higher in Upper Dolpa, the site which had higher snow leopard density (2.51 snow leopards per 100 km²) and higher livestock density (17.21 livestock per km²) compared to Lower Dolpa (1.21 snow leopards per 100 km²; 4.5 livestock per km²). The wild prey density was similar across the two sites (1.81 and 1.57 animals per km² in Upper and Lower Dolpa, respectively). Our results suggest that livestock depredation level may largely be determined by the abundances of the snow leopards and livestock and predation levels on livestock can vary even at similar levels of wild prey density.  In large parts of the snow leopard range, livestock production is indispensable to local livelihoods and livestock population is expected to increase to meet the demand of cashmere. Hence, we recommend that any efforts to increase livestock populations or conservation initiatives aimed at recovering or increasing snow leopard population be accompanied by better herding practices (e.g., predator-proof corrals) to protect livestock from snow leopard.

This is the final processed data set used for the analysis. The snow leopard density is obtained using spatial capture recapture analysis of camera trap data. The density of snow loepard's prey species blue sheep was based on double observer surveys. Livestock holding size and livestock number killed by snow leopard was obtained through interview-based household surveys.

The data uploaded here is the final data set used for analysis. The raw data is not included here. The rows and columns in the data set are self explanatory. Anyone interested to replicate the analysis can reach out to corresponding author for the raw data set.