However, many of the records from Nepal are based on either presence-only surveys or anecdotal information. Herein we provide a checklist of snakes found in and around Bardiya National Park (BNP) and its buffer zone.Bardiya National Park (28°15'-28°35.5'N, 80°10'-81°45'E; elevational range 152-1,564 m asl) (Fig. 1) covers an area of 968 km 2 in the southwestern lowlands of Lumbini Province, Bardiya District, Nepal (Bhuju et al. 2007; DNPWC 2021). A buffer zone of 327 km 2 with forested areas and farmland surrounding the park was added in 1996 and another 180-km 2 area in the north was included in 2011. The climate is temperate with dry winters and hot summers. Biomes include tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, shrublands, and tropical and subtropical coniferous forests, although no forests are intact. The recorded biodiversity is 839 species of plants and 667 species of animals.We collected information on snakes collected from BNP and its buffer zone in 2010-2021 from the database of the National Trust for Nature Conservation, Bardiya Conservation Program (NTNC-BCP) rescue records and by reviewing the literature, recording opportunistic sightings, interviewing local residents, and gathering data posted on various social media platforms. We evaluated all data and included only reliable information documented by photographs acquired from snake handlers and nature guides of the Buffer Zone User Group (BZUG) or technicians and staff of the NTNC-BCP. We identified species using published guidebooks (Dutta and Manamendra-Arachchi 1996;Shah and Tiwari 2004;Sharma et al. 2013;Bhattarai et al. 2020).We recorded 24 species of snakes in eight families in and around BNP and its buffer zone (Table 1; Fig. 2). Twentytwo of the species were among the 27 recorded by Shah and Tiwari (2004) in and around Bardiya National Park, and 16 were among the 18 listed by Subedi et al. (2021) in the Chure Region. We recorded eight species not listed by Subedi et al. (2021) and three species that had not been recorded by Shah and Tiwari (2004). Subedi et al. (2021) listed two species and Shah and Tiwari (2004) six species we did not find during our survey. When compared to other areas in Nepal, the species diversity in the vicinity of BNP corresponds to the 19 (18 in common) recorded in Parsa National Park (Bhattarai et al. 2018), 25 (16) throughout the Chure Range (Bhattarai et al. 2020), and 30 (22) in Shuklaphanta National Park (Rawat et al. 2020).Nepal's snake diversity and that of BNP in particular are threatened by habitat degradation, nest damage, roadkills, and indiscriminate killing attributable to unfavorable perceptions of snakes (Shah and Gautam 2010). Many Nepalese do not distinguish venomous and non-venomous snakes and assume that all snakes are dangerous and must be killed (Thapa 2007
Nepal is rich in avian diversity and records more than 886 bird species with 23 orders and 97 families. The study was carried out to assess the species diversity of birds, types of habitats used and presence of birds in different habitats in the summer season in Khata and Karnali corridor forest of Bardia and Kailali districts respectively. This study aims to update avian diversity of Khata and Karnali corridor of Bardia National Park, Nepal, which is an important birds and biodiversity area of Nepal. Riverine Sissoo-Khair Forest, moist mixed forest and riverine grassland are prominent habitats in the study area. Index of diversity and species evenness indicate the high species diversity of birds in Khata corridor forest rather than Karnali corridor. By mobilizing volunteers, we monitored 79 transects (24 in Khata and 55 in Karnali) each with one km long in summer seasons of 2022. A total of 1,455 individuals of birds belonging to 153 species were recorded. 153 species of birds belonging to 12 orders and 40 families from the Khata and Karnali Corridor are recorded; out of which 137 species were recorded in Khata and 86 species in Karnali with 1,048 and 407 individuals respectively. Species richness and diversity of all birds was high in Khata corriodr rather than Karnali and showed significant variation along protected forest in Khata than unmanged Karnali. The globally threatened bird, Great Slaty Woodpecker (Mulleripicus pulverulentus) and White-rumped Vulture (Gyps bengalensis) were recorded in Karnali and Khata corridors respectively. Similarly, one Nepal protected bird; Black Stork (Ciconia nigra) was recorded in Khata corridor. Altogether 14 recorded bird species are included in CITES Appendices in which Oriental Pied-Hornbill (Anthracoceros albirostris) is recorded in Appendix I and rest are in Appendix II.
Human – Elephant Conflict (HEC) causes the socio-economic distress in the settlement around Bardiya National Park (BNP). The transboundary migration of Asian elephant from Katarniyaghat Wildlife Sanctuary (KWS) in India to BNP and vice versa through Khata corridor exposes the vulnerable settlement in the corridor to frequent elephant encounters. The distance to conflict sites from features such as the forest frontage, the river edge, and the boundary of protected areas influences the severity of the crop damage. Municipalities within Khata corridor i.e., Thakurbaba and Madhuban were the study area that were further divided into three sample clusters i.e., MB, MBBZ and TBBZ. Hundred sample households (HHs) were surveyed and the annual stored crop damage and the crop damage on the agricultural field were quantified. ArcGis and R – studio were used to map and analyse the raid pattern. The result showed that small to medium landholding was possessed by most sample HHs and paddy was the most grown crop. Paddy was also the most depredated crop. The most severe crop damage in the agricultural field was sustained by MB cluster whereas the most severe stored crop damage was experienced by MBBZ cluster. A moderately strong correlation between the crop damage and the distance to BNP, the distance to KWS, and the number of elephants in a raiding herd was identified. The crop raid from larger herds was suffered by settlements closer to KWS. However, more study on the question raised regarding the elephant behaviour on transboundary movement through Khata corridor is required.
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