Wildlife-snaring crisis in Asian forests

Gray, Thomas N. E.; Lynam, Antony J.; Seng, Teak; Laurance, William F.; Long, Barney; Scotson, Lorraine; Ripple, William J.

doi:10.1126/science.aal4463

Cited by 73 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…Reasons for the rapid decline of leopard in SWS since 2009 are likely due to increases in poaching, particularly indiscriminate snaring. Across Southeast Asia, deforestation rates have increased recently to become the highest in the world, which has coincided with an explosion in the illegal wildlife trade fuelled by increased demand, thereby causing serious declines in many wildlife species [ 10 , 11 , 71 ], including leopard [ 5 ]. Demand is often highest for those species used in traditional Asian medicine such as tigers, and consequently these species have seen drastic declines and extirpations throughout the region [ 11 , 12 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An adaptable but threatened big cat: density, diet and prey selection of the Indochinese leopard (Panthera pardus delacouri) in eastern Cambodia

Rostro‐García

Kamler

Crouthers³

et al. 2018

R. Soc. open sci.

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We studied the Indochinese leopard (Panthera pardus delacouri) in eastern Cambodia, in one of the few potentially remaining viable populations in Southeast Asia. The aims were to determine the: (i) current leopard density in Srepok Wildlife Sanctuary (SWS) and (ii) diet, prey selection and predation impact of leopard in SWS. The density, estimated using spatially explicit capture–recapture models, was 1.0 leopard/100 km2, 72% lower than an estimate from 2009 at the same site, and one of the lowest densities ever reported in Asia. Dietary analysis of 73 DNA confirmed scats showed leopard consumed 13 prey species, although ungulates comprised 87% of the biomass consumed (BC). The overall main prey (42% BC) was banteng (Bos javanicus), making this the only known leopard population whose main prey had adult weight greater than 500 kg. Consumption of wild pig (Sus scrofa) was also one of the highest ever reported (22% BC), indicating leopard consistently predated on ungulates with some of the largest adult weights in SWS. There were important differences in diet and prey selection between sexes, as males consumed mostly banteng (62% BC) in proportion to availability, but few muntjac (Muntiacus vaginalis; 7% BC), whereas females selectively consumed muntjac (56% BC) and avoided banteng (less than 1% BC). Predation impact was low (0.5–3.2% of populations) for the three ungulate species consumed. We conclude that the Indochinese leopard is an important apex predator in SWS, but this unique population is declining at an alarming rate and will soon be eradicated unless effective protection is provided.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An adaptable but threatened big cat: density, diet and prey selection of the Indochinese leopard (Panthera pardus delacouri) in eastern Cambodia

Rostro‐García

Kamler

Crouthers³

et al. 2018

R. Soc. open sci.

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“…On a single field visit in November 2015, I observed around 30 wooden medium snares installed in the forest openings aiming to catch palm civets in the area. Snares are cheap and easy to construct and are widely practiced in hunting and have become a concern in many Southeast Asian countries (Gray et al 2017). Wooden or metal spears (Bangkaw) and air guns (de bomba) are used to hunt large and agile species (i.e., warty pigs, deer, and birds).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

<b>Wildlife hunting by indigenous people in a Philippine protected area: a perspective from Mt. Apo National Park, Mindanao Island</b>

Tanalgo¹

2017

J. Threat. Taxa

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Indigenous people play a major role in the conservation of wildlife species in protected areas. This paper provides an insight on the involvement of indigenous people in protecting and hunting of wildlife species in Mt. Apo National Park, Mindanao Island, Philippines. Here, I assessed indigenous knowledge and practices towards wildlife hunting from three villages from Mt. Apo through immersions, interviews, and focus group discussion between May 2014 and January 2015. The majority of wildlife hunters I encountered were male and married between the ages of 35–60 years old. Commonly hunted wildlife species from the national park included large wildlife species such as the endemic and threatened Philippine Warty Pig Sus philippensis, Philippine Brown Deer Rusa marianna, Common Palm Civet Paradoxurus hermaphroditus, Reticulated Python Malayopython reticulatus, Common Monitor Lizard Varanus salvator and other large birds such as Rufous Hornbills Buceros hydrocorax, large dove species (i.e., Dacula spp.). In the past, wildlife hunting was most commonly done for sustenance and culture. But, poverty and the lack of alternative livelihoods have become a recent motivation to hunt wildlife. This current findings in this study suggest that wildlife are essential for indigenous people in protected areas, however, hunting practices should be monitored and provide alternative livelihood options to reduce threats. This study introduced the vital links between local communities and wildlife in protected areas. Thus, engaging and empowering indigenous people and local communities in wildlife protection combined with appropriate conservation planning are the first steps forward in attaining sustainable and effective local conservation in protected areas.

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“…As elsewhere in the tropics, wire snares are a common method of hunting in this region, as the equipment involved is affordable and easily accessible, and the technique is effective for a wide range of vertebrate species (Noss 1998;Becker et al 2013). This form of hunting is particularly detrimental because in practice it is often indiscriminate and wasteful (Lindsey et al 2011;Gray et al 2017), and the use of snares is therefore illegal in Cambodia. However, the covert nature of this activity means that it is extremely difficult to detect perpetrators or snares, and consequently the enforcement of snaring prohibitions is challenging (Noss, 1998).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Wato et al 2006;Lindsey et al 2011;Becker et al 2013) none of them address the detection issue, and almost no studies have been carried out in Southeast Asia (but see Linkie et al 2015). This is despite the fact that hunting with snares represents one of the gravest threats to terrestrial biodiversity in the region (Gray et al 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Robust estimation of snare prevalence within a tropical forest context using N-mixture models

O’Kelly¹,

Rowcliffe

Durant

et al. 2018

Biological Conservation

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Hunting with snares is indiscriminate and wasteful, and this practice is currently one of the gravest threats to terrestrial vertebrates in the tropics. However, as snares are difficult to detect and often dispersed widely across large, inaccessible areas it is problematic to reliably estimate their prevalence and no standard survey methods exist. Conservation managers need reliable, timely, information on the spatio-temporal patterns of hunting and on responses to interventions, and we present an innovative sampling and analysis framework that allows for the rigorous estimation of snare detectability and 'abundance', but which can be feasibly implemented in challenging field contexts. This new approach was used to undertake a large-scale systematic snare survey in Keo Seima Wildlife Sanctuary, in Eastern Cambodia, and the resulting data were analysed using a novel application of N-mixture models. A range of environmental and management factors were examined as potential determinants of snare abundance and detectability, and proximity to the Vietnamese border was shown to be overwhelmingly the most influential factor. Snares were more common in the wet season rather than the dry season, and the detection probability of snares was shown to be low (~ 0.33), as predicted. No clear relationships between snaring levels, anti-poaching patrol effort and ungulates densities were evident from these data. There was clear evidence that certain factors, such as the percentage of dense forest cover, will exert confounding effects on both detectability and abundance, highlighting the critical need to take account of the imperfect detection when designing threat monitoring systems.

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Wildlife-snaring crisis in Asian forests

Cited by 73 publications

References 4 publications

An adaptable but threatened big cat: density, diet and prey selection of the Indochinese leopard (Panthera pardus delacouri) in eastern Cambodia

An adaptable but threatened big cat: density, diet and prey selection of the Indochinese leopard (Panthera pardus delacouri) in eastern Cambodia

<b>Wildlife hunting by indigenous people in a Philippine protected area: a perspective from Mt. Apo National Park, Mindanao Island</b>

Robust estimation of snare prevalence within a tropical forest context using N-mixture models

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