Assessment of human–sloth bear conflicts in North Gujarat, India

Garcia, Karla C.; Joshi, Helly M.; Dharaiya, Nishith

doi:10.2192/ursus-d-15-00012.1

Cited by 53 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 6 publications

(10 reference statements)

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“…More men were found to be the victim of sloth bear attacks compared to women. The finding is similar to other studies and must be due to more involvement of males to work inside forest, generally alone, while females, when engaged in such activities, mostly travel in groups (Bargali et al, 2005;Garcia et al, 2016). Sloth bears, although, crepuscular or nocturnal in habit, can be active during daylight based on different phases of their life cycle, especially during sub-adulthood and motherhood (Joshi et al, 1999).…”

Section: Human-wildlife Conflictsupporting

confidence: 88%

“…People of Sundarpur bearing injuries from sloth bear attack must have been the victim of this aggressive behavior of sloth bear. Such confrontations with sloth bear are common in areas having obstructed visibility, where both humans and sloth bear encounter in a surprising manner (Garcia et al, 2016;Yoganand et al, 2005). Avoidance of areas having thick vegetation cover and any other features that can lead to sudden encounters with bear are essential to reduce conflict (Yoganand et al, 2005), which is equally applicable to Sundarpur area.…”

Section: Human-wildlife Conflictmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Avoidance of areas having thick vegetation cover and any other features that can lead to sudden encounters with bear are essential to reduce conflict (Yoganand et al, 2005), which is equally applicable to Sundarpur area. Additionally, visiting forest in larger groups rather than alone or in small groups can also reduce the chances of attacks, as more people are likely to make louder noise making bears aware of human presence and thereby preventing encounters (Bargali et al, 2005;Garcia et al, 2016). More men were found to be the victim of sloth bear attacks compared to women.…”

Section: Human-wildlife Conflictmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Human-Wildlife Conflict and its Implication for Conservation at Sundarpur, Udayapur, Eastern Nepal

Pokharel¹,

Aryal²

2020

Int. J. Environ.

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Local people are the major stakeholders of biodiversity conservation. Human-wildlife conflict (HWC) could result in a negative attitude of the general public towards wildlife adding challenges for conservation. This is more applicable in the landscapes which are outside the protected area (PA) coverage. But, the majority of HWC related studies in Nepal have centered on PAs and their peripheries. This study documents the prevailing situation of HWC in Sundarpur of Udayapur district that shelters some HWC prone wildlife species, while situating outside PA. Data about conflict and people's perception of wildlife conservation was collected using household surveys supplemented by key informant interviews and direct observation. Monkeys (93%, n=93) and elephants (86%, n=86) were found to be the major animals involved in the conflict, mostly resulting in crop raiding, the major form of conflict as reported by (95%, n=95) of respondents. Livestock depredation cases were mostly by common leopard (84%, n=21) and sloth bear was involved in the majority of human attack cases (90%, n=9). The results showed increasing trend of conflicts for elephants (63%, n=63) and monkeys (73%, n=73), while declining trend for sloth bear (64%, n=64), wild boar (85%, n=85), and leopard (46%, n=46). People believed the natural attraction of wildlife towards crops and livestock to be the major driving factor of conflict. Majority of respondents had a positive attitude towards wildlife conservation. However, implementation of community based conflict management strategies, robust compensation schemes along with conservation education programs are highly essential to achieve desired conservation success.

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Section: Human-wildlife Conflictsupporting

confidence: 88%

Section: Human-wildlife Conflictmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Human-wildlife Conflictmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Human-Wildlife Conflict and its Implication for Conservation at Sundarpur, Udayapur, Eastern Nepal

Pokharel¹,

Aryal²

2020

Int. J. Environ.

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“…While a Sloth Bear's attack motivation is exclusively defensive, the attacks can inflict serious injuries to the victim and might result in the victim's death (Rajpurohit & Krausman 2000;Bargali et al 2005;Sharp et al 2020). Unfortunately, Sloth Bear attacks are relatively common in India and affect hundreds of people annually (Rajpurohit & Krausman 2000;Bargali et al 2005;Debata et al 2016;Garcia et al 2016;Dhamorikar 2017;Singh et al 2018;Sharp et al 2020). Given the large number of attacks that occur annually and the vulnerable status of this species (Dharaiya et al 2016), it is reasonable to consider different management options for 'problem' bears, including relocation; however, there are no data to suggest how successful these relocations in India have been.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Relocation of a GPS collared conflict Sloth Bear Melursus ursinus (Mammalia: Carnivora) in Karnataka, India

Arun¹,

Swaminathan²,

Pannerselvam³

et al. 2021

J. Threat. Taxa

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The relocation of conflict bears has been a tool used widely across the United States and Canada with mixed results. It has also been used in India with Sloth Bears, though without follow-up it remains unknown how successful these relocation efforts have been. We documented the capture and relocation of a conflict female Sloth Bear from a rural area near Bangalore, Karnataka, India to Bannerghatta National Park roughly 30km away. This female bear, approximately six years old, was fitted with a VHF/GPS store-on-board collar, and her movements tracked. She did not attempt to return to her capture location but during the first two-month period after being released she did roam over an area roughly six times that of typical female Sloth Bear home range. Over the subsequent months the area over which she roamed continued to decline. She was least active mid-day and more active in the evening, night, and early morning. During her last few weeks in January, before she was killed by an explosive device just outside of the park, her movement pattern shrank considerably. The post-mortem examination showed that she had been pregnant when killed and would have given birth within the next two weeks. These reduced movements were consistent with those of periparturient female bears or potentially with a bear becoming more acclimated to her new surroundings. The relocation effort appeared successful up until the Sloth Bear was killed by poacher activity.

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“…They largely prefer habitats away from human disturbance Babu et.al 2015, Ghimire & Thapa,2014Ratnayeke et.al.2007) but they have also been reported to tolerate some degree of disturbance in human-dominated landscapes (Puri et.al 2015, Bargali et al 2012Akhtar et al2004Akhtar et al , 2007. Prevalence of human-sloth bear conflict in India (Rajpurohit & Kruasman, 2000;Debata et al 2012Debata et al ,2017Garcia et al 2016 Acharya et al2016) is one of the threats to its survival. Additionally, removal of the individuals through poaching or live capture for use as 'dancing bears' is not common but can be detrimental enough for a population that is already small, isolated and threatened.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Habitat occupancy of sloth bear Melursus ursinus in Chitwan National Park, Nepal

Paudel

Kadariya

Lamichhane

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Mammals around the world face serious threats and experience massive decline in their populations and geographic ranges. The sloth bear has become extinct from two of five range countries and the existing population face serious conservation threats. Despite being endangered in Nepal, decades of conservation obliviousness have hindered their conservation and management. We assessed the distribution and habitat use by sloth bears in relation to landscape, environmental, and anthropogenic factors in Chitwan National Park, Nepal. We conducted a sign survey from March-June 2020 in 4*4 km2 grids (n=45) in a checkerboard approach. An observation was spatially replicated four times by recording information in four continuous search trails of 1 km each. We recorded presence/absence of sloth bears, termites, fruits and disturbance in the field and extracted information on tree cover, terrain ruggedness and vegetation index from remotely sensed image of the study area. The data was analyzed using single species-single season occupancy method in PRESENCE software. By using repeated observations these models account for imperfect detectability of species to provide robust estimates of species occupancy. Averaged habitat occupancy estimate obtained from the best models was Ѱ = 0.53 ± 0.04SE with detection probability p = 0.44 ± 0.1SE. Selection of variable based on summed AIC weight from the top models (AIC<2) showed that presence of termites (ƩWi=0.66) significantly influenced sloth bear habitat occupancy. Habitat occupancy was positively influenced by termites followed by fruits, disturbance, terrain ruggedness and vegetation productivity, whereas, it was negatively influenced by tree cover. We suggest that future conservation interventions and action plans aimed at sloth bear management must adequately consider these requirements and issues.

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Assessment of human–sloth bear conflicts in North Gujarat, India

Cited by 53 publications

References 6 publications

Human-Wildlife Conflict and its Implication for Conservation at Sundarpur, Udayapur, Eastern Nepal

Human-Wildlife Conflict and its Implication for Conservation at Sundarpur, Udayapur, Eastern Nepal

Relocation of a GPS collared conflict Sloth Bear Melursus ursinus (Mammalia: Carnivora) in Karnataka, India

Habitat occupancy of sloth bear Melursus ursinus in Chitwan National Park, Nepal

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