Documenting the demise of tiger and leopard, and the status of other carnivores and prey, in Lao PDR's most prized protected area: Nam Et - Phou Louey

Rasphone, Akchousanh; Kéry, Marc; Kamler, Jan F.; Macdonald, David W.

doi:10.1016/j.gecco.2019.e00766

Cited by 60 publications

(60 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Laos is one of the world's premier wildlife trade hotspots (e.g., [1,11,13,14,24,32,37]), with the narrative around Laos in the past decade that of a "source" site exploited by Chinese consumers [14,24] and Vietnamese consumers [6,41]. Although it is undeniable that this outside demand is a significant concern, research into the patterns of consumption by Laos nationals themselves have largely been neglected.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Assessment of Wildlife Use by Northern Laos Nationals

Davis

Glikman

2020

Animals

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Simple Summary: Although unsustainable wildlife consumption is a leading threat to biodiversity in Southeast Asia, there is still a notable lack of research around the issue, particularly into which animals may be "on the horizon" of impending conservation concern. Using semistructured interviews, we investigated the consumption of wildlife in northern Laos, with a focus on the use of wildlife for medicinal purposes. Bear bile was the most popular product, but serow bile was second in popularity and used for similar ailments. In light of these results, and considering the vulnerability of both bear and serow populations in the wild, greater concern needs to be taken to reduce demand for these products, before this demand becomes a significant conservation challenge.Abstract: Unsustainable wildlife trade is a well-publicized area of international concern in Laos. Historically rich in both ethnic and biological diversity, Laos has emerged in recent years as a nexus for cross-border trade in floral and faunal wildlife, including endangered and threatened species. However, there has been little sustained research into the scale and scope of consumption of wildlife by Laos nationals themselves. Here, we conducted 100 semistructured interviews to gain a snapshot of consumption of wildlife in northern Laos, where international and in some cases illegal wildlife trade is known to occur. We found that although bear bile for medicine was the most common product consumed, individuals also used a variety of other products, including animals considered endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature IUCN. The majority of animals we found consumed are classified as "Vulnerable" or "Least Threatened" by the IUCN; however, sufficient demand for a species can cause increased, rapid decline in the species' population and significantly increase the challenge of conserving them. These results therefore illuminate where conservation priorities should shift towards, so that stable-yet-consumed species do not mirror the fate of highly trafficked animals.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Assessment of Wildlife Use by Northern Laos Nationals

Davis

Glikman

2020

Animals

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“…Evidence suggests three range countries (Cambodia, Lao and Viet Nam) have lost viable populations, and the Indochinese subspecies may qualify for Critically Endangered status (Lynam & Nowell, 2011). Despite previous evidence of a viable breeding population in Nam Et Phou Loey National Protected Area in Lao (Johnson et al, 2006; Vongkhamheng, 2011), recent evidence suggests tigers may have been extirpated from the country (Rasphone et al, 2019). Tigers are probably extinct in Cambodia, prompting plans for reintroduction (Gray et al, 2017), and in Viet Nam there have been no confirmed tiger records in > 20 years (Lynam & Nowell, 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Opportunity for Thailand's forgotten tigers: assessment of the Indochinese tiger Panthera tigris corbetti and its prey with camera-trap surveys

Ash

Kaszta

Noochdumrong³

et al. 2020

Oryx

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Dramatic population declines threaten the Endangered Indochinese tiger Panthera tigris corbetti with extinction. Thailand now plays a critical role in its conservation, as there are few known breeding populations in other range countries. Thailand's Dong Phayayen-Khao Yai Forest Complex is recognized as an important tiger recovery site, but it remains poorly studied. Here, we present results from the first camera-trap study focused on tigers and implemented across all protected areas in this landscape. Our goal was to assess tiger and prey populations across the five protected areas of this forest complex, reviewing discernible patterns in rates of detection. We conducted camera-trap surveys opportunistically during 2008–2017. We recorded 1,726 detections of tigers in 79,909 camera-trap nights. Among these were at least 16 adults and six cubs/juveniles from four breeding females. Detection rates of both tigers and potential prey species varied considerably between protected areas over the study period. Our findings suggest heterogeneity in tiger distribution across this relatively continuous landscape, potentially influenced by distribution of key prey species. This study indicates that the Dong Phayayen-Khao Yai Forest Complex is one of the few remaining breeding locations of the Indochinese tiger. Despite limitations posed by our study design, our findings have catalysed increased research and conservation interest in this globally important population at a critical time for tiger conservation in South-east Asia.

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“…Additionally, our data were collected during the dry season, so we cannot comment on whether temporal activity differed in the wet season. Furthermore, tigers and leopards were recently extirpated from NEPL (Rasphone et al 2019); therefore, it is not known what, if any, impacts these two apex carnivores would have on the activity patterns of the remaining species. In NEPL, coexistence among similarly sized carnivores was facilitated by temporal partitioning, and differences in social organization, morphology and arboreality likely contributed to different dietary niches, which further facilitated coexistence.…”

Section: Sinθmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Nam Et-Phou Louey National Protected Area (hereafter NEPL) in northern Laos is known for its diverse carnivore community (Johnson et al 2009), yet little is known regarding the ecology of those carnivore species and their ecological interactions. Large carnivores, tiger Panthera tigris and leopard P. pardus, were part of the NEPL community, but they recently became extirpated (Rasphone et al 2019). Currently, the canid and felid communities of the NEPL consist of large (> 15 kg; dhole Cuon alpinus, clouded leopard Neofelis nebulosa), medium (5-15 kg; Asian golden cat Catopuma temminckii), and small-sized (< 5 kg; marbled cat Pardofelis marmorata, leopard cat Prionailurus bengalensis) species (Table 1).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Temporal partitioning by felids, dholes and their potential prey in northern Laos

2020

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Temporal partitioning can allow sympatric carnivores to coexist, especially if overlap of other resources is high. Using camera trap data from 2013 to 2017, we investigated the temporal partitioning of a community of wild felids and a canid in Nam Et–Phou Louey National Protected Area, Laos, to determine the extent to which temporal avoidance might be facilitating coexistence of similarly sized carnivores. We also investigated temporal overlap of these carnivore species and their presumed main prey, to determine if their activity is likely most influenced by their prey or potential competitors. The dhole (Cuon alpinus) and clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa), the two largest carnivores, had low temporal overlap, and activity appeared to be synchronized with the main prey for dhole, but not clouded leopard. Thus, it was possible that clouded leopard used temporal partitioning to coexist with dhole. The temporal overlap of Asian golden cat (Catopuma temminckii) was high with clouded leopard and moderate with dhole, and overall appeared to be influenced most by its presumed prey species, rather than by its potential competitors. The two small felids had the least temporal overlap between any species, as the marbled cat (Pardofelis marmorata) was primarily diurnal whereas the leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis) was primarily nocturnal. Given that the two small felids reportedly have similar diets consisting of small rodents and birds, their temporal partitioning is likely to help facilitate their coexistence. For carnivore species in northern Laos that are most similar in body size and diet, temporal partitioning is likely to be an important mechanism of coexistence. Otherwise, temporal patterns appear to be synchronized with their main prey.

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Documenting the demise of tiger and leopard, and the status of other carnivores and prey, in Lao PDR's most prized protected area: Nam Et - Phou Louey

Cited by 60 publications

References 25 publications

An Assessment of Wildlife Use by Northern Laos Nationals

An Assessment of Wildlife Use by Northern Laos Nationals

Opportunity for Thailand's forgotten tigers: assessment of the Indochinese tiger Panthera tigris corbetti and its prey with camera-trap surveys

Temporal partitioning by felids, dholes and their potential prey in northern Laos

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