Prey selection by the Indian tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) outside protected areas in Indias Western Ghats: implications for conservation

Variar, Ambili S.; Anoop, N. R.; Komire, Shankar; Vinayan, P. A.; Sujin, N. S.; Raj, Anuradha; Prasadan, P. K.

doi:10.1016/j.fooweb.2022.e00268

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 44 publications

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“…The grasses Themeda cymbaria , Themeda triandra , Cymbopogon flexosus , Imperata cylindrical , and East Indian screw tree form a dominant ground cover (Easa 1999, Narasimen et al 2013). Wayanad supports a diverse assemblage of large mammals, including gaur ( Bos gaurus ), chital ( Axis axis ), sambar deer ( Rusa unicolor ), tiger ( Panthera tigiris ), leopard ( Panthera pardus ), dhole ( Cuon alpinus ), and sloth bear ( Melursus ursinus ; Narasimen et al 2013, Variar et al 2023). The land use around the forest is a heterogeneous matrix of human land use including plantations with various cash crops, open agriculture such as paddy and vegetables in the wetlands, and small towns.…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors determining the seasonal habitat use of Asian elephants in the Western Ghats of India

et al. 2023

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Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) are globally endangered, and their populations persist in several meta‐populations within fragmented landscapes across their distribution. Developing landscape‐level management plans for elephants requires reliable information on the pattern and determinants of their distribution across relevant spatial and temporal scales. The Brahmagiri‐Nilgiri‐Eastern Ghats Landscape (Nilgiri landscape) of peninsular India supports the largest breeding population of Asian elephants globally. The Wayanad Plateau, a wet forest tract in the dry forest‐dominated Nilgiri landscape, witnessed extensive forest fragmentation recently and evolved as a forest‐agriculture matrix. We predicted that habitat use by elephants in the Wayanad Plateau would be high during summer because of the availability of numerous perennial streams and associated swamps that retain water and soil moisture for plant growth over the dry season. We also hypothesized that elephants would use areas with greater forest cover that are removed from human settlements. We used an occupancy‐based approach that accounts for detection probability to understand factors influencing habitat use by elephants in summer (low rainfall, high temperature) and post‐monsoon (largely rainless winter conditions but with abundant forage and water) in 2019 and 2020. As expected, the intensity of habitat use was higher during the summer than during the post‐monsoon season. Elephants used habitats near perennial water sources and with greater forest cover, avoiding areas with high human disturbances. We emphasize the importance of areas that provide key resources for elephants during resource scarcity and the need to prevent habitat degradation for long‐term persistence of elephants and mitigation of human–elephant conflict.

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Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors determining the seasonal habitat use of Asian elephants in the Western Ghats of India

et al. 2023

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Ecological and anthropogenic factors influencing the Summer habitat use of Bos gaurus and its conservation threats in Chitwan National Park, Nepal

Poudel,

Pokhrel,

Neupane

et al. 2024

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Background Gaur (Bos gaurus) is listed as a vulnerable species in the IUCN Red List of threatened species due to the rapid population decline caused by human pressures in their habitats. To develop successful conservation plans, it is essential to understand the relationship between Gaur and their habitats. This study aimed to investigate the factors influencing Gaur habitat use and identify and rank conservation threats in Chitwan National Park, Nepal. Methods Using line transect surveys, we recorded Gaur’s presence via direct sightings and indirect signs (dung, footprints, horns) over an area of 176 km2 in July and August 2022. We used binary logistic regression models to determine the collected ecological and anthropogenic factors influencing the occurrence of Gaur and the relative whole-site threat ranking method to rank conservation threats. Results The results revealed that the probability of Gaur occurrence increases with moderate to high canopy cover, riverine and Shorea robusta dominated forests, and nearest distance to road/path/firelines, while decreasing with the presence of predators. Uncontrolled fire, invasive species, human disturbances, and climate change were ranked as the most prevailing threats to Gaur in our study area. Conservation managers should implement effective habitat management interventions, such as construction of waterhole, firelines maintenance, grassland management, and control of invasive species in the potential habitats, to safeguard and maintain the sustainability of Gaur populations and associated herbivores. Future studies should consider larger geographical settings and multiple seasons, and habitat suitability assessments should be conducted to determine current and future suitable habitat refugia for Gaur and other threatened wildlife species at the landscape level.

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Prey selection by the Indian tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) outside protected areas in Indias Western Ghats: implications for conservation

Cited by 2 publications

References 44 publications

Factors determining the seasonal habitat use of Asian elephants in the Western Ghats of India

Factors determining the seasonal habitat use of Asian elephants in the Western Ghats of India

Ecological and anthropogenic factors influencing the Summer habitat use of Bos gaurus and its conservation threats in Chitwan National Park, Nepal

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