NO FEAR NO TEAR, WHEN THERE’S NO TIGER NEAR Mr. shaldayya Kuruganti
INTRODUCTION
MATERIALS & METHODS
The study area, Kalesar National park (KNP) and wildlife Sanctuary (KWLS) are two important wildlife habitats situated in the Yamunanagar district ,in North-Eastern Haryana. These forests mark the Western most end of naturally occurring Sal forests in the country.
Density estimation of prey was performed using Line transect distance sampling method. A total of 12 transects measuring 1.5 Km average were walked 6 times making an total effort of 126 Km. Data was analyzed in DISTANCE software.
This present study is part of ongoing long-term ecological study of Leopard, jointly conducted by Wildlife Institute of India and Haryana Forest department.
Study areas position is very much crucial as it connects protected forests of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh forming large functional forest corridor. SE P
HARYANA
ER
Density estimation of Leopard was done by camera trap capture– recapture method. Data was analyzed in R 3.3.2 using camtrapR and SECR packages. A total of 134 cameras were used for a period of 60 days yielding 3897 trap nights and 351 Leopard captures.
Preliminary modeling of camera trap data was done using ArcGIS, Inverse Weighted Interpolation technique (IWD). Data was collected during the study in 2016, from the month of March till first week of June.
AT
IN G
RI
DG E
KNP
KWLS
Link
Estimate
SE estimate
Lcl
ucl
D
Log
0.003
0.0005
0.0022
0.0044
g0
Logit
0.018
0.0031
0.013
0.026
sigma
Log
2.634.0
225.1
2220
3110
Temporal activity overlap of Leopard with all major prey.
For 2016 density of leopard was estimated to be 31 (+/5) individuals per 100 square Km. In 2015 density was estimated as 23 leopards per 100 square Km. Home Range polygons for Leopard created using camera trap data.
Marked area represent high faunal biodiversity. with in the study area.
2016
Home Range polygons for Leopard created using camera trap data.
Marked area represent intense use area by fauna.
2015
CONCLUSION Two years of monitoring have shown us an increase in the Leopard population which, may be du to its functional connectivity with surrounding landscape. This study also shows us that the ungulate density is moderate with a overall good prey base. We have indentified intensive use areas for Leopard and its prey in both KNP and KWLS. We have observed overlap of home range polygons from both the years data. A unique study area to enter into an exclusive world of Leopard’s.
BIBLIOGRAPHY Karanth, K. U., & Nichols, J. D. (1998). Estimation of tiger densities in India using photographic captures and recaptures. Ecology, 79(8), 2852-2862. Karanth, K.U. (1995). Estimating tiger Panthera tigris populations from camera-trap data using capture-recapture models. Biol. Conserve. 71, 333-338. Edgaonkar A, Chellam R, Qureshi Q (2007) Ecology of the leopard (Panthera pardus fusca) in Satpura National Park and Bari Wildlife Sanctuary. Wildlife Institute of India, Dehra Dun Efford, M. G., Borchers, D. L., & Byrom, A E. (2009).Density estimation by spatially explicit capture- recapture: likelihood-based methods. In Modeling demographic processes in marked populations (pp. 255-269).
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Recommendation
Long-term monitoring in this area will give better insights into population dynamics of this landscape, which is at extreme Sal distribution. As we have also captured four other sympatric small wild felids (Jungle cat, Asiatic wild cat, and the Rusty spotted cat), further studies of sympatric carnivore ecology will be undertaken. Scioeconomic and conflict study is also recommended.
Haryana Forest Department, Haryana Additional chief conservator of forests/wildlife, Director of wildlife Institute of India, Staff of KNP and KWLS, Field assistants and locals.
FURTHER CONTACT
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