Search

The Nilgiri tahr Nilgiritragus hylocrius is an Endangered species of mountain ungulate endemic to the Western Ghats of India, a biodiversity hotspot. Habitat fragmentation, hunting and a restricted range are the major threats to this species. Although several surveys have assessed the species' status, a population estimate based on a scientifically robust method is needed. We used the double-observer method to estimate the population of the Nilgiri tahr in the Anamalai Tiger Reserve, a protected area in the Western Ghats. We walked 257 km of transects across the Reserve, covering 36 grassland blocks (i.e. clusters of montane grasslands that were relatively separate from each other). We counted a minimum of 422 individuals in 28 groups, and estimated the tahr population in the study area to be 510 individuals (95% CI 300–858) in 35 groups. The male:female ratio was 0.71 and the young:female ratio was 0.56. Comparing our estimate with previous surveys suggests that the Nilgiri tahr population in Anamalai Tiger Reserve is stable. We found the double-observer survey method to be appropriate for population estimation and long-term monitoring of this species, and make recommendations for improved field protocols to facilitate the implementation of the method in the tropical mountains of the Western Ghats. Our findings suggest that the Reserve harbours 20–25% of the global population of the Nilgiri tahr, highlighting the area's importance for the conservation of this species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the uncontrolled expansion of anthropogenic modifications of the environment, wildlife species are forced to interact with humans, often leading to conflict situations that have detrimental effects for both wildlife and humans. Such interactions are escalating globally, making it crucial for us to devise strategies for both, the management of conflict and the conservation of these often-threatened species. We studied a case of potentially detrimental human-wildlife interactions between an endemic, habitat-specialist primate, the lion-tailed macaque Macaca silenus and resident human communities that has developed in recent years in the Western Ghats mountains of southern India. Primates provide useful model systems to understand the extent and nature of behavioural changes exhibited by wildlife in response to anthropogenic habitats with varying degrees of human influence. We documented behaviours, including foraging and intra-species social interactions, to examine the decisions made by the macaques as they exploited four human-modified habitats, which, for the purpose of this study, have been qualitatively characterised to include structural features of the habitat, type of food resources available and the presence of humans. Access to human-origin food, either cooked or packaged, acquired directly from homes or garbage pits, in the human-dominated habitat appeared to significantly reduce active foraging and searching for food, allowing them to engage in other behavioural activities, such as resting. Furthermore, patterns of reciprocated affiliation dissipated in certain human-dominated habitats, with individuals seeming to have adopted novel behavioural strategies, leading to altered social dynamics in the troop, possibly in response to provisioning. This study thus highlights the importance of understanding behavioural changes displayed by animals in response to human interactions; such knowledge could be crucial for the planning and implementation of management and conservation strategies for endangered species such as the lion-tailed macaque and possibly other wildlife in the increasingly anthropogenic landscapes of the tropical world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effective conservation of the remaining populations of the lion-tailed macaque in the rainforests of the Western Ghats, India is necessary since it is an endangered species. The male migration among groups can be facilitated to overcome the potential effects of isolation.

The fragmentation of the rainforests of India's Western Ghats mountains has left the endemic lion-tailed macaque surviving in numerous forest patches in a mosaic of commercial tea and coffee plantations. On the Valparai Plateau, Anamalai Hills, some macaque groups have evidently altered their behavior, becoming habituated to people, suffering from frequent roadkill, and facing problems related to people feeding them and their use of open waste dumps. We carried out a questionnaire survey around three rainforest fragments (Puthuthottam, Korangumudi, Old Valparai) and the town of Valparai to understand people's perceptions towards macaques, and to identify appropriate conflict-mitigation measures. Macaques near Korangumudi and Old Valparai rarely ventured near residences, and most people were unaware of their presence. Respondents in and around Puthuthottam were aware of the macaques, and most (68%) had negative perceptions of them because the macaques often visited houses in the area. Most respondents (87%) believed that macaques visited houses in search of food and garbage, and 84% reported that macaques were doing this only over the last 10 years. Housing conditions influenced people's perceptions: people living in tiled-roof houses that were vulnerable to incursions by the macaques had higher negative perceptions (84.5%) compared to people living in asbestos-roof and concrete structures. To reduce negative interactions with people and promote harmonious human-macaque co-existence, we suggest implementing a combination of measures that would involve plantation management, conservation organizations, and the state forest and municipal authorities. The measures include cost-effective monkey-proofing of houses, regular garbage collection, preventing open waste disposal and the feeding of macaques, mitigating the effects of roads, and promoting people's awareness, rainforest restoration, and the use of native shade trees in plantations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To determine abundance, density and distribution of wild animals, it is crucial to estimate populations using reliable sampling techniques. In most earlier studies, elephant populations were estimated employing block counts or dung counts, which provide biased estimates due to limitations of the methods. We estimated an Asian elephant population using distance sampling, a quantitatively robust technique, in Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple Tiger Reserve, a critical elephant conservation area in the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve in south India. We laid 33 transects with a total length of 93 km. We walked these transects five to 11 times amounting to a total of 795.5 km of walks. We collected data on location, number and age-sex classes through direct elephant sightings, using rangefinders, global positioning systems and compass. We used DISTANCE software for analysis. We estimated per km² cluster density as 0.69 elephant herds, mean cluster size as 2.44, and elephant density as 1.7 animals. This amounts to a total of 713 elephants in 610 km² of the sanctuary. A high percentage of males less than 30 years old and a low immature:adult female ratio indicated the severity of poaching in the recent past in the study region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The persistence of wide-ranging mammals such as Asian elephants in fragmented landscapes requires extending conservation efforts into human-dominated landscapes around protected areas. Understanding how elephants use such landscapes may help facilitate their movements and reduce conflict incidence. We studied elephants' use of fragmented habitats and ranging patterns of focal herds in a landscape of rainforest fragments embedded in tea, coffee, and Eucalyptus plantations in the Anamalai Hills. Elephant herds entering this landscape were tracked daily between April 2002 and March 2006, resulting in 985 GPS locations of herds obtained across six major habitats. Natural vegetation in rainforest fragments and riparian habitats, despite low coverage in the landscape, was preferred by elephants during the day. At night, elephants preferred riparian vegetation, avoided other habitats such as swamps and settlements, while the remaining habitats were used proportional to availability. Use of rainforest fragments and riparian vegetation increased over three years of study with a corresponding decline in the use of tea monoculture. Among plantation habitats, coffee, and Eucalyptus were used significantly more during wet and dry seasons, respectively. The concentration of elephants along a major riparian system in the center of the landscape emphasized the role of water and food availability in habitat use during the dry season. Protection of rainforest fragments, secondary vegetation along rivers, and regulated and sequential felling (instead of clear-felling) of Eucalyptus along elephant movement routes will help retain forage, cover, and passage routes of elephant herds and may reduce direct human-elephant encounters in such fragmented landscapes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]