The Critically Endangered gharial (Gavialis gangeticus) residing within Bardiya National Park (BNP) in Nepal constitutes the sixth major sub‐population of this unique lineage; however, this population is not well studied. A 46 km protected stretch of the Babai River and a 60 km stretch of the Karnali River in and around BNP were surveyed for gharials in early 2017 and in 2019. Gharial counts in 2017 – 17 from the Babai and one from the Karnali rivers – consisted of 10 adults, five sub‐adults and three juveniles. In 2019, 19 gharials were counted – 18 for the Babai and one for the Karnali – comprising 11 adults, six sub‐adults and two juveniles. In the Babai River within BNP, four breeding groups were identified. Gharials in BNP prefer sandy vs. rocky banks for basking and completely avoid sand‐grass and clay banks. Habitat preference did not vary with size class. Protected stretches of both rivers inside BNP (76 km) have resident gharial, intact habitats and few human threats. In contrast, the unprotected stretch of the Karnali (30 km) is threatened by boulder quarrying, sand mining and unlicensed fishing, and is avoided by gharials despite the availability of habitat. This study established baseline data, including indices of population size, distribution and habitat preferences, and documented resident gharials that are breeding in the Babai River in BNP. The conservation of this Babai population is crucial for the species’ survival in BNP. Based on this study, we recommend the following conservation actions on the Babai stretch: (a) determine hatching success; (b) assess juvenile recruitment; (c) consider supplementation by releasing captives; (d) study riverine features important as baselines; (e) accommodate upstream movements on the protected Babai stretch; and (f) protect the downstream Babai outside the boundary of the BNP.

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The Chinese Pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) is a "Critically Endangered" insectivorous mammal. There is a lack of information on the ecology, distribution and behavior of this species in Nepal, even though community forests in the Midhills Region of Nepal are considered to be prime habitats for the species. We conducted an ecological assessment of the habitat use of this species in nine community forests covering an area of 170.69 ha in Balthali village in Kavrepalanchok district, Nepal. We divided each forest into 50 × 50 m grids and searched for Chinese Pangolin burrows along 50 m transects in each grid. We categorized burrows into two types, new and old burrows, and recorded 10 environmental variables for each burrow. We found a total of 542 burrows, including 323 old burrows and 219 new burrows. The average width and height of a burrow opening was 21.66 ± 3.94 cm (n = 542) and 22.42 ± 5.02 cm (n = 542). The total density of burrows in the study area was 3.1 ha −1 , with new burrows density of 1.2 ha −1 and old burrows density of 1.8 ha −1 . We found most burrows in sites with an elevation range of 1400 -1500 m above sea level, gentle slopes, brown colored soil, high density of tree crown cover and undergrowth vegetation, southern exposure, within 150 m from a water source and less than 200 m from a human settlement. Our study has generated baseline data on the habitat use of Chinese Pangolin, which we hope will help in designing site-specific action plans for Chinese Pangolin conservation in Kavrepalanchok district, Nepal.

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Air pollution, particularly particulate pollution has been emerged as the major air quality issues in urban centers of Nepal including Pokhara. Pokhara is one of the major cities in Nepal located at 28.24 N, 83.99 E, and also one of the most popular tourist destinations. This study has been conducted to assess the traffic police personnel exposure to PM 10 (Particulate Matter of diameter 10 micron of less) in their occupational environment in Pokhara. This type study has been conducted for the first time in Pokhara.The monitoring was carried out for seven days in three shifts (morning: 7:30 am to 11:30 am, afternoon: 11:30 am to 3:30pm and evening shift: 3:30pm to 7:30pm) in three major HDTA's (High Density Traffic Areas) of Pokhara. On an average, the duration of sampling in each day was 8 hours in each of the sites. Subjective exposure to PM 10 was monitored by personal monitoring technique. Personal air sampler (PCXR4) manufactured by M/s SKC, USA was used. Altogether 35 samples were collected and analyzed gravimetrically in the laboratory. The overall mean concentration (averaged for 8 hours) of PM 10 was found to be 1559.107 µg/m 3 in Mahendrapul, 1759.032 µg/m 3 in B.P chowk and 1733.846 µg/m 3 in Prithvi chowk. The overall mean concentration of PM 10 was observed higher in morning shifts (2093.790 µg/m 3 ) than evening (1704.005 µg/m 3 ) and afternoon (1192.670 µg/m 3 ) shifts. PM 10 concentration was observed higher in Weekdays than Weekends. However, no significant difference in overall mean PM 10 concentration was observed in different sampling sites and week days (weekdays and weekends) at 0.05 level significance. Significant difference in PM 10 concentration was observed in different shifts only. It was concluded from the findings of the present study that traffic police personnel are exposed to very high level of PM 10 (almost 10 to 15 folds higher than National Ambient Air Quality Standard for PM 10 for Nepal i.e. 120µg/m 3 ) in all three HDTA's of Pokhara city.