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Black-necked Crane (Grus nigricollis) is a vulnerable Red list species whose populations are declining. However, little is known about Black-necked Cranes' habitat requirements or the causes of their population decline. We identified Black-necked Cranes' winter roost and foraging preferences of Black-necked Cranes in Bhutan during the winter of 2013-2014. Black-necked Cranes' roosts were recorded using Garmin GPSmap 60CSx, while foraging preferences and threats to the birds were identified based on a survey of household heads (n = 107) residing within a 3 km radius of roost sites. We grouped the threats identified by the communities into four major categories, viz. biological, social, political and natural threats based on the relevance. Of the four major threats, communities residing within the roosting and foraging habitat of the Black-necked Crane reported biological threat as major. Biological threats as reported by communities include loss of habitat, food shortage and competition from other animals. We recommend the present roosting areas be designated as part of the conservation areas for Black-necked Crane wintering in Bumthang district. In addition to preserving these areas, government should also encourage farming in foraging habitats of Black-necked Crane, because they mainly feed on barley, wheat, paddy, potatoes and buckwheat, besides roots, tubers and insects in the wetlands.

We assessed the human-bear interactions and distribution patterns of the Asiatic black bear Ursus thibetanus in Jigme Singye Wangchuck National Park (JSWNP) in Bhutan through a questionnaire survey of park residents and by remote camera trapping. Our study revealed 26% (N = 311) of the respondents experiencing one or another form of human-bear interaction. Crop damage accounted for the highest interaction rate at 65%, followed by livestock depredation (25%), between 2012 and 2016. About 10% of the interactions involved human mual-bout 10% of the interactions involved human mualing cases in 2006-2016. About 80% of the respondents expressed support for bear conservation influenced mainly by conservation awareness programmes. Observations from 39 camera trap stations across the national park indicated a wide distribution of Asiatic black bears in JSWNP, with a mean site use probability of 0.55 (SE = 0.10, N = 39). With emerging perceived threats such as habitat fragmentation and loss, retaliatory killing, and poaching, it is recommended that the national park management adopt conservation measures that will enable a harmonious coexistence between humans and bears. Habitat enrichment with natural food resources for the bear, equipping communities with conflict preventive measures, and advocating local people on bear conservation are some of the measures that need to be adopted in the national park.