Are conflict-causing tigers different? Another perspective for understanding human-tiger conflict in Chitwan National Park, Nepal

Lamichhane, Babu Ram; Persoon, Gerard A.; Leirs, Herwig; Musters, K.; Subedi, Naresh; Gairhe, Kamal P.; Pokheral, Chiranjibi Prasad; Poudel, Shashank; Mishra, Roshan Kumar; Dhakal, Maheshwar; Smith, James L.; Iongh, Hans H. de

doi:10.1016/j.gecco.2017.06.003

Cited by 23 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…We identified 37 such bulls causing three quarters of all attacks on humans in the last twenty years, some of them caused a disproportionately higher number of attacks (up to 36). Such individuals can be termed “problem individuals” need to be closely monitored, particularly their movement patterns and ranging behavior (Lamichhane et al, 2017 ). The knowledge thus gained through monitoring can be helpful in prioritizing appropriate management strategies.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Patterns and determinants of elephant attacks on humans in Nepal

Ram

Mondol

Subedi

et al. 2021

Ecology and Evolution

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Attacks on humans by Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) is an extreme form of human–elephant conflict. It is a serious issue in southern lowland Nepal where elephant‐related human fatalities are higher than other wildlife. Detailed understanding of elephant attacks on humans in Nepal is still lacking, hindering to devising appropriate strategies for human–elephant conflict mitigation. This study documented spatiotemporal pattern of elephant attacks on humans, factors associated with the attacks, and human/elephant behavior contributing to deaths of victims when attacked. We compiled all the documented incidences of elephant attacks on humans in Nepal for last 20 years across Terai and Chure region of Nepal. We also visited and interviewed 412 victim families (274 fatalities and 138 injuries) on elephant attacks. Majority of the victims were males (87.86%) and had low level of education. One fourth of the elephant attacks occurred while chasing the elephants. Solitary bulls or group of subadult males were involved in most of the attack. We found higher number of attacks outside the protected area. People who were drunk and chasing elephants using firecrackers were more vulnerable to the fatalities. In contrast, chasing elephants using fire was negatively associated with the fatalities. Elephant attacks were concentrated in proximity of forests primarily affecting the socioeconomically marginalized communities. Integrated settlement, safe housing for marginalized community, and community grain house in the settlement should be promoted to reduce the confrontation between elephants and humans in entire landscape for their long‐term survival.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Patterns and determinants of elephant attacks on humans in Nepal

Ram

Mondol

Subedi

et al. 2021

Ecology and Evolution

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“…Similarly, an elephant attacks on human peaked in 2012 when a rage elephant was active around Chitwan [ 9 ] which attacked >10 people, six of them died. In case of large mammals, not all individuals in wildlife population are equally responsible for human or economic loss but few rage animals make a larger share of the conflict incidents [ 49 ]. In addition, the measures of conflict reduction practiced by buffer zone communities and reduced interaction of human-wildlife as mentioned earlier might have kept the conflict incidents in control.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatio-temporal patterns of attacks on human and economic losses from wildlife in Chitwan National Park, Nepal

et al. 2018

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Wildlife attacks on humans and economic losses often result in reduced support of local communities for wildlife conservation. Information on spatial and temporal patterns of such losses in the highly affected areas contribute in designing and implementing effective mitigation measures. We analyzed the loss of humans, livestock and property caused by wildlife during 1998 to 2016, using victim family’s reports to Chitwan National Park authorities and Buffer Zone User Committees. A total of 4,014 incidents were recorded including attacks on humans, livestock depredation, property damage and crop raiding caused by 12 wildlife species. In total >400,000 US dollar was paid to the victim families as a relief over the whole period. Most of the attacks on humans were caused by rhino, sloth bear, tiger, elephant, wild boar and leopard. A significantly higher number of conflict incidents caused by rhino and elephant were observed during full moon periods. An increase in the wildlife population did not coincide with an equal rise in conflict incidents reported. Underprivileged ethnic communities were attacked by wildlife more frequently than expected. Number of attacks on humans by carnivores and herbivores did not differ significantly. An insignificant decreasing trend of wildlife attacks on humans and livestock was observed with significant variation over the years. Tiger and leopard caused >90% of livestock depredation. Tigers killed both large (cattle and buffalo) and medium sized (goat, sheep, pig) livestock but leopard mostly killed medium sized livestock. Most (87%) of the livestock killing during 2012–2016 occurred within the stall but close (<500m) to the forest edge. Both the percentage of households with livestock and average holding has decreased over the years in buffer zone. Decreased forest dependency as well as conflict mitigation measures (electric and mesh wire fences) have contributed to keep the conflict incidents in control. Strengthening mitigation measures like construction of electric or mesh wire fences and predator-proof livestock corrals along with educating local communities about wildlife behavior and timely management of problem animals (man-eater tiger, rage elephant etc.) will contribute to reduce the conflict.

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“…Prey occurs in relatively high densities in CNP and Table 2 Estimates of tiger and leopards density (animals 100 km −2 ) and abundance (N) for Chitwan National Park, Nepal obtained from Bayesian spatially explicit capture-recapture (B-SCR) implemented in SPACECAP (Gopalaswamy et al 2012) along with the posterior summaries of model parameters (sigma, lamda, beta, psi, p1 and p2) the buffer zone (73 prey animals/km 2 ; Dhakal et al 2014) but density is very low in the forests outside these areas due to high anthropogenic pressure and possibly hunting (Shrestha 2004;NTNC unpublished data). Increasing wild prey density in these forests is important to sustain the high density of tigers/leopards and reduce livestock depredation especially from dispersing (or pushed out) large cats (Lamichhane et al 2017;Kolipaka 2018). Livestock contributed to only a small portion of the big cats' diets in Chitwna NP; lower than the previously reported by Bhattarai and Kindlmann (2012b).…”

Section: Daily Activity Pattern and Dietmentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors associated with co-occurrence of large carnivores in a human-dominated landscape

et al. 2019

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We investigated the factors facilitating co-occurrence of two large carnivores, tigers (Panthera tigris) and common leopards (Panthera pardus), within a human-dominated landscape. We estimated their density and population size using camera-trap photographs and examined spatial segregation of habitats, temporal activity pattern, and diets in Chitwan National Park, Nepal. A Bayesian spatially-explicit capture-recapture model estimated densities of 3.2-4.6 (3.94 ± 0.37) tigers and 2.6-4.1 (3.31 ± 0.4) leopards per 100 km 2 with abundance of 70-102 tigers and 66-105 leopards. Tigers occupied the prime habitats (grasslands and riverine forests) in alluvial floodplains of the Park whereas leopards appeared in Sal forests and marginal areas where livestock are present. Both tigers and leopards showed crepuscular activity patterns with a high overlap but tigers were less active during the day compared to leopards. Leopards' activity in the day increased in the presence of tigers. Tiger and leopard diet overlapped considerably (90%). Compared to leopards, tigers consumed a higher proportion of the large prey and a smaller proportion of livestock. Our study demonstrates that sympatric large carnivores can coexist in high densities in prey rich areas that contain a mosaics of habitats. To increase the resilience and size of the Chitwan carnivore population, strategies are needed to increase prey biomass and prevent livestock depredation in adjacent forests. Long-term monitoring is also required to obtain a detailed understanding of the interaction between the large carnivores and their effects on local communities living in forest fringes within the landscape.

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Are conflict-causing tigers different? Another perspective for understanding human-tiger conflict in Chitwan National Park, Nepal

Cited by 23 publications

References 25 publications

Patterns and determinants of elephant attacks on humans in Nepal

Patterns and determinants of elephant attacks on humans in Nepal

Spatio-temporal patterns of attacks on human and economic losses from wildlife in Chitwan National Park, Nepal

Factors associated with co-occurrence of large carnivores in a human-dominated landscape

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