Inhabiting terra incognita: Two-decadal patterns of negative human-leopard interactions in human-dominating landscape of Maharashtra, India

Abhinav, Kumar; Ghanekar, Rucha; Morey, Bhumika; Mondal, Indranil; Khandekar, Vivek; Jayramegowda, R; Mondol, Samrat; Nigam, Parag; Habib, Bilal

doi:10.1016/j.gecco.2021.e01740

Cited by 5 publications

(7 citation statements)

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“…Identifying spatial and temporal patterns of human-bear conflicts (HBC) and their determiners is crucial for developing mitigation measures (Broekhuis et al, 2017;Klees et al, 2020;Ankit et al, 2021). HBC occurrence appeared to be associated with environmental features and human-related attractants (Rojas-VeraPinto et al, 2022).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing the spatial-temporal patterns of conflicts between humans and Asiatic black bears (Ursus thibetanus) around the Gaoligongshan Nature Reserve, China

Wei

Liu

et al. 2022

Front. Ecol. Evol.

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Conflicts between humans and Asiatic black bears (Ursus thibetanus) are widespread in Asia and pose challenges to human-bear coexistence. Identifying effective mitigation measures requires a thorough understanding of human-bear conflicts (HBC). We assessed spatial-temporal patterns of HBC and their impact factors around the Baoshan Section of the Gaoligongshan Nature Reserve (GNNR) between 2012 and 2020. The results suggested that crop raiding by bears occurred most commonly, followed by beehive loss, livestock depredation, and human casualties. HBC hotspots occurred near the protected area where local people frequently encountered bears. The landscapes with lower elevation and human density were at higher risk of HBC. Furthermore, villages with more fragmented forests or less fragmented croplands were more vulnerable to HBC. The differences in agricultural structures contributed to the diverse composition of HBC between the two regions. In addition, crop raiding by bears decreased significantly, probably due to the changing landscape composition and configuration derived from human behaviors, yet livestock depredation and beehive loss increased. Our findings indicated the complex interrelationship between the environment, bears, and humans, which could guide the implementation of mitigation measures. We recommend multiple approaches based on a social-ecological system to mitigate HBC.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing the spatial-temporal patterns of conflicts between humans and Asiatic black bears (Ursus thibetanus) around the Gaoligongshan Nature Reserve, China

Wei

Liu

et al. 2022

Front. Ecol. Evol.

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“…In fact, carnivores like leopards are known to utilize human-use areas due to the availability of accessible resources in the form of cover and food (Edgaonkar and Chellam 2002; Karanth et al 2012; Ankit et al 2021) and are also reported from urban areas, such as Mumbai and Jaipur (Braczkowski et al 2018; Kumbhojkar et al 2019). Consequently, high resource overlap between carnivores and humans and subsequent human interventions in natural setups often results in conflict, especially in a densely-populated country like India (Karanth et al 2012; Athreya et al 2013, 2016; Garcia et al 2016; Kshettry et al 2017; Naha et al 2018; Gogoi et al 2020; Ankit et al 2021; Prajapati et al 2021). Fortunately, in Jawai, no human-mauling cases have been reported against leopards despite the minimal wild prey availability (Sharma 2017).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Whereas habitat use for leopards throughout the reserve portrays that leopards are more adaptable to survive in and around human-dominated areas. In fact, carnivores like leopards are known to utilize human-use areas due to the availability of accessible resources in the form of cover and food (Edgaonkar and Chellam 2002;Karanth et al 2012;Ankit et al 2021) and are also reported from urban areas, such as Mumbai and Jaipur (Braczkowski et al 2018;Kumbhojkar et al 2019).…”

Section: Potential Habitat Usementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Consequently, high resource overlap between carnivores and humans and subsequent human interventions in natural setups often results in conflict, especially in a densely-populated country like India (Karanth et al 2012;Athreya et al 2013Athreya et al , 2016Garcia et al 2016;Kshettry et al 2017;Naha et al 2018;Gogoi et al 2020;Ankit et al 2021;Prajapati et al 2021). Fortunately, in Jawai, no human-mauling cases have been reported against leopards despite the minimal wild prey availability (Sharma 2017).…”

Section: Potential Habitat Usementioning

confidence: 99%

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Roads to the Hills: Potential Space Use Patterns of Sloth Bears and Leopards in Semiarid Landscape of Western India

2023

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Large carnivores utilize human areas, resulting in frequent conflict with humans. We aimed to identify the factors affecting the habitat use of leopards and sloth bears in human-dominated areas of the proposed Jawai Leopard Community Conservation Reserve, Rajasthan, western India. Within the 1 km2 grid framework, the presence of species was recorded (84 events - leopards and 71- sloth bears) and modeled using the maximum entropy algorithm concerning terrain and land-use pattern-related covariates. Also, we modeled the potential movement areas using the least-cost pathway approach. Outcomes informed that suitable habitats for leopards (126.1 km2; 40.8% of study area) were more widely distributed than sloth bears (103.7 km2; 33.5%). Models suggested that elevated-rugged hillocks were positively related to both species' habitat use, followed by scrub and water resources. Leopards showed more adaptability towards human settlements than sloth bears. Thirty potential movement pathways (between 15 core habitats) for leopards and 19 for sloth bears (between 11 core habitat nodes) were identified; out of these, 45% and 48% of pathways for leopards and sloth bears, respectively, are facing threats by the movement barriers such as railway tracks and human settlements. Conserving highly and moderately centralized pathways can be a better approach for sustainable landscape conservation in parallel.

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“…Livestock depredation is one of the principal causes of such conflicts (Graham et al, 2005), and can be significant where communities live near protected areas (Mishra, 2000; Linnell et al, 2001; Conforti & Azevedo, 2003) and wild prey is displaced by domestic livestock (Patterson et al, 2004). There have been numerous studies reporting trends of human–leopard interactions in India (Pandey et al, 2016; Crown & Doubleday, 2017; Naha et al, 2020; Ankit et al, 2021). However, despite reliable accounts of negative human–leopard interactions in various parts of Jammu and Kashmir, scientific reports on this matter are lacking for the region (Ahmed, 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Living with leopards: an assessment of conflict and people's attitudes towards the common leopardPanthera pardusin a protected area in the Indian Himalayan region

Kichloo,

Sohil,

Sharma

2023

Oryx

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Protected areas are important for wildlife conservation but they are also used by many local communities for livelihood activities. This often leads to conflicts and erodes the tolerance of local people for wildlife, particularly towards carnivores that prey on livestock. To enhance conservation success and improve the social carrying capacity of carnivores, it is essential to understand the factors influencing such conflicts and the attitudes of people interacting with carnivores. We used structured questionnaire surveys to assess the extent of livestock mortality and community responses to common leopards Panthera pardus in Kishtwar National Park, a relatively understudied protected area in the Greater Himalayan region of India. The mountainous Park and its surroundings have historically served as a haven for the local agro-pastoralists and transhumant pastoralists, resulting in complex human–wildlife interactions across the larger landscape. Our results showed that leopards were responsible for high livestock depredation (71 incidents in 2 years), and households with larger livestock holdings experienced a higher predation rate compared to those with smaller livestock holdings. An ordinal logistic regression model revealed that respondents’ age and period of activity in the Park significantly influenced their opinions regarding leopards. Large losses suffered by otherwise low-income households resulted in more negative attitudes towards these predators. Our study indicates that financial compensation for livestock losses is a key factor in improving human–leopard coexistence. A comprehensive, cross-sector collaborative approach would help to improve conflict resolution and promote favourable attitudes towards these predators.

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Inhabiting terra incognita: Two-decadal patterns of negative human-leopard interactions in human-dominating landscape of Maharashtra, India

Cited by 5 publications

References 33 publications

Assessing the spatial-temporal patterns of conflicts between humans and Asiatic black bears (Ursus thibetanus) around the Gaoligongshan Nature Reserve, China

Assessing the spatial-temporal patterns of conflicts between humans and Asiatic black bears (Ursus thibetanus) around the Gaoligongshan Nature Reserve, China

Roads to the Hills: Potential Space Use Patterns of Sloth Bears and Leopards in Semiarid Landscape of Western India

Living with leopards: an assessment of conflict and people's attitudes towards the common leopardPanthera pardusin a protected area in the Indian Himalayan region

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