Seasonal variation in the diet of sloth bears in Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, India

Rather, Tahir Ali; Tajdar, Shaizah; Kumar, Sharad; Khan, Jamal Ahmed

doi:10.2192/ursus-d-19-00013.2

Cited by 9 publications

(14 citation statements)

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“…Limited dependency on anthropogenic food sources by sloth bear populations exhibiting strong myrmecophagy has been reported by other studies, even in areas with some level of overlap between humans and bears for the plant-based feeding resources (Joshi et al, 1995;Rather et al, 2020;Ratnayeke et al, 2007). However, since sloth bears are known for their ability to adjust to changing food and habitat conditions (Joshi et al, 1997;Laurie & Seidensticker, 1977), it is unwise to make inferences on the feeding behavior of sloth bears without reliable supporting data.…”

Section: Discussionsmentioning

confidence: 87%

“…We reviewed available literature on sloth bear ecology and devised covariates that seemed important in influencing the spatial pattern of sloth bears at the Trijuga forest (Table 1 ). Sloth bears are inclined toward myrmecophagy (Palei et al, 2014 ; Rather et al, 2020 ) and studies from Nepal show their greater reliance on termites for food (Joshi et al, 1997 ; Khanal & Thapa, 2015 ). Sloth bears prefer areas with heterogeneous terrain and proximity to water sources for different purposes such as resting, denning, and feeding (Akhtar et al, 2004 ; Ghimire & Thapa, 2015 ; Puri et al, 2015 ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Fine‐scale ecological and anthropogenic variables predict the habitat use and detectability of sloth bears in the Churia habitat of east Nepal

Pokharel¹,

Subba

Rai³

et al. 2022

Ecology and Evolution

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Once widespread throughout the tropical forests of the Indian Subcontinent, the sloth bears have suffered a rapid range collapse and local extirpations in the recent decades. A significant portion of their current distribution range is situated outside of the protected areas (PAs). These unprotected sloth bear populations are under tremendous human pressures, but little is known about the patterns and determinants of their occurrence in most of these regions. The situation is more prevalent in Nepal where virtually no systematic information is available for sloth bears living outside of the PAs. We undertook a spatially replicated sign survey-based single-season occupancy study intending to overcome this information gap for the sloth bear populations residing in the Trijuga forest of southeast Nepal. Sloth bear sign detection histories and field-based covariates data were collected between 2 October and 3 December 2020 at the 74 randomly chosen 4-km 2 grid cells. From our results, the model-averaged site use probability (ψ ± SE) was estimated to be 0.432 ± 0.039, which is a 13% increase from the naïve estimate (0.297) not accounting for imperfect detections of sloth bear signs. The presence of termite mound and the distance to the nearest water source were the most important variables affecting the habitat use probability of sloth bears.The average site-level detectability (p ± SE) of sloth bear signs was estimated to be 0.195 ± 0.003 and was significantly determined by the index of human disturbances.We recommend considering the importance of fine-scale ecological and anthropogenic factors in predicting the sloth bear-habitat relationships across their range in the Churia habitat of Nepal, and more specifically in the unprotected areas.

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Section: Discussionsmentioning

confidence: 87%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fine‐scale ecological and anthropogenic variables predict the habitat use and detectability of sloth bears in the Churia habitat of east Nepal

Pokharel¹,

Subba

Rai³

et al. 2022

Ecology and Evolution

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“…For sloth bears, the habitat selection varies with seasonal food availability at a small spatial scale (Joshi et al 1995;Akhtar et al 2004;Yoganand et al 2006;Ratnayeke et al 2007;Ramesh et al 2012). In our study area, insects (ants and termites) form a substantial portion of the sloth bear diet (Rather et al 2020a). The distribution of ants and termites that sloth bear feeds on is also likely to be determined by fine-scale variables.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 75%

“…Farmlands and degraded habitats in our study area are characterized by large patches of invasive weed Lantana camera. Fruits of Lantana camera were consumed by sloth bears in the winter season, and the fruits of the most frequently occurring plant species were consumed in the summer season (Rather et al 2020a). In winter, sloth bears primarily showed dependence on insects (ants and termites), L. camera, and Ziziphus mauritiana, all of which occurred at high abundance in the buffer zone.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Using machine learning to predict habitat suitability of sloth bears at multiple spatial scales

2021

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Background Habitat resources occur across the range of spatial scales in the environment. The environmental resources are characterized by upper and lower limits, which define organisms’ distribution in their communities. Animals respond to these resources at the optimal spatial scale. Therefore, multi-scale assessments are critical to identifying the correct spatial scale at which habitat resources are most influential in determining the species-habitat relationships. This study used a machine learning algorithm random forest (RF), to evaluate the scale-dependent habitat selection of sloth bears (Melursus ursinus) in and around Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, India. Results We used 155 spatially rarified occurrences out of 248 occurrence records of sloth bears obtained from camera trap captures (n = 36) and scats located (n = 212) in the field. We calculated focal statistics for 13 habitat variables across ten spatial scales surrounding each presence-absence record of sloth bears. Large (> 5000 m) and small (1000–2000 m) spatial scales were the most dominant scales at which sloth bears perceived the habitat features. Among the habitat covariates, farmlands and degraded forests were the essential patches associated with sloth bear occurrences, followed by sal and dry deciduous forests. The final habitat suitability model was highly accurate and had a very low out-of-bag (OOB) error rate. The high accuracy rate was also obtained using alternate validation matrices. Conclusions Human-dominated landscapes are characterized by expanding human populations, changing land-use patterns, and increasing habitat fragmentation. Farmland and degraded habitats constitute ~ 40% of the landform in the buffer zone of the reserve. One of the management implications may be identifying the highly suitable bear habitats in human-modified landscapes and integrating them with the existing conservation landscapes.

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Factors affecting the occupancy of sloth bear and its detection probability in Parsa–Koshi Complex, Nepal

Sharma,

Katuwal,

Bhattarai

et al. 2023

Ecology and Evolution

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Understanding factors associated with coexistence of human and wildlife in human‐dominated landscapes is crucial for effective species conservation. Among the wildlife species, the sloth bears Melursus ursinus are found both inside and outside the protected areas of Nepal, and with increasing cases of human and bear conflicts in both areas. This highlights the necessity for a comprehensive understanding of anthropogenic and ecological factors that affect the occurrence of sloth bear. The understanding of these factors is important for its coexistence and conservation in human‐dominated areas through establishing management and conservation action plan. We studied the sloth bear's occupancy and their coexistence in human‐dominated environments with other large predators in the Parsa–Koshi Complex of Nepal using camera traps from December 2022 to March 2023. We identified the occupancy and detection probability of the sloth bear as 0.12 and 0.31, respectively. Our analysis reveals a positive relationship between sloth bear occurrence and the presence of large predators (βpredators = 3.104 ± 0.968), such as tigers (Panthera tigris) and leopards (Panthera pardus), as well as the number of humans detected (βhuman = 1.428 ± 1.216) and canopy cover percentage (βcc = 1.002 ± 0.737). However, the number of livestock detected shows a negative interaction with the occurrence of sloth bears (βlivestock = −2.240 ± 1.467). There was insignificant interaction between sloth bear occupancy and distance to human settlements, roads, and water bodies. These findings underscore the complex dynamics between sloth bears, humans, large predators, and livestock in human‐dominated landscapes. To ensure the long‐term survival of sloth bear populations and promote species conservation, comprehensive conservation strategies that account for both ecological and socio‐economic factors are essential.

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Seasonal variation in the diet of sloth bears in Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, India

Cited by 9 publications

References 10 publications

Fine‐scale ecological and anthropogenic variables predict the habitat use and detectability of sloth bears in the Churia habitat of east Nepal

Fine‐scale ecological and anthropogenic variables predict the habitat use and detectability of sloth bears in the Churia habitat of east Nepal

Using machine learning to predict habitat suitability of sloth bears at multiple spatial scales

Factors affecting the occupancy of sloth bear and its detection probability in Parsa–Koshi Complex, Nepal

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