IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
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| Pokheral, C.P. | |
| Ecology and conservation of tiger and leopard in a subtropical lowland area, Nepal | |
| 2011 Full Book | |
Tigers _Panthera tigris _and leopards _Panthera pardus_ are sympatric in many parts of their distributional ranges in Asia. The study was carried out between 2008 and 2011 in the Shuklaphanta Wildlife Reserve (SWR), a subtropical lowland area in Nepal. The present study addresses the ecology and conservation of these sympatric carnivores in one densely settled area situated within the Terai Arc Landscape of Nepal, where the tiger population recently declined by about sixty percent within a decade long period. The prey selection by the two carnivores was quantified by scat analysis and the distance sampling line transect method in an area of about 250 km2. Results obtained from camera trapping were used to quantify the activity patterns as well as the status and spatial behaviour of the tigers and leopards. In addition, non- invasive genetic analysis of their scats were made to identify the minimum number of tigers and leopards in SWR. For the genetics part, the Karnali floodplain area (ca. 100km2) of Bardia National Park (BNP) located 150 km further east was also included. On average, 131 and 175 individual prey animals per km2 were estimated during the dry seasons of 2010 and 2011, respectively. Of these, 62-63% was wild prey and 38% were domestic animals. Individually, swamp deer was the most abundant wild prey, followed by chital, rhesus, langur, hog deer, wild boar, nilgai and muntjac in 2010. However, in 2011 chital was the most abundant among wild prey, followed by swamp deer, rhesus, hog deer, langur, wild boar, muntjac and nilgai. The analysis of 194 tiger and 42 leopard scats showed the occurrence of 12 and 14 prey species, respectively. Tiger and leopard diets were composed of a large quantity of wild ungulates (77% for tigers and 51% for leopards). The relative occurrences of prey items (wild ungulates) in the diet differed significantly between tiger and leopard (G=11.12; df=1, p<0.001). Medium sized prey species, such as chital were most common in the tiger diet, whereas small species showed up most frequently in the leopard diet, followed by medium sized species. Tigers consumed more large prey than the leopards did. The niche overlap values indicated a great dietary overlap of tiger than leopard. Camera trapping data showed that both tigers and leopards were photo-captured more frequently at night than during the day thus indicating that both have a nocturnal activity, however, tigers were found to have more diurnal activity than leopards. Variances in time use, temporally or spatially, have been recognized as behavioural characteristics that may motivate coexistence. In general, between 11AM- 5PM leopards were less active than tigers, probably to avoid the hottest period of the day, and because of a preference for the small sized prey that are most active during dusk and dawn. Concentration within certain areas and limited diurnal activity of leopards indicated the existence of temporal niche segregation between these cats. Camera trapping identified 11 individual tigers (six males and five females) and 9 leopards (five males and four females) in SWR. The genetic analysis identified only 5 tigers and 4 leopards from SWR, and 6 tigers from the Karnali floodplain of BNP. Population density of tigers in SWR was estimated at between 1.8 and 2.9/100 km2, while that for leopards was estimated at between 1.8 and 2.6/100 km2 during the study period. This research provides the first set of data on tigers, leopards and their prey in SWR, Nepal during the dry season. |
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