IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
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| Noor, A. | |
| Status and spatio-temporal ranging behaviour of leopard (_Panthera pardus_) in Dachigam National Park, Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir | |
| 2019 Full Book | |
Leopard (_Panthera pardu_s) is the most widely distributed and persecuted felid amongst large cats. It is known for its ecological flexibility and found to occupy almost all habitats except for pure deserts. However, like other large carnivores, leopards are declining throughout their range due to habitat conversion, prey depletion, intense persecution and poaching for trade. In India, it largely coexists with other felid species like the tiger (_Panthera tigris_) across much of its distribution range and with lion (_Panthera leo_) and clouded leopard (_Neofelis nebulosa_) in certain areas of its distribution range. In Kashmir valley, leopard is at the top of the food chain and an apex predator and assumed to regulate prey populations. Conservation and management planning of the leopards in Kashmir valley is impeded by the paucity of reliable empirical ecological information. There has been an increase in the human leopard conflict in the valley which, if left unnoticed, will worsen the conservation prospects of this threatened felid. Hence, study was initiated by Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun with support funding from the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India, in December 2010 to December 2013 to estimate leopard population and prey abundance, to study the leopard feeding habits and to determine the ranging behavior of leopards in Dachigam National Park. This thesis is an outcome of the main study and has three main objectives. The first objective being to determine the population status of leopards; second is to study the ranging behaviour and habitat use by leopards and lastly to model habitat suitability for leopards in Dachigam National Park. |
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