IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
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| Khudsar, F.A.; Sharma, K.; Rao, R.J.; Chundawat, R.S. | |
| Estimation of prey base and its implications in Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary | |
| 2008 Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society (105): 42-48 | |
The Asiatic Lion Panthera leo persica is restricted to the Gir National Park and Sanctuary in India, which is the only site holding the last surviving wild population of Asiatic Lion in the world. Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary (WLS) in northwest Madhya Pradesh was selected as the site to establish a second home for the Asiatic Lion. Twenty-four villages were rehabilitated outside the Sanctuary to create a large forest habitat free from human disturbance for the Lions. To assess wild prey availability for the Lions in the Sanctuary, distance sampling method was used to collect and analyse data from roads traversed as transects. Cattle population was estimated using direct head counts at yarding sites. The study was carried out in 2004. The estimated combined density of all the major prey excluding Common Langur and cattle in the Sanctuary was 12.11 animals/sq. km. It was found that the total available prey base including feral cattle and wild ungulates was 1993 kg/sq. km, which is still less than the wild prey biomass of 2784.9 kg/sq. km reported from Gir. While this prey base can support a small reintroduced population of 6-10 Lions, it is recommended that efforts to develop a sufficient wild prey base be given the highest management priority. |
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