Density of leopard in a moist-temperate forest of western Himalaya, India
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Tropical Ecology https://doi.org/10.1007/s42965-020-00090-w
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Density of leopard in a moist‑temperate forest of western Himalaya, India Athar Noor1 · Zaffar Rais Mir1 · Gopi Govindan Veeraswami2 · Bilal Habib1 Received: 21 August 2019 / Revised: 18 June 2020 / Accepted: 23 June 2020 © International Society for Tropical Ecology 2020
Abstract Widespread conversion of the biodiversity rich habitats into land for cultivation and human habitation has resulted in extensive habitat loss for wildlife including leopard. In order to prioritize investments and assess conservation intervention and effectiveness reliable estimates of population density are required. We carried out camera-trapping and line-transect surveys to estimate the predator and prey densities in moist-temperate forest of Dachigam National Park, north-western Himalaya. Density estimate for leopard (Panthera pardus) obtained from programme CAPTURE was 2.8 ± SE 1.18/100 km2 and the SECR density obtained from software SPACECAP was 0.744 ± SE 0.18/100 km2. Density estimate obtained using software DISTANCE for the two principal prey species was 5.11 ± 0.51/km2 and 16.32 ± 1.87/km2 for hangul (Cervus hanglu ssp. hanglu) and langur (Semnopithecus ajax), respectively. The leopard density estimates, which are a first record from the study area, turned out to be the lowest in the country. The low densities of prey represent an alarming status of the species as well as of forest ecosystems of the study area. Our baseline estimates for the leopard and prey species will help future research, conservation and management strategies. Keywords Apex predator · Camera trapping · Dachigam National Park · Kashmir
Introduction Carnivore density and distribution is limited by a range of ecological and anthropogenic factors. One of the main constraints of carnivore density is prey availability and abundance, with carnivore densities being positively correlated with the density of their prey (Carbone and Gittleman 2002; Karanth et al. 2004). Large carnivores also require sufficient suitable habitat to provide cover for hunting and females require denning sites for rearing their young (Hayward et al. 2006; Mizutani and Jewell 1998). Anthropogenic factors limiting carnivore density include habitat loss and decline of prey densities (Datta et al. 2008; Henschel et al. 2011), human persecution (Balme et al. 2009a), poaching for body * Bilal Habib [email protected] 1
Department of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Wildlife Institute of India, P.O. Box 18, Dehradun, Uttarakhand 248001, India
Department of Endagered Species Management, Wildlife Institute of India, P.O. Box 18, Dehradun, Uttarakhand 248001, India
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parts (Raza et al. 2012) and unsustainable trophy hunting (Packer et al. 2010). Widespread conversion of carnivore habitat into land for cultivation and human habitation has resulted in extensive habitat loss for many large carnivores including leopard (Panthera pardus Linnaeus, 1758). The leopard is the most widespread member of the felidae and
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