Theses and Dissertations

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Author: search.filters.author.Qureshi, QamarSubject: search.filters.subject.Panthera pardus

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    Ecology of leopard (Panthera pardus) in Sariska Tiger Reserve, Rajasthan
    (Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2011) Mondal, Krishnendu; Shankar, K.; Qureshi, Qamar
    The present study estimated the prey availability and prey consumption, population and survival rate and the home ranges and resource selection of leopard in Sariska Tiger Reserve. The Sariska Tiger Reserve (STR) (N27o05’ to N27o45’ and E76o15’ to E76o35’) is situated in the Aravalli Hill Range and lies in the semi-arid part of Rajasthan for four consecutive years from 2007 to with these objectives: 1. To estimate the prey availability of leopard 2. To study the food habits and prey selection of leopard 3. To estimate the population of leopard and 4. To study the home range and habitat use of leopard. In the present study, food habits and prey selection of leopard were examined during the study period following scat analysis method and kill records. Radio-telemetry technique was followed to estimate the home range and habitat use of leopard as this technique is found to be the most updated and useful practice to gather information on home range, daily and seasonal movement pattern of big cats. The result of this study presented the abundance of prey species of leopard and their consumption by leopard in Sariska TR. The study also estimated the population and survival rate of leopard in Sariska TR. Home range and habitat use of leopard was estimated in the present study and a habitat suitability model for leopard was generated in and around Sariska TR.
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    Prey selection and food habits of large carnivores: tiger (Panthera tigris), leopard (Panthera pardus) and dhole (Cuon alpinus) in Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, Tamil Nadu.
    (2010) Ramesh, T.; Sankar, K.; Qureshi, Qamar
    A detailed long-term study on prey selection, food habits and population status of three sympatric large carnivores (tiger, leopard and dhole) was documented during the present study. To supplement the current basic information, the present study was conducted in Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, Tamil Nadu from January 2008 to April 2010. The objectives of the study include estimating density, group size and composition of prey species of sympatric carnivores, to study the food habits and prey selectivity of sympatric carnivores and to estimate the population of the sympatric carnivores. Prey selection and food habits of large carnivores were studied using two methods i.e by evaluating kills and analyzing scat. Data on population estimation of dhole was collected between January 2008 and December 2009. Five vehicle transect routes ranging from 15 to 23 km were monitored to record dhole sightings. Camera-trap and vehicle transect studies have showed that high densities of large carnivores in the study area of the Tiger Reserve.
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    Computing Biomass Consumption from Prey Occurrences in Scats of Tropical Felids
    (Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2013) Chakrabarti, Stotra; Jhala, Y.V.; Qureshi, Qamar
    A robust understanding of prey use and selection by carnivores provides crucial insights into their ecology, conservation and management. In majority of the cases, scat analysis is most effective to assess diet spectrum of carnivores, but require correction for potential biases for estimating biomass contribution of different prey items. Since small prey have higher indigestible matter per unit body mas~ due to higher surface area-to-volume ratio, relative frequencies of prey remains in scats do not represent their consumed biomasses. Thus ~ to accurately estimate the proportions of different prey consumed, it is necessary to develop relationships between biomass consumed per field collectable scat and prey weight through feeding experiments. However, no such relationship exists for felids of the Indian sub-continent. The studies on diet of big cats like lion (Panthera leo), tiger (Panthera tigris) and leopard (Panthera pardus) have used a similar relationship based on cougars (Puma concolor) by Ackerman et al. 1984 owing to the unavailability of any species specific relations. Methods: A series of feeding trials were used on Asiatic lion (Panthera leo persica), leopard and jungle cat (Felis chaus) to develop prey incidence to biomass conversion equations (hereafter mentioned as biomass models or biomass equations). Principal findings: All the models showed satiating relationships between biomass consumed per collectable scat and prey weight given by asymptotic exponential functions. However, carnivore specific models when scaled to their respective body weights did not differ significantly between each other, allowing derivation of a generalized biomass model for tropical felids. Inferences using present study models refined existing representation of diet of tropical carnivores. Significance: Results from the present study have strong implications on feeding ecology of tropical felids. Present study refined previous understanding of biomass contribution of different prey species in large felid diet by substantially increasing roportion of medium prey consumption. Such inferences question niche separation of sympatric large felids on the basis of prey species of different sizes, where large carnivores like tiger optimizing on large prey like gaur (Bos gaurus) and sambar (Rusa unicolor). while medium felids like leopard maximizing on chital (Axis axis). Domestic livestock significantly reduced in carnivore diet, reducing livestock depredation rates. indicating lower human-carnivore conflict levels.