Theses and Dissertations
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Item Can tigers (Panthera tigris) survive in human-dominated landscape of India : a case study of human-tiger interaction around bhopal city, M.P.(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2026) Shrivastava, D.P.; Adhikari, B.S.In India, wild tiger numbers have gone from 1411 (SE range 1,165 to 1,675) in 2006 to 3682 (SE 243) in 2022 (Status of Tigers in India, 2023). Tigers are known for their large home ranges and great dispersal distances, and the National Tiger Conservation Authority estimated that approximately 40% of all tigers in India live outside the reserves in unprotected lands. These unprotected lands are mosaics of multiple-use forests and agricultural fields surrounding villages, towns, and cities. With a growing human population and its need for expanding urbanization, agriculture and other land uses have implication on forest. The land-use change presents enormous problems to animal conservation, particularly for wide-ranging species like tigers (Panthera tigris), whose migration and habitat usage are being disturbed by developing urban infrastructure. One of the most significant difficulties is the fragmentation of ecosystems created by linear infrastructure such as roads, trains, and highways, which limit communication between important green spaces. The study is focused on urban landscapes of Bhopal city, a city with 2.6 million people, placed at Vindhyan Hills and surrounded by the dry deciduous forest of Bhopal Forest Circle. The study area focuses on the urban-rural gradient, including the built-up area of Bhopal, peri-urban and rural/wilderness area of the territorial forest of Bhopal, Sehore, Obedullahganj, and Raisen. The study uses a bio-social approach to understand the tigers and prey surviving in these dynamic areas on one end and people’s attitudes and perceptions to understand social factors shaping coexistence in these landscapes. The basic questions of the study are what is the extend of green spaces available for tigers in this landscape? What is the available prey-base and how tigers are utilizing available prey base, how animals and people share spaces, and how people’s attitude and perception shape coexistence in these dynamic areas. As the first part of the study, this study aims to evaluate habitat suitability and identify potential tiger habitats across five districts of central India (Sehore, Raisen, Bhopal, Rajgrah and Vidisha). We generated land use and forest density maps using LANDSAT 8 satellite imagery for 2022 by adopting the Maximum Likelihood Classification (MLC) method. Subsequently, we developed a Habitat Suitability Model (HSM) for tigers using Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) within a Multicriteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) framework. The model Integrated land use and forest density map, anthropogenic variables (proximity to water, roads, railways, and human settlements and three topographic variables: slope, Digital Elevation Model (DEM), and aspects. Each thematic layer was weighted based on ground data and secondary ecological reference data. The results of land use and forest density maps showed that the agriculture class dominates by covering (67.32 %; 21,097 km sq), high, moderate, and open dense forest covers (20.04 %; 6093.44 km sq), and settlement (5%;1614.66 km sq). The results of the accuracy evaluation showed a high-quality classification with an overall accuracy of 93.3% and a kappa coefficient (k) of 0.93, indicating strong agreement between the classified and reference data set. Habitat suitability analysis showed highly suitable class encompasses approximately 2,609.27 km sq, moderately suitable areas covered around 2909.09 km sq, and low suitability areas cover 4547.34 km sq. The overall result indicates that areas with high-density forest cover in Raisen and Sehore exhibited the highest habitat suitability across the study region. For developing an understanding of city green spaces and tiger movement, we assessed land-use/land-cover (LULC) patterns and their implications for tiger space-use near city fringes adjacent to the Ratapani Tiger Reserve. Using Landsat-8 imagery (30m resolution, 2022), supervised maximum likelihood classification in ArcGIS 10.8 (Kappa=0.88) identified settlements (37%), agriculture (30%), urban green spaces (25%), and waterbodies (8%) across 414 km². Of 535 digitized green patches (65 cm Google Earth Pro), 248 exceeded 1 ha, forming connected networks via riparian and institutional areas. Tiger presence was evaluated via systematic sign surveys (Nov 2021–Jul 2022) across standardized trails (45.6 km total) in urban green spaces of Kaliasot-kerwa, supplemented by All India Tiger Estimation 2022 camera traps. Tigers occupied 19 grids in southern Bhopal (Kaliasot-Kerwa belt), with encounter rates of 0.88–1.82 signs/km (winter mean: 1.45 ±0.33; summer: 0.93 ±0.06), indicating territorial use influenced by prey, water, and human factors. Four individuals were photo-captured in sites like MANIT and WALMI. As part of a broader effort to understand tiger survival in an urban landscape, we conducted extensive field surveys across Bhopal and a 30 km buffer zone to assess tiger presence, prey abundance, and human-wildlife interactions. Here, we present findings on the relationship between prey distribution, composition, and abundance and tiger diet across urban and peri-urban mosaics. Prey abundance was estimated using 40 and 12 line transects in the forest of Bhopal Forest Circle and Urban green spaces (2019- 2022), respectively. In the forest, 14 prey species were recorded, with wild pig (Sus scrofa, 83.33%) and peafowl (Pavo cristatus, 66.66%) being the most frequently encountered, whereas cattle (Bos taurus, 37.5%) and nilgai (Boselaphus tragocamelus, 30%) dominated urban areas. Mean prey abundance was highest for goats (Capra aegagrus hircus, 32 individuals per transect) and wild boar (Sus scrofa, 24.3) in the forest circle, whereas cattle, goats (14), and blackbuck (Antilope cervicapra, 10) were most prevalent in urban green spaces. Tiger diet analysis, based on morphological identification of prey hair in 227 scat samples collected from Bhopal City, the Bhopal-Ratapani connecting forest, and Ratapani Tiger Reserve, revealed 19 prey species, with nilgai (17.62%), cattle (15.41%), and Chowsingha (Tetracerus quadricornis, 14.09%) being the most frequently consumed. While prey species were relatively evenly distributed, significant variation in dietary composition across landscapes underscores the adaptability of tigers to urban environments. Bhopal exemplifies how heterogeneous urban matrices sustain biodiversity connectivity. Protecting these corridors via integrated planning ensures human-wildlife harmony, ecosystem services, and Central India’s tiger landscape resilience. To understand the human dimensions the study examines how people and tigers are sharing spaces. We investigated the spatial-temporal dynamics of tiger (Panthera tigris) coexistence within the human-modified landscape of the Bhopal-Ratapani Connecting Forest in Madhya Pradesh, India. Utilizing camera trap data collected in 2020, we examined the activity patterns of tigers, co-predators, prey species (wild and domestic), and humans to assess spatial-temporal overlap and segregation. Our results reveal significant temporal partitioning among these groups, with tigers exhibiting primarily nocturnal behaviour to minimize overlap with human activity. Prey species display diverse strategies, including diurnal, nocturnal, and crepuscular patterns. The same has also been depicted in the Non-metric Multidimensional Scaling plot. ANOVA analysis confirms significant Spatial variation (F=4.2, p<0.003) and temporal variation (F = 4.22, p<0.01) among the focal groups. Even the study at Bhopal-Ratapani Landscape level states similar temporal adaptation of tigers and co-predators. However, the ANOVA results state clear temporal variation among Tigers and co-predators in space use but no significant difference in spatial context such as Bhopal-Sehore, Ratapani core and Obedullahganj territorial stating the homogenous landscape availability. These findings underscore the importance of temporal niche partitioning in facilitating tiger persistence in urban-influenced environments and inform targeted conservation strategies aimed at mitigating human- wildlife conflict and promoting coexistence.The low conflict levels, timely compensatory practices, and non-retaliatory attitude of the local community are playing an important role in sharing space with tigers without any conflict. The absence of Human-tiger conflict is one of the important factors promoting acceptance within local communities. These findings highlight the role of human-modified landscapes in shaping space availability, prey availability & utilization by large carnivores, and acceptance by local communities to share space with tigers, emphasizing the urgent need to reconsider the role of urban green spaces and consider wildlife as part of urban planning to mitigate human-wildlife conflicts and ensure long-term conservation.Item Playing it Safe Tiger Movement and Livestock Depredation Patterns in Panna Tiger Reserve, Central India(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2021) Mohan, Manu K.; Ramesh, K.; Sathyakumar, S.The movement of large carnivores in human-dominated landscapes is not uncommon anymore. While their presence is superficially tolerated or ignored, it is a consistent cause of concern to the people living in its proximity, due to competing interests in sharing of resources and direct threat to human lives. Carnivores incur energetic costs in the form of restricted activity and having to make spatial and temporal activity adjustments. Humans, on the other hand, face losses from livestock depredation and/or loss of lives. Depredation patterns of livestock by carnivores are associated with a variety of factors including habitat structure as well as movement patterns of carnivores in relation to anthropogenic and livestock activity. Hence, deducing movement patterns of the groups in conflict is an important step in understanding the dynamics of conflict patterns at fine scales. Supplemented by models to predict the probability of conflicts spatially which delineates conflict hotspots, site-specific mitigation measures could be devised. To understand such patterns of carnivore movement and relation to livestock depredation events, I conducted this study in a human-dominated region adjacent to the Critical Tiger Habitat of Panna Tiger Reserve in central India from December 2020 to April 2021, within an area of 200 km2. The broad objective was to model the conflict probability based on the proportion of the human-dominated area used by tigers, its intensity of use and spatio-temporal activity within the area, in response to human disturbances. For this, I used intensive camera trap sampling at fine-scale within grids (1 km x 1 km) across the entire study area. Movement parameters of tigers such as displacement and distance to villages in day and night were also analysed by monitoring two GPS-collared tigers in the study area. Occupancy estimates showed 74% of the sampled area being used by tigers, with the relative abundance of a large bodied wild prey (sambar) as the strongest predictor. In addition, a clear positive trend in the relative abundance index of tigers with distance to villages was observed. The temporal activities of the tigers also showed a significant difference in median activity time, shifting towards the night along with moderate diurnal activity at higher distances from villages. The tigers exhibited both crepuscular and nocturnal activity at close distances to villages. The movement range analyses of the tigers using camera traps showed the study area being used by 17 tigers, with 9 of them being adults (>3 years of age). Fixed Kernel Density home-range estimates of the two GPS-collared tigers showed a considerable proportion of their home range areas falling within village boundaries (10%) and an average of 16% of all GPS locations of the tigers fell within 0-100 metres from villages. Despite such high exploratory use of areas within and close distances to villages by sub-adults, there were relatively low incidences of conflict between the tigers and villagers in the study area. Finally, to assess the extent of risk and predict the probability of livestock depredation in the area, Generalized Linear Models were used. The best-fit model indicated a significant negative effect of distance to villages and highway to the probability of livestock depredation. Linear intrusions through highway and forest trails from villages allow easy access to livestock and herders for the utilization of the multi-use buffer areas of the Reserve as well as the tigers to come in proximity to settlements. Corralling of livestock in the night, avoiding free-ranging and grazing of livestock in the identified conflict hotspots, incentivization of alternate source of livelihood by strengthening the institutions such as Eco-Development Committees, along with continuous monitoring of tigers which range close to human settlements are discussed as some of the important measures which can be adopted to decrease the interfaces leading to tiger-human conflict in Panna Tiger Reserve.Item Patterns and Determinants of Elephant Habitat Use in a Mosaic Landscape in Northern Chhattisgarh(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2019) Meshram, Kushagra; Pandav, Bivash; Nigam, ParagHabitat use is affected by a wide range of factors,like the amount of resources available, its distribution in space, quality of resource,presence and absence of limiting factors like roads and settlements. Increasing anthropogenic pressure has lead to the degradation of the habitat available to animals in the form fragmentation of forests, introduction of invasive species and reduction in the quality of the available forage. This in turns alters the composition and modify the natural systems. This modification of habitat may compel animals to alter the way they use it by adopting new strategies. On these lines, I did my study on assessing the factors that influence habitat use of elephants in a mosaic landscape in Northern Chhattisgarh. The study was carried out in Surguja district of Chhattisgarh. This district is famous has been infamous for elephant conflict since 1900s. The problem has exacerbated due to rapid urbanisation, increasing population and alteration in land use. Today, it is one of the most human-elephant conflict affected area in country. This is a repercussion of wanton modification of natural habitat. How elephants are interacting with this modified habitat which is a matrix of remnant forest patches, agricultural areas and settlements is the crux of my study. In order to to study this, I selected a study area of 1200 square kilometres. As a part of the study I also followed two satellite Collared individuals(one living with a herd and the other, a solitary male) to understand spatiotemporal habitat use and ranging behaviour of elephants. I also collaborated with Indian Space and Research Organisation for my study. High resolution land-use maps were provided by ISRO for this study. The field work was carried out from 21st December 2018 to 15th April 2019. GIS based work was done in the GIS lab of the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun.Item Habitat use by Gaur (Bos gaurus gaurus) and Assessment of Human-Gaur Conflicts Human Modified Landscapes of Nilgiris Forest Division Tamil Nadu(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2019) Indira, S.; Sathyakumar, S.Gaur is the largest bovine in the world and is threatened by factors such as habitat loss, poaching, diseases and other anthropogenic stresses. In unprotected landscape, their habitat is confined to small forest pockets which are interspersed with human habitations. This study investigated the use of human-modified landscapes by gaur and how does this potentially increase the negative interaction between human and the animal. Information on ecology of gaur is limited to a few studies conducted within protected areas in India. This study was conducted in the six ranges of the Nilgiris FD, viz., Udhagai North, Udhagai South, Kattabettu, Kotagiri, Coonoor, and Kundha that encompassed an area of 900 km2 during the period January to April, 2019. Secondary data related to conflict and gaur mortality was collected from the District Forest Office to assess the current conflict scenario. To investigate the habitat use by gaur, the study area was divided into grids (2 km x 2km) and an average effort of 1.5 km (+/- 0.5 km) was made in every grid. To evaluate the perception and attitude of people towards gaur and human-gaur conflict, a semi-structured questionnaire was designed preceding the reconnaissance survey. The total crop raiding incidences were 31, human deaths 6, human injury 36, livestock death 4 and property damage 3. Injuries to humans due to gaur attacks appears to be most recorded conflict as indicated by the number of incidents in 3 years, followed by crop raiding, human deaths, livestock deaths and property damage. Areas such as Nunthala, Adhigaratti and Ithalar of Kundha and Udhagai south has high conflict. Areas such as Konvakarai and Bickapathy had medium conflicts and the rest were of low conflict intensity. Most of the conflicts were of crop raiding during the months January to April. In total, 79 gaur sightings 38 dung were recorded in the study area during the study period. Most of the visual sightings were in tea plantation followed by reserve forest, human settlement and cropland. Gaur dung were recorded only in forested habitats. Various groups of people majorly sight gaur in tea plantations than other habitats. Most of the respondents have sighted gaur in and around human habitation during dawn followed by dusk and night hours. Crop Raiding (CR), Human Attack (HA), Traffic hindrance (TRA), Presence in Human Habitation (PRE HH) are the classes of conflicts perceived by the local communities. Majority of the respondents sighted gaur at least twice in a weak. Respondents’ perceived gaur as threat majorly due to have experiencing fear of attack and crop raiding. Gaur is considered as a major threat animal followed by sloth bear, wild pig, leopard and bonnet macaque. Tea plantations are the source for grass and weeds for the gaur to feed on. Proportion of reserve forest is less than other land use classes in the study area. Hence, for the large mammal like gaur can sustain only if it adapts to use the human habitation for food. Investigations on body health condition, home range, population, breeding ecology, behavior, and so on should be made in the future to understand the ecology of the large bovid within close proximity to human. Such research findings will help to make better conservation efforts for site specific and species specific issue. In spite of various wildlife encounters and conflict incidences it is likely that people and animals are co-existing in the Nilgiris. The Forest Department may have to adopt proactive measures for monitoring and management of human-animal conflict in the Nilgiris with more emphasis on gaur. Awareness creation amongst local communities and rapid response by the Forest Department personnel to manage human-wildlife conflict is crucial to avoid injury/ death and other losses/disturbances for the peaceful co-existence of both animal and people.Item Assessing the Patterns of Human-Wildlife Compensation Around Pakke Tiger Reserve Arunachal Pradesh(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2019) Langlang, Luxmi; Das, Abjijit; Gopi, G.V.Of all the types of interactions between humans and wildlife, human-wildlife conflict (hereafter HWC) poses a significant challenge to conservation efforts and species survival. This conflict may be manifested with a range of interactions with more negative actions being killing and injury to wildlife and humans while more neutral actions being internalizing costs of living with wildlife. People living in and around protected areas interact closely with wildlife. The negative interaction may be in the form of crop raiding, livestock depredation, property damage or death and injury to human. Thus, such interactions may result in economic loss to people and may create animosity against conservation through reduced public support and retaliatory killing. Further peoples’ perceptions towards HWC may vary by species, especially as large and potentially dangerous animals such as tigers and elephants are seen as a threat to farmers’ livelihoods. In this context, I assessed the patterns of HWC around Pakke Tiger Reserve to identify conflict species and hotspots of conflict. I tried to understand the constraints about compensation in terms of the gap between self-reported conflict and conflict reported to forest department. I also focussed on understanding the perception of people towards commonly found wildlife in the reserve with the help of attitude score. My study was carried out in 41 villages where I interviewed 327 households around Pakke Tiger Reserve. I used a semi-structured questionnaire and open-ended questions to understand the pattern of conflict, compensation issues, attitude towards different species and mitigation strategies most commonly used. Perception data was also collected. Crop damage (mostly by wild pigs, macaques and rodents) was reported as the most prevalent type of conflict around PTR followed by livestock depredation (mainly by wild dogs, tigers and leopards). Property damage and human death and injuries were reported to a lesser extent. Twelve different mitigation strategies were commonly used against crop raiding and livestock depredation. Night patrols and sound were used to keep animals away from fields. Livestock’s were mostly grazed in the forest, and hunting of predators was the most common mitigation strategy against livestock depredation.Item Pastoral Practice and Herders Attitude Towards Wildlife in South Gobi Mongolia(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2011) Mijiddorj, Tserennadmid; Rawat, G.S.; Badola, RuchiThis study deals with analysis of traditional and current pastoral practices in south Gobi areas of Mongolia with emphasis on herders' attitude towards wildlife. The study was conducted during December 2010 to May 2011. The major objectives of the study were to study: (i) Nomadic herders' pastoral practices and drives of changes. (ii) Influence of pastoral practices on human-wildlife conflict and (iii) nomadic herders' attitude towards wildlife. I used questionnaire surveys in two villages in Gurvantes soum to find out the past and current patters of herding, herders' attitudes and major drivers of changes. The villages were selected based on the fact that in one village (Tost), Snow Leopard Conservation initiatives are going along with livestock insurance and research programs, while in another village (Baysah) no conservation initiatives have been undertaken. However the range use patterns by the local herders and the level of conflict with wild carnivores is the same in both areas. A total of 144 individuals from different age, gender and educational background were interviewed, 74 in 8 aysah (nonconservation) area and 70 from Tost area where snow leopard conservation activities are taking place. The data were analyzed using SPSS Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) PC version 16.0 for . Generalized linear model GLM linear and negative binomial with log linear model. The study reveals that the pastoral practices among the herders in the study area is largely influenced by land tenure, mining disorder, school kids' admissions and development factors. Assessment of pastoral practice changes revealed that 84.7% herders had highly altered their seasonal movement pattern which can affect pasture degradation and regeneration of grass growth. Owing to changes in pastoral practices, the herders have become more prone to lose more livestock to carnivores. Using GLM models it is proven (Wald chi-square =4.551 df=11 P=O.033) that recent faulty pastoral practice change (.e.g, nuclear family, vulnerable for natural disaster and herding techniques) explains livestock losses due to the carnivores. It requires implementing livestock husbandry management in better ways. Gurvantes soum's two different villages offered ideal condition to compare carnivore conservation efficiency and way to forward to mitigate such human-wildlife conflict. Study indicated that in generally herders positive perception towards ungulates whereas carnivores Tost (conservation area) area herders' tolerance level was higher than those of baysah area (non-conservation area) (t=5.23, df=89. P