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Item Long-term perspective plan: mitigating human-elephant conflict in Rajaji Landscape, Uttarakhand(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2022) WII-UKFD1. The Rajaji Landscape comprising of the Rajaji Tiger Reserve, and the adjoining Forest Divisions of Dehradun, Haridwar and Lansdowne in the state of Uttarakhand (henceforth, The Rajaji landscape) supports a population of about 550 elephants (Elephas maximus) as estimated by the Uttarakhand Forest Department during 201 5. Thus, the Raj aji landscape holds nearly 31% of the elephant population occurring in Uttarakhand. 2. The elephant population in Uttarakhand including that of the Rajaji landscape has been relatively stable and even witnessed marginal growth. However, with growing human population and associated impacts on elephant habitats such as increased resource demands and rapid expansion of physical infrastructure, there has been an increase in the human-elephant conflict (henceforth, HEC). Early detection of the problem and addressing its root causes would be an important conflict resolution strategy. 3. As part of the preemptive conflict management strategy in the Rajaji in landscape, a perspective plan has been envisaged. The overarching objective of the perspective plan is to synthesize available information on the existing HEC in the Rajaji landscape, draw broad inferences on the trends and patterns, and deliberate on different approaches that are appropriate for mitigating HEC. As HEC mitigation strategies are both short- and long -term, the perspective plan is drafted for a reasonably long period of 10 years spanning 2023 to 2033 . 4. The drafting of the perspective plan did not involve any primary background research. However, the plan was prepared using information available in the literature; existing data on elephant movement, home range and conflict collected as part of the WII -UKFD collaborative project (Nigam et al. 2022), and data obtained from the Project Elephant. Further to this, extensive field visits were carried out to corroborate on the important findings obtained from other studies. Furthermore, the plan also draws heavily on other policy documents as elaborated in the report. 5. As elucidated by the first steering committee report of the Project Elephant (Gajatame, 1993), conservation and management of elephants in the Rajaji landscape calls for harboring "viable elephant populations" Perspective Plan to Manage Human-Elephant Conflict in Raja); Landscape (2023 - 2033) in "viable elephant habitats". Often, human-elephant conflict and elephant habitat conditions are intricately linked. In areas where elephant habitat quality is optimal, intensity of human-elephant conflict in the landscape would be comparatively low. Considering this, the perspective plan places emphasis on improving habitat conditions for elephants. 6. It has been observed that owing to adequate protection and voluntary relocation of Van Gujjars from the National Park areas, it is certain that habitat quality from wild life point of view had improved in select areas within Rajaji National Park. However, the highly productive critical ecotone habitats (located in the eco-tone of Bhabar and Terai tracts) in Shyampur and Chidiyapur Forest Ranges of Haridwar Forest Division have suffered major habitat degradation owing to Gujjar settlement in the area and corresponding resource extraction pressures. 7. While the forest cover did not change much in Rajaji Landscape during the period 1985 to 2022, the land-use outside forests have changed substantially. The urban built-up area in particular has mushroomed all around with long-term implications for elephant movement, dispersal and HEC management as well. Unlike in rural areas, Managing HEC in urban areas is far more challenging due to crowd factor. The potential of invoking provisions of Ecologically Sensitive Zone area under Environmental Protection Act, 1986 to disallow urban expansion close to forest boundary need to be explored. 8. Critical corridors like the Chilla - Motichur remained non-functional for a long period. This had resulted in isolation of elephant populations on either side of river Ganga with long-term effects on dispersal, migration and demography of elephants. Nevertheless, huge efforts were invested by the Uttarakhand Forest Department due to which the Chilla - Motichur corridor has been mostly restored. The other critical corridors like the Motichur - Gohri corridor along the Song River would require renewed focus so that this vital corridor can be recovered on time. The Rajaji landscape had also lost a corridor that connected Ramgarh range of the National Park with the Lacchiwala range of the Dehradun Forest Division across Susua river near Dudhli. This was lost largely due to lack of focus as the corridor was not recognized. 9. In the Rajaji Landscape, the natural grasslands along the river Ganga had either been lost (due to human occupation) or degraded. While it would be impossible to recover the once expansive and productive 2 Perspective Plan to Manage Human- elephant Conflict in Rajaji Landscape (2023 - 2033) grasslands along Ganga, it certainly is critical to restore Chilla, Kunaon, and Dassowala grasslands for elephants. Riverine grasslands were important dry-season habitats for elephants in the past. Recovering critical grasslands and restoring their quality would enhance the inherent carrying capacity of Rajaji Landscape to support elephants. Addressing human-elephant conflict in Rajaji Landscape would also be dependent on recovering and restoring habitat in Shyampur and Chidiyapur Forest Ranges. 10. Linear infrastructure expansion including upgradation of existing village roads and district roads in addition to the Highways and concurrent with rapid increase in the vehicular traffic along these roads pose a major long-term threat of habitat fragmentation. Implementing ecofriendly green infrastructure by ensuring habitat permeability would be critical in the Rajaji Landscape to prevent isolation of elephant populations. Isolated elephant populations are predisposed to cause high levels of human-elephant conflict. 11. Physical barriers that separate elephants and people along the forest interface would be crucial to achieve co-existence in the landscape. Without physical barriers at strategic locations, addressing elephant conflict would be difficult. The barriers currently built by the Forest Department along the forest-agriculture interface pose no threat to habitat connectivity. Limitations and opportunities of implementing physical barriers have been elaborated in the report 12. There are 77 places of religious worship inside Rajaji Landscape that draws over 10000 pilgrims every year. Places of religious worship are located in 18 (58%) ranges of 5 (83%) Forest Divis ions in the Rajaji Landscape. While religious tourism has the potential to reinforce cultural underpinnings of nature conservation as practiced in India besides enabling public appreciation of nature, unregulated pilgrimage in wildlife habitats can pose a challenge to elephant conservation as elephants can abandon habitats with chronic biotic pressure resulting in surfacing of human-elephant conflict. Measures to minimize the threats posed by places of religious worship are deliberated. 13. Further, solutions for the sites used for Kumbh mela for festival related activities were also used extensively by elephants as detailed in the report. Hitherto, the temple committees and other religious institutions have not proactively engaged with the forest department in regulating pilgrims and maintaining the integrity of local ecology. Forest Perspective Plan co Manage Human-Elephant Conflict in Rajaji Landscape (2023 - 2033) department with lean headcount of staff cannot be expected to regulate pilgrims and their activities. Given the huge biotic imprint of places of religious workshop on wildlife habitats in Rajaji Landscape, the perspective plan favors vesting substantial responsibility and sharing of resources by committees of the religious worship to maintain the integrity of forests as envisaged by NTCA guidelines issued during 2012. 14. The indiscriminate use of forest roads and trails by tourists visiting places of religious worship poses a huge risk of fatal encounters with wildlife. The situation calls for regulating/restricting use of forest roads and trails by tourists. There are also instances of forest trails being used as roads by clearing vegetation, which need to be curtailed. 15. Finally, the perspective plan favors active dialogue, and engagement with the communities of the Van Gujjars that live alongside elephant habitats. Partnering with local communities and involving them in implementing conflict mitigation strategies would improve the efficacy of the current efforts of Uttarakhand Forest Department.Item Capacity building initiative on the dispersal and ranging patterns of elephants for effective management of human-elephant interactions(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2022) Nigam, P.; Pandav, B.; Mondol, S.; Lakshmiarayanan, N.; Kumar, A.; Nandwanshi, V.B.; Das, J.; Biswas, S.; Udhayaraj, A.D.; Vishwakarma, R.; Habib, B.; Miachieo, K.; Narasingh Rao, P.V.Wild Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) populations are distributed in four major regions namely North West, North-East, East-Central and Southern regional meta-populations across India. Amongst them, the East-central regional population spread across the States of Odisha, Jharkhand, southern West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, and lately in Madhya Pradesh suffers disproportionately high levels of human elephant conflict. Among the myriad challenges facing management of human-elephant conflict in the region, elephant range expansion into new areas is overriding. One such range expansion that resulted in acute human-elephant conflict is being witnessed in the State of Chhattisgarh. Although northern Chhattisgarh was historically an elephant range, elephants reportedly disappeared during the period 1920 to late 1980s. While episodes of sporadic elephant occurrence in Chhattisgarh was reported during the period 1988- 1993, contemporary range expansion and concomitant human-elephant conflict began from the year 2000, and has accelerated during the last one decade. Faced with an enormous challenge of managing human-elephant conflict that is spatiotemporally dynamic unlike that of other elephant range States, constrained by limited Institutional capacities to assess and deal with the issue. Chhattisgarh Forest Department has been trying diversity its conflict mitigation strategies. Recognizing the need to objectively evaluate human-elephant conflict situation in the State, during the year 2017 Chhattisgarh Forest Department invited Wildlife Institute of India to conduct ecological research on elephants in Chhattisgarh with a three-year budget outlay. The project was a collaborative effort between Chhattisgarh Forest Department and WII. Considering the scope of the project, the project duration was further extended and eventually, the project lasted for the period July 2017 to March 2022. Being the final project report, the activities carried out as part of the project is summarized as under. Distribution and Demography In Chhattisgarh, the elephant distribution during the period 2012 to 2017 was reported from 16 Forest Divisions and four Protected Areas in the north and north-central regions of the state. The elephant population, as enumerated by Chhattisgarh Forest Department during 2021 , ranged from 250 to 300. The adult sex ratio recorded during the study was 1: 4.5. About 44% of the female segment of the population comprised of adults. Chhattisgarh elephant population is presently contiguous with other elephant populations in the neighboring states i.e., Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and in Odisha occurring as a meta-population 1 and thus cannot be considered as an isolated population. However, within Chhattisgarh, the population is relatively small and it occurs scattered over a large area as small and disjunctive groups facing a perpetual risk of getting isolated by ongoing linear infrastructure and other associated developmental activities in the State. If such groups get isolated, then they will not be viable in the long run. 1 Meta-population: Population of small populations that are connected through dispersals 1 O. ~ . -~ 1 -WU.d.U.fe .In.s-titu-te. o.f .In.di a Home Range, Movement Patterns & Dispersal, and Habitat Selection by Elephants During the period 2018-2022, WII-CGFD collaborative effort resulted in 10 elephant radio collaring in Chhattisgarh. The resultant effort provided 3106 elephant days of tracking information. Each of the radiocollared elephants provided an average of 310.6 (± 273) days of tracking data. As on 31 51 March 2022 when WII-CGFD collaborative project ended, two of the collared elephants (SD - Sehradev and MT - Maitri) were having functional collars. The estimated average home range (95% minimum convex polygon) of elephants in Chhattisgarh was 3172.8 km2 (± 2002.2 km2, Range: 462.3 - 6969.7 km2). The 95% kernel density home ranges of elephants were much lower averaging 512.3 km2 (± 235.3 km2, Range: 126.5 - 748.9 km2). The elephant home ranges were not wholly well defined, and marked by inter-annual shifts caused by exploratory behaviour. The elephant home ranges were relatively large. The dry season home ranges were significantly lower than monsoon and winter ranges. However, dry season home ranges of elephants are larger. The present study indicates that habitat quality in some of the forest patches - particularly those that are large and contiguous with minimal of human interference can potentially support elephants in the landscape. Thus, dry season ranges of elephants could serve as a surrogate for habitat quality. Monthly variations in home ranges were significant, and best explained by idiosyncrasies of individual elephants. Among the forest types open, moderately dense and very dense forests classified by Forest Survey of India based on crown densities, elephants selected open forests, that were predominantly juxtaposed with human-use areas. Although the crown density was low, the patches of open forests support dense stands of Sal (Shorea robusta) coppice with rank undergrowth offering adequate cover for elephants. Elephant habitat selection of these open forest patches appears to be influenced by potential foraging opportunities in human-use areas, and further facilitated by low inter-patch distance. Genetic Structure of Elephants Using 258 genetic samples collected from 9 Forest Divisions, elephant genetic structure in northern Chhattisgarh was evaluated. Analysis indicates that at least two different elephant lineages occur in Chhattisgarh. This implies that elephants occurring in Chhattisgarh have possibly come from different areas. Within the two different lineages, high relatedness amongst the individuals was observed corroborating with the general social structure of Asian elephant clans where individuals are mostly related. Crop Losses and Human Fatalities due to Elephants Crop losses caused by elephants were acute and widespread in Chhattisgarh. To draw an analogy, Karnataka's ex gratia payment towards crop losses by elephants during the period 2015-2020 was comparable with Chhattisgarh, although the former's elephant population is 93% more than the latter. The landscape-level assessment covering the whole of northern Chhattisgarh, and fine-scale assessment covering select areas in Surguja circle identified correlates of crop losses at both spatial scales. Elephant-related human deaths were widespread in the state. However, nearly 70% of incidences occurred in areas of high intensity of habitat-use by elephants. The human fatalities due to elephants were both temporally and spatially auto-correlated. 2Item Suggested measured to mitigate elephant and other wildlife train collisions on vulnerable railway stretches in India(MoEFCC and Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2025) PE-MoEFCC-WIIThe Indian railways serves as a vital transportation lifeline for the country, facilitating the movement of people and goods nationwide. However its extensive network has also contributed to major threats to Asian elephants and other wildlife in Certain regions. Additionally railway infrastructure can act as a barrier restricting wildlife movement and leading to habitat fragmentation. To address the issue of wildlife fatalities resulting from train collision, the MoEFCC with the WII and the Ministry of railways had initially identified 110 sensitive railway stretches across the elephant distribution range in India with 17 additional sensitive stretches identified in two Indian tiger range states.Item Supplementation of Gaur in Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2025) Nigam, Parag; Gorati, A.K.; Vishwakarma, R.; Bhandari, B.; Habib, Bilal; Mondol, Samrat; Nath, A.; Sen, S.; Krishnamoorthy, K.; Sahay, A.; Nanda, R.; Tiwari, V.R.Reintroduction and supplementation programs have been implemented worldwide to improve the conservation status of wildlife that have experienced a significant decline due to overexploitation, habitat destruction and fragmentation. Genetic drift and inbreeding are the two processes particularly relevant in reintroduction efforts that lead to reduced fitness, deceased survival rates and increased susceptibility to diseases. The MPFD in collaboration with WII has initiated a three year project (2024-2027) titled : Population management strategies for gaur (Bos gaurus gaurus) conservation: supplementation of gaur in Bandhavgarh tiger reserve, Madhya pradesh''. This project aims to ensure the long term viability of the species by enhancing its genetic diversity. To facilitate the smooth execution of field operations, an action plan was developed and released during the Inception cum planning workshop held at Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve. Conservation translocation have become an important tool in recovering the threatened and locally extinct population. Species translocation are increasing all around the globe to reverse biodiversity loss and restore ecosystem functions. Reintroductions require careful planning as small population size experience inbreeding depression, which leads to decreased fitness and demographic stochasticity. Although genetic diversity is not directly linked to species extirpation, low gene pool results in low species recovery. To enhance the gene pool and long term viability of the restored species, supplementations are crucial, especially in small and isolated populations. The addition of new individuals amplify the gene flow in reintroduced species.Item Tracking the nearshore and migratory movements of Olive ridley sea turtles occurring in the Coastal waters of Maharashtra(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2023) Mudliar, M.M.; Kumar, R.S.In a first, a satellite tracking study of solitary nesting olive ridley sea turtles was taken up on the west coast of India during 2022-2023 along the Maharashtra coast. Seven olive ridley sea turtles were captured (five in 2022 and two in 2023) and were tagged with Argos satellite transmitters (model-K2G 576E) manufactured by Lotek Wireless Inc. (New Zealand). The tags were attached to the turtle's carapace using a 2-part epoxy-resin adhesive and further secured using fiberglass tape. The tags were programmed to remain on for 24 hours and a transmission limit of 577 messages per day was fixed for each tag. Five turtles tagged in 2022 were tracked for an average duration of 138 days (3 to 173 days), while the two turtles tagged in February 2023 were tracked for 212 and 213 days. rhe turtfe locations received from the tags were checked for erroneous data and filtered accordingly. Following this, a continuous-time State-Space Model (SSM) was used for track correction and modelling. For every 6-hour interval, a location from the modelled track was extracted for the separate analysis of breeding period. Further, for the analysis of the post-nesting period, the locations were extracted for every 24-hour interval. A movement persistence model was then used to determine the behavioural state of the turtles based on changes in speed and direction of travel between subsequent time steps. This resulted in a Movement Persistence Index (MPI) for every time step that ranged between 0 and 1, where higher values indicated directed movements associated with migration and lower values indicated a slow-moving phase associated with stop-over. The high-use areas of tagged turtles during the nesting period were determined using Kernel Density Estimates (KDE). Further, the diving data obtained for each tagged turtle was summarised for dive depth and duration, and daily time spent on the surface. The diving behaviour was also compared for the turtles in the continental shelf waters and in the open ocean. During the nesting period, the tagged turtles resided in the nearshore waters for a period ranging from 22 to 41 days and, on average, remained 10 km from the coast. During this period, the high use area (50% KDE) determined for the tagged turtles ranged from 142 sq. km to 735 sq. km and fell within the 30 m depth contour. The high-use areas were primarily associated with turtle-nesting beaches adjoining river mouths in the region. Two of the tagged turtles from the 2022 season, Prathama and Saavni, were observed to nest again after 34 and 31 days, respectively, suggesting that the solitary nesting turtles lay multiple clutches in a season. The average time spent at the surface per day (time the tags remained dry) during this period was 50 minutes. This suggests that turtles possibly spent most of their time resting underwater which was also evident from the long U-shaped dives recorded during this phase. The tagged turtles started on their post-nesting movements from late February to mid-March. In the case of three turtles, their initial movements were oriented to the North while the others iii headed South. The northernmost location of the tagged turtles came 95 km off the coast of Gujarat, where the turtle named Prathama resided for 31 days, and then began moving South. The post-nesting movements of the tagged turtles in the following months had clear directionality and were not nomadic. The tagged turtles were observed to have a median speed of 1.1 km/h, and the speed increased from 0.6 km/h (range: 0.3-0.9 km/hr) to 1.32 km/h (range: 0.6 -1.79 km/h) when they moved from the continental shelf to open waters. The turtles were observed to have stop-overs in areas off the Gujarat coast, the Karnataka coast, the waters。仟 northeastern Sri Lanka, and the open waters of the Bay of Bengal. At the time of the last tracking location, the displacement distance of the tagged turtles was 190 - 2338 km from their nesting beach and they had travelled 1015-5267 km in 80-213 days. the turtles were observed to dive to an average depth of 15.7 ± 8.2m during the breeding phase and 61.43 ± 36 m during the post-breeding phase. During these dives, the turtles stayed underwater for an average duration of 27.2115 and 31.9 ±18 minutes in the breeding and post-breeding phase, respectively. An increase in V-shaped dives (exploration dives) was observed when turtles moved into deeper waters. The turtles performed shallower dives at night in open waters, while no such difference was observed when the turtles were on the continental shelf. A gradual increase in daily surface duration was observed during the post-breeding phase for turtles. At the same time, it was observed that the deepest dive performed in a given day gradually increased, and turtles that moved into the shelf break and open ocean habitat performed exceptionally deeper dives sometimes more than 400 meters. A general southward movement and reduction in MPI in the continental shelf break of the Karnataka coast was observed for most turtles starting from the month of May. This area falls in the well-known Malabar upwelling zone and appears to be an important foraging area for the west coast olive ridley population. Being first of its kind for west coast of India, this tracking study has been successful in creating awareness about olive ridley sea turtles through extensive media coverage on tagging and movement updates. Even with a small number of tagged turtles, it also provided crucial information on the movement and diving ecology of this lesser-studied population. Most importantly, the patterns of movement from this study suggests that turtles nesting on the Maharashtra coast comprise two foraging populations. Firstly, those that are resident to the Arabian Sea and the others from the Sri Lankan waters or from the Bay of Bengal. Further tracking efforts are recommended where the turtles are tagged early in the nesting season to understand their inter-rookery movements and find nesting frequencies per season. More tracking efforts from Maharashtra and elsewhere along the West coast of India are suggested to be taken up. This will help understand how the turtles from different nesting areas move and forage. Moreover, this will help identify the overlap between fishing zones and critical breeding and foraging areas along the West Coast to better manage and conserve the species through appropriate interventions.Item Demographic outcomes of diverse behavioural strategies assessed in resident and migratory population of black kites Milvus migrans Phase VI(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2024) Kumar, Nishant; Jhala, Y.V.; Qureshi, Q.The Black Kite, an opportunist, facultative scavenger in the South Asian urban ecosystems,； is a highly successful bird of prey, adapting to various habitats from natural landscapes to bustling cities (Fig.1 ).This adaptability makes them one of the most hutnerous raptors globally (Ferguson- Lees & Christie, 2001). In the Old World, these kites are resourceful and opportunistic eaters, thriving on abundant food sources from human refuse and prey species like pigeons and rats in urban areas. They readily exploit human-generated waste, allowing them to maintain a healthy population and favourable conservation status (Galushin, 1971). In Indian cities like Delhi, they reign as the top avian predators within the urban ecosystem. Studies since the 1960s suggest their breeding density has remained stable. While most raptors require specific ecological conditions, Black Kites exhibit remarkable flexibility (Kumar et al., 2020a). They primarily nest in trees, indicating a need for green spaces within the city. However, a small portion (less than 5%) utilise man-made structures for nesting (Fig. 2). The ample availability of trees in Delhi provides suitable nesting grounds (Kumar, 2013; Kumar et al., 2019). The abundance of garbage in cities - often amassing in the form of large landfills - provides kites with a readily available food source. Additionally, the positive attitude of residents in South Asia towards these birds allows them to breed undisturbed near human settlements. This human tolerance translates to moderate breeding success, with around half of breeding Fig. 1. A typical congregation of Black Kites in Old Delhi responding to ritual tossing of meat by Muslims that follow Sufi traditions (Jama Masjid area). Photo Credit: Fabrizio Sergio 2 BlacK Kite Project - Phase - VI pairs raising chicks to fledging (Kumar et al.t 2014). The high density of Black Kites in southern Asian breeding grounds offers a unique opportunity for research. Scientists can compare these populations to European Black Kites, which have been extensively studied since the 1950s. Pioneering research in the 1990s on European populations focused on factors influencing chick survival, including hatching order, sibling competition, and food availability. These studies have become benchmarks for raptor biologists (Ferguson-Lees & Christie, 2001; Newton, 1979). A crucial finding from European studies is the link between food availability and brood reduction (where some chicks die in the nest). When food is scarce, chicks compete more intensely, and some may not survive (Vinuela, 1996). Black Kites in Delhi exhibit hatching asynchrony (chicks hatching at different times) and brood reduction, likely influenced by the varying food availability across the city's diverse urban landscapes. To capture these ecological nuances, researchers have been using trail cameras in nests across different urbanisation gradients to study relationships with urban variables. These data are further combined with observations to assess hatching patterns, chick survival, growth rates, and nesting behaviour. Delhi hosts two subspecies of black kites: the resident breeding Milvus migrans govinda (small Indian kite) and the migratory M. m. lineatus (black-eared kite) that arrives from Central Asia and Southern Siberia via the Central Asian Flyway across the Himalayas. GPS-tagging revealed that M. m. lineatus kites migrate 3300-4700 km from their breeding grounds in Russia, Kazakhstan, Xinjiang (China) and Mongolia to Delhi in 3-4 weeks, crossing the Himalayas at elevations up to 5000-6000 m (Kumar et al., 2020b).Item Assessment of predator, prey and habitats in Kumbhalgarh Wildlife Sanctuary, 2024(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2024) Sadhu, A.; Kanswal, S.; Roy, A.; Rana, A.; Tripathi, P.; Qureshi, Q.Kumbhalgarh Wildlife Sanctuary (KWLS) is located in the semi-arid western Indian landscape (24°33'54”N, 73°54'22"E] and spans the Pali, Rajsamand, and Udaipur districts of Rajasthan. Camera traps support various methodologies, including capture-mark-recapture for population estimation, occupancy surveys for determining species distribution, and distance sampling to assess animal density and abundance. Camera traps have been widely used as a wildlife monitoring tool due to their objectivity, ease of use, and ability to generate data on a wide range of species. Camera trapping was conducted in Kumbhalgarh from January to March 2024, covering an area of approximately 200 km2, which included all five ranges—Kumbhalgarh, Sadri, Desuri, Jhilwada, and Bokhada. The area was divided into 2 km2 grids, and in each grid, a pair of camera traps was placed. The cameras were set up along trails and near forest roads to maximize the probability of capturing the target species. These locations were selected based on a reconnaissance survey conducted in search of large carnivore signs along gipsy tracks, animal trails, and dry stream beds.Item Ecological impacts of major invasive alien plants on native flora in Rajaji Tiger Reserve, Uttarakhand(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2024) Kumar, Amit; Kumar, S.; Sahu, H.; Patra, R.; Page, N.; Qureshi, Q.This study focuses on Rajaji Tiger Reserve in Uttarakhand, within the Shivalik hills, to investigate the invasion patterns and ecological impacts of a major invasive plant speciesItem Suggested Measures to Mitigate Asian Elephant - Train Collisions on Vulnerable Railway Stretches in the state of Karnataka(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2024) PE-MoEFCC-WIIItem Suggested Measures to Mitigate Asian Elephant - Train Collisions on Vulnerable Railway Stretches in the state of Odisha(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2024) PE-MoEFCC-WII