Goswami, Rajkamal and T, Ganesh (2014) Carnivore and herbivore densities in the immediate aftermath of ethno-political conflict: The case of Manas National Park, India. Tropical Conservation Science, 7 (3). pp. 475-487.

[thumbnail of 194008291400700308.pdf] Text
194008291400700308.pdf - Published Version
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution.

Download (1MB)

Abstract

Many biodiversity hotspots experience high political volatility and armed conflicts. But their impacts on wildlife conservation are poorly understood. In this study we analyze the influence of fifteen years of armed conflict and subsequent peacetime interventions on wildlife populations in Manas National Park, India. Camera trapping and line-transect surveys were carried out to estimate the densities of carnivores and herbivores respectively. Using relative abundance index, the estimated densities of the three large felids were: tiger, Panthera tigris (1.86 animals/100 km2), leopard, Panthera pardus (1.68 animals/100 km2), clouded leopard, Neofelis nebulosa (0.58 animals/100 km2). Among the ungulates, which are the principal prey species of tigers, wild-buffalo, Bubalus arnee was most abundant (22.88± S.E. 11.63 animals/km2). The combined density of the ungulate species was 42.02 animals/km2. Our data and observations from the field indicate that except for the rhino, Rhinoceros unicornis, most wildlife species survived the conflict. Relationships between ungulate and tiger abundances indicate that Manas can support more tigers than are currently present. The ongoing restoration efforts seem to have an uplifting effect on the overall profile of the park, particularly on tourism and in engaging local communities. Our baseline estimates for the large cats and their prey species will enable future evaluation of the recovery process with respect to change in species abundance over time.

Item Type: Article
Additional Information: Copyright of this article belongs to Rajkamal Goswami and T. Ganesh. This is an open access paper. We use the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/us/. The license permits any user to download, print out, extract, archive, and distribute the article, so long as appropriate credit is given to the authors and source of the work. The license ensures that the published article will be as widely available as possible and that your article can be included in any scientific archive. Open Access authors retain the copyrights of their papers. Open access is a property of individual works, not necessarily journals or publishers.
Uncontrolled Keywords: Manas National Park, tiger, herbivore densities, carnivore abundances, ethnic conflict, India.
Subjects: A ATREE Publications > G Journal Papers
Divisions: SM Sehgal Foundation Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation > Biodiversity Monitoring and Conservation Planning
Depositing User: Ms Suchithra R
Date Deposited: 21 Nov 2025 08:15
Last Modified: 21 Nov 2025 08:15
URI: http://archives.atree.org/id/eprint/1131

Actions (login required)

View Item
View Item