Factors influencing Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) burrow selection in the Chandragiri-Champadevi hills of Kathmandu Valley, Nepal.

The Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) confronts challenges from illegal hunting, trading, and habitat degradation. Therefore, it is imperative to establish and implement effective conservation strategies at both local and regional levels. However, there is limited information, particularly within the Kathmandu Valley of Nepal, underscoring the significance of local-level habitat characterization for burrowing animals like pangolins. In this context, our study aimed to assess how anthropogenic and environmental factors influence the presence of Chinese pangolins along the elevational gradients of Chandragiri-Champadevi Hills, renowned for the scenic beauty and popular hiking trails within the valley. We conducted surveys of foraging and resting burrows at 72 plots distributed along 12 elevational line transects from 1500 to 2100 m elevational gradients of Chandragiri-Champadevi Hills. Notably, we observed pangolin burrows spanning from 1550 m to 2095 m. With increasing elevation, we recorded a decline in both foraging and resting burrow numbers. Furthermore, our findings indicated an increase in burrow numbers with increasing the distances from roads, whereas burrow numbers decreased with increasing proximity to human settlements. Interestingly, foraging burrows exhibited an increase with noise but a decrease with slope, while resting burrows showed an increase association with higher canopy and ground cover percentages. Our study shows the substantial anthropogenic disturbances in the habitats of Chinese pangolins in the Chandragiri-Champadevi Hills. We recommend managing the human-associated threats to ensure the species conservation at this site-specific area.

Factors influencing mammalian community occupancy in Dhorpatan Hunting Reserve, Nepal.

The decline in mammalian species diversity is increasing worldwide, with areas characterized by high human activities experiencing more prominent effects. Knowledge of spatial distributions of species and factors acting on them is necessary for effective management. We evaluated community-level occupancy of mammal species in Dhorpatan Hunting Reserve (DHR), Nepal using remote cameras during 15 March-15 June 2022. We used mammal species detections from remote cameras and multispecies hierarchical occupancy modeling to assess the effects of environmental and anthropogenic variables on community-level occupancy of detected mammal species. We identified a highly heterogeneous mammal species community at DHR with greatest detection probability (0.21) for red fox (Vulpes vulpes) and lowest (0.08) for blue sheep (Pseudois nayaur). Naïve occupancy ranged from 0.31 for giant-flying squirrel (Petaurista magnificus) to 0.84 for red fox. Mammal community occupancy increased with increasing canopy cover and number of livestock detections, but overall occupancy declined close to human settlements. The findings of this study can be used for developing policy at DHR for the management of mammal species through reducing the potential increase of human settlements or livestock grazing.

Spatio-temporal patterns of human-wildlife conflicts and effectiveness of mitigation in Shuklaphanta National Park, Nepal.

Human-wildlife interactions occur where human and wildlife coexist and share common resources including food or shelter. Increasing wildlife populations within protected areas also can increase interactions with humans living adjacent to these areas, resulting in conflicts including human casualty, livestock depredation, crop damage, and property loss. We analyzed six years human-wildlife conflict data from 2016-2021 in the buffer zone of Shuklaphanta National Park and conducted questionnaire survey to investigate factors influencing human-wildlife conflicts. Nineteen people were attacked by wildlife, primarily wild boar (Sus scrofa). Ninety-two livestock were killed by leopard (Panthera pardus), and among these most were sheep or goats killed near ShNP during summer. Crops were most frequently damaged by Asian elephants (Elephas maximus), followed by wild boar. Greatest economic losses were from damage to rice, followed by sugarcane and wheat. Asian elephant was the only reported species to cause structural damage to property (e.g., homes). Majority of respondents (83%) considered that the mitigation techniques that are currently in practice are effective to reduce the conflicts. However, the effectiveness of the mitigation techniques are the species specific, we recommend use of more efficacious deterrents (e.g., electric fencing) for large herbivores and mesh wire fencing with partially buried in the ground. Effective collaboration among different tiers of government, non-governmental organizations, civil societies and affected communities are important to share the best practices and continue to apply innovative methods for impactful mitigation of human-wildlife conflicts in the region.