Conservation threats to the endangered golden langur (Trachypithecus geei, Khajuria 1956) in Bhutan.

Threat assessment is critical to species conservation and management planning, because prior identification and assessment of key threats to conservation planning can assist in developing appropriate interventions or strategies. Comprehensive threat assessments are currently lacking for many threatened primates. In this paper, we classify and rank all direct threats to the endangered golden langur (Trachypithecus geei) in Bhutan in order to provide a practical guide to future conservation of the species. Information on threats was based on interviews with local people, discussion with field forestry staff, and social media interaction. We classified threats to golden langur habitats and populations, and ranked them using Miradi™, an analytical software for the adaptive management of conservation projects. We identified five habitat threats: (1) hydropower development, (2) road development, (3) housing development, (4) resource extraction, and (5) agricultural expansion. We also identified seven population threats: (1) electrocution, (2) road kill, (3) road injury, (4) dog kill, (5) retaliatory killing, (6) illegal pet keeping, and (7) hybridization with capped langurs. We rated the overall threat to golden langurs in Bhutan as 'medium'. Hydropower, road, and housing development constituted 'high' impact, while agricultural expansion, resource extraction, electrocution, and road kill had 'medium' impact; the remaining threats had 'low' impact. To immediately mitigate threats to golden langurs, we recommend: (a) installing speed limit signage and speed breakers with strict enforcement of speed limits; (b) installing insulated electric cables and fencing around power transformers; and (c) reducing and restraining domestic dog populations.

Population abundance and distribution of the endangered golden langur (Trachypithecus geei, Khajuria 1956) in Bhutan.

Reliable population estimates are lacking for many South Asian primate species, including the golden langur (Trachypithecus geei), which is endangered and restricted to Bhutan and northeast India. Although well studied in India, few studies exist on this species in Bhutan. In November 2017, we undertook a nationwide survey of golden langurs in Bhutan using double observers along trail-based transects in 17 blocks within its habitat, and modeled its distribution using MaxEnt. A total of 2439 golden langurs in 222 groups were collectively encountered by 17 teams of double observers, from which, an overall population of 2516 ± SE 363 individuals and 236 ± SE 9 groups were estimated. Group sizes varied from 2 to 35 individuals with a mean of 11 ± SD 0.38 individuals. A total of 468 adult males (19%), 924 adult females (38%), 649 juveniles (27%), and 398 infants (16%) were counted. Adult male-to-female sex ratio was 1:1.97 and adult female-to-infant ratio was 1:0.43. We determined 2848 km2 of suitable area for golden langurs in Bhutan and estimated a density of 0.88 individuals/km2. Our population estimate of golden langurs in Bhutan is much lower than the current IUCN estimate of 4000 individuals for Bhutan, necessitating a reassessment of its current conservation status due to threats from road kills, electrocution, and development activities like road construction, hydropower, and electrical transmission lines. We further recommend our refined double-observer survey method to reliably estimate primate populations in rugged terrain.

Understanding primate-human interaction: Socioeconomic correlates of local awareness and attitude toward the endangered golden langur Trachypithecus geei (Khajuria, 1956) in Bhutan.

Despite the golden langur's (Trachypithecus geei) endangered and totally protected status, local awareness and attitude toward this species is poorly understood. We investigated local awareness and attitude in Bhutan by interviewing 1,143 households in the districts of Dagana, Sarpang, Trongsa, Tsirang, and Zhemgang, and analyzing data through a conditional inference tree analysis. Most respondents were not aware of the golden langur's nationally protected (53%; n = 604) and globally endangered status (64%; n = 730), but their location of residence (inside/outside a protected area; p < .001) and education level (p < .001) significantly influenced awareness. The majority of respondents (87%; n = 999) liked the golden langur but the attitude was significantly influenced primarily by whether or not they experienced crop damage by golden langurs (p < .001), and subsequently by location of residence (p < .001), local belief (p < .01), gender (p < .05), and personal encounter with a golden langur (p < .001). Socioeconomic variables like age, education level, and annual income did not influence attitude. We recommend environmental education and awareness campaigns outside protected areas, and intensifying existing programs inside protected areas to forge harmonious human-golden langur coexistence.

Identifying conservation priorities for threatened Eastern Himalayan mammals.

To augment mammal conservation in the Eastern Himalayan region, we assessed the resident 255 terrestrial mammal species and identified the 50 most threatened species based on conservation status, endemism, range size, and evolutionary distinctiveness. By using the spatial analysis package letsR and the complementarity core-area method in the conservation planning software Zonation, we assessed the current efficacy of their protection and identified priority conservation areas by comparing protected areas (PAs), land cover, and global ecoregion 2017 maps at a 100 × 100 m spatial scale. The 50 species that were most threatened, geographically restricted, and evolutionarily distinct faced a greater extinction risk than globally nonthreatened and wide-ranging species and species with several close relatives. Small, medium-sized, and data-deficient species faced extinction from inadequate protection in PAs relative to wide-ranging charismatic species. There was a mismatch between current PA distribution and priority areas for conservation of the 50 most endangered species. To protect these species, the skewed regional PA distribution would require expansion. Where possible, new PAs and transboundary reserves in the 35 priority areas we identified should be established. There are adequate remaining natural areas in which to expand current Eastern Himalayan PAs. Consolidation and expansion of PAs in the EH requires strengthening national and regional transboundary collaboration, formulating comprehensive regional land-use plans, diversifying conservation funding, and enhancing information sharing through a consolidated regional database.

Using GPS Technology to Understand Spatial and Temporal Activity of Kangaroos in a Peri-Urban Environment.

The increasing kangaroo occurrence in expanding peri-urban areas can be problematic when kangaroos become aggressive towards people and present a collision risk to motor vehicles. An improved understanding on kangaroo spatial and temporal activity patterns in the peri-urban environment is essential to manage kangaroo⁻human conflict. In this study, we used GPS telemetry to determine activity patterns of male Eastern Grey Kangaroos (Macropus giganteus) in a peri-urban community on the north-coast of New South Wales, Australia. Two types of GPS devices were employed; collars and cheaper alternative glue-on units. Kangaroos moved on average 2.39 km a day, with an average movement rate of 1.89 m/min, which was greatest at dawn. The GPS glue-on devices had short deployment lengths of one to 12 days. Despite limitations in attachment time, the glue-on devices were viable in obtaining daily spatial and temporal activity data. Our results aid towards alleviating conflict with kangaroos by providing new insights into kangaroo movements and activity within a peri-urban environment and introduces a potential cheap GPS alternative for obtaining this data relative to more expensive collars.

Habitat correlates of the red panda in the temperate forests of Bhutan.

Anthropogenic activities and associated global climate change are threatening the biodiversity in the Himalayas against a backdrop of poor knowledge of the region's threatened species. The red panda (Ailurus fulgens) is a threatened mammal confined to the eastern Himalayas, and because of Bhutan's central location in the distributional range of red pandas, its forests are integral to the long-term viability of wild populations. Detailed habitat requirements of the red panda are largely speculative, and there is virtually no ecological information available on this species in Bhutan. Between 2007 and 2009, we established 615 presence/absence plots in a systematic sampling of resident habitat types within Jigme Dorji and Thrumshingla National Parks, Bhutan, to investigate broad and fine-scale red panda habitat associations. Additional locality records of red pandas were obtained from interviewing 664 park residents. Red pandas were generally confined to cool broadleaf and conifer forests from 2,110-4,389 m above sea level (asl), with the majority of records between 2,400-3,700 m asl on south and east-facing slopes. At a finer scale, multivariate analysis revealed that red pandas were strongly associated with old growth Bhutan Fir (Abies densa) forest dominated by a dense cover of Yushania and Arundanaria bamboo with a high density of fallen logs and tree stumps at ground level; a high density of trees, dead snags, and rhododendron shrubs in the mid-storey; and locations that were close to water. Because Bhutan's temperate forests that encompass prime red panda habitat are also integral to human subsistence and socio-economic development, there exists an inadvertent conflict between the needs of people and red pandas. As such, careful sustainable management of Bhutan's temperate forests is necessary if a balance is to be met between the socioeconomic needs of people and the conservation goals for red pandas.