Tigers, Terrain, and Human Settlement Influence the Occupancy of Leopards (Panthera pardus) in Southwestern Tarai, Nepal
ABSTRACT Maintaining a healthy population of common leopards, a highly adaptive felid, requires updated information on their spatial occurrence. In Nepal's Tarai region, leopards coexist with tigers, which are well‐studied felid throughout its range. However, knowledge is very scarce on the pat...
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| Format: | Article |
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2025-01-01
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| Series: | Ecology and Evolution |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.70898 |
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| author | Laxmi Raj Joshi Rabin Bahadur K. C. Madhu Chetri Morten Odden Olivier Devineau Ajay Karki Bhagawan Raj Dahal Naresh Subedi |
| author_facet | Laxmi Raj Joshi Rabin Bahadur K. C. Madhu Chetri Morten Odden Olivier Devineau Ajay Karki Bhagawan Raj Dahal Naresh Subedi |
| author_sort | Laxmi Raj Joshi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | ABSTRACT Maintaining a healthy population of common leopards, a highly adaptive felid, requires updated information on their spatial occurrence. In Nepal's Tarai region, leopards coexist with tigers, which are well‐studied felid throughout its range. However, knowledge is very scarce on the patterns of leopard occupancy. We conducted an occupancy survey using remote cameras in southwestern Tarai, particularly in Shuklaphanta National Park, Nepal, to assess habitat use by leopards from December 2022 to January 2023. Naive and model‐averaged occupancy estimates were 0.51 and 0.6563 (SE: 0.022, 95% CI: 0.612, 0.70), respectively. The detection of leopards was negatively correlated with the presence of tigers. Leopard occupancy was higher closer to human settlement and higher in rugged terrain. At a time when Nepal has achieved its tiger conservation targets, efforts are required to maintain adequate prey biomass to minimize fatal encounters between tigers and leopards and displacement of leopards peripheral to the settlement area, where villagers might kill them in retaliation of livestock killing. Long‐term monitoring is required to improve understanding of the interaction between leopards, tigers, and humans in the Tarai region of Nepal. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-05f37a85838b4dd1ae561d76d9c7821a |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2045-7758 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ecology and Evolution |
| spelling | doaj-art-05f37a85838b4dd1ae561d76d9c7821a2025-01-29T05:08:42ZengWileyEcology and Evolution2045-77582025-01-01151n/an/a10.1002/ece3.70898Tigers, Terrain, and Human Settlement Influence the Occupancy of Leopards (Panthera pardus) in Southwestern Tarai, NepalLaxmi Raj Joshi0Rabin Bahadur K. C.1Madhu Chetri2Morten Odden3Olivier Devineau4Ajay Karki5Bhagawan Raj Dahal6Naresh Subedi7National Trust for Nature Conservation Lalitpur NepalNational Trust for Nature Conservation Lalitpur NepalNational Trust for Nature Conservation Lalitpur NepalFaculty of Applied Ecology, Agricultural Sciences and Biotechnology Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences Koppang NorwayFaculty of Applied Ecology, Agricultural Sciences and Biotechnology Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences Koppang NorwayDepartment of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Kathmandu NepalZoological Society of London Nepal Office Kathmandu NepalNational Trust for Nature Conservation Lalitpur NepalABSTRACT Maintaining a healthy population of common leopards, a highly adaptive felid, requires updated information on their spatial occurrence. In Nepal's Tarai region, leopards coexist with tigers, which are well‐studied felid throughout its range. However, knowledge is very scarce on the patterns of leopard occupancy. We conducted an occupancy survey using remote cameras in southwestern Tarai, particularly in Shuklaphanta National Park, Nepal, to assess habitat use by leopards from December 2022 to January 2023. Naive and model‐averaged occupancy estimates were 0.51 and 0.6563 (SE: 0.022, 95% CI: 0.612, 0.70), respectively. The detection of leopards was negatively correlated with the presence of tigers. Leopard occupancy was higher closer to human settlement and higher in rugged terrain. At a time when Nepal has achieved its tiger conservation targets, efforts are required to maintain adequate prey biomass to minimize fatal encounters between tigers and leopards and displacement of leopards peripheral to the settlement area, where villagers might kill them in retaliation of livestock killing. Long‐term monitoring is required to improve understanding of the interaction between leopards, tigers, and humans in the Tarai region of Nepal.https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.70898camera trapdetectionleopard occupancyPanthera tigrisShuklaphanta national park |
| spellingShingle | Laxmi Raj Joshi Rabin Bahadur K. C. Madhu Chetri Morten Odden Olivier Devineau Ajay Karki Bhagawan Raj Dahal Naresh Subedi Tigers, Terrain, and Human Settlement Influence the Occupancy of Leopards (Panthera pardus) in Southwestern Tarai, Nepal Ecology and Evolution camera trap detection leopard occupancy Panthera tigris Shuklaphanta national park |
| title | Tigers, Terrain, and Human Settlement Influence the Occupancy of Leopards (Panthera pardus) in Southwestern Tarai, Nepal |
| title_full | Tigers, Terrain, and Human Settlement Influence the Occupancy of Leopards (Panthera pardus) in Southwestern Tarai, Nepal |
| title_fullStr | Tigers, Terrain, and Human Settlement Influence the Occupancy of Leopards (Panthera pardus) in Southwestern Tarai, Nepal |
| title_full_unstemmed | Tigers, Terrain, and Human Settlement Influence the Occupancy of Leopards (Panthera pardus) in Southwestern Tarai, Nepal |
| title_short | Tigers, Terrain, and Human Settlement Influence the Occupancy of Leopards (Panthera pardus) in Southwestern Tarai, Nepal |
| title_sort | tigers terrain and human settlement influence the occupancy of leopards panthera pardus in southwestern tarai nepal |
| topic | camera trap detection leopard occupancy Panthera tigris Shuklaphanta national park |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.70898 |
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