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The snow leopard ( Panthera uncia ) found in central Asia is classified as vulnerable species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Every year, large number of livestock are killed by snow leopards in Nepal, leading to economic loss to local communities and making human-snow leopard conflict a major threat to snow leopard conservation. We conducted formal and informal stakeholder’s interviews to gather information related to livestock depredation with the aim to map the attack sites by the snow leopard. These sites were further validated by district forest office staffs to assess sources of bias. Attack sites older than 3 years were removed from the survey. We found 109 attack sites and visited all the sites for geo location purpose (GPS points of all unique sites were taken). We maintained at least a 100 m distance between attack locations to ensure that each attack location was unique, which resulted in 86 unique locations. A total of 235 km 2 was used to define livestock depredation risk zone during this study. Using Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) modeling, we found that distance to livestock sheds, distance to paths, aspect, and distance to roads were major contributing factors to the snow leopard’s attacks. We identified 13.64 km 2 as risk zone for livestock depredation from snow leopards in the study area. Furthermore, snow leopards preferred to attack livestock near livestock shelters, far from human paths and at moderate distance from motor roads. These identified attack zones should be managed both for snow leopard conservation and livestock protection in order to balance human livelihoods while protecting snow leopards and their habitats.

Population decline and extinction risk of river dolphins are primarily associated with flow alteration. Previous studies predominantly highlighted maintenance of adequate flow for low water seasons when habitats contract and the risk of local extinction escalates. Although river dolphins are sensitive to reduction in river flow, no studies quantify the relationships between flow and ecology of river dolphins to mitigate the potential adverse impacts of flow alteration. We quantify the relationships between flow and the ecology of river cetaceans concerning Ganges River dolphins (GRD; Platanista gangetica gangetica ) usable area availability (AWS) for the low water season at wider flows (50–575 m 3 /s) at finer spatial and temporal scales. This study reveals that distribution of area usable to GRD is highly regulated by the adequate flow and river attributes (velocity and depth) interactions that likely offer energetically efficient modes of locomotion to GRD, suggesting the hydro-physical environment as a major determinant of river dolphin distribution and abundance. Flow and AWS relationships indicate that the flow during the dry season negatively contributed to AWS, whereas that of pre-monsoon maximized the AWS, suggesting that modifying flow regimes does alter in-stream habitats at varying spatial scales and may influence life-history strategies. Substantial fragmentation in suitable pool availability and loss of longitudinal connectivity exhibited by dry season flow suggested a higher risk of adverse biological effects during the dry season, which may reduce population viability by reducing survivorship and reproduction failure. Owing to river dolphins’ dependence on the attribute of freshwater flow, they can be expected to be more affected by flow regulations as interactive effects. Considering the seasonal effects and changes in the availability of usable areas by flow alteration, adopting effective habitat retention plans by water-based development projects appears critical to avoid further ecological risks in aquatic species conservation. Identifying priority riverscapes for river cetaceans and prioritizing investment opportunities is an essential first step towards effective riverine cetacean conservation.

Background There is currently very little available research on the habitat suitability, the influence of infrastructure on distribution, and the extent and connectivity of habitat available to the wild Asian elephant (Elephas maximus). Information related to the habitat is crucial for conservation of this species. Methods In this study, we identified suitable habitat for wild Asian elephants in the Western Terai region of Nepal using Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) software. Results Of 9,207 km2, we identified 3194.82 km2 as suitable habitat for wild Asian elephants in the study area. Approximately 40% of identified habitat occurs in existing protected areas. Most of these habitat patches are smaller than previous estimations of the species home range, and this may reduce the probability of the species continued survival in the study area. Proximity to roads was identified as the most important factor defining habitat suitability, with elephants preferring habitats far from roads. Conclusions We conclude that further habitat fragmentation in the study area can be reduced by avoiding the construction of new roads and connectivity between areas of existing suitable habitat can be increased through the identification and management of wildlife corridors between habitat patches. Of 9,207 km2, we identified 3,194.82 km2 as suitable habitat for elephants in the study area. Approximately 40% of identified habitat occurs in existing protected areas. Proximity to roads was identified as the most important factor defining habitat suitability, with elephants preferring habitats far from roads.

Large mammals with general habitat needs can persist throughout mixed used landscapes, however, human-wildlife conflict frequently leads to their restriction to protected areas. Conservation efforts, especially for reducing conflicts with humans, can enhance tolerance of humans towards species like Asian elephants ( Elephas maximus ) in human-dominated landscapes. Here, we examine how elephant use in the Chure Terai Madhesh Landscape (CTML) covering the entire elephant range of Nepal changed between 2012 and 2020 in relationship to protection status and environmental conditions. We systematically surveyed ~ 42,000 km 2 of potential habitat, by dividing the study area into 159 grid cells of 15 × 15 km 2 and recorded elephant signs during the cool, dry season in three years (2012, 2018 and 2020). We analyzed the survey data in a single-species, multi-season (dynamic) occupancy modeling framework to test hypotheses regarding the influence of environmental conditions and protected area status on landscape use by elephants over time. The best-supported model included protected area effects on initial use, colonization, and detection probability as well as temporal variation in colonization and detection probability. Initial use and colonization rates were higher in protected areas, however elephants increasingly used cells located both inside and outside the protected areas, and the difference in use between protected areas and outside declined as elephants use became prevalent across most of the landscape. While elephant use was patchily distributed in the first year of surveys consistent with past descriptions of four sub-populations, elephant use consolidated into a western and eastern region in subsequent years with a gap in their distribution occurring between Chitwan and Bardiya National Parks. Our manuscript highlights the increasing landscape use by elephants in both protected areas and areas outside protected areas and suggests that management interventions that focus on reducing conflicts can promote greater use of both protected areas and areas outside of protected areas.

Conservation of designated source sites is a fundamental strategy for global tiger recovery. Reliable estimates of tiger Panthera tigris habitat use within these source sites are crucial for informing effective management strategies. In this study, we assessed tiger habitat use within the Bardia‐Banke Complex, one of the 42 global source sites, situated in the western Terai Arc Landscape (TAL) of Nepal. We conducted a grid‐based detection and non‐detection camera trap survey across 719 grid cells, each measuring 2 × 2 km2. To assess tiger habitat use while accounting for imperfect detectability, we applied a single‐season occupancy model. We analyzed nine covariates that have the potential to influence tiger habitat use in the Complex, including terrain, co‐predators, prey, water availability, and disturbance. We found that fine scale (2 × 2 km2) tiger habitat use in the Complex was 0.43 (SE ± 0.0085, 95% CI: 0.414–0.448). Our analysis demonstrated that tigers used habitats unevenly across the Bardia‐Banke Complex. Our results showed that the terrain ruggedness index, prey index, and proximity to waterholes were key determinants of tiger habitat use. Tiger habitat use was positively associated with prey abundance and negatively associated with terrain ruggedness and distance to waterholes. We emphasize the importance of influencing habitat covariates that determine the probability of habitat use for taking appropriate habitat‐management decisions for tiger conservation in the TAL. We highlight the importance of periodic assessment of tiger habitat use in this globally significant source site to monitor changes in spatial habitat use patterns, serving as a measure of the effectiveness of wildlife management interventions. Systematic camera trapping at fine scale revealed that tiger habitat use was positively associated with prey abundance and negatively associated with terrain ruggedness and distance to waterholes in Bardia –Banke Complex in Nepal.

The rebound of tiger populations in Nepal over the last decade has renewed hope for species conservation but also heightened the risk of conflict where humans and tigers coexist. Most of these tigers inhabit Chitwan-Parsa Complex (CPC), which includes core areas prohibiting humans and buffer zones allowing limited activities. To understand distribution within CPC and nearby forests, we constructed a Bayesian occupancy model using data from a sign survey conducted between December 2021 and February 2022. We estimated occupancy for 2021-22 dry-season within CPC on a 10 km × 10 km gird and as well as the use by tigers and prey on a 2 km × 2 km subgrid. The average estimated occupancy within 10 km × 10 km grids and detection within 2 km × 2 km subgrids were 0.90 (95% CI 0.77-0.99) and 0.34 (95% CI 0.32-0.36), respectively. The presence of tigers was more strongly related to prey occupancy at the home-range scale whereas factors such as vegetation, human population density (HPD), and elevation affected used portion of home range. HPD significantly reduced habitat use by tigers and prey. We compare our modeled tiger-use distribution to an independent dataset containing conflict causing tiger rescue and relocation records. Tigers use only increased odds of rescues occurring in a subgrid by 10%, but subgrids with above average HPD had 2.2 times higher odds of rescues than those with low HPD, and the grids with above average prey use had 3.8 times higher odds of rescues than those with low prey. The pattern of increased rescues in high-prey-use areas was driven by subgrids with above average HPD, where the odds of rescues were 10.98 times higher than those with low prey use. The varying odds of conflict by HPD and prey use suggest future approaches to tiger conservation and conflict resolution.

Human fatalities and injury from wildlife attacks often result in a negative attitude toward conservation. This research was undertaken to investigate the patterns and conflict‐causing factors of human killing and injury by large mammals, especially by Asian elephant (Elephas maximus), common leopard (Panthera pardus), and Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) in the Bardia—Banke Complex of western Nepal. We collected human death and injury records caused by wildlife in the Bardia—Banke Complex between 2019 and 2023, based on relief applications submitted by the victim's family. Additionally, camera trap monitoring was conducted following incidents of human–tiger and human–leopard conflicts. A total of 76 incidents involving human casualties and injuries were considered for analysis. Incidents of livestock depredation, crop raiding, and property damage were excluded from the analysis. Most of the attacks on humans were caused by tigers (75%), followed by elephants (16%) and leopards (9%). Almost all incidents occurred in daytime (97%). The highest number of conflicts were recorded in 2021, with 20 incidents. Most of the cases (84%) occurred within 1 km of forest edge. Khata corridor and the western side of the Bardia National Park, i.e., Karnali River corridor, were identified as high‐conflict areas. The primary causes of the conflict manifested in cattle grazing (28%), grass cutting (28%), firewood collection (11%), fishing (8%), vegetable collection (5%), sand collection (4%), during rescuing friends (3%), grazing captive elephants (3%), highway rides (3%), sleeping in Chaupadi Goth (3%), walking nearby forest areas (3%), playing nearby forest areas (1%), while feeding pig (1%), and working in agricultural lands (1%). To promote human–wildlife coexistence, community‐based patrols (33%), habitat restoration (26%), electric fencing (26%), and insurance (7%) were identified as the preferred strategies. Therefore, we recommend that stakeholders and concerned bodies increase awareness among local community about the use of forest resources, wildlife behavior, and human–wildlife conflict mitigation strategies. This research investigates the patterns and conflict‐causing factors related to human fatalities and injuries caused by large mammals in the Bardia—Banke Complex of western Nepal.

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. Map of the study area and camera trap layout (survey grid cells = 4 sq. km.), with locations of photographed tigers and leopards in Shuklaphanta National Park, Nepal.

Human–wildlife conflict studies of high‐altitude areas are rare due to budget constraints and the challenging nature of research in these remote environments. This study investigates the prevalence and increasing trend of human–wildlife conflict (HWC) in the mountainous Gaurishankar Conservation Area (GCA) of Nepal, with a specific focus on leopard (Panthera pardus) and Himalayan black bear (Ursus thibetanus laniger). The study analyzes a decade of HWC reports and identifies goats as the livestock most targeted by leopards. The Dolakha district of GCA received the highest number of reports, highlighting the need for mitigation measures in the area. In GCA, livestock attacks accounted for 85% of compensation, with the remaining 15% for human injuries. We estimate that the number of reported wildlife attacks grew on average by 33% per year, with an additional increase of 57 reports per year following the implementation of a new compensation policy during BS 2076 (2019 AD). While bear attacks showed no significant change post‐rule alteration, leopard attack reports surged from 1 to 60 annually, indicating improved compensation may have resulted in increased leopard‐attack reporting rates. The findings emphasize the economic impact of HWC on local communities and suggest strategies such as increasing prey populations, promoting community education and awareness, enhancing alternative livelihood options, developing community‐based insurance programs, and implementing secure enclosures (corrals) to minimize conflicts and foster harmonious coexistence. This research addresses a knowledge gap in HWC in high‐altitude conservation areas like the GCA, providing valuable insights for conservation stakeholders and contributing to biodiversity conservation and the well‐being of humans and wildlife. Recent policy changes have reduced hurdles to receiving compensation for wildlife attacks on people and livestock within the mountainous Gaurishankar Conservation Area of the Himalayas. We show that over the last decade, the number of reported attacks have increased by approximately 33% per year, after accounting for the boost in reporting due to improved compensation. The reported number of injuries by Himalayan black bears was overshadowed by a rise in reports of leopard predation on livestock, particularly goats, an important source of income for local farmers.

The Bengal tiger ( Panthera tigris tigris ), a flagship and umbrella species of the South Asian forest ecosystem, has declined dramatically in population and geographic distribution due to human‐caused habitat fragmentation and poaching over the past century. Global tiger populations may persist in the next century only if the size and quality of the current habitat remain unchanged. Our first‐of‐its‐kind study in Nepal assesses whether these habitat requirements are in place through an analysis of habitat suitability to predict the future habitat of tigers in varying climatic scenarios across the country. We collected tiger‐presence location (GPS points) from tiger surveys conducted by the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, Nepal, in 2018 and 2022 across the country. We used MaxEnt software in varying Shared Socio‐economic Pathways (SSP 245 and 585) employing eight bioclimatic and two topographic variables to predict the future habitats of the tiger in 2050, 2070, and 2090. In the SSP 245 scenario, tiger habitat could increase for all three time periods, but in the SSP 585 scenario, the habitat will increase only in 2050. Interestingly, in both scenarios, tiger habitat will increase by more than 80% in 2050. The expanded habitat in all scenarios is outside of protected areas and northeast of the current habitat. This indicates that extreme climate change scenarios with more industrialization, urbanization, and land use change have a greater impact on tiger habitat. Furthermore, tiger habitat qualitatively shifts from protected areas to outside protected areas in the human‐dominated landscape. This creates more challenges for conservationists and managers as human‐tiger interaction may surge. Proactive management solutions to protect Nepal's tigers for the next century could include expanding or establishing new protected areas, establishing connectivity and corridors between the tiger habitats, in addition to anticipatory efforts to address human‐wildlife conflicts that will emerge in this changing landscape.