The Corbett Foundation, Dhikuli, Ramnagar, District-Nainital, Uttarakhand, India.
Department of Wildlife Sciences, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India.
PLoS One. 2018 May 24;13(5):e0195612. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0195612. eCollection 2018.
India with estimated more than 2000 tigers (across 18 states) accounts for more than half of the remaining tigers across its range countries. Long-term conservation requires measures to protect the large carnivores and its prey base beyond the Protect Areas. The Corbett Tiger Reserve (CTR) and adjoining forest divisions with high density of tigers play a crucial role in conservation of tiger in Uttarakhand state as well as the Terai-Arc Landscape. However, CTR is surrounded with multiple-use forest (forest divisions), agriculture land, human habitation, townships and developmental projects. The movement of large carnivores and other wildlife through such habitats adds to the chances of human-wildlife conflict. The aim of the current study was to understand the patterns of livestock depredation by tigers and leopards in and around CTR. We examined a total of 8365 incidents of livestock depredation between 2006 and 2015 with tigers killing more livestock in a year (573.3±41.2) than leopards (263.2±9.9). Geographically, in north zone of CTR leopards were the major livestock predator (166.6±11), whereas tigers (547.7±40.1) in south zone. Examination of livestock kills indicated cows (75%) as the main victim, followed by buffaloes and other species. Analysis revealed that the livestock depredation by tigers varied significantly among seasons in south zone but not in north zone. However, such an explicit seasonal variation was not observed for leopards in north and south zone of CTR. Hotspots of livestock predation were identified around CTR. Addressing a conflict situation in a time-bound manner, timely disbursement of ex-gratia payment, involving locals at various tourism related activities and consistent rapport building initiatives are required to mitigate the human-wildlife conflict.
印度拥有超过 2000 只老虎（分布在 18 个邦），占其分布国家剩余老虎数量的一半以上。长期保护需要采取措施保护保护区以外的大型食肉动物及其猎物基础。科比特老虎保护区（CTR）及其毗邻的森林分区，由于老虎密度高，在保护北阿坎德邦以及特莱-阿萨姆景观的老虎方面发挥了关键作用。然而，CTR 周围有多种用途的森林（森林分区）、农田、人类住区、城镇和发展项目。大型食肉动物和其他野生动物通过这些栖息地的移动增加了人与野生动物冲突的机会。本研究的目的是了解 CTR 内外老虎和豹子捕食牲畜的模式。我们总共检查了 2006 年至 2015 年间发生的 8365 起牲畜被掠食事件，其中老虎一年捕食的牲畜数量（573.3±41.2）多于豹子（263.2±9.9）。从地理上看，在 CTR 的北区，豹子是主要的牲畜捕食者（166.6±11），而在南区，老虎（547.7±40.1）是主要的捕食者。对牲畜死亡情况的检查表明，奶牛（75%）是主要的受害者，其次是水牛和其他物种。分析表明，老虎在南区的不同季节之间，牲畜被掠食的情况有显著差异，但在北区则没有。然而，在 CTR 的北区和南区，豹子的这种明显的季节性变化并不明显。确定了 CTR 周围的牲畜捕食热点。需要及时、有针对性地解决冲突情况，及时发放特惠金，让当地人参与各种与旅游相关的活动，并持续开展建立关系的举措，以减轻人与野生动物的冲突。
