Sharma Hari Prasad, Katuwal Hem Bahadur, Bhattarai Bishnu Prasad, Bhandari Shivish, Adhikari Dipendra, Aryal Bishnu, Tamang Krishna, Nepali Amrit, Kc Sabin, Baral Bashu Dev, Devkota Surya, Koirala Sabina, Mandal Dev Narayan, Regmi Sandeep
Central Department of Zoology, Institute of Science and Technology Tribhuvan University Kirtipur, Kathmandu Nepal.
Nepal Zoological Society Kirtipur, Kathmandu Nepal.
Ecol Evol. 2023 Oct 3;13(10):e10587. doi: 10.1002/ece3.10587. eCollection 2023 Oct.
Understanding factors associated with coexistence of human and wildlife in human-dominated landscapes is crucial for effective species conservation. Among the wildlife species, the sloth bears are found both inside and outside the protected areas of Nepal, and with increasing cases of human and bear conflicts in both areas. This highlights the necessity for a comprehensive understanding of anthropogenic and ecological factors that affect the occurrence of sloth bear. The understanding of these factors is important for its coexistence and conservation in human-dominated areas through establishing management and conservation action plan. We studied the sloth bear's occupancy and their coexistence in human-dominated environments with other large predators in the Parsa-Koshi Complex of Nepal using camera traps from December 2022 to March 2023. We identified the occupancy and detection probability of the sloth bear as 0.12 and 0.31, respectively. Our analysis reveals a positive relationship between sloth bear occurrence and the presence of large predators ( = 3.104 ± 0.968), such as tigers () and leopards (), as well as the number of humans detected ( = 1.428 ± 1.216) and canopy cover percentage ( = 1.002 ± 0.737). However, the number of livestock detected shows a negative interaction with the occurrence of sloth bears ( = -2.240 ± 1.467). There was insignificant interaction between sloth bear occupancy and distance to human settlements, roads, and water bodies. These findings underscore the complex dynamics between sloth bears, humans, large predators, and livestock in human-dominated landscapes. To ensure the long-term survival of sloth bear populations and promote species conservation, comprehensive conservation strategies that account for both ecological and socio-economic factors are essential.
了解人类主导景观中人类与野生动物共存的相关因素对于有效的物种保护至关重要。在野生动物物种中，懒熊在尼泊尔保护区内外均有发现，且两个区域内人与熊冲突的案例都在增加。这凸显了全面了解影响懒熊出现的人为因素和生态因素的必要性。通过制定管理和保护行动计划，了解这些因素对于其在人类主导地区的共存和保护至关重要。我们于2022年12月至2023年3月期间，在尼泊尔帕尔萨 - 科希复合体中使用相机陷阱研究了懒熊在人类主导环境中的占有率及其与其他大型食肉动物的共存情况。我们确定懒熊的占有率和检测概率分别为0.12和0.31。我们的分析揭示了懒熊出现与大型食肉动物（老虎（）和豹（））的存在、检测到的人类数量（ = 1.428 ± 1.216）以及树冠覆盖百分比（ = 1.002 ± 0.737）之间呈正相关关系。然而，检测到的牲畜数量与懒熊的出现呈负相关（ = -2.240 ± 1.467）。懒熊占有率与到人类住区、道路和水体的距离之间的相互作用不显著。这些发现强调了人类主导景观中懒熊、人类、大型食肉动物和牲畜之间复杂的动态关系。为确保懒熊种群的长期生存并促进物种保护，兼顾生态和社会经济因素的全面保护策略至关重要。
