Assessing mammal distribution and abundance in intricate eastern Himalayan habitats of Khangchendzonga, Sikkim, India
-
Sambandam Sathyakumar
,
Tawqir Bashir
Abstract
We assessed distribution and abundance of mammals in dense, rugged eastern Himalayan habitats of Khangchendzonga Biosphere Reserve (BR), Sikkim, India, from April 2008 to May 2010, using field methods and remote cameras under varying rain and snow conditions. We report the occurrence of 42 mammals including 18 species that have high global conservation significance. Three leopards (Panthera uncia, Panthera pardus, Neofelis nebulosa), Tibetan wolf (Canis lupus chanco), wild dog (Cuon alpinus), red panda (Ailurus fulgens), Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus), and two musk deer species (Moschus chrysogaster, M. fuscus) were recorded. Species number decreased with increasing elevation, 22 were recorded in temperate habitats, 18 in subalpine and 11 in alpine. The yellow-throated marten (Martes flavigula) and black bear were found to have the most diverse distribution extending from temperate to alpine. Red fox (Vulpes vulpes) was the most abundant carnivore (8.98±2.31 photo capture/100 days) while goral (Naemorhedus goral) was the most abundant prey (9.14±5.27). Camera trap detected most of the mammals of the intensive study area (35/39). Considering the benefits and limitations, we recommend application of camera trapping along with sign surveys for monitoring of mammals in Khangchendzonga BR for effective conservation.
©2011 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Original Studies
- Resources partitioning in a fruit bat community of the southern Atlantic Forest, Brazil
- Current and potential distribution of Myotis simus (Chiroptera, Vespertilionidae)
- Diurnal time budget of goitred gazelles (Gazella subgutturosa Güldenstaedt, 1780) in Xinjiang, China
- Sex ratios of Arabian Sand Gazelle Gazella marica Thomas, 1897 in the Mahazat as-Sayd Protected Area, Saudi Arabia
- Influences of pine plantations on small mammal assemblages of the Patagonian forest-steppe ecotone
- Assessing mammal distribution and abundance in intricate eastern Himalayan habitats of Khangchendzonga, Sikkim, India
- Rhipidomys (Rodentia, Cricetidae) from Paraguay: noteworthy new records and identity of the Paraguayan species
- Observations of the woolly flying squirrel Eupetaurus cinereus in Pakistan
- Observations on the captive behavior of the rare Patagonian opossum Lestodelphys halli (Thomas, 1921) (Marsupialia, Didelphimorphia, Didelphidae)
- Short Notes
- Use of space by the black-eared opossum Didelphis aurita in a rural area in southeastern Brazil
- New records of bats for the state of Minas Gerais, with range extension of Eptesicus chiriquinus Thomas (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) to southeastern Brazil
- First records of mormoopid bats (Chiroptera, Mormoopidae) from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest
- Long-term adult male sociality in ring-tailed coatis (Nasua nasua)
- Approach on the genetic diversity in a Lusitanian pine vole population
Articles in the same Issue
- Original Studies
- Resources partitioning in a fruit bat community of the southern Atlantic Forest, Brazil
- Current and potential distribution of Myotis simus (Chiroptera, Vespertilionidae)
- Diurnal time budget of goitred gazelles (Gazella subgutturosa Güldenstaedt, 1780) in Xinjiang, China
- Sex ratios of Arabian Sand Gazelle Gazella marica Thomas, 1897 in the Mahazat as-Sayd Protected Area, Saudi Arabia
- Influences of pine plantations on small mammal assemblages of the Patagonian forest-steppe ecotone
- Assessing mammal distribution and abundance in intricate eastern Himalayan habitats of Khangchendzonga, Sikkim, India
- Rhipidomys (Rodentia, Cricetidae) from Paraguay: noteworthy new records and identity of the Paraguayan species
- Observations of the woolly flying squirrel Eupetaurus cinereus in Pakistan
- Observations on the captive behavior of the rare Patagonian opossum Lestodelphys halli (Thomas, 1921) (Marsupialia, Didelphimorphia, Didelphidae)
- Short Notes
- Use of space by the black-eared opossum Didelphis aurita in a rural area in southeastern Brazil
- New records of bats for the state of Minas Gerais, with range extension of Eptesicus chiriquinus Thomas (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) to southeastern Brazil
- First records of mormoopid bats (Chiroptera, Mormoopidae) from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest
- Long-term adult male sociality in ring-tailed coatis (Nasua nasua)
- Approach on the genetic diversity in a Lusitanian pine vole population
