Ashok Kumar Ram

• PhD
• Senior Conservation Officer, at Bardia National Park Thakurdwara Bardia

The Bengal Florican is one of the rarest bustard species and is listed ‘Critically Endangered’ by the IUCN. The species is restricted to the lowland grasslands of India, Nepal, and Cambodia with fewer than 1,000 mature individuals. To assess the species status in Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve, Nepal, we repeated our first comprehensive survey conduc...

Understanding the effect of biotic and abiotic factors, including habitat and interspecific competition, is crucial for species conservation. We quantified spatio-temporal patterns of sympatric large Indian civet (LIC; Viverra zibetha) and small Indian civet (SIC; Viverricula indica) using remote cameras in Parsa-Koshi Complex, Nepal during Decembe...

Understanding factors influencing the spatio-temporal patterns of apex predators is prerequisite for their conservation. We studied space use and diel activity of tigers (Panthera tigris) in response to prey availability and anthropogenic activities with trail cameras in Nepal during December 2022–March 2023. We used hierarchical occupancy models t...

Large carnivores such as leopards (Panthera pardus) experience continuing threats from habitat loss and fragmentation, depletion of prey populations, and retaliatory killing following conflicts with humans. We aimed to identify factors affecting leopard occupancy and temporal overlap between leopards and tigers (P. tigris), their major prey, and hu...

Understanding species distributions and factors influencing them are important for conservation, particularly for species occurring in human-dominated areas. The Indian crested porcupine (Hystrix indica; hereafter porcupine) is distributed southeast and central Asia, however, the porcupine occurrence and habitat use is poorly understood in the area...

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-dominat...

Large mammals with general habitat needs can persist throughout mixed used landscapes, however, increasing human threats often restrict them to protected areas. Conservation efforts, especially for reducing conflicts with humans, can enhance tolerance of species like Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) in human-dominated landscapes. Here, we examine...

This article on "Asian Elephant population, their habitat and interaction with humans in Nepal" is published in the Journal of the Elephant Managers Association (JEMA) on the recent issue.

Smooth-coated otter 𝘓𝘶𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘵 a is one of the three otter species occur in Nepal. They were believed to be extirpated from central and eastern Nepal. Camera traps set to study fishing cats in the buffer zone area of Koshi Tappu Wildife Reserve recorded smooth-coated otters, confirming their presence in the protected area. Single indivi...

Ph.D. Thesis

A Ph.D. in wildlife science was defended in the Wildlife Institute of India.

Mosaics provide productive ecosystems that include foraging opportunities, breeding grounds and protection for birds, particularly within mosaics of grassland, wetland and savanna habitats. This study explored the status of species diversity, richness and seasonal population rate of avian species within the mosaics of the Padampur grassland of Chit...

Human elephant conflict (HEC) is rapidly increasing throughout the Asian elephant range countries including Nepal. HEC occurs in the form of human deaths and injuries, and crop as well as property losses. We compiled 10,798 incidents of HEC including attacks on humans, crop and property losses caused by elephants in the Chure Terai Madhesh Landscap...

Human elephant conflict (HEC) is rapidly increasing throughout the Asian elephant range countries including Nepal. HEC occurs in the form of human deaths and injuries, and crop as well as property losses. We compiled 10,798 incidents of HEC including attacks on humans, crop and property losses caused by elephants in the Chure Terai Madhesh Landscap...

Human elephant conflict (HEC) is rapidly increasing throughout the Asian elephant range countries including Nepal. HEC occurs in the form of human deaths and injuries, and crop as well as property losses. We compiled 10,798 incidents of HEC including attacks on humans, crop and property losses caused by elephants in the Chure Terai Madhesh Landscap...

M.Sc. Dissertation

Human elephant conflict is a serious threat to both humans and elephants. The only solution for the survival of elephants is human-elephant coexistence (HECx). This presentation was a part of Ph.D. research, presented in episode 15 of "Nature Speaks" organized by the Himalayan Nature. Thank you Hem Sir and Himalayan Nature and DNPWC.

Forest cover is the primary determinant of elephant distribution, thus, understanding forest loss and fragmentation is crucial for elephant conservation. We assessed deforestation and patterns of forest fragmentation between 1930 and 2020 in Chure Terai Madhesh Lanscape (CTML) which covers the entire elephant range in Nepal. Forest cover maps and f...

Forest cover is the primary determinant of elephant distribution, thus, understanding forest loss and fragmentation is crucial for elephant conservation. We assessed deforestation and patterns of forest fragmentation between 1930 and 2020 in Chure Terai Madhesh Lanscape (CTML) which covers the entire elephant range in Nepal. Forest cover maps and f...

Attacks on humans by Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) is an extreme form of human-elephant conflict. It is a serious issue in southern lowland Nepal where elephant-related human fatalities are higher than other wildlife. Detailed understanding of elephant attacks on humans in Nepal is still lacking, hindering to devising appropriate strategies for...

Attacks on humans by Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) is an extreme form of human-elephant conflict. It is a serious issue in southern lowland Nepal where elephant-related human fatalities are higher than other wildlife. Detailed understanding of elephant attacks on humans in Nepal is still lacking, hindering to devising appropriate strategies for...

Forest cover is the primary determinant of elephant distribution, thus, understanding forest loss and fragmentation is crucial for elephant conservation. We assessed deforestation and patterns of forest fragmentation during 1930–2020 in Chure Terai Madhesh Lanscape (CTML) which covers the entire elephant range in Nepal. Forest cover maps and fragme...

A Mosaics provide productive ecosystems that include foraging opportunities, breeding grounds, and protection for birds, particularly within mosaics of grassland, wetland, and savanna habitats. This study explored the status of species diversity, richness, and seasonal population rate of avian species within the mosaics of the Padampur grassland of...

Attacks on humans by Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) is an extreme form of Human-elephant conflict. It is a serious issue in southern lowland Nepal where elephants kill more humans than any other wildlife. Detailed understanding of elephant attacks on humans in Nepal is still lacking which affected in devising appropriate strategies and actions fo...

Attacks on humans by Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) is an extreme form of human-elephant conflict. It is a serious issue in southern lowland Nepal where elephant-related human fatalities are higher than other wildlife. Detailed understanding of elephant attacks on humans in Nepal is still lacking, hindering to devising appropriate strategies for...

We found that the elephant population in Nepal is increasing since 2000. The highest count of elephants was found in Bardia National Park (113) and the lowest animal counted (8) in Sindhuli-Sarlahi complex. We had found that human-elephant conflict (HEC) is also increasing with the increase of elephants in Nepal. 10-12 people lost their lives and 2...

Bengal Florican is one of the rarest bustard species and is listed ‘Critically Endangered’ by the IUCN, restricted to the lowland grasslands of India, Nepal and Cambodia with fewer than 1000 mature individuals. We had repeated our first comprehensive a survey conducted during 2012 to assess the current species status in Koshi Tappu Wildlilfe Reserv...

Corridors are a very important pathway for biodiversity conservation. It can facilitate wildlife migration to restore its genetic material which helps to stop any species moving towards extinction by increasing genetic variability, reducing genetic drift and maintaining a viable population. Corridors are decreasing due to severe encroachment, fores...

Protected areas (PAs) are extensively used as one of the most important strategies for biodiversity conservation. They can contribute to maintaining or recovering biophysical structures, processes and functions of the ecosystems within the PA and even around it. However, the management of most PAs is facing a growing set of challenges due to climat...

Asian Elephants Elephas maximus in Nepal are known to have habitats and movement corridors in Parsa National Park (PNP) and its buffer zone (BZ), located east of Chitwan National Park. A study was conducted in this area to assess the suitability of PNP and BZ as elephant use areas, and to determine factors relevant to the presence of elephants in...

The study entitled “Impact of Mikania micrantha on Rhinoceros unicornis habitat in Chitwan National Park (CNP)” was commenced between June & September, 2008 with aiming to assess the floral diversity, status and distribution of Mikania and its impact on rhinoceros habitat in five different research sites within and out side CNP. The sampling intens...

This report was prepared for the extension of Parsa National park towards the east up to Bagmati and sent to DNPWC.

This is an area extension report of Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve towards the north.

The Api Nampa Conservation Area (ANCA), established in 2010 (BS 2067), is spread over an area of 1,903 sq. km in Darchula District, Sudurpashchim Province, in western Nepal. ANCA encompasses parts or all of five Rural Municipalities and one Municipality. Named after two mountain peaks, Mt Api (7,132 masl) and Mt Nampa (6,757 masl), ANCA hosts a wid...

The Api Nampa Conservation Area (ANCA), established in 2010 (BS 2067), is spread over an area of 1,903 sq. km in Darchula District, Sudurpashchim Province, in western Nepal. ANCA encompasses parts or all of five Rural Municipalities and one Municipality. Named after two mountain peaks, Mt Api (7,132 masl) and Mt Nampa (6,757 masl), ANCA hosts a wid...

Parsa National Park (PNP) was initially gazzetted as a Wildlife Reserve in 1984 (B.S. 2041) aiming to preserve Asian Wild Elephant (Elephus maximus) and their remaining habitat of historical Char- Koshe-Jhadi which was spread over Terai from east to west of Nepal.The status of Reserve has been changed to National Park in 3rd July, 2017 (B.S. 2074/3...

Wetlands are important for biodiversity and are critical for human livelihoods, providing ecosystem services such as clean water, food and global climate regulation. Many wetlands are threatened by land-use conversion, but creating protected areas to conserve them can benefit both biodiversity and people. However, protected areas can also have soci...

We report the results of a herpetofaunal inventory between July, 2014 and March, 2017 of Parsa National Park that detected 51 herpetofaunal species. Three amphibians (Microhyla nilphamariensis, Sphaerotheca breviceps, and Uperodon taprobanicus), two Gecko species (Hemidactylus flaviviridis and H. frenatus), one Agamid (Sitana fusca), two Skinks (Eu...

We report the results of a herpetofaunal inventory between July, 2014 and March, 2017 of Parsa National Park that detected 51 herpetofaunal species. Three amphibians (Microhyla nilphamariensis, Sphaerotheca breviceps, and Uperodon taprobanicus), two Gecko species (Hemidactylus flaviviridis and H. frenatus), one Agamid (Sitana fusca), two Skinks (Eu...

Information on density and abundance of globally threatened species such as tigers Panthera tigris is essential for effective conservation as well as to evaluate the success of conservation programmes. We monitored tigers in Parsa Widlife Reserve, Nepal, using camera traps, in 2013, 2014 and 2016. Once believed to be a sink for tigers from adjacent...

The incidence of conflicts among communities over the collection of Yarsagumba, the high value caterpillar fungus, has increased after the Government of Nepal has lifted a ban on its collection and trade in 2001. In most cases, conflicts over Yarsagumba harvesting persist either between locals and outsiders, or between collectors within a local com...

By 2100, the impacts of land use change on biodiversity at global scale are likely to be more significant than climate change and invasive species introductions. All these changes along with socio‐economic and cultural transformations shaped the indigenous systems to adjust the new circumstances. The interest of this study was to assess the relativ...

Koshi Tappu wildlife reserve (KTWR) is a unique eastern flood plain Terai protected area ecosystem in Nepal. It is established as a protected area in 1976 and listed as first RAMSAR site in 1987. KTWR is famous for large remnant population wild water buffalo in Nepal and large variety of birds. Wild buffalo is the ancestor of the domestic water buf...

This study was conducted to assess habitat suitability, migratory routes and human elephant interface in Eastern Nepal through land use land cover change, Habitat suitability & NDVI analysis. Landsat TM 5, ETM+ 7 Landsat TM 8 (OLI) data was acquired for different three time period 1990, 2000 &2013. Vector layers of habitat variable as well as topog...

This study was conducted to assess habitat suitability, migratory routes and human elephant interface in Eastern Nepal through land use land cover change, Habitat suitability & NDVI analysis. Landsat TM 5, ETM+ 7 Landsat TM 8 (OLI) data was acquired for different three time period 1990, 2000 &2013. Vector layers of habitat variable as well as topog...

The Bengal Florican Houbaropsis bengalensis is a Critically Endangered bird species. Populations have been monitored in Nepal since 1982, and the most recent study showed a precipitous decline despite the species being mainly confined to protected areas. A systematic survey was conducted in parts of the Koshi area during April and May 2012 by walki...

Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve and its adjoining areas north and south were thoroughly surveyed for birds between 21 and 26 April 2012. The main habitats covered were grasslands and grassland/riverine scrub. The grassland combing method of spacing observers at a distance of 100 to 500 m was practised to observe and count birds. This was the first att...

Bengal Florican Houbaropsis bengalensis is one of the most critically threatened birds of the world. The species has restricted distribution within the Indian subcontinent extending southeast to parts of Cambodia and Vietnam. The population of the species is being monitored in Nepal since 1982. The most recent study on the species shows a precipito...

Wild water buffaloes (Bubalus arnee) are categorized as endangered on the IUCN Red List. With a global population of less than 4,000, the species has a very limited distribution spanning over less than 20,000 km2 in Nepal, India, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand and Bhutan. In Nepal, Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve was designated for wild Asian...

Rupa Lake is the third biggest lake of Pokhara valley. It supports a number of floral and faunal species. A total of 36 species of waterbirds have been recorded in the lake which represents about 19 percent of the total 193 wetland-dependent birds found in Nepal. The lake is under pressure from diverse anthropogenic factors. Waterbirds of Rupa Lake...

The study entitled “Impact of Mikania micrantha on Rhinoceros unicornis habitat in Chitwan National Park (CNP)” was commenced between June & September, 2008 with aiming to assess the floral diversity, status and distribution of Mikania and its impact on rhinoceros habitat in five different research sites within and out side CNP. The sampling intens...