Chiranjibi Prasad Pokheral

• PhD
• Program Director at National Trust for Nature Conservation

This study explores an understanding of human-wildlife conflict (HWC) focused on tiger, particularly the status and trend of human-tiger conflict (HTC), in three major areas of Chitwan National Park (CNP); Ayodhyapuri, Patihani and Meghauli VDCs. A set of questionnaire survey was conducted in 98 households during month of June- July, 2017. It cover...

A balanced equilibrium between carnivores and their prey is crucial for maintaining ecosystem sustainability. In this study, we applied the predator–prey power law equation to assess the balance between the biomass densities of carnivores and their wild prey within Nepal's lowland protected areas during 2013, 2018, and 2022. The estimated value of...

The snow leopard, Panthera uncia, is a flagship species of the mountainous region in South and Central Asia. In Nepal Himalayas, the species is distributed from 3000 to 6000 m. The present finding of a snow leopard on 23 January 2024 at an elevation of 146 m. in Charghare, Urlabari of Morang District was an unusual record. This is the first recorde...

• Canine distemper virus (CDV) poses a serious threat to leopards in Nepal, with recent raising concern of transmission in wildlife – domestic interface. • CDV strains in leopards belong to the Asia-5 lineage, prevalent among dogs and wild carnivores in Nepal and neighboring India. • Leopard in Kathmandu might have acquired CDV through dog predatio...

Mugger crocodile is the only resident crocodilian of the Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve (KTWR), Nepal. Fewer studies have been carried out on the status and distribution of this crocodilian with limited information on its habitat characteristics. This study sets forth to highlight the population status, distribution and habitat preference of Mugger c...

The efficacy evaluation of levamisole and oxyclozanide treatment on the gastrointestinal nematodes of ungulates at the central zoo, Nepal was carried out from June—August 2021. A total of 40 fecal samples were collected from 10 species of ungulates from the central zoo for determining the efficacy of the anthelmintic given at day 0 of pretreatment...

Human activities can influence behaviors of predators and prey, as well as predator-prey interactions. Using camera trap data, we investigated whether or to what extent human activities influenced behaviors of predators (tigers and leopards) and prey (sambar deer, spotted deer, wild boar, and barking deer), and predator-prey interactions in the Bar...

The red panda (Ailurus fulgens) population is decreasing, with less than 10,000 individuals in the wild because of habitat destruction, fragmentation, and illegal hunting. Captive breeding has become an increasingly crucial strategy for conserving endangered species, but efforts to generate self-sustaining populations have failed despite ample reso...

Adults of many bird species exhibit morphological distinctions between sexes. However, sex determination of monomorphic bird species on the basis of physical appearance is difficult. Molecular sexing with an appropriate primer pair is widely adopted to determine the sex of monomorphic birds. Sarus crane is one such endangered monomorphic bird whose...

From wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) in the Serengeti to tigers (Panthera tigris altaica) in the Russian Far East, canine distemper virus (CDV) has been repeatedly identified as a threat to wild carnivores. Between 2020 and 2022, six Indian leopards (P. pardus fusca) presented to Nepali authorities with fatal neurological disease, consistent with CDV. He...

Adults of many bird species exhibit morphological distinctions between sexes. However, sex determination of monomorphic bird species on the basis of physical appearance is difficult. Molecular sexing with an appropriate primer pair is widely adopted to determine the sex of monomorphic birds. Sarus crane is one such endangered monomorphic bird whose...

Background Zoological gardens (Zoo) provide abode to various threatened animals or trafficked animals seized by the authorities, and injured and orphaned animals. Captive animals are more susceptible to infection as they are under significant stress due to diet and space which further dwindle their resistance to parasitic infections. Objectives Th...

Mugger crocodile is found in various locations of Nepal, ranging from Eastern to Western lowlands, and is also a resident crocodilian of the Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve (KTWR). Fewer studies have been carried out on the status and distribution of this crocodilian with limited information on its habitat characteristics. This study sets forth to hig...

Context People and wildlife are coming into greater contact worldwide because of the increasing human footprint. Although some species tolerate certain levels of human activities, others are vulnerable to human disturbance, potentially altering their spatial or temporal patterns of activity in response to disturbance by humans. Aims We evaluated t...

Efficacy of levamisole and oxyclozanide treatment on gastrointestinal nematodes of ungulates at the Central Zoo, Nepal

This study explores an understanding of human-wildlife conflict (HWC) focused on tiger, particularly the status and trend of human-tiger conflict (HTC), in three major areas of Chitwan National Park (CNP); Ayodhyapuri, Patihani and Meghauli VDCs. A set of questionnaire survey was conducted in 98 households [Ayodhyapuri (38), Patihani (30) and Megha...

Burmese Ferret-Badger is observed for the first time in Gaurishankar Conservation Area of Nepal. Local community informed the conservation area authority when they found the species near to the human settlement. This species is generally distributed in the tropical and subtropical region and is not studied comprehensively. The identification was co...

Knowing the status of disease in domestic animals such as dogs ( Canis lupus familiaris ) in fringe areas of the national parks is important to understand the potential disease prevalance in the wildlife population. Dog populations bordering the national parks pose a potential disease risk to native wildlife. We carried out a seroprevalence study a...

Long term monitoring of bird species was conducted in Barandabhar Corridor Forest, one of the important bird areas of Nepal (IBA). Bird species were identified by the point count method in transect surveys in two-time frames from 2002–2012 and 2015–2016 to obtain the bird species list. We compared our bird list with previously published (after 2000...

Nepal is a global biodiversity hotspot, supporting 213 mammal species with diverse habitats across various landscape types, from the lowland Terai to the high Himalayas. Studies of Nepal’s mammalian fauna are not evenly distributed and better understanding of past biases towards some species, research themes and locations can provide better strateg...

Blackbuck Antilope cervicapra, which was once extinct in Nepal, has recovered back to a population from 9 to 234 in Khairapur (Krishnasaar Conservation Area) and 28 to 115 in Hirapur Phanta (Shuklaphanta National Park) by 10 September 2020. Government of Nepal declared a specific protected area Krishnasaar Conservation Area, Khairapur with electric...

Jungle cat (Felis chaus) is one of the widely distributed but less studied species in Nepal. We studied jungle cat distribution and their activity pattern in Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve (KTWR), Nepal. Photographs of the jungle cats obtained during camera trapping survey targeted to fishing cats in the winter season of two consecutive years (2016 a...

Residential emission from traditional biomass cookstoves is a major source of indoor and outdoor air pollution in developing countries. However, exact quantification of the contribution of biomass cookstove emissions to outdoor air is still lacking. In order to address this gap, we designed a field study to estimate the emission factors of PM 2.5 (...

Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve (KTWR) has the last remaining Nepalese population of the Endangered Asiatic Wild Buffalo (Bubalus arnee Kerr, 1792). Individual animals protected inside KTWR may be of purely wild, domestic or hybrid origin, and the wild population is under potential threat due to habitat loss and genetic introgression from feral backcr...

Corridor design is a centripetal conservation tool tofacilitate movement between fragmented patches. Increases inanthropogenic activity have caused degradation in forest con-nectivity, influencing animal movement to a small degree.Laljhadi-Mohana wildlife corridor (LMWC), a corridor be-tween Shuklaphanta National Park (Nepal) and DudhwaNational Par...

The systematic study in 2015 and 2016 documented the first camera trap image of the Crab-eating Mongoose Herpestes urva in Barandabhar Corridor Forest in Chitwan, Nepal. The corridor was divided into 88 grids, each of 1km by 1km. A pair of cameras was placed for 15 nights in each grid and the total camera trap night effort was 2,640. There were two...

We investigated the factors facilitating co-occurrence of two large carnivores, tigers (Panthera tigris) and common leopards (Panthera pardus), within a human-dominated landscape. We estimated their density and population size using camera-trap photographs and examined spatial segregation of habitats, temporal activity pattern, and diets in Chitwan...

Twelve cat species were recorded in Nepal including the largest, Tiger Panthera tigris, and the smallest, Rusty-spotted Cat Prionailurus rubiginosus. There is more research on the Panthera species than on small wild cats; consequently, the conservation status, distribution, and ecology of small cat species are poorly known. In this article, we repo...

Biodiversity conservation especially in Protected Areas (PA) depends on Community Based Conservation (CBC) programs. Sharing of PA revenues with local communities in the buffer zone of PA's is a major component of CBC. Herein, we assess the effectiveness of the CBC programs in Chitwan National Park, Nepal by evaluating people's perception of benefi...

Buffer zones around parks/reserves are designed to maintain ecological integrity and to ensure community participation in biodiversity conservation. We studied the fund utilization pattern of buffer zone programs, mitigation measures practiced, and attitudes of residents in buffer zone programs of Chitwan National Park, Nepal. The buffer zone commi...

In the Shuklaphanta National Park (Nepal), we sampled the spatial distributions and diel activity patterns of tigers and leopards during three winter (dry) seasons. Densities of both predators were similar and rather low (≤ 3/100 km²), but total prey base was high (> 150 animals/km²). From camera trapping, 20 different tigers and leopards were iden...

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...

Wildlife attacks on humans and economic losses often result in reduced support of local communities for wildlife conservation. Information on spatial and temporal patterns of such losses in the highly affected areas contribute in designing and implementing effective mitigation measures. We analyzed the loss of humans, livestock and property caused...

Semi-structured questionnaire used to record the detail information on the livestock depredation cases. (PDF)

Amount in USD released in each year for different types of losses by the buffer zone program and Nepal Government over the years. (PDF)

The poster is about the conservation outside protected area and the community initiative in the project.

Systematic Camera trapping on the Barandabhar Corridor Forest recorded the presence of the endangered Wild Dog/Dhole in the area. A total of 1320 camera trap night efforts were conducted in the area in two blocks from 15th Dec 2015 to 20th Jan 2016. A single picture of dhole was captured and was sympatric with other large carnivores like tiger Pant...

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...

Biodiversity Profile of Beeshazar and Associated Lakes-2016

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...

Community and Biodiversity are inseparable as biodiversity provides provisioning, regulating, cultural, and supporting services. In the present context, the rate of the extinction of the species is very high that is bringing the alteration in the ecosystem composition. The loss is even more severe in local level than globally. So, the timely data o...

Understanding how wide-ranging animals use landscapes in which human use is highly heterogeneous is important for determining patterns of human–wildlife conflict and designing mitigation strategies. Here, we show how biological sign surveys in forested components of a human-dominated landscape can be combined with human interviews in agricultural p...

The rare death feigning behavior by Burmese python Python bivittatus is reported from Chitwan National Park, Nepal. This documentation from natural distributional range of Burmese python from human-python conflict prone zone is expected to be helpful as outreach material to safeguard the life of animal from danger by local people. This is the first...

We studied the diet of the Bengal tigers (Panthera tigris tigris) in Chitwan National Park, Nepal, by identifying 109 prey items from 85 tiger scats. Tigers in this region fed upon eight different mammal species. Chital (Axis axis) was the major prey with a frequency of 45% of the Tigers’ diet. The occurrence of other prey species included sambar (...

Corridor design is a centripetal conservation tool to facilitate movement between fragmented patches. Increases in anthropogenic activity have caused degradation in forest connectivity, influencing animal movement to a small degree. Laljhadi-Mohana wildlife corridor (LMWC), a corridor between Shuklaphanta National Park (Nepal) and Dudhwa National P...

We analyzed characteristics of the problem-causing tigers in Chitwan National Park (Nepal) to determine if specific groups or individuals in the source population have higher probability to get involved in conflicts with humans. From 2007 to 2016 we identified a total of 22 such tigers including 13 that killed humans, six serial livestock killers a...

We analyzed characteristics of the problem-causing tigers in Chitwan National Park (Nepal) to determine if specific groups or individuals in the source population have higher probability to get involved in conflicts with humans. From 2007 to 2016 we identified a total of 22 such tigers including 13 that killed humans, six serial livestock killers a...

The rare death feigning behavior by Burmese python Python bivittatus is reported from Chitwan National Park, Nepal. This documentation from natural distributional range of Burmese python from human-python conflict prone zone is expected to be helpful as outreach material to safeguard the life of animal from danger by local people. This is the first...

The source populations of tigers are mostly confined to protected areas, which are now becoming isolated. A landscape scale conservation strategy should strive to facilitate dispersal and survival of dispersing tigers by managing habitat corridors that enable tigers to traverse the matrix with minimal conflict. We present evidence for tiger dispers...

The distribution of the Himalayan Stripe-necked Snake (Liopeltis rappi) is poorly documented. We summarize the distribution of this little known snake in Nepal and provide a new locality record from Kabilas, Chitwan, Nepal. Compiled observations presented here suggest that the species is more widely distributed and we call for additional surveys an...

The Nepalese herpetofauna has been poorly studied, and little is known about the distribution of the coun-try's amphibians and reptiles. We surveyed the herpetofauna at Beeshazar and associated lakes, a Ramsar site situated in the buffer zone of Chitwan National Park, Nepal. We conducted surveys between June and July 2015 using line transects, and...

The distribution of the Himalayan Stripe-necked Snake (Liopeltis rappi) is poorly documented. We summarize the distribution of this little known snake in Nepal and provide a new locality record from Kabilas, Chitwan, Nepal. Compiled observations presented here suggest that the species is more widely distributed and we call for additional surveys an...

Study of mammals outside protected area is limited in Nepal especially small patches of forest used by small carnivores and very less is known about current biodiversity status. With the importance of research in such area, this study was carried out in the Banpale forest using non-invasive method camera trapping and past records as a tool to monit...

WHO reports that household air pollution exposure claimed 4.3 million lives in 2012. Parallel to setting up a state-of-the-art air quality observatory in Sauraha, Chitwan District, Nepal, we also conducted an indoor air quality exposure study with 30 households in 3 nearby villages. In each household real-time concentrations of black carbon (BC), c...

Ecological theory predicts that sympatric species should avoid competition through diet, spatial and/or temporal partitioning. In carnivores, interference is widespread between species with similar diets. Smaller species are expected to differentiate their diet from that of larger, dominant ones, to reduce the risk of potentially lethal encounters....

Profiles of the greater one-horned rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) of Bardia National Park and Shuklaphanta Wildlife Reserve, Nepal. Published by NTNC through USAID funded Hariyo Ban Program, Nepal.

The Ghoral (Naemorhedus goral) is a goat-antelope distributed along the southern foothills of the Himalayan Mountains. The study assessed the status, distribution, habitat and threats of Ghoral (Naemorhedus ghoral) in the locally initiated Ghoral Conservation Area in Nawalparasi District, Nepal in the month of May – June 2014. Vantage Point Count a...

Once believed to be regionally extinct in Nepal, the clouded leopard Neofelis nebulosa, was recorded in 1989 and again in recent years with two new photographic evidence from Annapurna Conservation Area and Shivapuri Nagarjun National Park in 2011 and 2012. This year we recorded photographs of three individual clouded leopards from two locations in...

Yellow-throated Marten Martes flavigula has a wide geographic distribution, but little is known about its ecology and behaviour. A camera-trap survey in and around Chitwan National Park, Nepal, photographed a solitary Marten carrying a Small Indian Civet Viverricula indica. The animal was in a grassland patch amid Sal Shorea robusta forest. It is u...

Nepal is one of the tiger range countries committed to double the tigers by 2022 and set the target of 250 tigers from the baseline of 121 tigers (2009). Nepal has already formulated and implementing the National Tiger Recovery Priorities (NTRP). Four new protected areas (one national park, three conservation areas) have been declared as a part of...

This report highlights the status of the tiger and its prey population in Nepal. It presents a study carried out in the Nepal part of the Terai Arc Landscape (TAL), spanning 14 districts of the Terai from Rautahat in the east to Kanchanpur in the west and covering a total area of 21,600 km2. A similar study was undertaken simultaneously in the Indi...

Mikania micarantha (Mikania) is one of the world’s 100 worst weeds and the primary invasive species in Chitwan National Park (CNP), Nepal. Following a Mikania survey in 2008, an additional survey was carried out in 2011 as part of greater one-horned rhinoceros (rhino) censuses to measure the extent of change of Mikania invasion in major rhino habit...

Camera trapping has been used to assess the temporal activity patterns and the habitat selection of the Indian crested porcupine, Hystrix indica Kerr 1792, in the Shuklaphanta Wildlife Reserve (in Western Nepal). Data have been collected during two winter sessions (December 2008–April 2009, November 2009–January 2010). The effective sampling area i...