Sagarika Phalke

The University of Hong Kong | HKU · School of Biological Sciences

We present a description of avian faunal diversity collected from a short-term survey conducted between May- June 2023 in Lakshmipura, a park-edge village located in northern Tamil Nadu. The survey aimed to assess the avian diversity in the area using an opportunistic observation approach. During the study period 51 species of birds, representing 3...

While urban areas may not seem conducive to human-wildlife interactions (HWI), rapid land use transformations can result in frequent encounters with wildlife in the context of changing habitats, as well as encounters with species that thrive in urban settings. In Asia, the processes of rapid land-use change can bring into sharp relief the juxtaposi...

Wildlife trade is a multi-billion-dollar sector that impacts a wide range of species, and thus is of significant research and conservation interest. Wildlife trade has also become a prominent topic in the public-facing media, where coverage has intensified following the outbreak of the global COVID-19 pandemic due to the potential connection betwee...

The world's most versatile wild cat, the leopard Panthera pardus fusca, was photo captured for the first time in Gwalior Forest Division, Madhya Pradesh, India. We confirm the presence of the Indian leopard, detected on deployed camera traps during an opportunistic camera trap survey.

A vital role in mitigating human-elephant conflict (HEC) involves conservation education programs in local communities. It is therefore important to assess the types of information that make conservation education programs effective. Given the public’s fascination with animal minds, the elephant being a cognitively complex species, and the high occ...

Baker & Winkler (B&W) provide a comprehensive and systematic review of Thailand's captive tourist elephants. They propose rewilding as a solution to improving the welfare of captive tourist elephants. They also advocate this method for restoring degraded forests, elephant conservation and preserving traditional elephant-keeping practices and knowle...

The villages surrounding Bannerghatta National Park, Karnataka experience high human-elephant conflict in the form of crop loss. Forest Department maintained elephant barriers are not entirely effective in keeping elephants away from farmlands and cooperative participation in crop guarding is low. We assessed farmers’ attitudes to suggestions of co...

India has approximately 2500 elephants in captivity, with 73% of them experiencing poor welfare. Researchers as a complement to studies on negative welfare of captive animals have recently shifted their focus towards measuring indicators of positive wellbeing, by looking at what an animal prefers and what it is motived to obtain. Bannerghatta Biolo...

There seems to exist a knowledge gap in the information available on diversity or spatio-temporal distribution of mammals in Bannerghatta National Park (hereinafter BNP), as very few studies have been conducted here in the past decade. Hence, an evaluation of the richness, seasonal habitat use and diel activity patterns of mammals in the BNP was ca...

This document highlights brief observations and proceedings of a proposed medical intervention conducted for an injured free-ranging adult male elephant at Bannerghatta National Park, Karnataka.

A study was conducted to understand the diversity of avian fauna in a human-dominated rural landscape of Bengaluru. Seventy-nine species belonging to forty five families were recorded in the area of Taralu which lies south of Bangalore in close proximity (~ 1 km) to the protected area of Bannerghatta National Park, Karnataka. Three species were fou...

A single observation of a Ratel Mellivora capensis has been photo-documented in Bannerghatta National Park on 2 November 2015. This record being the first contemporary evidence of badgers in this region of Karnataka, India, the paper also presents a case study of badgers being close to a highly human-dominated landscape which could be due to some e...

In the present paper a preliminary field survey was undertaken to record the butterflies of Taralu estate and adjoining areas is reported.

The Indian Subcontinent has a long significant history of captive elephants- ranging from scriptures, ancient civilizations, commercial and religious purposes. Modern India still retains captive elephants in religious purposes, zoos and forest related work which is significantly different to their purposes in the yester-years. This book is a pictor...

During the present study a preliminary effort to record the species diversity of drosophilds was undertaken in the Taralu village (10° 17'-10° 19' N; 76° 39'-76° 44' E) adjacent to the Bannerghatta National Park (BNP) south of Bengaluru, Karnataka, India.Nine species of Drosophila were recorded in the present bait trapping studies. The trap count o...