About
128
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Introduction
Works on Himalayan Wild fauna and fauna of Northeast India. Aspects of Movement ecology, HWC and wolf-dog interactions, clouded leopards, Pangolins, and other threatened mammals of India.
Current institution
Additional affiliations
January 2023 - December 2023
August 2003 - August 2006
May 2000 - July 2002
Education
January 2008 - May 2023
July 2006 - July 2008
August 2003 - August 2006
Publications
Publications (128)
The endangered snow leopard is a large felid that is distributed over 1.83 million km(2) globally. Throughout its range it relies on a limited number of prey species in some of the most inhospitable landscapes on the planet where high rates of human persecution exist for both predator and prey. We reviewed 14 published and 11 unpublished studies pe...
Group-hunting predators theoretically benefit from hunting together through increased prey returns; however, studies on lions suggest food is not enough. The dhole is one such group hunter; however, its predatory role within Asia's large predator guild is less well known than other members. We tested whether dholes exhibit preferential predation, a...
The Himalayan wolf is one of the most basal among wolf lineages in the world today. It inhabits mostly the high elevations, northwards from the Himalayas (1500–5000 m) in the Asian region. We conducted a meta‐analysis to understand the dietary habits of Himalayan wolves and wolves of the high rangelands of Asia from seven countries (n = 22). We fou...
Species interactions play a vital role in structuring mammalian communities by stimulating behavioral responses in varied niche dimensions that affect sympatric associations and predator–prey relationships. We determined temporal overlap and effects of the moon cycle on dominant and sub-dominant mammalian assemblages in Manas National Park, India....
The Central Asian wolves form a cohort within the wolf-dog clade known as the wooly wolf (Canis lupus chanco). These wolves are poorly studied and their current extent and distribution remain unknown. Apex predators already existing at higher elevations like wooly wolves can be severely affected by climate change because of the absence of suitable...
Indian Himalayan Region (IHR) supports a plethora of biodiversity with a unique assemblage of many charismatic and endemic species. We assessed the genetic diversity, demographic history, and habitat suitability of blue sheep (Pseudois nayaur) in the IHR through the analysis of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region (CR) and Cytochrome b gene...
Aim
This study examines how environmental variables determine the co‐occurrence of Phylloscopus warblers. It was carried out using an integrated zeta (ζ) diversity estimation method and multisite generalised dissimilarity modelling (MS‐GDM).
Location
Phylloscopus species spanning Eurasia.
Study Period
Observations made during the breeding season...
A total of 243 active nests of White-winged Redstart were observed on 1,527 artificial and natural hosts across six different categories over a 70-day study period. To evaluate the selection, availability, and usage of nesting hosts, Manly’s resource selection function was applied. Host structure and composition patterns were assessed in both man-m...
Understanding the competitive dynamics among carnivores given increasing human pressures is critical for effective conservation. This report examines niche partitioning among snow leopards and Himalayan wolves, the apex predators, alongside red foxes and free-ranging dogs, native and introduced mesopredators in Spiti Valley, Himachal Pradesh. Using...
What drives prey selection? Assessment of Tiger (Panthera tigris) food habits across the Terai-Arc Landscape, India
The present paper deals with the local community's traditional utilization of medicinal plants through their specialized health care practitioners called Amchies to treat some major health issues, i.e., hepatitis, tuberculosis (TB) and other associated health issues in Pin Valley National Park (PVNP), Himachal Pradesh. A preliminary survey was cond...
Understanding the spatial ecology of carnivores has been challenging due to their secretive habits. Nevertheless, comprehending the relationship of this taxonomic group with environmental, anthropogenic, and ecological factors is critical for effective conservation management. We determined the composition of the carnivore community (small, medium,...
Small sympatric carnivores may engage in strong competition, demanding the establishment of coexistence strategies that separate competitors along geographical, temporal, and nutritional axes to minimize ecological overlaps. Using camera trap data collected over six months, we computed the degree of temporal and spatial co-occurrence/competition of...
The rugged topography, harsh climate and limited livelihood options have resulted in pastoralism being the predominant land use in the Himalayan landscape. To identify the most significant sites in this landscape, we employed the concept of ‘High Conservation Value Areas’ (HCVAs) in Thanpattan, one of the largest pastureland in Lahaul-Spiti. We hav...
The dhole or Asiatic wild dog Cuon alpinus is the only endangered social canid in the tropical Indian forests and is considered at high risk of extinction in the wild. Despite this, knowledge about its ecology is still scarce. We investigated relative abundance, habitat utilisation and spatial and temporal ecology of dholes in Manas National Park,...
The technical report titled "Ecology of Clouded Leopard in an East Himalayan Biodiversity Hotspot - Carnivore Coexistence in Manas National Park, Assam, India" focuses on studying the ecological dynamics of clouded leopards within the context of the East Himalayan Biodiversity Hotspot, specifically in Manas National Park, Assam, India. The report e...
Large carnivores strongly shape ecological interactions within their respective ecosystems, but experience significant conflicts with humans across their range due to their specific ecological resource requirements. The Tiger (Panthera tigris) typifies the challenges faced by large carnivore species globally. India retains the majority of the globa...
Explore the fascinating world of the clouded leopard in our blog, "Mysteries unveiled: exploring the enigmatic world of the clouded leopard in Manas". This engaging piece delves into the findings of our research paper, "Secrets of the clouded leopard: abundance, habitat use, and carnivore coexistence in the tropical forests of Manas National Park,...
The mainland clouded leopard Neofelis nebulosa is categorized as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List and considered at high risk of extinction in the wild. Despite this,
knowledge of its ecology and population status remains limited. We investigated the population density, habitat utilization and spatial and temporal ecology of the clouded leopard in M...
Faunal and Floral Values of Churdhar WLS
For nearly two decades (1990–2010), conservation efforts in Manas National Park (MNP), Assam, India were compromised by ethno-political conflict. Documenting photographic evidence of rare species in MNP after the conflict is critical for informed conservation interventions. Asiatic Brush-tailed Porcupine Atherurus macrourus is one of the lesser-kno...
Pteropodids like the Indian flying fox roost gregariously and externally in tree canopies. In such conditions, hierarchy and competition for preferred roosting positions may result in the social structuring of animal aggregation. Vigilance is a manifestation of competition in canopy roosting bats, which can vary temporally, and according to the spa...
Predators compete for resources aggressively, forming trophic hierarchies that shape the structure of an ecosystem. Competitive interactions between species are modified in the human-altered environment and become particularly important where an introduced predator can have negative effects on native predator and prey species. The trans-Himalayan r...
The Indian Pangolin Manis crassicaudata is ‘Endangered’ on the IUCN Red List. We report the first photographic evidence of its presence in Colonel Sher Jung National Park of Paonta Valley in Himachal Pradesh. Camera-traps (n = 64) were used to assess the diversity and abundance of terrestrial mammals. Over 1,912 trap nights, we documented 16 mammal...
Background: The Amchi system ‘Sowa-Rigpa’ served as the cornerstone of local healthcare system for many years, but now is on the verge of extinction. Therefore, to maintain the long-term survival of this system, it is necessary to document utilization of medicinal plants, treatments performed, status of plants, their habitats and factors influencin...
Acoustic evidence of Western Tragopan from Dhauladhar Wildlife Sanctuary
Information on the status and distribution of species within a geographical area is vital for developing effective conservation plans. We conducted camera-trapping (n = 473) to determine diversity, species composition, relative abundance index, sampling effort, and conservation status of mammals in forested habitats of Manas National Park, Assam, I...
1. Abstract Wolves constitute an essential part of the carnivore predator complex in the Himalayan region as an umbrella species. The present chapter thus deals with the description of movement, home range, and the patterns of habitat selection in the context of Himalayan wolves, an apex predator in the Spiti region of the Cold Western desert of Hi...
We report the photo capture of wolves from Rajaji National Park and Tiger Reserve in the Northern state of Uttarakhand, India. A total of five photographs were recorded from the protected area providing the first conclusive evidence of wolves here. The wolves were identified as belonging to the peninsular Indian wolf lineage, Canis lupus pallipes....
The wolves in the Hindukush–Himalayan region belong to one of the most basal lineages of Canis lupus, yet little is known about their ecology and behavior. In this study, we determine wolf movement and analyze diet patterns in contrast with studies from within its distribution range. We determine conflict perception and identify hotspots using ecol...
Large carnivores strongly shape ecological interactions within their respective ecosystems, but experience significant conflicts with human across their range due to their specific ecological resource requirements. The tiger (Panthera tigris) typifies the challenges faced by the large carnivore communities globally. India retains majority of the gl...
The Trans-Himalayan landscape is an extreme cold desert with limited diversity and a low density of wild prey. The landscape has three widespread carnivores—the wolf Canis lupus chanco, snow leopard Panthera uncia, and red fox Vulpes vulpes—competing for similar prey. We studied predation patterns, dietary competition, and niche segregation of thre...
Information on the status and population estimates of species within a geographical area is vital for developing effective conservation plans. Camera traps have emerged as a promising cost-effective tool, for which numerous methods for estimating population density have been reported. Comparative tests of their applicability and performance, on the...
Geographical isolation can often lead to speciation, and two disconnected populations of the same species living in drastically different bioclimatic regions provide an opportunity to understand the process of speciation. The Woolly wolf is found in the cold-arid, Trans-Himalayan landscape, while the Indian wolf inhabits the semi-arid grasslands of...
The Dhole Cuon alpinus used to be the meso carnivore of the forests throughout Indian subcontinent; however, habitat loss, low prey biomass, and human disturbance exterminated the species from India’s 60% historic range, and the numbers are less than 1,500 individuals in wild. Following the same shrinking trend, Dholes were extirpated from Gujarat....
Survival blueprint summarising the status of Bengal Slow Loris in India and an outline of long-term conservation strategies needed for its persistence in the region.
Fear of predators drives temporal patterns in prey. Chances of detecting prey determine carnivore activity. But these patterns are not rigid. Subtle changes in niche regulate the ecosystem.
A preliminary survey, followed by a training workshop, was organized at Uhl wildlife range in Bir, Hamirpur Wildlife Division, Himachal Pradesh.
A field workshop was conducted for forest officials and field staff on various techniques (sign-survey, camera-trapping, trail transect, pellet, dung count, etc.) for the monitoring of wildlife population...
Of the sub-species of Holarctic wolf, the Woolly wolf (Canis lupus chanco) is uniquely adapted to atmospheric hypoxia and widely distributed across the Himalaya, Qinghai Tibetan Plateau (QTP) and Mongolia. Taxonomic ambiguity still exists for this sub-species because of complex evolutionary history anduse of limited wild samples across its range in...
The wolves in the Hindukush-Himalayan region belong to one the most basal lineages within Canis lupus , yet little is known about its ecology, distribution, and behavior. To understand ecological aspects of wolves in this landscape, we predict wolf distribution, diet patterns and conflict perception in Spiti, India using field and remotely sensed i...
Review on pangolin ecology and conservation threats
India is the second largest country in Asia that is home to a number of animal and plants species, among them members of the infra-order pecora is the most widely distributed. In Indian subcontinent currently 24 ungulate species representing three different family Cervidae (7 species), Bovidae (16 species) and Moschidae (1 species) present. All 24...
India is the second largest country in Asia that is home to a number of animal and plants species, among them members of the infra-order pecora is the most widely distributed. In Indian subcontinent currently 24 ungulate species representing three different family Cervidae (7 species), Bovidae (16 species) and Moschidae (1 species) present. All 24...
Indian pangolin distribution in Terai
Species interaction plays a vital role in structuring communities by stimulating behavioural responses in temporal niche, thereby affecting the sympatric associations. We assessed clouded leopard status, relative abundance indices (RAI), road use patterns and activity rhythms of small & meso carnivores to understand temporal overlaps between sympat...
Species interaction plays a vital role in structuring communities by stimulating behavioral responses in temporal niche, thereby affecting the sympatric associations and prey-predator relationships. We determined encounter rates (ER) and activity periods of each species to understand temporal overlaps between sympatric species and moonlight influen...
Aim
Climate change alters the water cycle, potentially affecting the distribution of species. Using an ensemble of species distribution models (SDMs), we predicted changes in distribution of the Asian elephant in South Asia due to increasing climatic variability under warming climate and human pressures.
Location
India and Nepal.
Methods
We compi...
Species interaction plays a vital role in structuring communities by stimulating behavioral responses in temporal niche affecting the sympatric associations and prey-predator relationships. We studied relative abundance indices (RAI) and activity patterns of each species, temporal overlap between sympatric species, and effects of moon cycle on pred...
Species interaction plays a vital role in structuring communities by stimulating behavioural responses in the temporal niche, affecting the sympatric associations and prey-predator relationships. We determined relative abundance indices (RAI) and activity periods of each species to understand temporal overlaps between sympatric species and moonligh...
Ungulate Estimates at District Level
The anthropogenic food subsidy in the diet of animal populations is known to have negative ecological and physiological impacts on wildlife. The red fox (Vulpes vulpes), a generalist species living close to human habitation, often has access to garbage dumps. We studied the dietary pattern of red fox in the cold desert of the Trans-Himalayas in Ind...
India is a megadiverse country harboring nearly 7 - 8% of all recorded species including over 45,000 species of plants and 91,000
species of animals on only 2.4% of the world's land area. It has a long history of conservation, rich traditional knowledge and
culture reflecting intimate association of its people with flora and fauna. However, rapid s...
The role of resource partitioning by sympatric species for coexistence is a fundamental question in carnivore ecology. Sympatric species have different activity and habitat use patterns which in recent times has been effectively studied through the use of camera traps. We studied activity patterns, niche segregation in terms of space and time of va...
Wildlife news is assumed to be a less commonly reported item in the media. We studied wildlife related news coverage by the Indian print news agencies and quantified its patterns by reviewing 766 news items across 50 national, regional and business newspapers in the year 2011. We found a considerable size bias towards large bodied species (1 : 8 ti...
Ecotourism or sustainable tourism is an effective conservation tool. Recently
increasing trends in visitations to protected areas (PAs) in India particularly, tiger reserves
(TRs) have been documented. A questionnaire survey was carried out to objectively
investigate visitor experience in three high profile tiger reserves (n = 684). Information on...
Ungulate estimation at a district level in Himachal Pradesh, Una
Questions
Questions (11)
Is there any literature that examines wolf diet in terms of proportion contributed by scavenging alone? do these rates differ with packs, region, prey density, and how?
best ways to get estimates for felids that are highly arboreal. Any good study design and protocols?
Environmental news is barely reflected in newspaper/tabloids. But recent awareness of climate change has lead to rising reports on such issues. Is there a method to compare coverage taking into account political developments, categories or themes of coverage and also evaluate readership impact of such coverage?
I have a dataset with 48 sites, 6 site co-variates, 5 sample covariates modelled for 5 occasions. I think I can fit up to at least 20 parameters. Whenever I run a base model psi(.)p(.) I get a estimates with SE. However, when I increase parameters estimates go haywire (infinity etc). Even running a correlated detection base model I get the same, does anyone have a fix for this in PRESENCE or is it that the data is bad?
Island biogeography is essentially a concept of colonisation vs extinction in relation to various environmental factors. What is not new is equilibrium points well explained in keynesian economics (macro economics). I was just curioius if the analogies were compared.
E.g. you get a prob of t-stat <= 0.03 , c-hat 2.08; would you say your results are meaningful?
Wolves in the himalayas are extremely difficult to track or locate. A good sampling strategy would be to survey signs and model them with habitat characteristics for habitat use.
