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Impact of
Lantana camara
Removal on
Wildlife Acvity and Human-Wildlife
Interacons in Kanha Tiger Reserve,
Madhya Pradesh, India
2
Impact of
Lantana camara
Removal on Wildlife Acvity and
Human-Wildlife Interacons in Kanha Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, India
Impact of Lantana camara Removal on Wildlife Acvity and Human-Wildlife Interacons in Kanha Tiger
Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, India
A report published jointly by the Foundaon for Ecological Security (FES) and the World Wide Fund for Nature
India (WWF-India).
June 2024
Recommended Citaon: Talegaonkar R., Chouksey, S., Pawar, M., Bhatkar, A., Biswas, S., Patel, A., Lalai, D.,
Anand, S., & Dhamorikar, A. (2024). Impact of Lantana camara removal on wildlife acvity and human-wildlife
interacons in Kanha Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, India. Foundaon for Ecological Security (FES) and World
Wide Fund for Nature India (WWF-India).
This work has been undertaken with support from:
FES: The Deutsche Gesellscha für Internaonale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), IKEA Foundaon, Madhya Pradesh
Forest Department, Naonal Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), NatWest Foundaon, and
UN Climate Adaptaon Fund.
WWF India: WWF UK and the Madhya Pradesh Forest Department
Design: Robin Mathew/FES
Cover Photo: Aniruddha Dhamorikar/WWF-India
Eding: Nishtha Relan/FES
Logisc Support: Ankur Parmar/FES
Registered under the Sociees Registraon Act XXI 1860, the Foundaon for Ecological Security was set up in 2001 to
reinforce the massive and crical task of ecological restoraon in the country.
The crux of our eorts lies in locang forests and other natural resources within the prevailing economic, social, and ecological
dynamics in rural landscapes and intertwining principles of conservaon and local self-governance for the protecon of
natural surroundings and improvement in the living condions of the poor. By working on systemic issues that can bring
about a mulplier change, we strive for a future where local communies determine and move towards desirable land use
that is based on principles of conservaon and social jusce.
3
Impact of
Lantana camara
Removal on Wildlife Acvity and
Human-Wildlife Interacons in Kanha Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, India
Contents
Execuve Summary 6
1. Introducon and objecves 8
1.1. Introducon 9
1.2. Objecves 12
2. Study area 13
2.1. Kanha Tiger Reserve 14
2.2. Site selecon for the study 15
3. Methods 17
3.1. Survey design 18
3.2. Acvity paern of ungulates 19
3.3. Human-wildlife interacon 21
3.4. People’s percepons 21
3.5. Data analysis 23
4. Results 24
4.1. Understanding seasonal animal acvity paerns 25
4.2. Human-wildlife interacons 33
4.3. People’s percepons 35
5. Discussion 37
5.1. Animal acvity paerns 38
5.2. Addressing study limitaons 39
5.3. Ecosystem dynamics 39
5.4. Human-wildlife interacons 40
5.5. People’s percepons 41
6. Conclusion 42
7. References 44
8. Annexures 48
4
Impact of
Lantana camara
Removal on Wildlife Acvity and
Human-Wildlife Interacons in Kanha Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, India
Acknowledgements
We extend our gratude to the P.C.C.F. & HoFF, and PCCF (Wildlife) & CWLW, Madhya Pradesh Forest
Department, for providing the necessary permissions to undertake this study. The study would not have
been possible without the support and encouragement of Mr. S.K. Singh (IFS), Field Director, Kanha
Tiger Reserve, Mandla. We are thankful to the Deputy Director of the Core & Buer Zone, Mr. Sunil
Kumar Sinha, Mr. Naresh Yadav, Ms. Anjana Suchita Tirkey, Mr. Piyush Goyal, and Ms. Amita KB for their
support and encouragement. We are grateful to the Range Ocers of the Sijhora, Khaya, and Khapa
ranges and the Forest Guards for their assistance in conducng camera trapping.
We acknowledge the collecve eort of WWF colleagues Rahul Pandagre, Deval Kadam, Praful Choudhary
and Parasram Chouhan during the eldwork. We are also thankful to Mr. Sanket Bhale, Mr. Soumen
Dey, Mr. Tapas Das and Mr. Sanket Bhale from WWF-India for their support and encouragement. We
would also like to thank Mr. Subrata Singh, Mr. Rahul Chaturvedi, Mr. Pra Priyadarshini, Ms. Himani
Sharma, Mr. Ishan Agrawal, Mr. Pradyumna Kumar Acharya, Mr. Satyasovan Das, Mr. Anoop Thakur, Mr.
Kaleem Shah, Mr. Ayub Khan, and Mr. Jagat Ram Bharya from the FES for their support for the project.
We thank Dr Pranav Chanchani (WWF-India) for providing crical comments and reviewing the report.
We thank the presidents of village commiees and the members, Community Resource Persons, and
volunteers for their connued support and engagement. Our gratude extends to the local community
members and conservaon partners who provided valuable insights into lantana removal and for their
collaborave eorts. We acknowledge the importance of community awareness in creang sustainable
strategies that consider and respect the needs of sharing these spaces.
Aniruddha Dhamorikar/WWF-India
5
Impact of
Lantana camara
Removal on Wildlife Acvity and
Human-Wildlife Interacons in Kanha Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, India
Authors: Rahul Talegaonkar1, Sandeep Chouksey2, Manohar Pawar1, Ajinkya Bhatkar2, Suvankar Biswas2,
Ajeet Patel2, Dhwani Lalai 1, Shivangi Anand 1, and Aniruddha Dhamorikar2
Author aliaons: 1- Foundaon for Ecological Security
2- World Wide Fund for Nature India
6
Impact of
Lantana camara
Removal on Wildlife Acvity and
Human-Wildlife Interacons in Kanha Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, India
Execuve summary
Lantana camara poses signicant threats to biodiversity and ecosystem health in India, as it disrupts
nave plant growth, changes habitat structure, and alters soil properes. Several migaon measures
have been undertaken to eradicate lantana, including physical uproong and burning. Since 2015, the
Foundaon for Ecological Security (FES) has been acvely involved in removing Lantana from the buer
zone of the Kanha Tiger Reserve.
Farmers have reported decreased crop raiding by wildlife in areas where lantana has been removed in
addion to other benets, such as an increase in the area available for livestock grazing. To understand
the eect of lantana removal on wildlife acvity vis-a-vis the perceived benets, FES and WWF-India
collaborated on a study by deploying camera traps in treatment (where lantana was removed) and
control (with lantana intact) sites, in 1 1 km grids.
The study revealed a shi in the acvity paerns of mammals across seasons following lantana
removal. Animals were seen to be more acve at night in the treatment sites during summer, which
may be aributed to the increased availability of open space. In contrast, in winter, foraging acvity
was observed during the dayme in treatment sites, likely due to the enhanced availability of edible
plant biomass.
Carrying dry wood for domesc use along lantana-infested forests
PIXCOM
7
Impact of
Lantana camara
Removal on Wildlife Acvity and
Human-Wildlife Interacons in Kanha Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, India
Our ndings corroborated with people’s percepons regarding lantana removal: among the reported
benets included availability of fodder and reduced visits to forests for grazing and a decrease in
incidents of livestock depredaon by wild carnivores. Although there was no stascally signicant
dierence in livestock depredaon events between the treatment and control sites, a minor shi was
observed, with a 30% reducon in depredaon in treatment sites between 2017 and 2022. Farmers
also highlighted reduced crop damage by wild ungulates as a major benet of lantana removal, with
76% idenfying it as one of the top three perceived benets. We found an overall reducon in wildlife
acvity in treatment sites close to farmlands due to loss of hiding sites, which may be linked to reduced
crop raiding.
We demonstrate that lantana-removal iniaves in shared, mulple-use spaces have tangible benets
for both wildlife conservaon and human wellbeing. Connued monitoring and adapve management
strategies are essenal to further understand the long-term impacts of lantana removal to ensure the
sustainability of conservaon eorts such as invasive species eradicaon in shared spaces.
Asian rock honey bee (Apis dorsata) species feeding on lantana ower
Manohar Pawar/FES
8
Impact of
Lantana camara
Removal on Wildlife Acvity and
Human-Wildlife Interacons in Kanha Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, India
Section 1
Introduction and objectives
PIXCOM
9
Impact of
Lantana camara
Removal on Wildlife Acvity and
Human-Wildlife Interacons in Kanha Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, India
1.1. Introducon
Invasive plant species are considered a threat to biodiversity and ecosystems (Bha et al., 2011); they
alter the growth of nave plant species in their vicinity (Sharma et al., 2005; Barahukwa et al., 2023) and
disrupt the regeneraon of nave species (Gooden et al., 2009; Sundaram et al., 2012). Invasive species
also aect the chemical and biological properes of soil and alter the nutrient cycle (Funk and Vitousek,
2007; Sharma and Raghubanshi, 2009; Zhang et al., 2019). They negavely aect the composion and
structure of the invaded habitat (Kennard et al., 2002; Gooden et al., 2009) as well as the ecological
integrity (Mack et al., 2000; Pimentel et al., 2005) of natural ecosystems, reducing the variety, extent,
and primary producvity of lands (Rishi, 2009). Invasive species alter major biological processes, such
as the nitrogen cycle, plant-pollinator mutualism and the mycorrhizae mutualism of nave plants, and
the hydrology of the local environment (Ashton et al., 2005; Strayer et al., 2006). They promote changes
in the community structure of nave vegetaon (Strayer et al., 2006) by altering the abundance and
diversity of nave species and inhibing the spread of nave species through their allelopathic eects,
which leads to loss of diversity in the nave vegetaon composion (Clavero et al., 2009; Gooden et
al., 2009; Hejda et al., 2009; Sanders et al., 2003; Hillebrand et al., 2008). Further, most invasive species
are unpalatable and have high concentraons of toxins that can adversely impact or even kill wild and
domesc herbivores that consume them (Day et al., 2003, Rastogi et al., 2023).
The past two centuries have witnessed a proliferaon and spread of alien species within and between
connents, oen mirroring the movement of people and animals as well as human ingression into
natural habitats (Wilson et al., 2013; Hiremath and Sundaram, 2013). Somemes invasives have
been deliberately introduced to novel areas for various reasons: as garden ornamentals, commercial
culvaon, provision fuelwood and fodder, expansion of green cover in arid areas, and even to provide
camouage cover during World War II (Hiremath and Sundaram, 2013). Invasive species may also be
spread inadvertently by the movement of animals and people, or dispersed by wind and water, or
exploit suitable condions created by disturbance and by climate change and global warming, oen at
the expense of nave species (Day et al., 2003; Vardien et al., 2012). Such alien species show signicant
genec and morphological modicaons to adapt themselves to the introduced environment (Negi et
al., 2019), enabling them to outcompete nave species and oen cause signicant negave impacts on
the ecosystems and the services they provide to the communies (Sundaram et al., 2012).
India’s forest ecosystem is under the pressure of many anthropogenic inuences, which facilitate the
growth of many non-nave invasive species (Diwakar, 2003; Mungi et al., 2018) such as lantana (Lantana
camara), thoroughwort (Chromolaena sp.), tropical whiteweed (Ageratnm conyzoides), Santa Maria
feverfew (Parthenium hysterophorus), and pignut (Mesosphaerum suaveolens). Among all, lantana is
the most successful invader in India and is oen seen as the most challenging weed and a threat to
nave biodiversity (Mungi et al., 2020: Bha et al., 2011, Isbell et.al. 2009).
Lantana camara, L. (Verbenaceae), is nave to Central and South America. It was introduced outside
its nave geographic range as a garden ornamental or a hedge plant, now spread around 60 countries
(Walton, 2006; Babu et al., 2009). It is a low, erect or sub-scandent woody perennial shrub with stout
recurved prickles and a strong odour of black currants (Negi et al., 2019). It is a fast-growing species,
10
Impact of
Lantana camara
Removal on Wildlife Acvity and
Human-Wildlife Interacons in Kanha Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, India
drought and salt-resistant, seldom bothered by pests or diseases and adapted to most soil types.
Lantana has a history of mulple introducons in India. It was introduced in 1809 as an ornamental and
hedge plant in Calcua (Negi et al., 2019) and is now the widest spaally distributed species across the
country, covering various habitat types (Khuroo et al., 2012). It extends from the tropical forest type of
peninsular India to the sub-tropical and lower temperate forest type of the Himalayas in the north up
to 2000 m (Hiremath and Sundaram, 2013; Izhar et al., 2023). It is widely distributed across landscapes
in India and has invaded more than 40% of forest areas (Mungi et al., 2020). The worst-aected areas
are the Shivalik Hills in the North, the Southern Western Ghats and the fragmented deciduous forests of
central India (ibid). It has also invaded the tropical and subtropical zones of the Himalayan ecosystem,
including parts of the northeastern states (Hakimuddin, 1929; Negi et al., 2019).
The disturbance caused by res, landslides and oods stressed the growth of nave plants and allowed
lantana to spread (Hiremath and Sundaram, 2013; Raghubanshi and Tripathi, 2009; Mungi et al., 2018).
Their unpalatable nature (Hiremath and Sundaram 2013), eciency in up-taking and using natural
nutrients compare to nave plants (Bha et al., 1994), and ability to bear an abundance of fruits year-
round, which aracts a large number of frugivorous birds – in addion to wild pigs (Sus scrofa) and
sloth bears (Melursus ursinus) – helping in seed dispersal (Lockwood, et al., 2005; Sundaram, et al.,
2015), has made it a successful exoc invasive species.
Lantana camara ower throughout the year, hence are locally called baramasi
Manohar Pawar/FES
11
Impact of
Lantana camara
Removal on Wildlife Acvity and
Human-Wildlife Interacons in Kanha Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, India
Lantana-invaded areas witness a sharp increase in the density of its spread, and its dense thickets
deplete the regeneraon of nave tree species (Sharma et al., 2005; Upadhyay et al., 2019). This invasion
across all forest types is at the expense of nave vegetaon and the overall ecosystem (Sundaram et
al., 2012; Qureshi et al., 2023). Further, denser pockets of lantana may help spread re along the edges
and pose a direct threat to forests and agricultural, pastoral, and grazing lands (Upadhyay et al., 2019).
Its presence around human selements provides shelter to wildlife, which is believed to exacerbate
negave human-wildlife interacons. Lantana and other invasive species may also have societal impacts
on forest-dependent communies by suppressing plant species that are otherwise consumed or sold
(Sundaram et al., 2012), causing immense economic loss. Thus, its spread aects livelihoods, human
health, and the ecological integrity of the invaded area (Pimentel et al., 2001; Mungi et al., 2020).
Several migaon measures have been taken so far by the forest department to eradicate lantana,
especially from the Protected Areas (PAs) and become an integral part of forest management (Sundaram
et al., 2015). Physical uproong and burning are among the few strategies that have been idened
as eecve measures by various studies to control lantana invasion (Day et al., 2003; van Wilgen et
al., 2001; Bahuguna and Upadhyay, 2002). Controlled burning can be eecve in its management, but
is not favoured because it may also damage the nave seeds present in the soil seed bank and may
have a deleterious impact on nave vegetaon (Sundaram et al., 2015). Furthermore, although the
Lantana removal by pulling it by the roots is recommended during monsoon when the soil is so
Manohar Pawar/FES
12
Impact of
Lantana camara
Removal on Wildlife Acvity and
Human-Wildlife Interacons in Kanha Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, India
physical removal has shown posive results, it has been observed that repeated removals are required
in subsequent years and nave species planted in its place (ibid).
State forest departments undertake lantana removal through eco-development commiees in Protected
Areas (PAs). It provides employment and increases the space available for the growth of nave ora
as well as for the movement of wildlife. However, the role of lantana in the ecology of wild animals is
unclear, although anecdotal reports suggest that it is used as a roost, nursery, or temporary retreat for
wild ungulates and carnivores.
The FES has been engaged in lantana removal in the buer zone of Kanha Tiger Reserve (KTR), Madhya
Pradesh, since 2015, prevenng the spread of invasive oral species and freeing up crucial areas for
wildlife movement and community use in the Kanha-Pench Corridor. Over the last three years (August
2017 to September 2019), 18.4 km2 of the area including private and common lands was cleared of
lantana. Anecdotal informaon on the impacts of lantana removal is contradictory, with locals reporng
both reduced crop-raiding as well as increased crop raiding. Benets cited include an increased
availability of land for grazing, although a clear understanding of the impacts needs to be assessed.
FES and WWF-India jointly studied the impacts and recorded people’s percepons towards lantana
removal to ascertain whether (1) Lantana removal has reduced occurrence of wild ungulates close to
villages and farmlands, reducing crop raiding instances, (2) Lantana removal has reduced occurrence
of wild carnivores close to villages and farmlands, reducing livestock depredaon incidents, (3) Lantana
removal has increased area for grazing for livestock close to villages by opening up the area for the
growth of palatable grasses.
1.2. Objecves
1. To understand the impact of lantana removal on wildlife movement with respect to farmlands.
2. To understand the impact of lantana removal on the frequency of crop raiding and livestock
depredaon.
3. To understand people’s percepon towards lantana removal in areas adjacent to farmlands.
Note: The last objecve was the focus of the research by Lalai et al. 2023.
Livestock grazing in lantana invaded area
Rahul Talegaonkar/FES
13
Impact of
Lantana camara
Removal on Wildlife Acvity and
Human-Wildlife Interacons in Kanha Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, India
Section 2
Study area
Aniruddha Dhamorikar/WWF-India
14
Impact of
Lantana camara
Removal on Wildlife Acvity and
Human-Wildlife Interacons in Kanha Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, India
2.1. Kanha Tiger Reserve (KTR)
KTR is one of the rst nine ger reserves to be noed under Project Tiger in 1973. The reserve is
nestled on the northern slope of the Maikal Hills of the Satpura mountain range in central India. KTR
comprises two conservaon units: the Kanha Naonal Park with an area of 940 km2 and the Buer
Zone of 1134 km2. Besides this, Phen Wildlife Sanctuary (110 km2) acts as a Satellite Micro Core under
the unied control of the Field Director of KTR. The reserve administravely falls in the Mandla and
Balaghat districts of Madhya Pradesh. The terrain is mainly characterised by a series of plateaus on the
main ridge and major spurs. The slopes are steep in the upper reaches. The reserve has an excellent
interspersion of the dadar (plateaus), grassy expenses, dense forests and riverine forests (Ghose, 1995).
The enre area is a part of the Narmada Catchment and consists of two ecological units formed by the
Halon Valley in the east and Banjar Valley in the west. Both rivers are the main drainage of the reserve.
The habitat consists of southern tropical moist deciduous forests with Sal (Shorea robusta) on the
lower slopes and in the valleys and mixed forest on the upper and top of the hills with 3c/C2- Moist
peninsula Sal with low-level Sal (3c/C2 cii) and subgroup high-level Sal (3c/C2 ci) and miscellaneous
forests (3A/C2), with subgroups southern tropical moist deciduous forest, southern tropical dry mixed
deciduous forest and grassland in the valleys and on plateaus (Champion and Seth, 1968). Invasive plant
species such as Agerana adenophora, Ageratum conyzoides, Chromolaena odorata, Mesosphaerum
suaveolens, Mikania micrantha, Parthenium hysterophorus, Prosopis juliora, and Lantana camara
have been recorded from KTR (Qureshi et al., 2022).
Tiger captured in camera traps of study area
WWF-India/FES/MPFD
15
Impact of
Lantana camara
Removal on Wildlife Acvity and
Human-Wildlife Interacons in Kanha Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, India
KTR supports a populaon of 105 gers with a density of 5.57±0.54 gers per 100 sq. km2. (Qureshi
et al., 2022). It is home to more than 43 species of mammals, 300 species of birds and 26 species of
reples. The oral diversity includes more than 850 species of angiosperms including 50 species of
aquac plants and about 109 species of grasses (NTCA n.d.).
2.2. Site selecon for the study
The buer zone and periphery area of KTR acts as a mulple-use area for local communies. The locals
extract forest produce for domesc and agricultural use. A large number of cale are also reared, which
graze in the commons and designated grazing compartments. Overgrazing is linked with reducing the
producvity of the land and accelerang the invasion of non-nave plant species and weeds (Isbell et
al., 2009). The present study was conducted in the buer zone and peripheri area of KTR, where FES has
been doing lantana removal since 2015 in the Sijhora and Khaya ranges of KTR and the Baihar range
of the North Balaghat forest division (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Map showing the locaon of the study area and the study grids in the
treatment (lantana removed) and control (lantana exisng) sites.
16
Impact of
Lantana camara
Removal on Wildlife Acvity and
Human-Wildlife Interacons in Kanha Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, India
Between 2015 and 2018, lantana was removed from a total of 18.4 km2 of area from 110 villages.
These villages are dependent on the surrounding forests to full their resource requirements. Lantana
removal was undertaken in the commons* (10.8 km2) and private land (7.6 km2) as well as along the
periphery of the surrounding forest compartments. This region is important for wildlife movement
(Jena et al., 2014) and experiences a high prevalence of crop raiding (Figure 1; Table 1). Twelve of these
villages were selected for this study.
*Commons refers to resource or land categories that are considered village resources or revenue lands shared by the community.
Table 1. List of treatment sites where camera traps were deployed
Sr. No. Locaon (village/beat) Area (km2) Year of removal
1Magdha beat 1.32 2017
2Mohgaon beat 1.96 2017
3Khapa beat 0.04 2018
4Baihar-Dhanwar Theka 0.93 2019
5Baihar-Kumadehi 0.21 2019
6Malara 0.27 2018
7Manikpur Mal 0.1 2018
8Tatuawa-Bandhatola 0.20 2017
9Taktauwa-Gourikasa 0.10 2017
10 Taktuawa-Kukarikhol 0.46 2017
11 Manikpur Ryt 0.2 2018
12 Souya 0.2 2017
Total area (approximately) 6.0
Lantana eradicated area
Sandeep Chouksey/WWF-India
17
Impact of
Lantana camara
Removal on Wildlife Acvity and
Human-Wildlife Interacons in Kanha Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, India
Section 3
METHODS
Manohar Pawar/FES
18
Impact of
Lantana camara
Removal on Wildlife Acvity and
Human-Wildlife Interacons in Kanha Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, India
Lantana infestaon in one of the control site
A treatment site aer the lantana removal
3.1. Survey design
In the KTR buer zone and periphery area, sites where lantana was removed for three years (August
2017 to September 2019), were compared with the sites where lantana exists within the same region.
The lantana removal sites were marked as a “treatment site” and the sites with the exisng lantana
were marked as “control sites” (Table 1 & 2). Each treatment site was mapped using GPS Etrex 20 by
walking along the edge of all lantana patches. Virtual grids of 1x1 km were laid out using ArcGIS 10.0 in
the study sites since the area of the lantana removal site was small (Figure 2).
Treatment sites were characterised by low tree cover and openness, with bare to low ground cover with
herbs, shrubs and tree saplings. Control sites had moderate tree cover, where the lantana shrub was
spread over the forest understory with small breaks and animal trails in between.
Manohar Pawar/FESManohar Pawar/FES
19
Impact of
Lantana camara
Removal on Wildlife Acvity and
Human-Wildlife Interacons in Kanha Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, India
Table 2. List of control sites (areas adjacent to treatment sites with exisng lantana cover)
Sr. No. Locaon (village/beat and compartment) Area (km2)
1Sarhi 1538 2.33
2Sarhi 1540 2.36
3Magdha 351 6.25
4Magdha 350 3.68
5Sijhora 1436 1
6 Atariya 1439 1
7Amjhar 155, 268, 266, 95 0.35
Total area (approximately) 16.97*
*Control site area in terms of the number of grids equivalent to the study site area was surveyed.
3.2. Acvity paern of ungulates
Animal acvity rhythms are known to match sun/moon-related cycles, referred to as circadian rhythms.
Acvity paerns synchronise with daylight and night-me hours (Kronfeld-Schor and Dayan, 2003). As a
result, animals can be broadly categorised as either nocturnal (acve at night) or diurnal (acve during
daylight hours). Some species are acve at dawn and dusk, exhibing bimodal acvity peaks, a paern
known as crepuscular acvity. Researchers (e.g., Weckel et al., 2006; Harmsen et al., 2011; Gerber et
al., 2010; Ross et al., 2013) have arbitrarily dened the crepuscular me range, typically ranging from 1
to 1.5 hours before and aer the local sunrise and sunset mes, respecvely. This categorisaon allows
for a deeper understanding of how various species adapt their behaviours to specic mes of the day
and night, shedding light on the ecological and physiological strategies they use.
The eld team deploying a camera trap
Manohar Pawar/FES
20
Impact of
Lantana camara
Removal on Wildlife Acvity and
Human-Wildlife Interacons in Kanha Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, India
3.2.1. Camera trapping sessions
A total of 74 camera traps (Cuddeback Ambush and Cuddeback Aack) were placed in 41 grids. At
least 2 camera traps were installed in a grid of 1 km2 in the control and treatment sites aer a transect
survey to determine wild ungulate presence in the grids. In 7 grids only one camera trap was installed
to avoid camera trap the and other unprecedented events. Based on the animal signs, camera traps
were placed along animal trails or areas they frequented. The camera traps were deployed in the grids
for a duraon ranging from 18 to 21 days, across summer, winter, and the monsoon, between 2021
and 2022. The season-wise camera trapping sessions corresponded with cropping paerns, viz. paddy
in monsoon, wheat in winter, and fallow or being used for vegetable culvaon in the summer. The
villagers and landowners were informed about the camera trapping exercise prior to the trapping
sessions. Subsequent analyses and results are based on the seasonality of animal movements in the
study area (Table 3).
Table 3. Camera trapping sessions
Season Number
of grids
Mean inter-
trap spacing
(km)
Camera-trap period for
the rst session
Trap
nights
Camera trap period
for the second
session
Trap
nights
Summer 41 1 10 April 2021 to 30
April 2021 861 20 May 2022 to 7 June
2022 779
Monsoon 41 1 12 September 2021 to
29 September 2021 738 22 August 2022 to 10
September 2022 820
Winter 41 1 11 February 2022 to 28
February 2022 738 13 December 2022 to
30 December 2022 738
Field team deploying camera traps in control and treatment sites
Manohar Pawar/FES
21
Impact of
Lantana camara
Removal on Wildlife Acvity and
Human-Wildlife Interacons in Kanha Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, India
3.3. Human-wildlife interacon
Concerning this study, we treated livestock depredaon by carnivores as human-wildlife interacon.
Since we did not quanfy crop damage relave to both sites, we focus on this only in the context of
people’s percepons. WWF-India with The Corbe Foundaon (TCF) has implemented an interim relief
scheme (IRS) as a mely compensatory mechanism on the event of livestock depredaon by carnivores
in the buer zone of KTR. Since 2016, an interim relief amount has been provided to the cale owner
whenever a livestock kill incident occured.
Livestock kill incidents by carnivores were considered to quanfy the intensity and frequency of kills
in treatment and control sites. Livestock depredaon data from January 2017 to December 2022 was
accessed to analyse the impact of lantana removal on changes in the kill paerns. In the event of
livestock kill, the locaon of the carcass was recorded. This geotagged locaon enabled idenfying the
site in treatment and control sites. A chi-square goodness of t test was performed to test whether
there was a signicant dierence in livestock depredaon events following lantana removal.
3.4. People’s percepons
Parcipatory learning methodologies were used to understand people’s percepons on the impacts of
lantana, both aer removal and in its standing state, as well as its perceived eects on human-wildlife
interacons such as crop raiding and livestock depredaon. The survey was conducted in the study site
villages from September 2020 to February 2021. A total of 18 villages were randomly selected for the
Fig 2. Map showing camera-trap locaons in study grids of 1x1 km.
22
Impact of
Lantana camara
Removal on Wildlife Acvity and
Human-Wildlife Interacons in Kanha Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, India
social survey from among the 123 villages in Niwas, Bichhiya, and Baihar block, as well as a few villages
in the periphery and buer zone of the KTR where lantana removal had taken place. These villages were
divided into 6 categories depending on the intervenon area, as indicated in Table 4. The methodology
and results related toward objecve three are covered in detail in Lalai et al. 2023.
Table 4. Treatment area, number of villages in each category, and names of the sampled villages
Treatment area (in hectares) Total number of villages
in each category
Names of sampled villages*
0–20 44 Bharweli, Khalodi, Singpur
20–50 39 Dhutka, Chhapri, Bharadwara
50–80 24 Umardehi, Tatri ryt, Khamariya Mal
80–110 7Rajma, Dudgaon
110–150 6Malara, Pakrtola (Taktaua)
>150 3 Kamta Mal, Mohgaon
* In addion, Chichhari, Silwani, and Bamhni were also included among the selected villages.
The assessment team surveyed 10% of the farmers from the intervenon villages to assess the impact of
lantana removal on crop depredaon. A total of 191 farmers were interviewed randomly (10% from an
intervenon group of 1,818 farmers). Farmers whose farmlands bordered the lantana treatment sites
were selected for the survey. In addion to basic details related to farming, the survey quesonnaire
captured the perceived impact of lantana removal on crop depredaon. The data were collected using
the Open Data Kit (ODK) plaorm. The respondents were asked to choose the top 3 most important
benets of lantana removal through focus group discussions (FGDs) in the intervenon villages.
Weightage of 3, 2 and 1 were assigned to the most important, second and third most important benet,
respecvely (Table 5).
Use of lantana branches weaved to be used as farm fences
Manohar Pawar/FES
23
Impact of
Lantana camara
Removal on Wildlife Acvity and
Human-Wildlife Interacons in Kanha Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, India
Table 5. Top 3 of the 8 perceived benets of lantana removal in the intervenon villages
Benets
(from the
topmost)
A B C D E F G
Top benet
Weighted
score
(A 3)
Second
benet
Weighted
score
(C 2)
Third
benet
Weighted
score
(E 1)
Weighted
average
(B + D + F)
Reducon in
crop raiding 28 84 57 114 60 60 258
Increased
fodder
availability
36 108 39 78 53 53 239
Paddy
culvaon 36 108 15 30 8 8 146
Millet
culvaon 34 102 8 16 9 9 127
Culvaon of
other crops 10 30 8 16 2 2 48
Increased
mahua
collecon
22 66 24 48 13 13 127
Increased
tendu leaves
collecon
6 18 16 32 6 6 56
Other benets 1 3 5 10 8 8 21
3.5. Data analysis
To understand temporal paerns in animal movements, the date and me metadata from camera
trap images were converted to solar me to minimise any bias associated with local mes. The
transformaon to solar me was carried out using the ‘Acvity’ package (Rowclie et al., 2011). For
each species, detecons were considered independent if they were taken at intervals exceeding 1 hour.
This criterion ensured that the observaons were suciently spaced apart. To extract a dataset with
observaons separated by one hour, we ulised the assess temporal independence funcon in the
R package ‘camtrapR’ (Niedballa et al., 2016). This funcon facilitated the extracon of data points
that met the temporal independence criteria. Overall, these steps were taken to ensure an accurate
and unbiased analysis of the data while considering the temporal aspects and potenal dependencies
between observaons. Acvity paerns were segregated and ploed to compare data from treatment
and control sites, with acvity intensity presented as kernel densies. Overlap of acvity paerns was
determined by Dhat1 values. The stascal analyses were performed using R soware version 4.0.2 (R
Core Team, 2021).
24
Impact of
Lantana camara
Removal on Wildlife Acvity and
Human-Wildlife Interacons in Kanha Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, India
Section 4
RESULTS
Rosy starling (Pastor roseus),
a migratory bird from south-east Europe
Manohar Pawar/WWF-India
25
Impact of
Lantana camara
Removal on Wildlife Acvity and
Human-Wildlife Interacons in Kanha Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, India
4.1. Understanding seasonal animal acvity paerns
A total of 25 mammalian species (Annexure 5) were photo-captured during the monitoring period.
These recordings provided crucial insights into site use by wild ungulates. Since chital (Axis axis),
sambar (Rusa unicolor), and wild pig (Sus scrofa) were the top three crop raiders in the study area as
per percepon surveys, a comprehensive analysis of their acvity paerns for the three seasons is
presented.
4.1.1. Chital (Axis axis)
Chital are oen seen in herds of 10 to more than 30 and are found in almost all kinds of forested habitats
– grasslands to deciduous forests, from the foothills of the Himalaya to peninsular India (Menon, 2014).
They are inclined to be diurnal and are mainly acve from morning to late noon (Prater, 1971). In the
summer, their acvity peaks as dusk approaches. On colder days, they begin foraging before sunrise,
and acvity peaks in the early morning and the late aernoon and connues ll midnight (Schaller,
1984).
During summer, a marked dierence in movement was found between the treatment and control sites,
with acvity at treatment sites peaking at night-me (post-18:00 to 06:00 hours) and at control sites
in the dayme (post-06:00 to 12:00 hours) (Figure 3a, Table 6). The acvity overlap between the two
sites was 51%. This may be due to lantana removal, which opened-up space enabling beer predator
avoidance during dark hours, whereas the presence of lantana in the control sites acted as cover during
the dayme.
Camera trap image of chital herd foraging in the treatment site
WWF-India/FES/MPFD
26
Impact of
Lantana camara
Removal on Wildlife Acvity and
Human-Wildlife Interacons in Kanha Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, India
Figure 3b. Monsoon acvity paerns of the chital in the treatment and control sites in 2021 and 2022
Figure 3c. Winter acvity paerns of the chital in the treatment and control sites in 2021 and 2022
Figure 3a. Summer acvity paerns of the chital in the treatment and control sites in 2021 and 2022
27
Impact of
Lantana camara
Removal on Wildlife Acvity and
Human-Wildlife Interacons in Kanha Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, India
During the monsoon, a higher overlap in acvity paerns was noted between the treatment and control
sites (71%), with a marked decrease in dayme acvity compared to night-me. However, dayme
acvity (between 06:00 and 18:00 hours) was higher in the monsoons than in summers (Figure 3b,
Table 6). This may be due to the increased availability of edible plant biomass in the treatment sites, in
addion to open space for foraging, even though night-me acvity at treatment sites remained similar
to that recorded during summers.
During winter, an increased overlap in acvity paerns was observed (77%), especially during dayme
hours. We also observed that more frequent camera trap images were recorded in the treatment sites
than in the control sites (Figure 3c, Table 6). This marked increase in dayme acvity compared to
night-me acvity in the treatment sites relave to control sites may be aributed to the availability of
plant growth for foraging aer removing lantana. This contrasts with the acvity paerns seen in the
summer and monsoon seasons. However, the possible presence of standing crops (paddy) on these
paerns cannot be ruled out.
4.1.2. Sambar (Rusa unicolor)
The sambar prefers dense cover of deciduous shrubs and grasses and is found in forested hillsides
throughout India. They feed mainly at night and rest during the day (Prater, 1971) as small herd of three
to as many as ten, comprising mostly of does, fawns, young stage, while mature stags roam solitary.
A foraging herd of sambar at night in treatment site
WWF-India/FES/MPFD
28
Impact of
Lantana camara
Removal on Wildlife Acvity and
Human-Wildlife Interacons in Kanha Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, India
Figure 4a. Summer acvity paerns of the sambar in the treatment and control sites in 2021 and 2022
Figure 4c. Winter acvity paerns of the sambar in the treatment and control sites in 2021 and 2022
Figure 4b. Monsoon acvity paerns of the sambar in the treatment and control sites in 2021 and 2022
29
Impact of
Lantana camara
Removal on Wildlife Acvity and
Human-Wildlife Interacons in Kanha Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, India
The sambar acvity in the study sites presented a disnct paern compared to the chital. Although
peak acvity was restricted to night-me in the treatment sites, some acvity was captured between
11:00 and 12:00 hours during the summer of 2021 (Figure 4a, Table 6). This may be an artefact of the
edge eect, as the sambar may have wandered along the edge of the treatment sites; the same result
was not found in the summer of 2022. In the control sites, sambar acvity was highest during the
morning hours. However, their presence was captured consistently at night, indicang in the lantana-
dominated forests.
During the monsoon season, sambar acvity was reduced in both the treatment and control sites, with
high acvity restricted to night-me (Figure 4b, Table 6). This could be because the sambar prefers to
forage in wooded areas – a characterisc of the control sites – rather than in the open. The frequency
of photo captures was also lowest in the monsoon season, indicave of overall low acvity in both sites.
In contrast to the summer and monsoon paerns, the sambar was largely acve in the early morning
hours during winter in both sites, with relavely higher dayme acvity in the treatment sites than
in the control sites (Figure 4c, Table 6). However, a markedly higher frequency of photo captures was
observed in the control sites. Such paerns are expected for wild foraging species in forested areas,
despite the presence of paddy near treatment sites.
4.1.3 Wild pig (Sus scrofa)
Wild pigs are present throughout India and are found in almost all kinds of habitats. They feed in the
early morning and late in the evening (Prater, 1971); however, they are also reported to be acve
through the night. A sounder of wild pigs, with as many as 30 individuals, are known to raid paddy,
wheat, maize, and vegetable farms throughout their growing stages in all seasons.
Camera trap image of wild pig in treatment site
WWF/FES/MPFD
30
Impact of
Lantana camara
Removal on Wildlife Acvity and
Human-Wildlife Interacons in Kanha Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, India
Figure 5a. Summer acvity paerns of the wild pig in the treatment and control sites in 2021 and 2022
Figure 5c. Winter acvity paerns of the wild pig in the treatment and control sites in 2021 and 2022
Figure 5b. Monsoon acvity paerns of the wild pig in the treatment and control sites in 2021 and 2022
31
Impact of
Lantana camara
Removal on Wildlife Acvity and
Human-Wildlife Interacons in Kanha Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, India
While the lowest frequency of photo captures was observed for the wild pig, there were disnct acvity
paerns at the two sites during summer: in the treatment sites, the wild pig were most acve at night,
whereas in the control sites, they showed a disnct peak in dayme acvity (between 06:00 to 12:00
hours) (Figure 5a, Table 6). This disncon indicates the habitat preferences of the species. Wild pigs
use lantana as cover during night-me but also during dayme in places where lantana grows.
During monsoon, dayme acvity increased at both sites, parcularly during early mornings and early
evenings in the treatment sites and early evenings in the control sites. While acvity paerns in the
control sites were like those observed during the summer, the shi to dayme acvity in the treatment
sites during the monsoons can be associated with the start of paddy planng in the adjacent area.
However, the frequency of photo captures was lowest during the monsoon season (Figure 5b).
During winter, markedly higher acvity was noted in the treatment sites compared to the control sites.
In contrast to summer trends, in the winters of 2021 and 2022, a notable increase was observed in
dayme acvity irrespecve of lantana presence, indicang that lantana removal has had lile eect
on wild pig acvity. The decrease in the frequency of captures in the control sites, and the subsequent
increase in the treatment sites, also indicates that lantana removal has had lile eect on wild pig
acvity (Figure 5c).
4.1.4. Overall acvity paerns
A disnct diurnal-nocturnal paern was noted corresponding to the species’ known behaviour, with
the species showing more avoidance behaviours in the treatment sites than in the control sites during
Gaur foraging in lantana invaded area
Sandeep Chouksey/WWF-India
32
Impact of
Lantana camara
Removal on Wildlife Acvity and
Human-Wildlife Interacons in Kanha Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, India
dayme hours (06:00–18:00 hours). This may be associated with the presence of open space in the
treatment sites, where acvity mostly peaked during night-me hours. The overlap in acvity paerns
was >50% in all seasons – 51% for the chital in summer and 79% for the wild pig in the monsoons –
which indicates a paral to small change in behaviour across both sites.
Seasonal variaons in the movements of wild ungulate populaons are dependent on nutrional
requirements for growth, rut, gestaon, and lactaon, in addion to predaon risks (Awasthi et al.,
2016). In Panna Tiger Reserve, ungulates such as the chital, sambar, wild pig, and nilgai shi from the
valleys, where they stay in summer, to the plateaus in winter (Gupta and Krishnamurthy, 2023). In KTR,
the chital show a high preference for grasslands in summer and winter, the sambar for bamboo-mixed
forests in summer and miscellaneous forests in winter, and the wild pig for both bamboo-mixed forests
and miscellaneous forests in both seasons (Awasthi et al., 2016). This study demonstrates niche-specic
dierences in movement paerns between a newly created habitat (devoid of the invasive lantana) and
lantana-infested forests within the same matrix for a group of wild ungulates in human-use areas.
Indian leopard using lantana as cover
Sandeep Chouksey/WWF-India
33
Impact of
Lantana camara
Removal on Wildlife Acvity and
Human-Wildlife Interacons in Kanha Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, India
Table 6. Summary of peak acvity paerns of the three species from 2 camera trapping sessions per season
Species Season
2021 2022
Treatment site Control site Treatment site Control site
Chital
Summer Late evening – midnight
– early morning Morning – Evening Late evening – early
morning
Early morning; noon;
and late evening
Monsoon Late evening – early
morning; morning
Late evening; early
morning; noon
Early morning;
morning; evening
Evening; early
morning
Winter Late evening; morning Morning; late eve-
ning; early morning
Late evening; early
morning; noon
Early morning;
morning
Sambar
Summer Evening – early morning Late evening
– early morning
Late evening – early
morning Morning; Evening
Monsoon Late evening
– early morning
Late evening
– early morning
Late evening – early
morning
Late evening – early
morning
Winter Late evening
– early morning
Late evening
– early morning
Morning – noon;
evening Early morning
Wild pig
Summer Early morning; evening Morning; late eve-
ning; early morning
Late evening – early
morning
Late evening; early
morning
Monsoon Early morning;
late evening
Late evening; early
morning – morning
Early morning –
morning; evening –
late evening
Morning – Evening
Winter Morning; Evening Late evening – early
morning
Morning; evening;
early morning
Late evening; early
morning; noon
Note: 18:00–00:00 hours: late evening; 00:00 hours: midnight; 00:00–06:00 hours: early morning; 06:00–12:00 hours: morning; 12:00 hours:
noon; 12:00–18:00 hours: evening. Acvies with subtle peaks noted as ‘-’ indicate only a minor dip in acvity; acvies with separate
prominent peaks noted as ‘;’ indicate a major dip in acvity. See Annexure 2 for acvity plots.
4.2. Human–wildlife interacons
A total of 169 cases of livestock depredaon were reported from the study area between 2017 and 2022,
of which 59% (98 cases) were from control sites and 41% (69 cases) were from treatment sites (Figure 6,
Table 7). The average number of livestock depredaons in this period was 16.3±2.4 and 11.5±1.9 cases
per year for the control and treatment sites, respecvely. The maximum number of cases was recorded
in 2019; 26 and 19 cases in the control and treatment sites, respecvely. No signicant dierence (c2
= 0.27; df = 5; p < 0.99) was noted in livestock depredaon between the treatment and control sites.
However, a 30% reducon was noted in livestock depredaon in the treatment sites during the same
period; the highest reducon was recorded in 2017 (44%) and the lowest (23%) in 2020 (Table 7).
34
Impact of
Lantana camara
Removal on Wildlife Acvity and
Human-Wildlife Interacons in Kanha Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, India
Figure 6. Livestock depredaon incidents by carnivores between 2017 and 2022 based on the locaon of carcasses found
Cale kill at lantana invaded area by large carnivore
Manohar Pawar/FES
35
Impact of
Lantana camara
Removal on Wildlife Acvity and
Human-Wildlife Interacons in Kanha Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, India
Sandeep Chouksey/WWF-India
4.3. People’s percepons
The outcome of the focused group discussion unveiled eight benets farmers experienced aer
lantana removal (see Table 5). The foremost among these was decreased crop damage caused by wild
ungulates. The survey, which was conducted among 191 farmers from the areas where lantana was
removed, showed that 145 of these farmers (76%) idened reducon in crop depredaon as one
of their top 3 perceived benets. In contrast, 24% of the respondents did not consider the reducon
in crop depredaon as the topmost benet of lantana removal (Figure 7). Among the subset of 145
respondents, 19% ranked this as the top benet, 39% as the second, and 42% as the third (Figure 7;
Annexure 1).
In individual farmer surveys of 191 parcipants, 37% (n = 70) indicated that crop damage by wildlife was
‘much less than before’ on their land aer lantana removal. Meanwhile, 54% (n = 103) said that crop
damage had diminished slightly compared to previous levels and 9% (n = 18) perceived no change in
such damage. The survey captured almost similar responses from farmers regarding crop depredaon
on adjacent plots aer lantana removal. 33% (n = 63) felt that crop raiding was much lesser than before,
59% (n = 112) said that it had reduced slightly, and 8% (n = 16) noted no change (Figure 8, Figure 9).
Year Control Treatment Total number of cases Dierence
2017 9 5 14 44%
2018 16 11 27 31%
2019 26 19 45 27%
2020 13 10 23 23%
2021 22 16 38 27%
2022 12 8 20 33%
Total 98 69 167 30%
Table 7. Livestock depredaon cases documented in control and treatment sites for the years 2017–2022
Lantana infestaon in village commons
36
Impact of
Lantana camara
Removal on Wildlife Acvity and
Human-Wildlife Interacons in Kanha Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, India
Figure 8. Farmers’ percepon of reducon in crop raiding by wildlife aer lantana removal from farmlands
Figure 9. Farmers’ percepon of reducon in crop raiding by wildlife in adjacent lands aer lantana removal
Figure 7. The number/percentage of respondents considering the reducon in crop depredaon a benet;
the adjacent chart shows proporon of respondents and ranking
37
Impact of
Lantana camara
Removal on Wildlife Acvity and
Human-Wildlife Interacons in Kanha Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, India
Section 5
DISCUSSION
Sandeep Chouksey/WWF-India
38
Impact of
Lantana camara
Removal on Wildlife Acvity and
Human-Wildlife Interacons in Kanha Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, India
5.1. Animal acvity paerns
The study examines the potenal eect of lantana removal on the movement paerns of three common
wild ungulates – the chital, sambar, and wild pig – concurrent to their behaviours across open (here,
treatment sites) and covered (here, control sites) habitats. In the summer, all three species appeared
to show avoidance from treatment sites (as measured by their acvity) during dayme except during
dawn and dusk. During the monsoon, the chital showed increased acvity in the treatment sites during
dayme, while the sambar showed the least, whereas the wild pig showed increased acvity during
dawn and dusk. In the winter, chital and wild pig acvity in treatment sites increased further, and
sambar acvity increased around dusk and dawn. The summer camera trapping session was completed
when farms were fallow; the monsoon session when saplings were planted in elds or were in their
leafy stage; and the winter session when wheat was sown or in early seed seng stage.
The high acvity paerns in treatment sites during monsoon and winter with presence of crops in
neighbouring areas did not corroborate. However, farmers perceived lantana removal as benecial in
reducing crop damage to some extent. Further quancaon of crop damage vis-à-vis lantana removal
is required to determine the associaon between removing an invasive species and changes in wildlife
behaviour. For instance, wild ungulate habitat use, and not merely acvity paerns, in addion to their
densies, response to human presence and methods of ushing out animals – such as through the use
of re – requires addional research.
A herd of chital in the meadows
Sandeep Chouksey/WWF-India
39
Impact of
Lantana camara
Removal on Wildlife Acvity and
Human-Wildlife Interacons in Kanha Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, India
Based on their acvity paerns, it can be deduced that while percepble dierences exist between
treatment and control sites, there are inter-seasonal dierences as well. The chital showed a notable
shi in acvity from evening (12:00–18:00 hours) to late evening (18:00–00:00 hours) between the
2021 and 2022 summers in the control sites; no such change was observed in other seasons, whereas
the sambar did not show any percepble inter-seasonal variaons in acvity. Wild pig acvity paerns
showed the highest inter-seasonal variaon in both the sites during the summer and winter of 2021
as well as 2022 compared to the monsoon season. The reasons for this could not be determined,
but it can be postulated that such dierences are an artefact of having a small study area with two
sampling seasons; stochasc factors may also have inuenced animal behaviour, whether natural, such
as presence of a predator, or man-made, such as increased human use.
5.2. Addressing study limitaons
The limited number of observaons made for each species is a crical limitaon of the study, this is a
result of a small sample area with restricted sampling duraon of two sampling sessions per season.
It emphasises the need for more extensive and long-term data collecon to draw robust conclusions
and understand long-term trends in large mammal behaviour vis-à-vis invasive species in mulple-use
lands. We could not assess neighbourhood eect on habitat use of these target species, especially when
it comes to roosng (in lantana-invaded forests) and foraging (in farmlands). However, we present a
preliminary assessment of how lantana removal aects animal acvity in a regional context, especially
in relaon to people’s percepons towards lantana removal. Lastly, the eect of lantana removal on
animals using such sites for giving birth or using it as nursery could not be assessed. Such observaons
were not made during the study period. Hence, this study might not be relevant to lantana removal
undertaken in the inviolate zones of ger reserves.
5.3. Ecosystem dynamics
The study highlights the interacons between species and their habitats. Changes in vegetaon,
such as the presence or removal of lantana, can have varying eects on dierent animal species, and
understanding these dynamics is crucial for conservaon and habitat management eorts. Observing
shis in animal behaviour in response to environmental changes has implicaons for conservaon
eorts. Idenfying how wildlife adapts or reacts to habitat modicaons can aid in developing more
targeted and sustainable conservaon and conict migaon strategies.
The removal of lantana helps other vegetaon recolonise the land and opens it up to nave plant
species. Grass species – such as Dichanthium annulatum, Dimeria ornithopoda, Themeda triandra, and
Bothriochloa pertusa – and herbaceous plant species – such as Tridax procumbens, Sida acuta, and
Sida cordata – were observed in such sites. Saplings of tree species like Terminalia ellipca, Diospyros
melanoxylon and Lagerstroemia parviora were found to be the most abundant among tree species.
It is important to note that the specic plant species that grow aer lantana removal depends on
factors such as the climate, soil condions, the natural vegetaon structure of the region, and grazing
pressures, whether from wild or domesc ungulates. We recognise that the ecological response to
lantana removal is complex and can depend on specic regional circumstances. Some challenges may
arise, such as the potenal for other invasive species to take advantage of disturbed areas le open
through lantana removal. A case in point is Senna tora, which is observed to grow profusely in the late
monsoon season when lantana is removed for the rst me.
40
Impact of
Lantana camara
Removal on Wildlife Acvity and
Human-Wildlife Interacons in Kanha Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, India
5.4. Human–wildlife interacons
A percepon survey conducted in the villages surrounding the study area revealed 94% of farmers
nding expansion of the grazing area benecial for livestock aer the removal of lantana from the
commons, and this had reduced their visits to forests (Lalai et al., 2023). They also linked it to a
reducon in incidents of livestock depredaon by wild carnivores. We tested this hypothesis and found
no stascally signicant variaon in depredaon events between the treatment and control sites.
Nevertheless, a minor shi (30%) in the spaal distribuon of conict incidents was observed, with a
tendency towards lantana-invaded forests than treated areas. We could not test whether there was
an overall reducon in depredaon for the larger region or aributed to carnivores preferring to hunt
more in lantana-infested forests or use these to hide prey, although this indicates that lantana removal
geographically isolates depredaon incidents from lantana-infested forests. As depicted in Figure 10,
compartments highlighted in control areas (orange) exhibited higher livestock depredaon locaons in
comparison to the treatment sites (yellow), potenally due to the ulisaon of lantana-removed areas
as cover while hunng and concealing prey in lantana-infested forests.
Except for the Mocha treatment site, which reported around 11.24% (19 incidents) between 2017 and
2022, potenally due to the higher density of gers in the Khaya Range, most incidents exhibited a
shi from treatment to control sites.
Figure 10. The frequency of livestock depredaon by carnivores in control and treatment sites
41
Impact of
Lantana camara
Removal on Wildlife Acvity and
Human-Wildlife Interacons in Kanha Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, India
5.5. People’s percepons
The ndings from the FGDs revealed that prior to the removal of lantana, farmers experienced substanal
losses in paddy yield, ranging from 80% to 90% due to depredaon by wild ungulates. Lantana removal
from the commons contributed to a percepble reducon in crop depredaon. One of the farmers
interviewed individually from the surveyed villages, who shared similar viewpoints from the FGDs, said,
“When our lands were infested with lantana, wildlife would conceal themselves within it and raid our
elds during night hours. However, since the removal, the absence of hiding spots has deterred these
animals. Even if they enter the elds, they now avoid lingering close to them.” (For more informaon,
see Lalai et al. 2023.)
During the FGDs conducted across 10 sample villages, parcipants indicated that lantana removal has
enhanced visibility around their crop elds. Previously, due to wild animals taking refuge in the invasive
growth, farmers were compelled to stay in the elds from evening onwards and spend nights there to
safeguard the crops. In areas where lantana has become widespread and encroaches on farmlands, it has
been claimed that burning lantana is used to clear agricultural land. Some farmers and landowners use
burning as a last resort when other methods of lantana management, such as manual removal, become
ineecve. In villages such as Kamta Mal and Rajma, the local community experienced comparable
relief during daylight hours, while others, such as Dhutka, observed diminished requirements for eld
protecon even through the night. In the villages of Dhutka, Rajma, and Umardehi, there has been
a marked reducon in the installaon of maddaiyas (crop protecon huts), for which respondents
expressed a sense of ease. Notably, there has been a substanal decrease of over 90% in the number
of maddaiyas installed on farmlands following lantana removal.
A day-me foraging sounder of wild pigs alongside lantana shrubs
Manohar Pawar/FES
42
Impact of
Lantana camara
Removal on Wildlife Acvity and
Human-Wildlife Interacons in Kanha Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, India
Section 6
CONCLUSION
Rahul Talegaonkar/FES
43
Impact of
Lantana camara
Removal on Wildlife Acvity and
Human-Wildlife Interacons in Kanha Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, India
This study highlights the crical need for long-term monitoring of large mammal behaviours and
the habitat dynamics associated with invasive oral species such as lantana. The limited number of
observaons in this study emphasises the fact that short-term data may not provide a comprehensive
understanding of the complex interacons between species and their environment. However, we
present a unique socio-ecological perspecve on the impacts of invasive species in a shared landscape.
Long-term monitoring will help track changes in behaviours and habitat use paerns over me, enabling
more accurate assessments of the eects of lantana removal and animal responses. Moreover, these
issues must be discussed with local communies for beer-informed crop protecon measures. The
observaons on the responses of the chital, sambar, and wild pig to changes in vegetaon following
lantana removal demonstrate the signicance of invasive species management in mulple-use areas.
Understanding how alteraons to vegetaon impact animal behaviours can aid in developing eecve
conservaon strategies (including passage for movement), habitat management policies, and conict-
migaon plans. Regular assessments of habitat quality and its suitability for dierent species will be
crucial for preserving biodiversity and ensuring natural or aided restoraon of degraded ecosystems.
This study also demonstrates the potenal eects of lantana on wild animal acvity through habitat
use as well as their interacons with humans in the context of shared spaces. It provides evidence that
lantana inuences human–wildlife interacons by aecng animal behaviours, with lantana removal
leading to shis in acvity paerns in response to environmental changes. It indicates that livestock
depredaon showed a regional reducon and a shi in depredaon incidents from treatment to control
sites. The biggest caveat is that the study area is small; thus, our inferences apply strictly to this study
and may change if a larger area is considered. However, given that no such large areas have been treated
as of now, our invesgaon indicates that livestock depredaon is aected by the presence or absence
of lantana. The study’s ndings have implicaons for community-based wildlife management iniaves
in PAs. Understanding how wildlife responds to habitat modicaons can inform local communies
about potenal changes in animal behaviours and how they might aect human–wildlife interacons.
Engaging with local communies and incorporang their percepons into conservaon eorts can
foster a sense of ownership and responsibility towards protecng wildlife and shared spaces. To this
eect, we recommend combining ecological observaons with local percepons to formulate impacul
intervenons.
Given the extensive scale of lantana invasion, eorts to remove it in isolated pockets may not provide
a sustainable soluon. A long-term, programmac focus is essenal for managing invasive species like
lantana. These large-scale, labour-intensive eradicaon iniaves can be eecvely supported through
programs such as MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi Naonal Rural Employment Guarantee Act) and CAMPA
(Compensatory Aorestaon Fund Management and Planning Authority). Integrang these eorts with
long-term socio-ecological monitoring of the aected sites will provide valuable insights into landscape
changes and help migate human-wildlife conicts. This holisc approach will ensure more eecve
and sustainable management of lantana and other invasive species.
In conclusion, we show that the perceived benets of lantana removal towards a number of issues,
top among them being reducon in crop depredaon and opening up grazing space for livestock, are
related to the eect of lantana-removed spaces on wild ungulate acvies and livestock depredaon by
wild carnivores; thus, in view of invasive species management and ecological restoraon in mulple-use
areas, we suggest priorising removal of lantana from areas fringing farmlands and human selements.
44
Impact of
Lantana camara
Removal on Wildlife Acvity and
Human-Wildlife Interacons in Kanha Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, India
Section 7
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Sandeep Chouksey/WWF-India
45
Impact of
Lantana camara
Removal on Wildlife Acvity and
Human-Wildlife Interacons in Kanha Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, India
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Impact of
Lantana camara
Removal on Wildlife Acvity and
Human-Wildlife Interacons in Kanha Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, India
Section 8
ANNEXURES
Manohar Pawar/FES
49
Impact of
Lantana camara
Removal on Wildlife Acvity and
Human-Wildlife Interacons in Kanha Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, India
Annexure 1
As part of the farmer surveys menoned in the Methods secon, randomly chosen farmers selected the
top 3 benets they experienced aer the removal of Lantana from their lands. Thereaer, they ranked
these selected benets in order of importance to them. To calculate the ‘most important’ perceived
benets, the survey took count of farmers who chose benets as the ‘most important’, the ‘second-
most important’, and the ‘third-most important’ (refer to columns A, C and E in Table A1). Weights of
3, 2 and 1 were assigned to the most important, second-most important and third-most important
benets, respecvely (refer to columns B, D and F in Table A1). This was followed by the calculaon of
the weighted and total scores (columns F and G in Table A1).
Table A1. Calculaon of the perceived top-3 benets to farmers aer Lantana removal
Benets
(from the
topmost)
A B C D E F G
Top benet
Weighted
score
(A 3)
Second
benet
Weighted
score
(C 2)
Third ben-
et
Weighted
score
(E 1)
Weighted
average
(B + D + F)
Reducon in
crop raiding 28 84 57 114 60 60 258
Increased fod-
der availability 36 108 39 78 53 53 239
Paddy culva-
on 36 108 15 30 8 8 146
Millet culva-
on 34 102 8 16 9 9 127
Culvaon of
other crops 10 30 8 16 2 2 48
Increased ma-
hua collecon 22 66 24 48 13 13 127
Increased
tendu leaves
collecon
6 18 16 32 6 6 56
Other benets 1 3 5 10 8 8 21
‘Increase in fodder availability’ was the perceived top benet of Lantana removal acvity followed by ‘reducon
in crop raiding’ and ‘paddy culvaon’.
50
Impact of
Lantana camara
Removal on Wildlife Acvity and
Human-Wildlife Interacons in Kanha Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, India
Annexure 2: Graphical representaon of the acvity paerns of
species recorded in camera traps
Figure A2A. Acvity paerns of the chital (2021) - Summer
Acvity paerns of the chital (2021) - Monsoon
51
Impact of
Lantana camara
Removal on Wildlife Acvity and
Human-Wildlife Interacons in Kanha Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, India
Acvity paerns of the chital (2021) - Winter
Figure A2B. Acvity paerns of the chital (2022) - Summer
52
Impact of
Lantana camara
Removal on Wildlife Acvity and
Human-Wildlife Interacons in Kanha Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, India
Acvity paerns of the chital (2022) - Monsoon
Acvity paerns of the chital (2022) - Winter
53
Impact of
Lantana camara
Removal on Wildlife Acvity and
Human-Wildlife Interacons in Kanha Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, India
Figure A2C. Acvity paerns of the sambar (2021) - Summer
Acvity paerns of the sambar (2021) - Monsoon
54
Impact of
Lantana camara
Removal on Wildlife Acvity and
Human-Wildlife Interacons in Kanha Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, India
Acvity paerns of the sambar (2021) - Winter
Figure A2D. Acvity paerns of the sambar (2022- Summer)
55
Impact of
Lantana camara
Removal on Wildlife Acvity and
Human-Wildlife Interacons in Kanha Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, India
Acvity paerns of the sambar (2022)- Monsoon
Acvity paerns of the sambar (2022)- Winter
56
Impact of
Lantana camara
Removal on Wildlife Acvity and
Human-Wildlife Interacons in Kanha Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, India
Figure A2E. Acvity paerns of the wild pig (2021) - Summer
Acvity paerns of the wild pig (2021) - Monsoon
57
Impact of
Lantana camara
Removal on Wildlife Acvity and
Human-Wildlife Interacons in Kanha Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, India
Acvity paerns of the sambar (2021) - Winter
Figure A2F. Acvity paerns of the wild pig (2022) - Summer
58
Impact of
Lantana camara
Removal on Wildlife Acvity and
Human-Wildlife Interacons in Kanha Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, India
Acvity paerns of the wild pig (2022) - Monsoon
Acvity paerns of the wild pig (2022) - Winter
Annexure 3
Table A3. Number of livestock depredaon cases recorded in the WWF and TCF interim relief scheme project
Site Year Mean SE*
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 Total
Control 9 16 26 13 22 12 98 16.3 2.4
Treatment 5 11 19 10 16 8 69 11.5 1.9
Total 14 27 45 23 38 20 167
*SE- Standard error
59
Impact of
Lantana camara
Removal on Wildlife Acvity and
Human-Wildlife Interacons in Kanha Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, India
Annexure 4: Camera trap pictures of dierent mammal species
recorded during study period
Hard-ground Barasingha female (Rucervus duvaucelii branderi)
Wild pig (Sus scrofa)
Nilgai (Boselaphus tragocamelus)
Gaur (Bos gaurus)
Indian leopard (Panthera purdus)
Indian crested porcupine (Hystrix indica)
60
Impact of
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Removal on Wildlife Acvity and
Human-Wildlife Interacons in Kanha Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, India
Tiger (Panthera gris)
Livestock
Mouse deer (Moschiola indica)
Golden jackal (Canis aureus)
Barking deer (Munacus muntjak)
Indian pangolin (Manis crassicaudata)
61
Impact of
Lantana camara
Removal on Wildlife Acvity and
Human-Wildlife Interacons in Kanha Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, India
Annexure 5: Checklist of mammal species captured during the
camera trap exercise
Sr.No Species Scienc Name IUCN Status WPA 1972 Status
1Asian palm civet Paradoxurus hermaphroditus Least Concern Schedule II
2Barking deer Munacus muntjak Least Concern Schedule III
3Indian ger Panthera gris gris Endangered Schedule I
4Chital Axis axis Least Concern Schedule III
5Domesc dog Canis lupus familiaris Domesc Not listed
6Four-horned antelope Tetracerus quadricornis Vulnerable Schedule I
7Golden jackal Canis aureus Least Concern Schedule II
8Hard-ground barasingha Rucervus duvaucelii branderi Vulnerable Schedule I
9Indian crested porcupine Hystrix indica Least Concern Schedule IV
10 Indian fox Vulpes bengalensis Least Concern Schedule II
11 Indian gaur Bos gaurus Vulnerable Schedule I
12 Indian grey mongoose Herpestes edwardsii Least Concern Schedule II
13 Indian hare Lepus nigricollis Least Concern Schedule IV
14 Indian leopard Panthera pardus fusca Vulnerable Schedule I
15 Indian Pangolin Manis crassicaudata Endangered Schedule I
16 Jungle cat Felis chaus Least Concern Schedule II
17 Mouse deer Tragulus meminna Data Decient Schedule I
18 Nilgai Boselaphus tragocamelus Least Concern Schedule III
19 Northern palm squirrel Funambulus pennani Least Concern Not listed
20 Northern plains gray langur Semnopithecus entellus Least Concern Schedule II
21 Rhesus macaque Macaca mulaa Least Concern Schedule II
22 Rusty spoed cat Prionailurus rubiginosus Vulnerable Schedule I
23 Sambar Rusa unicolor Vulnerable Schedule III
24 Sloth bear Melursus ursinus Vulnerable Schedule I
25 Small indian civet Viverricula indica Least Concern Schedule II
26 Wild dog Cuon alpinus Endangered Schedule I
27 Wild pig Sus scrofa Least Concern Schedule III
62
Impact of
Lantana camara
Removal on Wildlife Acvity and
Human-Wildlife Interacons in Kanha Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, India
Tarun BhaSandeep Chouksey/WWF-India
64
Impact of
Lantana camara
Removal on Wildlife Acvity and
Human-Wildlife Interacons in Kanha Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, India
Sandeep Chouksey/WWF-India
