The document discusses human-wildlife conflict, specifically summarizing information about conflicts with rhesus monkeys and leopards in India. It notes that as human settlements expand, negative interactions between people and wildlife increase, impacting both. For rhesus monkeys, their shrinking habitat has led them to migrate to urban areas for food, causing nuisance. Management strategies include distress noises and sterilization. Leopards also venture into human areas due to prey loss and poaching, causing attacks. Both species are threatened by poaching and retaliation killings, with over 200 leopard deaths reported annually in some states.
1. Department of Zoology and Environmental science
LACHOO MEMORIAL COLLEGE OF
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Topic- Human and Wildlife conflict
Submitted to :
Dr. Yogita Chhangani
Associate Professor
Department of Zoology &
Environment Science
Submitted by :
Pooja Soni
M.sc Zoology
1st Semester
2. ETHOLOGY – The study of animal behavior is termed as ethology. It is the
sum total of all the ways in which an organism reacts to its environment.
ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR – All the ways animals interact with other
organism or the response of an organism to a stimulus and the physical
environment.
3. ⮚ Human–wildlife conflict (HWC) refers to the negative interactions
between people and wild animals, with consequences for both people
and their resources and wildlife and their habitats. (IUCN 2020)
⮚ World wide fund for nature defined it as- Any interaction between
humans and wildlife that results in negative impacts on human social,
economic or cultural life, on the conservation of wildlife populations,
or on the environment.
INTRODUCTION
⮚ Any condition that arises where the behavior of one (either people or
wildlife) is unacceptably disadvantageous to the other.
⮚ It has been in existence for as long as wild animals and humans have
co-existed and shared the same resources.
4. Human and wildlife conflict in India
⮚ As the country is a fast developing economy and among most populous
countries with around 17% of the world's human population, the
protected area landscapes are not untouched of human presence.
⮚ High rate of human population growth put the wilderness areas under
threat due to increasing interference, deforestation, fragmentation of
natural habitats and expansion of agricultural lands in the forested
landscapes.
⮚ As human settlements expand and protected areas become conservation
islands surrounded by human-dominated landscapes, the negative
interaction between human and wildlife species, particularly large
mammals, increases.
5. ➢ The situations are no better outside protected areas, as humans
continue to encroach natural habitats and become prone to conflicts.
➢ The impacts are often huge. People lose their crops,livestock,
property, and sometimes their lives.
➢ The animals, many of which are already threatened or endangered,
are often killed in retaliation or to 'prevent' future conflicts.
6. Causes of Human-Animal Conflict
➢ Deforestation
➢ Loss of Habitat
➢ Decline in Prey
➢ Injured or Old Animal
➢ Growing Human Population
7. Impact of Human-Animal Conflict
➢ Crop Damage
➢ Animal Deaths (even extinction)
➢ Loss of Human Life
➢ Injuries to People
➢ Injuries to Wildlife
➢ Livestock Depredation
➢ Loss of Resources
8. Measures to prevent Human-Animal Conflict
➢ Creating more Protected Areas and buffer zones .
➢ Steps must be taken to enhance the safety of people and
wildlife and to create mutual benefits of coexistence.
➢ Local communities can also participate in devising measures to
reduce this conflict.
➢ The concerned authorities must devise a strategy and action
plan to reduce human-wildlife conflict at a national level.
➢ Before camping, hiking, or venturing into natural areas, learn
about the animals that you might encounter.
10. CHARACTERS
● Habitat-Their tendency to move from rural to urban areas, coming to
rely on handouts or refuse from humans. They adapt well to human
presence, and form larger troops in human-dominated landscapes than in
forests.
● Behavior-These are diurnal animals,and both arboreal and terrestrial.
They are quadrupedal and when on the ground,they walk digitigrade and
plantigrade.
● Feeding-They are mostly herbivorous,feed on
fruits,seeds,buds,roots,barks, and cereals. They also eat
termites,grasshoppers,ants,beetles,etc.
11. CONFLICT WITH MAN
➢Human-Rhesus monkey conflicts : Monkeys have cultural, scientific and
economic significance, on the other hand they have become a big nuisance
as on today.
➢The monkeys are leaving forests and are constantly migrating to urban,
semi urban and rural areas.
➢Because of their shrinking habitat, and availability of delicious and easy
food in urban areas.
➢The human-monkey conflict management includes use of bioacoustics that
produce distress noise and to scare away the monkeys,
Immunocontraceptive vaccines, sterilization to control their population
growth and protecting agriculture crops and orchards with live/appropriate
fencing etc.
12. ➢ The future management strategies could include oral
contraceptives which can be fed with food, though their
effectiveness is limited to only zoos.
➢ Himachal Pradesh (HP), which is the most affected due to Rhesus
macaque, has resorted to sterilizing Rhesus.
➢ Himachal Pradesh Forest Department (HPFD) is well convinced
with the success of monkey sterilization programme and is set to
sterilize most of Rhesus population of the state.
14. CHARACTERS
➢ Habitat-It has largest distribution of all wild cats.Occuring in
rainforests and savanna that is grassland,woodlands and riverine
forests.
➢ Behavior- The leopard is a solitary and territorial animal. Adults
associate only in the mating season. Females continue to interact
with their offspring even after weaning.
➢ Feeding-It is carnivores animals. They produce a number of
vocalisations, including growls, snarls, meows and purrs.
15. CONFLICT WITH MAN
➢ The Indian leopard is reclusive by nature. But of late it is
increasingly venturing into the human habitation because of
dwindling prey base, habitat loss and poaching.
➢ In states of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and
Kashmir, Karnataka, tea gardens of Assam, Western Ghats and in
the suburbs of Bengaluru, Mumbai and Guwahati.
➢ The cat, Panthera pardus fusca, declared an endangered species.
➢ Poaching, in fact, is emerging as a key threat to its existence.
➢ About 200 leopards are killed by poachers every year.
➢ Maximum incidents of human-leopard conflict have been
witnessed in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.
16. ➢ In Uttarakhand, around 200 cases of leopard attacks on humans are
reported annually.
➢ Leopard of Rudraprayag killed more than 125 people; the Panar
Leopard was thought to have killed more than 400 people. Both were
shot by Jim Corbett. The spotted devil of Gummalapur killed about
42 people in Karnataka, India.
➢ In retaliation, a large number of leopards have been killed by bullets,
poisoning and using snares.
➢ Lethal control and Permanent captivity are two suggested solutions .