Browsing by Subject "tiger"
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Item The Distribution of Elephants, Tigers and Tiger Prey in Thailand’s Western Forest Complex(2016-12) Jornburom, PornkamolConservation of large mammals such as Asian elephants (Elephas maximus), tigers (Panthera tigris) and their main prey, gaur (Bos gaurus), banteng (Bos javanicus), and sambar (Cervus unicolor) requires a systematic and statistically rigorous monitoring system that accounts for imperfect detection. Despite conservation efforts, these large mammals are highly threatened and declining across their entire range. In Thailand, large viable populations of these large mammals remain in the Western Forest Complex (WEFCOM), an approximately 19,000 km2 landscape of 17 contiguous protected areas. To determine species distribution and factors that affect distribution patterns, a government/NGO team conducted occupancy surveys throughout the WEFCOM landscape from 2010-1012. I analyzed these data at both a landscape scale (256 km2 for elephants, 64 km2 for tigers and their prey) and a local scale (1 km2). At the landscape scale, I estimated the proportion of sites occupied by each species. At a finer scale, I identified the key variables that influence site-use and developed predictive distribution maps. At both scales, I examined key ecological and anthropogenic factors that help explain distribution and preferred habitat use. Occupancy models revealed that elephant, gaur and sambar avoided villages and elephants, banteng and sambar prefered lower slopes near streams. Gaur, in contrast, preferred steep slopes at higher elevation. I estimated that elephants occupied 82% of the the landscape. Other species occupied much smaller portions of WEFCOM (tigers = 37%, gaur = 48%, sambar 53% and banteng 13%). Tiger occupancy was largely influenced by the three large prey species. Additionally, presence of villages has a consistent negative impact on occupancy and site-use by all these large mammals; therefore, reducing the impact of human activities near villages is the key conservation recommendation from this study. By modeling occupancy while accounting for probability of detection, I established reliable benchmark data on distribution of these endangered species. The results of this study underlined the need for further conservation and management to maintain wildlife distribution and populations in WEFCOM and other sites in Thailand and Southeast Asia.Item Gendered Coping Mechanisms for Human-Tiger Conflict in Chitwan National Park, Nepal(2019-06) Helle, SamanthaHuman-tiger conflict (HTC) threatens both tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) conservation initiatives and the lives of local people who depend on tiger-shared forests for subsistence. In buffer zone community forests around Chitwan National Park, Nepal, incidences of human-killings have increased over the past 20 years resulting in widespread research and programs to mitigate HTC. While previous studies have explored conflict mitigation strategies at the government and institutional levels, this study seeks to understand, through a gendered lens, HTC mitigation methods known and practiced by individuals living in three HTC hotspot buffer zone communities south of Chitwan National Park. We applied Feminist Political Ecology theory, with gender as the central analytical variable along with the consideration of other socio-demographic factors, to understand where tigers rank in perceived wildlife threats, what individual HTC mitigation methods are known and practiced, and what barriers exist to implementing known methods. Individual interviews (n=150), sampling men and women equally, revealed that tigers rank second overall as the most threatening wildlife species to residents, with no difference in mean ranking between women and men. Across the three sampled communities, 31 unique HTC mitigation methods were reported. The three most commonly reported methods were going to the forest in groups, taking a weapon for protection, and not wearing the color red. There was no significant difference in mean number of HTC mitigation methods known between men (μ= 2.57) and women (μ=2.29). However, using a repeated measures ANOVA, a significant difference in mean number of methods known and practiced in the last month of the survey was found between men and women. Men reported significantly more barriers to implementing methods than women. Respectively, the top methods men and women reported not using often were traveling in groups and wearing non-red clothing. Dominant socio-cultural practices coupled with known biological factors associated with HTC may contribute to reported implementation barriers and place men from one out of the three study areas who enter the forest alone at high risk for an attack. Further analysis and understanding of how gender and other social constructs play a role in HTC is needed to reduce incidences of HTC and the removal of tigers from core conservation areas.