三江源国家公园长江源园区人熊冲突现状与牧民态度认知研究

大型哺乳动物肇事导致人类与野生动物之间的关系恶化,报复性猎杀严重威胁到野生动物的生存。三江源国家公园内人熊冲突问题严重,棕熊肇事不断突破了当地牧民的容忍度,严重影响其保护的积极性,了解人熊冲突现状和牧民态度认知对于制定和实施有效的防熊措施至关重要。通过分析2014年1月—2017年12月三江源国家公园长江源园区内上报的296起棕熊肇事案件,同时结合半结构式访谈法对71户牧民进行访谈,以期了解该地区人熊冲突现状和牧民对棕熊的态度认知。研究结果表明:(1)棕熊主要肇事类型为入侵房屋,同时也捕食少量牲畜,以绵羊和山羊为主;(2)每年6—8月为人熊冲突高发期,8—10月为案件上报高峰期;(3)年纪较小和经历过棕熊肇事的受访者对棕熊的态度更为消极;(4)多数受访者认为过去10年里棕熊种群数量有所增加,其主要原因是新枪支政策的执行;(5)大部分受访者在防熊措施选择偏好上较为保守,认为修筑水泥墙和找人看守是保护财产最有效的两种途径。建议地方政府完善当前野生动物肇事补偿制度,促进利益相关者参与人熊冲突管理过程;提升电围栏防控技术,选择合适地点建立棕熊补饲站;为了保护人身安全,允许牧民在一定范围内合法使用防熊喷雾;未来应加强牧民生产生活方式的改变与棕熊行为之间关系的研究。     

祁连山国家公园青海片区人兽冲突现状与牧民态度认知研究

在祁连山国家公园,人类与野生动物冲突已经成为一个普遍的问题。了解国家公园内牧民对肇事野生动物的态度,为探究野生动物肇事规律、针对肇事动物制定防控措施以及保护国家公园生态系统原真性、促进牧民与野生动物和谐相处具有重要的参考意义。通过实地走访调查了2014—2016年祁连山国家公园青海片区牧民与野生动物之间的冲突和牧民对于野生动物的态度认知。调查分析发现:11月—次年3月是祁连县野生动物肇事高峰期,狼和雪豹是捕食家畜的主要动物;狼被牧民认为是肇事最严重的动物,而实际数据表明雪豹的肇事频次却要高于狼,这与两种动物生活习性以及保护等级有关,加之牧民对雪豹肇事的容忍度更高;天峻县相比祁连县,除了狼以外其棕熊肇事频次较高,牧民认为应当大力控制狼和棕熊的种群数量,因为棕熊除了捕食家畜,更会伤害牧民和破坏房屋,威胁到牧民的生活,雪豹则需要进一步保护;牧民一般会选择使用牧羊犬和强化圈舍来防止野生动物捕食家畜;羊是祁连山国家公园青海片区牧民主要经济收入,牧民对狼吃食羊无法容忍,棕熊入户直接掠食伤人现象目前频次不高,但需提前防范。     

人熊冲突缓解措施研究进展——以三江源国家公园为例

人与熊科动物之间的冲突已成为亚洲、欧洲和美洲地区的一个普遍问题,科学有效的人熊冲突管控措施有助于人熊共存机制的建立。目前,全球范围内肇事熊科动物涉及7种,分别为棕熊、亚洲黑熊、美洲黑熊、北极熊、马来熊、懒熊和眼镜熊。肇事类型主要包括伤人、捕食牲畜、入侵房屋、损害庄稼、袭击蜂箱以及翻食垃圾。引发人熊冲突的原因与人类活动范围扩大、熊科动物种群数量上升、熊科动物生境质量下降、熊科动物自然食源周期性短缺、人类食物来源易获得性以及公众对肇事熊的容忍度下降有关。国际上已有的人熊冲突缓解措施包括物理措施、生物措施、化学措施以及政策导向性措施,然而,多数措施的制定仅停留在措施本身的技术层面上,缺乏对地方实际情况和冲突驱动因素的分析。西藏棕熊属于棕熊的一种稀有亚种,生活在靠近人类的中亚高海拔地区。在中国三江源国家公园地区,人类与西藏棕熊的冲突引起了人们的关注,为协助制订有效的保育目标、解决区内人熊冲突问题,提出以下缓解建议:(1)缓解措施的制定需因地而异,综合考虑地方实际情况,如地理环境、法律法规、民俗文化以及宗教信仰等;(2)冲突类型多样,防熊措施需持续更新与完善;(3)加强人类社会发展与熊科动物生存之间的关系研究,探索人们生产生活方式的改变与熊科动物行为变化之间的关系;(4)加强棕熊生态学方面的研究,从棕熊生境质量、种群动态、自然食源以及生态系统完整性等方面去深入挖掘人熊冲突的驱动因素,进而从根本上制定缓解措施,促进三江源国家公园地区人熊共存。     

三江源区人兽冲突现状分析

本研究整理了2015-2016年三江源区曲麻莱县、治多县和囊谦县的人兽冲突记录,并对主要肇事物种和人兽冲突的时间分布、地点分布以及受损类型的分布进行了统计分析。结果显示:(1)主要肇事野生动物依次为狼(978起,64.13%)、棕熊(117起,7.67%)、雪豹(5起,0.33%)和野牦牛(3起,0.20%),其余422起冲突(27.67%)未记录肇事野生动物;(2)人兽冲突时间分布不稳定,其高发期在不同年份不同地区都有所不同,总体来看,每年的1月、2月和12月棕熊和狼引起冲突较少,高峰期通常为6-9月;(3)从地区分布看,人兽冲突热点区域是曲麻莱县和治多县,特别是曲麻莱县秋智乡和麻多乡,治多县治渠乡、多彩乡、立新乡和扎河乡,曲麻莱县和治多县交接区域是人兽冲突高发区,囊谦县人兽冲突整体相对较轻;(4)从受损类型看,对牛的攻击和伤害是最主要的受损类型(749次,79.94%),明显多于对羊(56次,5.98%)和马(24次,2.56%)造成伤害的冲突,以及对房屋和家具等其它财产造成破坏的冲突(108起,11.53%)。本研究结果为三江源生态保护和国家公园建设制定更有效的预防和缓解人兽冲突的措施等提供了可靠依据。     

若尔盖人-狼冲突现状与管理研究

大中型食肉动物肇事事件导致人类与野生动物关系恶化,给生物多样性保护工作带来巨大的挑战。若尔盖湿地是我国三大湿地之一,湿地、草原分布广泛,生物多样性丰富,畜牧业发达,但近年来狼(Canis lupus)捕杀牲畜的肇事事件时有发生。为了解若尔盖野生狼肇事件的空间分布以及牧民对人-狼冲突管理的看法,本研究于2022年对若尔盖县13个乡镇83个行政村进行走访调查。结果表明：(1)多数受访者(66.0%)认为在过去5年内,若尔盖县野生狼数量有所增加;(2)狼肇事事件具有明显的空间分异性,最严重的是包座乡。包座乡临近山区,该区域牧场面积广阔、牧民饲养牲畜数量多等原因导致该镇发生狼肇事事件较多;(3)对于狼肇事,绝大多数牧民(85.0%)更希望采取经济补偿或者驱赶措施,只有少数牧民(9.4%)希望采取捕杀的措施;(4)影响牧民对狼肇事管理措施的偏好因子中,受教育程度、年龄、民族以及被杀牲畜数量有显著影响。建议加强狼种群监测管理,采取措施减少狼捕杀牲畜,优化补偿机制,缓解当地牧民与狼之间的矛盾。本研究为当前若尔盖县野生动物保护和管理决策提供了依据,对其他地区大型食肉动物与当地居民冲突管理具有借鉴意义。     

人与野生动物冲突研究现状及经验启示

人与野生动物冲突是人与自然耦合系统不可避免的负向产物,对冲突的治理是实现保护与发展协调的重要路径。国内外学者对此展开了大量的研究。本文从冲突生成、影响、成本和治理四个方面对现有研究进行梳理,结果表明人与野生动物冲突对保护与发展都造成负面影响,包括社区直接经济损失、人身安全受威胁、福祉降低以及野生动物被伤害、栖息地被挤占。现有研究还存在缺乏跨学科系统研究框架、忽视冲突隐性成本以及对冲突影响研究不深入等不足,未来在科学测度冲突成本、从生态和社会经济视角对冲突影响进行评估以及冲突治理措施多元化方面研究需要深入。在此基础上,从建立中央政府为主、地方政府为辅的野生动物冲突补偿专项基金;政府为主导,企业、社区、国际组织和高校多方利益群体参与机制;人与野生动物冲突分区管理制度;冲突损失核算和申报管理系统;多元化冲突治理模式;冲突减缓土地利用规划体系方面提出现有研究对治理我国人与野生动物冲突的启示。     

太行山华北豹袭击家畜的时空特点与管理建议: 以山西省和顺县为例

人兽冲突是全球野生动物保护面临的共同挑战。袭击家畜是大型食肉动物引发人兽冲突的主要原因之一, 如果管理不当还会导致针对大型食肉动物的报复性猎杀等严重威胁。冲突的缓解需要深入了解冲突发生的规律与原因, 评估当地社区与居民的态度与看法, 以采取因地制宜的管理措施。太行山是华北豹(Panthera pardus japonensis)的核心分布区, 华北豹袭击家牛的问题是该区域野生华北豹保护中面临的一大挑战。本研究以山西省和顺县为研究区域, 在多方联合发起的“和顺县华北豹袭击家牛肇事补偿项目”实施过程中, 系统收集了2015-2019年期间华北豹袭击家畜事件的记录, 结合同期的红外相机监测数据, 探究了袭击事件的时空分布格局, 并从生境和猎物的角度分析了背后的原因。本文还评估了豹肇事造成的经济损失, 以及受损农户对华北豹的态度和对补偿的满意度。2015-2019年, 项目区域内共记录到华北豹袭击家牛事件195起, 向116户受损农户提供补偿资金共27.05万元。分析结果显示, 华北豹袭击家牛事件在夏季最多, 时间上与家牛上山散放的季节重叠; 袭击风险随狍(Capreolus pygargus)相对多度的上升而下降, 随家牛相对多度和距村庄距离的增加而上升, 但保护区内外和华北豹相对多度对袭击风险的影响不显著。对107名受损农户的访谈结果显示, 华北豹袭击家牛事件虽然对当地畜牧业所造成的整体损失较小, 但对受损农户而言其家庭收入损失严重, 因此导致受损农户对华北豹持负面态度, 且认为现有的补偿金额偏低。基于本研究的结果, 我们提出如下管理建议以期缓解未来该地区华北豹带来的人兽冲突: (1)加强放牧管理、改进管理方式, 特别是限制牛群离开村庄的距离, 以及在家牛散放期间将牛群每晚赶回牛圈以降低家畜被袭击的风险; (2)开展禁牧试点, 严格划分允许放牧与禁止放牧的区域; (3)继续开展华北豹袭击家牛的定损与补偿工作, 降低当地农户的经济损失, 同时开展社区走访、自然教育, 提升当地居民对华北豹的容忍度; (4)加强野生动物种群的监测与保护, 促进人与野生动物的和谐共存。     

国家公园农户对野生动物肇事保险购买意愿及其影响因素——以大熊猫国家公园为例

国家公园内人与野生动物冲突严重,建立野生动物肇事保险机制是减缓冲突的重要举措。以大熊猫国家公园周边社区为例,分析建立国家公园以及农户风险偏好对野生动物肇事保险购买意愿的影响,并探讨冲突程度和制度信任的中介效应。研究结果表明建立国家公园显著增加了农户野生动物肇事保险购买意愿,而农户风险偏好对保险购买意愿会产生负向显著影响。冲突程度和制度信任是重要的中介变量,冲突程度和制度信任均对农户保险购买意愿产生正向显著影响。建立国家公园显著增加了人与野生动物冲突严重程度,进而对保险购买意愿产生正向影响。此外,建立国家公园显著降低了农户制度信任,进而对保险购买意愿产生负向影响。农户风险偏好对野生动物肇事损失程度产生正向显著影响,进而对保险购买意愿产生正向影响。农户风险偏好对制度信任影响并不显著。基于此,研究提出吸纳社会资本参与,拓宽野生动物肇事保险资金来源,开展社区共管、地役权补偿等措施提升社区信任以及建立基于农户自主防护行为的野生动物肇事保险机制等政策建议。     

自然保护区外野生动物的管理--以藏北羌塘自然保护区为例

自然保护区内的野生动物大量进入承包草场后,因与家畜争食并破坏草场,和牧民的冲突日益严重,需要制定相应的管理方案加以控制。在藏北高原的羌塘自然保护区与承包草场的边界选取了观察区域,通过样线调查和PRA方法,并选用优势-劣势-机遇-风险分析矩阵评估了现有的管理能力、牧民态度、当地知识体系、当地提出的管理方案与提议等。结果表明,在牧场超载、退化严重的状况下,野生动物与家畜争食使得草场使用的控制目标难以实现;放任自流和修建隔离墙等方案均不可取;自然保护区外野生动物保护是一个循序渐变过程,可根据牧民收入水平、对野生动物的容忍度、当地财政收入状况,充分利用当地知识体系,以成本-效益原则为基础,来制定相应的管理措施;积极吸纳牧民参与管理,尽快实践社区共管的自然保护区外野生动物的管理模式。     

祁连山国家公园牧民对雪豹(Panthera Unica)保护的态度认知及其影响因素

祁连山地区是中国乃至全球雪豹(Panthera Unica)分布最集中、种群密度最高的地区之一，该地区的雪豹科学保护对于全球雪豹种群具有重要意义。了解祁连山国家公园牧民对雪豹保护的态度认知、探究影响牧民对雪豹保护态度的主要因素，对于保护国家公园生态系统的原真性、促进人与野生动物和谐共处具有重要意义。基于半结构式访谈对祁连山国家公园牧民进行了随机抽样调查，结果表明：(1)受访者认为狼(n=34, 91.89%)和雪豹(n=16, 43.24%)是最重要的两种致害野生动物；(2)所有受访者对雪豹保护均持积极态度；(3)受访者认为野生动物捕杀(n=14, 50.00%)和草场退化(n=9, 32.14%)是家畜面临的两大威胁因素；(4)“雪豹捕杀家畜”和“为家畜购买商业保险”是影响牧民对雪豹保护态度的关键因素(P<0.05)。为促进人与野生动物长期共存，需要各级政府以国家公园体制建设为契机，进一步加强科学研究，制定更加科学合理的野生动物保护与管理措施。     

Identifying the risk regions of house break‐ins caused by Tibetan brown bears (Ursus arctos pruinosus) in the Sanjiangyuan region,China

Damage to homesteads by brown bears (Ursus arctos) has become commonplace in Asia, Europe, and the Americas. Science‐based solutions for preventing damages can contribute to the establishment of mechanisms that promote human–bear coexistence. We examined the spatial distribution patterns of house break‐ins by Tibetan brown bears (U. a. pruinosus) in Zhiduo County of the Sanjiangyuan region in China. Occurrence points of bear damage were collected from field surveys completed from 2017 to 2019. The maximum entropy (MaxEnt) model was then used to assess house break‐in risk. Circuit theory modeling was used to simulate risk diffusion paths based on the risk map generated from our MaxEnt model. The results showed that (a) the total risk area of house break‐ins caused by brown bears was 11,577.91 km², accounting for 29.85% of Zhiduo County, with most of the risk areas were distributed in Sanjiangyuan National Park, accounting for 58.31% of the total risk area; (b) regions of alpine meadow located in Sanjiangyuan National Park with a high human population density were associated with higher risk; (c) risk diffusion paths extended southeast to northwest, connecting the inside of Sanjiangyuan National Park to its outside border; and (d) eastern Suojia, southern Zhahe, eastern Duocai, and southern Jiajiboluo had more risk diffusion paths than other areas examined, indicating higher risk for brown bear break‐ins in these areas. Risk diffusion paths will need strong conservation management to facilitate migration and gene flow of brown bears and to alleviate bear damage, and implementation of compensation schemes may be necessary in risk areas to offset financial burdens. Our analytical methods can be applied to conflict reduction efforts and wildlife conservation planning across the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau.     

云南高黎贡山国家级自然保护区保山片区周边社区人熊冲突现状

亚洲黑熊 (Ursus thibetanus) 与人类之间的冲突普遍存在。在高黎贡山国家级自然保护区周边社区,人熊冲突严重威胁了当地居民的生产生活和生命安全。因此研究人熊冲突现状是了解其发生机制并提出缓解冲突措施的基础。我们于2019年通过半结构式访谈法对高黎贡山保护区保山片区周边社区的79位居民进行了人熊冲突相关的调查。结果表明亚洲黑熊在高黎贡山保护区周边社区的肇事类型按发生频率由高到低依次为破坏农作物 (119起)、捕食家畜 (43起)、损害蜂箱 (40起) 和伤人 (5起)。亚洲黑熊造成受访者经济损失最多的肇事类型是捕食家畜 (799 200元),之后依次为损害蜂箱 (309 300元) 和破坏农作物 (298 790元)。在高黎贡山保护区周边社区亚洲黑熊肇事的高峰期是每年的7—9月。在高黎贡山东西两侧亚洲黑熊肇事特征明显不同：东坡以破坏农作物为主,而损害蜂箱在西坡最常见。居住在高黎贡山西坡的村民比在东坡的村民对亚洲黑熊持有更为消极的态度,但消极的态度没有导致他们对黑熊进行报复性捕杀。此外,在高黎贡山周边社区72.0%的受访者表示没听说过当地有偷猎黑熊的事件,98.6%的受访者表示没听说过熊产品交易事件,大部分受访者表示在未来也没有使用熊产品的意愿。本文分析了高黎贡山保护区保山片区周边社区人熊冲突的现状,探讨了人熊冲突的空间和时间格局,为在高黎贡山开展缓解人熊冲突措施提供了科学依据。     

Conflict Misleads Large Carnivore Management and Conservation: Brown Bears and Wolves in Spain

Large carnivores inhabiting human-dominated landscapes often interact with people and their properties, leading to conflict scenarios that can mislead carnivore management and, ultimately, jeopardize conservation. In northwest Spain, brown bears Ursus arctos are strictly protected, whereas sympatric wolves Canis lupus are subject to lethal control. We explored ecological, economic and societal components of conflict scenarios involving large carnivores and damages to human properties. We analyzed the relation between complaints of depredations by bears and wolves on beehives and livestock, respectively, and bear and wolf abundance, livestock heads, number of culled wolves, amount of paid compensations, and media coverage. We also evaluated the efficiency of wolf culling to reduce depredations on livestock. Bear damages to beehives correlated positively to the number of female bears with cubs of the year. Complaints of wolf predation on livestock were unrelated to livestock numbers; instead, they correlated positively to the number of wild ungulates harvested during the previous season, the number of wolf packs, and to wolves culled during the previous season. Compensations for wolf complaints were fivefold higher than for bears, but media coverage of wolf damages was thirtyfold higher. Media coverage of wolf damages was unrelated to the actual costs of wolf damages, but the amount of news correlated positively to wolf culling. However, wolf culling was followed by an increase in compensated damages. Our results show that culling of the wolf population failed in its goal of reducing damages, and suggest that management decisions are at least partly mediated by press coverage. We suggest that our results provide insight to similar scenarios, where several species of large carnivores share the landscape with humans, and management may be reactive to perceived conflicts.     

青藏高原可可西里地区藏棕熊暖季食性及采食行为模式

藏棕熊(Ursus arctos pruinosus)是青藏高原特有的棕熊亚种,作者曾对该地区藏棕熊夏季食性进行了初步报道(Xu et al,2006),然而,藏棕熊的采食行为模式一直未见报道。2009年7-8月,作者又对可可西里地区藏棕熊食性及采食行为模式做了补充调查研究,对两次考察所获得的数据进行了整合分析,研究结果表明,该地区藏棕熊主要以动物性食物为主,其中,高原鼠兔(Ochotona curzoniae)的相对频次为37.3%和干物质量为44.7%,下同);野牦牛(Bos grunniens)分别为18.7%和30.2%;藏羚(Pantholops hodgsoni)分别为15.0%和16.2%。藏棕熊在可可西里地区有两种采食行为模式:主动捕食高原鼠兔和采食藏羚、藏原羚和野牦牛尸体。观察期间藏棕熊约用10%的时间挖掘高原鼠兔的洞穴捕捉高原鼠兔,但未见藏棕熊主动捕食大型哺乳动物。粪样分析结果发现,藏棕熊主动捕食的高原鼠兔和喜马拉雅旱獭(Marmota himalayana)和通过食腐方式获得的藏羚、藏原羚和野牦牛的生物量基本相等。     

Characteristics of natural and anthropogenic mortality of an endangered brown bear population

Large carnivores’ far ranging habits and their requirements for wide areas often led them to move into unprotected lands, making them especially vulnerable to various human threats. Therefore, it is crucial to better understand their mortality characteristics and potential threats so to help guide conservation efforts. Brown bear is a protected species in Iran, however, knowledge on its population structure and causes of mortality are sparse. The main objective of this study was to understand the causes and spatio-temporal patterns of brown bear mortality in Iran. We carried out a systematic survey of internet media sources to answer (1) the mortality of which age and sex group is reported in the media; (2) what are the most common causes of mortality; (3) what are the temporal and spatial patterns of brown bear mortality?. Overall, we found 135 mortalities of brown bears in Iran from 2004 to 2019. Our findings showed that 84% of mortalities were related to anthropogenic causes and being shot (59%) was the most common cause followed by vehicle collisions (18.7%). Only 2% of reported mortalities were due to natural causes, and no information on the causes of mortality was available for 14%. We further found no differences in the sex distribution of bears killed, but adults (68%) were more commonly killed than subadults (22%); and age was unknown in 9% of mortalities. Most mortalities (75%) were reported in summer and autumn. We found that the number of bear mortality increased with increasing elevation, road density, proportion of forest cover, and that it was higher in areas with a higher proportion of protected areas (PA). However, most reported mortality cases were found outside of PAs. The main takeaway messages from our study are that the conservation of large carnivores in Iran must occur in co-existence with humans in a human-dominated landscape. It is also essential to obtain reliable data on population structure as well as more data on mortality rates and causes. We propose, among other conservation actions, the establishment of a central database for the systematic collection of data on human-carnivore conflicts as well as a compensation scheme for reimbursement of damages by large carnivores.     

Rural and Urban Students’ Perceptions of and Attitudes toward Brown Bears in Turkey

Many studies have examined adults’ perceptions of and attitudes toward large carnivores to assess human–wildlife conflict and inform conservation strategies, but there have been few studies concerning children. I studied secondary school students’ perceptions of and attitudes toward brown bears (Ursus arctos) and other large mammals in Turkey via a questionnaire survey. The questionnaire, consisting of 18 questions, was completed by 215 rural and 98 urban secondary school students. Both sets of students liked bears; they were also afraid of them and unsure about living with them in the future. While there were no gender differences in attitudes and perceptions, there were marked differences between urban and rural students. Urban students had less contact with nature, gained more of their knowledge about bears from documentaries, and had less positive attitudes toward bears. They were also more likely to be afraid of species not present in Turkey, for example, anaconda, while rural students were most afraid of wild boars. Factor analysis identified three important themes: familiarity with bears, conservation of bears, and experiencing conflict with bears, which explained 49.8% of the variance in attitudes toward bears. The most important factor for the development of negative attitudes toward bears was personal experience of human–bear conflict, suggesting that measures to reduce human–bear conflict in rural areas may help to sustain students’ positive attitudes toward the conservation of bears.     

Responses of an endangered brown bear population to climate change based on predictable food resource and shelter alterations

The survival of an increasing number of species is threatened by climate change: 20%–30% of plants and animals seem to be at risk of range shift or extinction if global warming reaches levels projected to occur by the end of this century. Plant range shifts may determine whether animal species that rely on plant availability for food and shelter will be affected by new patterns of plant occupancy and availability. Brown bears in temperate forested habitats mostly forage on plants and it may be expected that climate change will affect the viability of the endangered populations of southern Europe. Here, we assess the potential impact of climate change on seven plants that represent the main food resources and shelter for the endangered population of brown bears in the Cantabrian Mountains (Spain). Our simulations suggest that the geographic range of these plants might be altered under future climate warming, with most bear resources reducing their range. As a consequence, this brown bear population is expected to decline drastically in the next 50 years. Range shifts of brown bear are also expected to displace individuals from mountainous areas towards more humanized ones, where we can expect an increase in conflicts and bear mortality rates. Additional negative effects might include: (a) a tendency to a more carnivorous diet, which would increase conflicts with cattle farmers; (b) limited fat storage before hibernation due to the reduction of oak forests; (c) increased intraspecific competition with other acorn consumers, that is, wild ungulates and free‐ranging livestock; and (d) larger displacements between seasons to find main trophic resources. The magnitude of the changes projected by our models emphasizes that conservation practices focused only on bears may not be appropriate and thus we need more dynamic conservation planning aimed at reducing the impact of climate change in forested landscapes.     

Conflict Bear Translocation: Investigating Population Genetics and Fate of Bear Translocation in Dachigam National Park,Jammu and Kashmir,India

The Asiatic black bear population in Dachigam landscape, Jammu and Kashmir is well recognized as one of the highest density bear populations in India. Increasing incidences of bear-human interactions and the resultant retaliatory killings by locals have become a serious threat to the survivorship of black bears in the Dachigam landscape. The Department of Wildlife Protection in Jammu and Kashmir has been translocating bears involved in conflicts, henceforth ‘conflict bears’ from different sites in Dachigam landscape to Dachigam National Park as a flagship activity to mitigate conflicts. We undertook this study to investigate the population genetics and the fate of bear translocation in Dachigam National Park. We identified 109 unique genotypes in an area of ca. 650 km² and observed bear population under panmixia that showed sound genetic variability. Molecular tracking of translocated bears revealed that mostly bears (7 out of 11 bears) returned to their capture sites, possibly due to homing instincts or habituation to the high quality food available in agricultural croplands and orchards, while only four bears remained in Dachigam National Park after translocation. Results indicated that translocation success was most likely to be season dependent as bears translocated during spring and late autumn returned to their capture sites, perhaps due to the scarcity of food inside Dachigam National Park while bears translocated in summer remained in Dachigam National Park due to availability of surplus food resources. Thus, the current management practices of translocating conflict bears, without taking into account spatio-temporal variability of food resources in Dachigam landscape seemed to be ineffective in mitigating conflicts on a long-term basis. However, the study highlighted the importance of molecular tracking of bears to understand their movement patterns and socio-biology in tough terrains like Dachigam landscape.