High altitude conflict between humans and wildlife in a cold desert area of Spiti, Himachal Pradesh
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14041490Keywords:
Cold desert area of Spiti, Crop Damage, Livestock, Tourism, WildlifeAbstract
To conserve wildlife and lessen conflicts between people and animals, it is crucial to have a thorough understanding of these relationships. This study attempts to evaluate and identify the interactions between people and wildlife in the cold desert region of Spiti, Himachal Pradesh, as well as the harm that wildlife does to people and how people perceive wildlife in this region. Wildlife-related issues and human-made solutions to them were discovered during the field trip in the Cold desert area of Spiti. In the Cold desert area of Spiti, wildlife became essential to growth and a major source of income for the locals. From 2017 to 2022, there was no wildlife poaching or killing, and there were no human casualties brought on by the wildlife in the area. Due to the sparse vegetation in the Spiti Cold Desert Area, there is significant competition for resources between wild herbivores and livestock. NCF is doing a great job by encouraging locals to protect wildlife and offering insurance to residents against livestock damage caused by wild animals. In the Cold Desert area of Spiti, the government compensates for agricultural loss and animal damage caused by wildlife. The study's findings indicate that although the wildlife in the Cold desert area of Spiti is secure from humans, it may be in danger because of rising tourism and climate change.
References
Bagchi, S., & Mishra, C. (2006). Living with large carnivores: predation on livestock by the snow leopard (Uncia uncia). Journal of Zoology, 268(3), 217–224. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7998.2005.00030.x
Bagchi, S., Mishra, C., & Bhatnagar, Y. V. (2004). Conflicts between traditional pastoralism and conservation of Himalayan ibex (Capra sibirica) in the Trans‐Himalayan mountains. Animal Conservation, 7(2), 121–128. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1367943003001148
Bagchi, S., Sharma, R. K., & Bhatnagar, Y. V. (2019). Change in snow leopard predation on livestock after revival of wild prey in the Trans-Himalaya. Wildlife Biology, 2020(1). https://doi.org/10.2981/wlb.00583
Bhatia, S., Redpath, S. M., Suryawanshi, K., & Mishra, C. (2016). The relationship between religion and attitudes toward large carnivores in northern India? Human Dimensions of Wildlife, 22(1), 30–42. https://doi.org/10.1080/10871209.2016.1220034
Cardillo, M., Purvis, A., Sechrest, W., Gittleman, J. L., Bielby, J., & Mace, G. M. (2004). Human population density and extinction risk in the world’s carnivores. PLoS Biology, 2(7), e197. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.0020197
Conover, M. R. (2001). Resolving Human-Wildlife conflicts. In CRC Press eBooks. https://doi.org/10.1201/9781420032581
Jackson, R. M., Roe, J. D., Wangchuk, R., & Hunter, D. O. (2006). Estimating snow leopard population abundance using photography and Capture-reapture techniques. Wildlife Society Bulletin, 34(3), 772–781. https://doi.org/10.2193/0091-7648(2006)34
Kitzinger, J. (1995). Qualitative Research: Introducing focus groups. British Medical Journal, 311(7000), 299–302. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.311.7000.299
Lyngdoh, S., Shrotriya, S., Goyal, S. P., Clements, H., Hayward, M. W., & Habib, B. (2014). Prey Preferences of the Snow Leopard (Panthera uncia): Regional Diet Specificity Holds Global Significance for Conservation. PloS One, 9(2), e88349. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0088349
Madden, F. (2004). Creating Coexistence between Humans and Wildlife: Global Perspectives on Local Efforts to Address Human-Wildlife Conflict. Human Dimensions of Wildlife, 9(4), 247–257. https://doi.org/10.1080/10871200490505675
Madhusudan, M. D. (2004). Recovery of wild large herbivores following livestock decline in a tropical Indian wildlife reserve. Journal of Applied Ecology, 41(5), 858–869. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0021-8901.2004.00950.x
Mishra, C. (1997). Livestock depredation by large carnivores in the Indian trans-Himalaya: conflict perceptions and conservation prospects. Environmental Conservation, 24(4), 338–343. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0376892997000441
Mishra, C., Allen, P., Mccarthy, T., Madhusudan, M. D., Bayarjargal, A., & Prins, H. H. T. (2003). The role of incentive programs in conserving the snow leopard. Conservation Biology, 17(6), 1512–1520. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1523-1739.2003.00092.x
Mishra, C., Van Wieren, S. E., Ketner, P., Heitkönig, I. M. A., & Prins, H. H. T. (2004). Competition between domestic livestock and wild Bharal Pseudois nayaur in the Indian Trans‐Himalaya. Journal of Applied Ecology, 41(2), 344–354. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0021-8901.2004.00885.x
Namgail, T., Mishra, C., De Jong, C. B., Van Wieren, S. E., & Prins, H. H. T. (2009). Effects of herbivore species richness on the niche dynamics and distribution of blue sheep in the Trans‐Himalaya. Diversity and Distributions, 15(6), 940–947. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1472-4642.2009.00611.x
Nyhus, P. J. (2016). Human–Wildlife conflict and coexistence. Annual Review of Environment and Resources, 41(1), 143–171. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-environ-110615-085634
Rodgers, W. (1989). Policy issues in wildlife conservation. Indian Journal of Public Administration/Indian Journal of Public Administration, 35(3), 461–468. https://doi.org/10.1177/0019556119890312
Rovero, F., Augugliaro, C., Havmøller, R. W., Groff, C., Zimmermann, F., Oberosler, V., & Tenan, S. (2018). Co-occurrence of snow leopard Panthera uncia, Siberian ibex Capra sibirica and livestock: potential relationships and effects. Oryx, 54(1), 118–124. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0030605317001685
Sharma, R. K., Bhatnagar, Y. V., & Mishra, C. (2015). Does livestock benefit or harm snow leopards? Biological Conservation, 190, 8–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2015.04.026
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
Categories
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Scientific Reports in Life Sciences
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.