Abstract
Conflicts between large carnivores and shepherds constitute a major socio-ecological concern across the Himalaya and affects community attitudes and tolerance toward carnivores. We assessed the extent and intensity of Human-Brown Bear interactions in the same villages of Zanskar and Suru Valleys, Ladakh, in the Indian Trans-Himalaya during two time periods (2001–2003 and 2009–2012) through field and questionnaire surveys. During 2001–2003, 180 families of 32 villages in Zanskar, and 232 families of 49 villages in Suru were interviewed, and during 2009–2012, 145 families of 23 villages in Zanskar and 115 families of 33 villages in Suru were interviewed. Overall, 475 (119/year) and 454 (151/year) heads of livestock were reportedly killed by Brown Bears. The surveys of 2009–2012 revealed that livestock predation in ‘doksas’ (summer grazing camps) was higher (68 %) compared to the surveys carried out during 2001–2003 (42 %). The increased livestock depredation in doksas might be due to the extended stay and use of pastures by the local communities during spring and autumn. Damage to property in the form of breaking open of doors and windows by Brown Bear were reported during both the surveys. Economic losses and declining tolerance of people may trigger retaliatory killings of Brown Bear in Ladakh. We recommend compensation for livestock loss and improved husbandry practices in the conflict zones for bear-human coexistence.
Highlights
The Himalayan Brown Bear U. a. isabellinus (Image 1), a subspecies that represents an ancient lineage of the Brown Bear (Galbreath et al 2007), has a restricted distribution in the Greater and Trans-Himalayan regions of Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand in India (Sathyakumar 2001, 2006)
The Himalayan Brown Bear occurs in subalpine forests and alpine meadows in the Greater Himalaya of Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand, and in the cold-arid alpine scrub and meadows in the trans-Himalayan regions of Ladakh (Sathyakumar 2003, 2006)
We interviewed a minimum of five families in a village and if livestock depredations due to Brown Bear were reported by even one of these five families, we sampled at least 30% of the total families living in that village (Sathyakumar 2003)
Summary
The Brown Bear Ursus arctos is the most widely distributed species among the eight species of bears (Servheen 1990; Schwartz et al 2003; Nawaz 2007) They are distributed in most of the northern hemisphere, including the Palearctic and Nearctic regions of the world (Servheen 1990). They inhabit alpine and sub-alpine mountainous landscapes of Asia, Europe, and North America. The Himalayan Brown Bear occurs in subalpine forests and alpine meadows in the Greater Himalaya of Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand, and in the cold-arid alpine scrub and meadows in the trans-Himalayan regions of Ladakh (Sathyakumar 2003, 2006). Sathyakumar (2001, 2006) reported, through questionnaire-based surveys, Brown Bears are present in 23 protected areas and 35 other localities throughout the northwestern and western Himalayan regions of India
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