Human influence on burrow activity of the Chinese pangolin in Nepal
Ambika P. Khatiwada
A B C D * , Wendy Wright E , Kyran Kunkel F , Monsoon P. Khatiwada A D , Carly Waterman C G , Santosh Bhattarai H , Hem S. Baral I , Chiranjibi P. Pokheral B and Fredrik Dalerum A J K
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Biodiversity Research Institute (University of Oviedo, Principado of Asturias, Spanish National Research Council), Mieres Campus, University of Oviedo, 33600 Mieres, Asturias, Spain.
B National Trust for Nature Conservation, Khumaltar, Lalitpur 44700, Nepal.
C IUCN SSC Pangolin Specialist Group, Zoological Society of London, Regent’s Park, NW1 4RY, UK.
D Society for Conservation Biology – Nepal Chapter, Bagdol, Lalitpur 44700, Nepal.
E Future Regions Research Centre, Federation University Australia, Gippsland Campus, Churchill, Vic. 3842, Australia.
F Conservation Science Collaborative, Bozeman, MT 59715, USA.
G Conservation and policy, Zoological Society of London, Regent’s Park, London NW1 4RY, England.
H Nepal Conservation and Research Center, Ratnanagar-08, Chitwan 44204, Nepal.
I Zoological Society of London, Nepal office, Bishal Nagar Marg, Kathmandu 44600, Nepal.
J Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden.
K Mammal Research Institute, Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, 0028 Pretoria, South Africa.
Wildlife Research 50(1) 76-83 https://doi.org/10.1071/WR21024
Submitted: 24 January 2021 Accepted: 21 May 2022 Published: 25 July 2022
© 2023 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing
Abstract
Context: People and wildlife are coming into greater contact worldwide because of the increasing human footprint. Although some species tolerate certain levels of human activities, others are vulnerable to human disturbance, potentially altering their spatial or temporal patterns of activity in response to disturbance by humans.
Aims: We evaluated the influence of human activity on burrow activity of the Chinese pangolin, a Critically Endangered species that is heavily persecuted for subsistence and illegal trade.
Methods: We deployed remotely triggered camera traps at pangolin burrows located at four sites with contrasting levels of human density and infrastructure in Nepal, and estimated burrow-activity patterns of pangolins by using a kernel-density estimator based on the time stamp of camera trap observations.
Key results: Our findings did not suggest that anthropogenic disturbance affected pangolin burrow activity, but we acknowledge that these findings were based on a limited number of observations. Peak pangolin burrow activity was observed after midnight in three of the study sites, including those with highest and lowest levels of human activity. The fourth area, which had intermediate levels of human activity, had an earlier peak in burrow activity, possibly caused by prey deficiency owing to intense agriculture.
Conclusions: We suggest that pangolins may tolerate human activity because of their strictly nocturnal temporal niche, but that this tolerance has made them vulnerable to poaching because it allows them to co-exist spatially with humans.
Implications: Nocturnal species may be particularly prone to non-conflict-related persecution, because they may be easily accessible targets for illegal hunting activities.
Keywords: Asia, conservation, human disturbance, mammal, Manis pentadactyla, Nepal, persecution, temporal niche.
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