BACKGROUND
Across the globe, large carnivores are considered as the most
charismatic yet vulnerable components of wild ecosystems (Miquelle et
al., 2005). Positioned at the top of food chains, they influence all
trophic levels thereby shaping entire ecosystems (Ripple et al., 2014).
However, throughout their distributional range, large carnivore
populations continue to decline rapidly due to anthropogenic pressures
like habitat degradation and fragmentation, persecution, illicit
commercial trade in body parts, depletion of wild prey and diseases
(Weber & Rabinowitz, 1996).
Owing to their wide range requirements, large carnivores inherently
occur at low densities across their distribution (Woodroffe & Ginsberg,
1998). However, the idyllic contiguous landscapes required for the
long-term conservation of such species are being increasingly
compromised due to competition with humans over space. In order to
survive, large terrestrial predators must negotiate human-modified
landscapes adjoining Protected Areas (PAs) which are under various land
use types. Such peculiar scenarios may lead to perceived or potential
human- wildlife conflict posing a risk to their existence. Consequently,
large carnivore conservation has become the prime focus of various
stakeholders like biologists, politicians, activists, nature
enthusiasts, funding agencies and lately with increasing awareness, the
common man (Weber & Rabinowitz, 1996; Linnell, Swenson, & Anderson
2001; Treves, 2009).
India is home to the highest number of large terrestrial carnivores
(average body weight >15kgs) in the world. The twelve
species include Royal Bengal tiger Panthera tigris tigris ,
Asiatic lion Panthera leo persiica , leopard Panthera
pardus , snow leopard Panthera uncia , clouded leopardNeofelis nebulosa , Indian wolf Canis lupus , Asiatic wild
dog Cuon alpinus , striped hyena Hyeana hyeana , Himalayan
brown bear Ursus arctos isabellinus , Asiatic black bearUrsus thibetanus , sloth bear Melursus ursinus and sun bearHelarctos malayanus . Of the total 12 species, 8 are either in the
Endangered or the Vulnerable category of the IUCN Red List of Endangered
Species and all are categorized under Schedule I of the Wildlife
(Protection) Act, of India, 1972. India also ranks 2ndin world human population with 1.3 billion people and a density of 450
people per sq. km (UN World Population Report, 2017). Based on the World
Bank Report (2015) 60.4% of the total land in India is under
agriculture resulting in a habitat matrix of human agricultural
landscapes interspersed with PAs pitching humans in direct competition
with wildlife over limited resources, particularly, space. India is also
home to 25% of world’s cattle and holds the highest number of the
world’s livestock (19th All India Livestock Census,
2012). In conjunction with agriculture, spread over 5.6 million km, the
Indian road network is the second largest in the world with the highest
global density of 1.70 km roads per square kilometre of land (Basic Road
Statistics of India, 2016). The aggressively developing nation aspires
to achieve 8% economic growth from 2017–2022 (Niti AAYOG, 2017-2020).
In this setting, survival of large carnivores in India depends on their
ability to adapt to the human-modified environment. The movement
parameters of species evolve in response to the dynamic structure of a
landscape (Fahrig, 2007). The rapid rate at which landscapes are
changing may compel wide ranging terrestrial mammals to adapt and change
their movement patterns for long term survival. The PAs and Reserves in
India are small, isolated with compromised functional connectivity
(Chundawat, Sharma, Gogate, Malik, & Vanak 2016; Mondal, Habib,
Talukdar, & Nigam 2016) and wide-ranging large carnivores need to move
through areas with varying degrees of human activity to maintain healthy
populations. However, they may be reluctant to cross certain habitat
boundaries (Haddad, 1999). The study of movement parameters of such
species is imperative to gain insights into fundamental biological
processes like dispersal strategies, foraging, social interactions, and
general patterns of space use which play a major role in determining
community and population structures (Nathan et al., 2008). Such a study
on large carnivores across heterogenous landscapes with fragmented
metapopulations in the form of PAs interspersed within an agriculture
matrix crisscrossed by linear infrastructure such as roads, railway
network, canals and transmission lines is crucial for conservation
planning and developing management strategies (Dickson, Jenness, &
Beier 2005).
In this paper, we present the first study of movement patterns and space
use of 4 large carnivores across diverse landscapes in India. We analyze
movement data of tiger, leopard, dhole and wolf from the Central Indian
landscape. First, we describe the attributes of movement trajectories
and compare the movement pattern of these 4 large carnivores. We then
examine the effect of land use, human density and road density as
surrogates of human footprint on the movement of these wide-ranging,
terrestrial carnivores. There have been general assumptions of space use
of large predators but statistically robust data on movement of these
predators both inside and outside PAs is absent. We test these
assumptions and hypothesis across species and habitats with an aim to
quantify a movement.