CONSERVATION IMPLICATIONS
Across the globe, large carnivore conservation is a challenge owing to the habitat loss and fragmentation of natural areas with rapidly growing human populations. In India, conservation of large carnivores is interlaced with various political, socioeconomic and emotional issues which complicate this challenge. Increasingly, wildlife is compelled to coexist with humans in highly modified landscapes highlighting the need of planned and coordinated interdisciplinary efforts. Integrating movement ecology in landscape management and policy making is a desirable approach as it provides insights into how animals are affected by human footprint and the implications on their ecology and conservation. With great advances being made across the world in the field of movement ecology, India is only beginning to take the initial steps into the field. Studies on movement ecology and conservation have primarily been conceptual. We take an applied perspective by drawing on theory to link movement ecology of an animal with conservation considerations in dynamic landscapes under anthropogenic stress. The novel findings of the large-scale study on the movement ecology of 4 large carnivores of India will have dramatic implications on their conservation and management in the country. They may even guide developing countries with high human and carnivore densities in conservation planning and management and serve as a cautionary learning for countries where the densities of populations may increase in the future. If large carnivores are to co-exist with humans, there needs to be an understanding of how animals move inside PAs and the adaptations they exhibit outside PAs to survive in the matrix in between. The use and extent of corridors needs to be informed by real time knowledge of animal motion and navigation capacities if we are to safeguard the sensitive connections between the PAs. Our study can be a suitable starting point for further comparative studies to understand the extent to which large carnivores can negotiate landscapes and adapt to survive.
Data Accessibility Statement: The data contains locations of endangered species from areas which are prone to poaching and human prosecution. The locations of the four endangered species from India will make species prone to many risks including poaching. Under such circumstances as corresponding author, I request for exception of this clause. Since this is the first paper from India with exact GPS locations of large carnivores, our request may be considered. Some of our GPS location belong to the breeding locations, such areas are still occupied by breeding females. Making such location public will risk such individuals.