Ecology of Lutrogale perspicillata in Chitwan National Park, Nepal

ISBN-13: 9783659452925 / Angielski / Miękka / 2013 / 64 str.

Acharya Paras Mani;Rajbhandari Sunil Lal

Opis

This book describes the status, habitats and conservation aspects of smooth coated otter in Chitwan National Park. The otters are distributed in the areas of western channel of Narayani River from Giddeni to Bhosarghat, but are absent in other sections of the river due to several factors like habitat degradation, human disturbances, high depth of river, current, some patches of sandy and muddy islands along the shoreline, boulders and rocky cliffs on the edge, high fishing pressure, stagnant condition of river due to the impact from construction of Gandak barrage. The tracks were observed in sandy and muddy substrate along the shoreline of shallow river course with dense cover of Saccharum, Phragmites and Typha sps. The lack of strict enforcement of parks rules and regulations, patrolling, awareness, over fishing, poisoning, use of gill net, grazing, sand and boulder extraction and the Tribeni dam are the serious threats effecting the otter populations. The park management must adopt appropriate conservation measures and policies to ensure the protection of these mustelids in the river basins of Nepal.

O autorze

Mr. Acharya is an Associate Professor in the Tribhuvan University, Nepal and is member IUCN/SSC Otter Specialists group with wide experience in wetland conservation. Mr. Rajbhandari is an Associate Professor in the Tribhuvan University, Nepal and has 25 years of teaching and field experiences in species conservation and protected area management.