Identifying Priority Areas for the Indian Leopard (Panthera pardus fusca) Within a Shared Landscape

Area of Science:

• Wildlife Ecology
• Conservation Biology
• Spatial Analysis

Background:

• Habitat loss is a major threat to large felids, including leopards (Panthera pardus).
• Understanding habitat selection is crucial for effective conservation and managing human-leopard conflict, especially in shared landscapes in India.
• Large-scale data on leopard habitat use is lacking, hindering conservation policy development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine habitat selection patterns of Indian leopards (Panthera pardus) in Karnataka.
• To identify key anthropogenic, environmental, and climatic variables influencing leopard habitat selection.
• To inform conservation strategies for leopards in human-dominated landscapes.

Main Methods:

• Leopard occurrence data collected via occupancy surveys across five districts in Karnataka (28,375 km²).
• Analysis of environmental variables including land use, climate, topography, and human disturbance at 0.1 km² resolution.
• Ensemble modeling to predict habitat selection across the state of Karnataka.

Main Results:

• Leopard habitat selection was positively associated with forest cover, rocky outcrops, and precipitation.
• Habitat selection was negatively influenced by distance to croplands and roads.
• Approximately 50% of predicted leopard habitat lies outside protected areas and reserved forests, with significant use of human-use areas like croplands.

Conclusions:

• Leopards utilize human-use areas, such as croplands, for cover and proximity to natural refuges.
• Preserving natural cover and rocky outcrops is essential for maintaining leopard connectivity between protected areas.
• Conservation strategies must consider leopard presence and habitat use in landscapes shared with humans.