664 R. Pal et al.


TABLE 5 Best generalized linear mixed models examining relationships between relative abundance of six regularly detected threatened large mammals, habitat and anthropogenic pressures in the Bhagirathi basin with each model’s Akaike information criterion adjusted for small sample size (AICc), difference in AICc from the best-performing model (ΔAICc), and Akaike weight. Models with ΔAICc values ,2 units were averaged.


Species


Asiatic black bear Common leopard


Sambar Snow leopard


Himalayan brown bear Musk deer


Best models


*Season + Livestock + Ruggedness *Human + Elevation + Season *Human × Elevation


*Livestock + Elevation × Slope + Season *Elevation + Livestock *Elevation


*Elevation + Slope *Elevation × Season


AICc 203.4


414.5 415.1 542.3 332.2 105.8 179.0 180.4


ΔAICc 0


0


0.57 0 0 0 0


1.34


Weight 0.62


0.22 0.17 0.21 0.47 0.49 0.28 0.14


TABLE 6 Summary of fixed effect estimates for supported models (ΔAICc values , 2) of six regularly detected threatened large mammals in the Bhagirathi basin.


Species Asiatic black bear Common leopard Sambar


Predictor variable Season


Livestock


Ruggedness Human


Elevation Season


Elevation × Human Livestock Elevation Slope


Season Snow leopard


Himalayan brown bear Musk deer


Elevation × Slope Elevation Livestock Elevation Elevation Slope


Season Elevation × Season


degradation and increased interactions with humans (Sathyakumar, 2006; Bhattacharya & Sathyakumar, 2011; Athreya et al., 2013; Khan & Johnsingh, 2013). Because of its rugged terrain and inaccessibility, the


Bhagirathi basin contains some areas with little or no direct human disturbance, which may act as refugia for some threatened and rare species. We recorded four typical Trans-Himalayanmammals (argali, Tibetan sand fox, wool- ly hare and Eurasian lynx) and the woolly flying squirrel in the Bhagirathi basin. The Near Threatened argali has declined significantly (Harris & Reading, 2008). The Tibetan sand fox, although categorized as Least Concern, occurs in low densities (Harris, 2014). The woolly hare has been assessed as Endangered in India (Molur et al., 2005). The population of the Eurasian lynx is declining and the species is believed to be close to extinction in India (Breitenmoser et al., 2015). The population of the


Estimates −1.16


0.33


−0.23 0.72


−0.55 0.78


−0.49 −4.07


4.55


−64.81 −0.80


−37.31 −0.60 −1.27


−0.50 −1.72


0.70 1.12 0.78


SE


0.43 0.10 0.10 0.22 0.21 0.36 0.26 1.56 1.21


22.46 0.37


12.88 0.12 0.28 0.24 0.53 0.38 0.62 0.80


Z-value −2.67


3.25


−2.23 3.27


0.22 2.14 1.85


−2.61 3.75


−2.89 −2.20 −2.90 −4.90 −4.41


P-value 0.008


0.001 0.026 0.001 0.011 0.032 0.064 0.009 0.001 0.004 0.028 0.004


2.98 2.31 2.01 0.79 2.13


, 0.0001 , 0.0001 0.003 0.021 0.045 0.430 0.033


woolly flying squirrel is believed to have declined by 50% during the last decade, largely because of deforestation and grazing pressure (Zahler, 2010). In addition to these threatened species, we recorded two Endangered large carnivores, the dhole and tiger, which were hitherto not known from the area. These new records and the high mammal diversity in the Bhagirathi basin are a result of a wide range of habitats, including many areas with low anthropogenic pressures. In the Indian Himalayan Region, information on the distribution of the dhole (Bashir et al., 2013; Johnsingh & Acharya, 2013; Pal et al., 2018b) and tiger (Gopi et al., 2014; Bhattacharya & Habib, 2016)is limited. Presence of the wild dog was recently reported from sub-alpine and temperate habitats of Uttarkashi dis- trict in Uttarakhand (Pal et al., 2018b). The presence of these two Endangered carnivores in high-altitude forests emphasizes the need for regular monitoring of these areas


Oryx, 2021, 55(5), 657–667 © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Fauna & Flora International doi:10.1017/S0030605319001352


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