Local communities perception of anthropogenic threats to the habitat and population of barking deer (Muntiacus veginalis) in Murree-Kotli Sattian-Kahuta National Park District Rawalpindi, Punjab, Pakistan

Paper Details

Research Paper 01/01/2019
Views (324) Download (13)
current_issue_feature_image
publication_file

Local communities perception of anthropogenic threats to the habitat and population of barking deer (Muntiacus veginalis) in Murree-Kotli Sattian-Kahuta National Park District Rawalpindi, Punjab, Pakistan

Ume Habiba, Maqsood Anwar, Elizabeth Covelli Metacalf, Behra Mand Khan, Muhammad Salim, Ahmad Hussain, Rukhsana Khatoon, Kamal Abdul Nasir, Ehtisham-Ul-Haq, Mujahid Haroon
Int. J. Biosci.14( 1), 525-532, January 2019.
Certificate: IJB 2019 [Generate Certificate]

Abstract

To assess distribution, abundance and anthropogenic threats to habitat and population of barking deer (muntiacus veginalis), a social survey was conducted in Murree-Kotli Sattian-Kahuta National Park (Pakistan) from August 2015 to November 2017. 600 questionnaires filled from three zones by local community, Forest and Wildlife Department and hunters to gather information on the major threats to barking deer in National Park. The interviewees were given 3 sets of questions and most data was presented as percent interviewees in a certain response category, where multiple responses were permitted to a single question. Barking deer categorized as Endangered in Pakistan on the 2015 IUCN Red List, threatened due to habitat loss (illegal and commercial logging) for domestic and international markets. Wild olive (Olea ferruginea), pine (Pinus roxburghii) and Acacia spp are mostly removed from the habitat of barking deer. Chi Square tests (SPSS 21) were conducted using a level of 0.05 to test any significant differences of three zones with anthropogenic activities. As forest area and barking deer population is decreasing over time so human hunting and deforestation emerged as principal threats to species across sites. Habitat degradation and poaching by livestock were the other threats to the conservation of barking deer in the study area. Although the area of Murree-Kotli Sattian-Kahuta has been declared as protected but elimination of hunting, strengthening the management of existing protected areas (PA) and involvement of local communities are recommended for long-term conservation of barking deer.

VIEWS 15

Ali Z. 1991. Study of the habitat and feeding biology of Barking Deer (Muntiacus muntjak) in Margalla Hills National Park, M. Sc. Dissertation. University of the Punjab.

Anwar M. 1997. “Distribution, population status and conservation of barking deer (Muntiacus muntjac) in Margalla Hills National Park.” Biodiversity of Pakistan. Pakistan Museum of Natural History, Islamabad, Pakistan and Florida Museum of Natural History, Gainesville, USA 485-495.

Bennett EL, Gumal MT. 2001. “The interrelationships of commercial logging, hunting and wildlife in Sarawak.” The cutting edge, conserving wildlife in logged forests. Columbia University Press, New York, New York, USA 359-374.

Ferguson MA, Williamson RG, Messier F. 1998. “Inuit knowledge of long-term changes in a population of Arctic tundra caribou.” Arctic 201-219.

Folke C. 2004. “Traditional knowledge in social–ecological systems.” Ecology and Society 9(3).

Gilchrist G, Mallory M, Merkel F. 2005. “Can local ecological knowledge contribute to wildlife management? Case studies of migratory birds.” Ecology and Society 10(1).

Jilani G. I990. Revised working plan for the scrub forest of Rawalpindi district, 1989-90 and 2019-2020. G. o. P. Forest Department.

Ludwig D, Hilborn R, Walters C. 1993. “Uncertainty, resource exploitation, and conservation: lessons from history.” Ecological applications 260, 17-20.

Madhusudan M, Karanth KU. 2002. “Local hunting and the conservation of large mammals in India.” A Journal of the Human Environment 31(1), 49-54.

Moller H, Berkes F, Lyver POB, Kislalioglu M. 2004. “Combining science and traditional ecological knowledge: monitoring populations for co-management.” Ecology and society 9(3).

Norusis MJ. 1990. SPSS: Statistical data analysis, SPSS.

Phuthego T, Chanda R. 2004. “Traditional ecological knowledge and community-based natural resource management: lessons from a Botswana wildlife management area.” Applied Geography 24(1), 57-76.

Roberts TJ. 1997. The Mammals of Pakistan., Oxford University Press, Karachi.

Shackleton DM. 1997. “Wild Sheep and Goats and their relatives: status survey and conservation action plan for Caprinae.” IUCN/SSC Caprinae Specialist Group. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK 390.

Sheng H. 1992. Deer of China, East China Normal University Press, Shanghai.

Taylor MJ. 2001. Life, land and power: Contesting development in northern Botswana, University of Edinburgh.

Timmins RJ, Duckworth JW, Hedges S, Pattanavibool A, Steinmetz R, Semiadi G, Tyson M. 2008. Muntiacus muntjak. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, IUCN.

Timmins RJ, Evans TD, Khounboline K, Sisomphone C. 1998. “Status and conservation of the giant muntjac Megamuntiacus vuquangensis, and notes on other muntjac species in Laos.” Oryx 32(1), 59-67.

Yang Q, Feng Z. 1998. “Status and conservation of musk deer at the southeast of Qinghai-Xizang (Tibet) Plateau.” Resources and Conservation of Vertibrate. Sichuan Sciences and Technology Publishing House, Chengdu (in Chinese).

Zafar M, Khan B, Khan E, Garee A, Khan A, Rehmat A, Abbas AS, Ali M, Hussain E. 2014. “Abundance Distribution and Conservation of Key Ungulate Species in Hindu Kush Karakoram and Western Himalayan (HKH) Mountain Ranges of Pakistan.” International Journal of Agriculture and Biology 16(6).

Zulfiqar S, Minhas RA. 2011. “Population and conservation status of barking deer (Muntiacus muntjac) in Pir Lasorha National Park and other areas of District Kotli, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan.” Pakistan Journal of Zoology 43(5).