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Summary

The Periyar - Srivilliputtur and Agasthyamalai hills in the southern Western Ghats have some seemingly vast unbroken forest stretches in the entire Western Ghats. These hill ranges are contiguous except for a small break at the Shencottah gap. Not surprisingly, because of the extent of forests, these hills contain a veritable biological diversity with several endemic species of flora and fauna. Considerable forest stretches exist outside the current network of Protected Areas in this landscape. These forests are home to some of the globally endangered arboreal mammals such as the lion-tailed macaque (Macaca silenus), Nilgiri langur (Semnopithecus johnii), and the grizzled giant squirrel (Ratufa macroura). In addition to these species, other arboreal mammal species that occur in this region are the Hanuman langur (Semnopithecus priam), bonnet macaque (Macaca radiata) and the Indian giant squirrel (Ratufa indica). Identifying forests outside the PA network is crucial for the long-term conservation of these diurnal arboreal mammals. The information generated through this project will be used to envisage site-specific conservation and management plans for these threatened taxa.

Objectives

1. Determine the current distribution of arboreal mammals
2. Determine the ecological and anthropogenic factors governing their distribution in this landscape.

Status
  • Several sites in the study landscape including Ranni, Konni, Punalur, Thiruvananthapuram Forest Division, Neyyar and Peppara Wildlife Sanctuaries in Kerala and Srivilliputhur, and Kanyakumari Wildlife Sanctuaries in Tamilnadu lacked recent information on occurrence of arboreal mammals. Field surveys were undertaken in these areas.
  • Species distribution was modeled using a maximum likelihood estimation method. These distribution maps were then used in prioritizing sites for conservation using a tool called 'Zonation'.
  • Our results indicate that a large extent (~ 1265 km2) of important sites for arboreal mammals lies outside the existing network of PAs.
  • In the Agasthyamalai landscape ~ 90% of the landscape has already been incorporated under the existing PA network. On the other hand, in the Periyar landscape, 2336 km2 of contiguous forests exist outside the current network of Protected Areas. These areas are high priority conservation sites for arboreal mammals.
  • A working draft of recommendations was prepared which was discussed and finalized during a consultative workshop with managers and scientists working in the landscape.