Assessment of crop damage caused by Asian antelopes compared to local people perception in the community conserved Abohar Wildlife Sanctuary, Northwestern India

ABSTRACT

Objective estimates of crop loss due to herbivores and their comparison with the perception of people towards damage factors are required for the formulation of effective mitigation strategies. From October 2016 to May 2018, we used protected and unprotected plots to measure the extent of crop damage by blackbuck (Antilope cervicapra) and nilgai (Boselaphus tragocamelus) in the Abohar wildlife sanctuary (India). Land use and land cover (LULC) analysis of 2011–2012 data revealed that more than 90% of the sanctuary was under agricultural practices. The crop grain yield was significantly lower in unprotected plots. Mean (± SD) reduction in crop yield was significantly higher in mustard (40.12 ± 4.56%) than in cotton (26.50 ± 3.50%) and wheat (20.61 ± 3.94%) (p < 0.01). Perceived risk plots (based on 152 semi-structured interviews) revealed that local people working in the farming sector perceived nilgai to be the most crop depredating species followed by blackbuck, pests and stray animals. Participants manifested resentment toward the non-existence of crop damage compensation schemes. Managing wildlife habitats could also reduce the pressure on cultivated zones.

RÉSUMÉ

Des estimations objectives des pertes de cultures dues aux herbivores et de la perception des populations locales quant aux causes sont nécessaires pour formuler des stratégies de mitigation efficaces. D’octobre 2016 à mai 2018, nous avons mesuré le niveau de dommage aux cultures attribuable à l’antilope cervicapre (Antilope cervicapra) et au nilgault (Boselaphus tragocamelus) dans des quadrats protégés et non protégés dans la réserve faunique de Abohar (Inde). L’analyse de l’occupation et de l’utilisation du territoire en 2011-2012 a révélé que plus de 90 % de la réserve faunique étaient soumis à des pratiques agricoles. Le rendement était significativement plus faible dans les quadrats non protégés. La réduction moyenne de rendement (± ÉT) était significativement plus importante pour la moutarde (40.12 ± 4.56 %) que pour le coton (26.50 ± 3.50 %) et le blé (20.61 ± 3.94 %) (p < 0.01). Le diagramme de risque perçu (basé sur 152 entrevues semi-dirigées) montre que les populations locales percevaient le nilgault comme le facteur principal de déprédation, suivi de l’antilope cervicapre, des espèces nuisibles et des animaux errants. Les participants ont manifesté du ressentiment face à l’absence de programmes de compensation. L’aménagement d’habitats fauniques permettrait aussi de réduire la pression sur les zones cultivées.

KEYWORDS:

• Crop damage
• antelopes
• perception
• community
• conservation
• human-wildlife interactions

MOTS CLÉS:

• Dommages aux cultures
• antilopes
• perception
• communautés
• conservation
• interactions humains-faune

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to the Forest Department (Wildlife Division), Punjab, India for its cooperation and help in conducting the research. We wish to thank Dr. Dikesh Chandra Loshali and his team at the Punjab Remote Sensing Centre, Punjab Agricultural University, India, for their valuable inputs in the interpretation of satellite data and mapping the study area. We are thankful to S. Kulwant Singh and all the field assistants for their support during interviews and data collection. We sincerely appreciated constructive inputs provided by the Editor-in-Chief, Dr. Hugo Asselin, and two anonymous reviewers. We earnestly thank Dr. Murali C. Krishna and Dr. Janmejay Sethy for language editing, and improvement.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This research was funded by the Inspire fellowship scheme, Department of Science and Technology, Government of India [IF160695; DST/INSPIRE Fellowship/REL1/2016/8th Lot].