Sunquist, Melvin E. The Social Organization of Tigers {Panthera tigris) in Royal Chitawan National Park, Nepal. Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology, number 336, 98 pages, frontispiece, 33 figures, 31 tables, 1981.—The movements and social-spatial system of tigers were studied using radiotelemetry. A total of seven tigers was radio-tracked for varying periods from December 1974 to September 1976. Population characteristics are described and examined in relation to information from other studies. Seasonal activity patterns and habitat use of tigers are detailed and evaluated with regard to several environmental parameters. Daily and seasonal movements of animals are emphasized and discussed in relation to foraging, reproductive activity, and territoriality. Estimates of the extent to which tigers of various sex and age classes socialize, and the circumstances under which they do so, are presented and considered with respect to factors promoting and maintaining a solitary and dispersed social system. Various aspects of the feeding ecology of tigers are detailed and incorporated into an assessment of the impact of predation on prey populations. Results from this study are then viewed in an evolutionary perspective in comparison with the lion {Panthera leo). OFFICIAL PUBLICATION DATE is handstamped in a limited number of initial copies and is recorded in the Institution's annual report, Smithsonian Year. SERIES COVER DESIGN: The coral Montastrea cavemosa (Linnaeus). Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Sunquist, Melvin E. The social organization of tigers (Panthera tigris) in Royal Chitawan National Park, Nepal. (Smithsonian contributions to zoology ; no. 336). Bibliography: p. Supt. of Docs, no.: SI 1.27:336 1. Tigers—Behavior. 2. Social behavior in animals. 3. Mammals—Behavior. 4. Mammals—Nepal—Royal Chitawan National Park. 5. Royal Chitawan National Park (Nepal) I. Title. II. Series. QL1.S54 no. 336 [QL737.C23] 591s 81-607928 [599.74'428] AACR2

The Social Organization of Tigers (Panthera Tigris) in Royal Chitawan National Park, Nepal

Grasscutters or cane rats (Thryonomys spp.) are widely-distributed and valuable animals in West and Central Africa. Research has been carried out over the past 15 years to select and improve stock in order to improve their adaptability to a restricted life in captivity and to develop rearing programmes in rural and peri-urban areas of Africa. The biology of these rodents and the current status of grasscutter production are reviewed. The cultural and nutritional value of grasscutter meat, compared with that of other domestic animals, is underlined. Diverse economical, nutritional and environmental arguments for implementing grasscutter rearing in rural development programmes in Africa are listed and a method to develop grasscutter farming in any given country is suggested.

Grasscutter production: an example of rational exploitation of wildlife

Density and biomass of four ungulate species, elephant (Elephas maximus) and seven other mammal species were estimated in an area of about 50 km2 in a dry tropical forest in Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary, western Thailand. Density estimations employed line transects, using either direct sightings or indirect signs. Total biomass of these ungulates and elephant was 1450 kg km–2 which was lower than that found in a well protected and managed area of similar forest, Nagarahole National Park, in India. This is due to the intensive poaching activity and the lack of wildlife management in this study site. Three species of ungulate, banteng (Bos javanicus), gaur (Bos gaurus) and sambar deer (Cervus unicolor), contributed over 70% of the estimated herbivore biomass. This situation is similar to that found in other parts of Asia. The high biomass of a subterranean mammal, Cannomys badius, has not been documented elsewhere in Asia; this species probably influences the forest dynamics and ecology of small carnivores in this area.

Density and biomass of large herbivores and other mammals in a dry tropical forest, western Thailand

Acomys cahirinus (the “spiny mouse”) is a member of the same rodent subfamily as the laboratory rat and mouse. Acomys differs from the laboratory species in several ways, including the fact that it is adapted to a semiarid lifestyle and is born after a long gestation with functional sensory and motor systems. The existing, and quite dispersed, literature on the anatomy, physiology, and behavior of Acomys is briefly reviewed.

https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.3758/BF03327252.pdf

The precocial mouse, Acomys cahirinus

Small mammals were surveyed along a transect in Mt Elgon National Park, Uganda, at altitudes from 2900 to 4300 m a.s.l., with the main focus in the Afroalpine grasslands above 3500 m a.s.l. In this study, 13 species belonging to the Muridae were recorded, but only one species Lophuromys flavopunctatus Thomas 1888, occurred in all habitats. The highest species and individual numbers were found in richly structured vegetation in the Afro-alpine zone. Twenty-four species of Muridae and one Gliridae have been recorded from the Mt Elgon NP, Uganda (> 2000 m a.s.l.) so far, two more have been found on the Kenyan side and are likely to occur in Uganda. A total of 34 species of Muridae have been recorded on the whole range of Mt Elgon, two being endemic to the Afro-alpine zone, one listed as vulnerable and one as rare by the IUCN (LIDICKER 1985). The present distribution patterns and composition of the montane rodent communities are a result of different evolutionary histories mainly brought about by past changes...

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/03946975.2001.10531145

Altitudinal distribution of rodents(Muridae and Gliridae) on Mt Elgon, Uganda

Ecology of African Mammals , by M. J. Delany and D. C. D. Happold. Longman, £25. Wildlife Management in Savannah and Woodland : Recent progress in African studies, edited by S.S. Ayayi and L.B. Halstead. Taylor and Francis, £12.

An isolated mountain range, 40 kilometres long, in the rain forest of tropical West Africa, Mount Nimba lies at the meeting point of three countries: Liberia, Guinea and the Ivory Coast, the last two both former French territories. In 1942 the French initiated ecological research on their parts of the mountain, discovered its extraordinary interest and the very high number of endemic species, and declared a strict nature reserve. Of the Liberian part nothing was known until the discovery of high-grade iron ore in 1955, and the immediate formation of a company to mine it, led the International Union for Conservation of Nature to start an ecological study there. The authors of this report are respectively the first Director of the research unit which, aided by a grant from the mining company, began work in August 1964, and the chairman of the IUCN Mount Nimba Committee.

/pdf/ecology-of-a-mountain-first-report-on-liberian-nimba-10lotgvdee.pdf

Ecology of a Mountain: First Report on Liberian Nimba

The author, who has studied and advised on wildlife management and park problems in Africa, describes some of the differences he noted in India. He looks at the effects of management in Kanha National Park, where the bans on stock grazing and tree felling and the removal of villages have benefited two endangered species—tiger and barasingha—and shows the need for more study and understanding of the large herbivores in order to manage the park successfully.

/pdf/a-look-at-wildlife-management-in-india-5bkrktajby.pdf

Malcolm Coe

Papers

Ecology of African Mammals , by M. J. Delany and D. C. D. Happold. Longman, £25. Wildlife Management in Savannah and Woodland : Recent progress in African studies, edited by S.S. Ayayi and L.B. Halstead. Taylor and Francis, £12.

Ecology of a Mountain: First Report on Liberian Nimba

A Look at Wildlife Management in India

The Bigger They Are