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Identification and Crop Damage Assessment of Indian Crested Porcupine (Hystrix Indica) in Selected Zones of Abbottabad, Pakistan

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Identification and Crop Damage Assessment of Indian Crested Porcupine (Hystrix Indica) in Selected Zones of Abbottabad, Pakistan ISSN 1519-6984 (Print) ISSN 1678-4375 (Online) THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL ON NEOTROPICAL BIOLOGY THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL ON GLOBAL BIODIVERSITY AND ENVIRONMENT Original Article Identification and crop damage assessment of indian crested porcupine (Hystrix indica) in selected zones of Abbottabad, Pakistan Avaliação de identificação e dano de cultura de porco-espinho indiano (Hystrix indica) em zonas selecionadas de Abbottabad, Paquistão Ehtishama , A. Akhtarb , K. A. Khanc , M. Iqbald,e , S. A. Banof M. Hussaina , N. Munawarg , U. Habibaa* aThe University of Haripur, Department of Forestry and Wildlife Management, Haripur, Pakistan bThe University of Haripur, Department of Psychology, Haripur, Pakistan cShandong Normal University, College of Life Sciences, Jinan, China dMugla Sitki Kocman University, Department of Chemistry, Mugla, Turkey eThe University of Agriculture, Department of Agricultural Chemistry and Biochemistry, Peshawar, Pakistan fThe University of Haripur, Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Basic and Applied Science, Haripur, Pakistan gPMAS Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi, Department of Wildlife Management, Rawalpindi, Pakistan Abstract Indian crested porcupine is the largest rodent pest that damages a wide variety of crops, vegetables, and tree species which ultimately causes huge economic loss in Pakistan, which is an agricultural country. It prefers to live in hilly terrain but common in temperate and tropical forests, shrublands, and grasslands. This study focused on the identification and assessment of crops damaged along with the main precautionary measures used by the local farmers. The data was collected from twenty-four villages of two union councils i.e. Chamhad and Slahad of district Abbottabad. Two types of data (primary and secondary) were collected from the study area. Primary data was collected for identification and estimation calculation of total crop damaged through direct field observation by taking random quadrates in each village of the study area. The damage in the crop was assessed by randomly selecting a quadrate of 1x1 m2 for the wheat, pearl millet, and Sorghum fields. While 4x4 m2 quadrates were taken for maize and vegetables. At least three quadrate samples were taken from each field including one quadrate taken from the center of the field area. In union council Chamhad, damage to maize (11.31%) and wheat (0.73%) by the Indian crested porcupine while in union council Salhad, damage of maize (6.95%) and wheat (1.6%) was observed. In the entire study area, overall damage to maize crop (8.01%) and wheat (0.88%) was calculated. Based on information obtained from the farmers, the Indian porcupine inflicted damage to potato, tomato, cauliflower, chili pepper, turnip, radish, pea, and onion, etc. Secondary data obtained through a questionnaire survey to explore the human porcupine conflict and precautionary measures used by the farmers and landowners. Open and close- ended questionnaires (159) highlighted the presence of Indian crested porcupine in the study area and 96% of the respondents have seen porcupine directly. Many types of precautionary measures were used by the farmers such as fencing, night stay, night firing, and dogs to decrease the crop damage, respondents (63.91%) use guns for hunting. however, due to the largely agricultural area and nocturnal behavior of Indian crested porcupine majority of the respondents (51.57%) did not use any precautionary measure. Biological control of Indian porcupine is recommended in the study area. Farmers should be encouraged and provide incentives and killing through current should be banned while proper hunting license should be issued to overcome overhunting. Scientific studies are required to control the reproduction of porcupine specifically in the more damaged areas. Keywords: identification, indian crested porcupine, damage assessment, Abbottabad. Resumo O porco-espinho indiano é a maior praga de roedores que danifica uma grande variedade de culturas, vegetais e espécies de árvores, o que acaba por causar enormes perdas econômicas no Paquistão, que é um país agrícola. Prefere viver em terrenos montanhosos, mas comuns em florestas temperadas e tropicais, arbustos e pastagens. Este estudo concentrou-se na identificação e avaliação das lavouras danificadas, juntamente com as principais medidas de precaução utilizadas pelos agricultores locais. Os dados foram coletados de 24 aldeias de dois conselhos sindicais, ou seja, Chamhad e Slahad, do distrito de Abbottabad. Dois tipos de dados (primário e secundário) foram coletados da área de estudo. Foram coletados dados primários para identificação e cálculo de estimativa do total da cultura danificada por meio da observação direta do campo, tomando quadrantes aleatórios em cada aldeia da *E-mail: [email protected] Received: August 24, 2020 – Accepted: December 01, 2020 This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Brazilian Journal of Biology, 2022, vol. 82, e242635 | https://doi.org/10.1590/1519-6984.242635 1/10 Ehtisham et al. área de estudo. O dano na cultura foi avaliado pela seleção aleatória de um quadrante de 1x1 m2 para os campos de trigo, milheto pérola e sorgo, enquanto quadrantes de 4x4 m2 foram tomados para milho e legumes. Pelo menos três amostras de quadrante foram colhidas de cada campo, incluindo um quadrante retirado do centro da área do campo. No Conselho Sindical de Chamhad, houve danos ao milho (11,31%) e ao trigo (0,73%) pelo porco-espinho indiano, enquanto no Conselho Sindical de Salhad, danos ao milho (6,95%) e ao trigo (1,6%) foram observados. Em toda a área do estudo, danos gerais à cultura do milho (8,01%) e ao trigo (0,88%) foram calculados. Com base em informações obtidas dos agricultores, o porco-espinho indiano infligiu danos à batata, tomate, couve-flor, pimenta, nabo, rabanete, ervilha, cebola, etc. Dados secundários foram obtidos por meio de um questionário para explorar o conflito suíno humano e as medidas de precaução utilizadas pelos agricultores e proprietários de terras. Questionários abertos e fechados (159) destacaram a presença de porco-espinho indiano na área de estudo e 96% dos entrevistados viram o porco-espinho diretamente. Muitos tipos de medidas de precaução foram utilizados pelos agricultores, como esgrima, estadia noturna, fogo noturno e cães para diminuir os danos na lavoura. Dos entrevistados, 63,91% usaram armas para caçar. No entanto, devido à área ser em grande parte agrícola e ao comportamento noturno da maioria dos porcos-espinhos indianos, 51,57% não usaram nenhuma medida de precaução. O controle biológico do porco-espinho indiano é recomendado na área de estudo. Os agricultores devem ser encorajados e fornecer incentivos, e o uso da corrente para matar os animais deve ser banido, assim como deve ser emitida a licença de caça adequada para superar a caça excessiva. Estudos científicos são necessários para controlar a reprodução de porco-espinho, especificamente nas áreas mais danificadas. Palavras-chave: identificação, porco-espinho indiano, avaliação de danos, Abbottabad. 1. Introduction (Hafeez et al., 2011). About 30-40 plants of groundnuts were uprooted by Indian porcupine and 0.21% of the Indian crested porcupine belongs to the order Rodentia cultivation was destroyed (Brooks et al., 1998). However, of Mammalia class (Khan et al., 2014). It is widely distributed in Chakwal it was estimated that 7.2% to 20.2% damage in central and south East Asia and some regions of the was caused to groundnuts by Indian porcupine. In Bakhar Middle East including Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, India, Punjab about 1.15-1.82% of onion, 2.28-5.51% of sugarcane, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Israel, and Saudi and 3.39-4.44% of melon were damage by a porcupine Arabia (Hafeez et al., 2011). In Pakistan, it is found up to the (Hafeez et al. 2011). Earlier than in 2004, onion damage elevation of 3,200 m, the highest point of its occurrence in Bakhar was estimated as 0.9%-5.4% mainly at the earlier (Awan et al., 2004). They favor rocky hills but common in growth stage (Mian et al., 2007). In Mastung, Baluchistan the temperate and tropical forest, scrublands, plantations, Indian porcupine damaged saffron (Crocus sativa) bulbs by and gardens (Amori et al., 2008). Indian porcupine has digging, from 15 to 20 digs per day, and a total of 20-40ha a very broad and generally herbivorous diet. They use a per season loss was recorded (Khan et al. 2000). range of agricultural and natural plant materials, including In Baluchistan Pakistan Indian porcupine feed on bark roots, fruits, grains, tubers, and bulbs (Amori et al., 2008). and root of succulent plants specifically bulbs of Eremurus Indian porcupine is a large rodent pest, destroys a auranhiacus (Chaudhry and Ahmad, 1975). In Punjab wide range of wild and cultivated plants and agriculture Pakistan, they prefer bark of mulberry (M. alba), Persian crops, devours both surface and subsurface vegetation Lilac knew as Bakain (M. azedarach), and mango (M. at any growth stage (Khan, 2013). Crops mainly maize, indica) (Roberts, 1997), and in India onion and carrot were potatoes, groundnuts, sugarcane, and melon were extremely consumed (Agrawal and Chakraborty, 1992). The porcupine damaged by Indian porcupine (Roberts, 1997). According diet in the middle of Punjab (Pakistan) comprises of to the survey conducted in different parts of Punjab agricultural crop (maize cobs and seeds, wheat, sugar cane, Pakistan Indian Porcupine caused damaged to maize and rice) vegetables (potatoes, melon, chilies bitter-gourd, and a calculated loss of 6.37% in Faisalabad and 5.51% in beans, and pumpkin), fruit and grasses, leaves, bark and Shiekhupura, damage to wheat was 4.58% in Faislabad, roots of various trees (Sarwar, 1990). Indian porcupine 2.03% in Quaidaabad and 1.53% in Sheikhupara (Hafeez et al., also feeds on the parts of xerophytic plants in lower Sindh 2011). In the hilly area of Azad Kashmir, severe damage Pakistan (Ahmad et al., 2003).
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