Journal of Threatened Taxa
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OPEN ACCESS The Journal of Threatened Taxa is dedicated to building evidence for conservaton globally by publishing peer-reviewed artcles online every month at a reasonably rapid rate at www.threatenedtaxa.org. All artcles published in JoTT are registered under Creatve Commons Atributon 4.0 Internatonal License unless otherwise mentoned. JoTT allows unrestricted use of artcles in any medium, reproducton, and distributon by providing adequate credit to the authors and the source of publicaton. Journal of Threatened Taxa Building evidence for conservaton globally www.threatenedtaxa.org ISSN 0974-7907 (Online) | ISSN 0974-7893 (Print) Communication The status of Nepal’s mammals Rajan Amin, Hem Sagar Baral, Babu Ram Lamichhane, Laxman Prasad Poudyal, Samantha Lee, Shant Raj Jnawali, Krishna Prasad Acharya, Gopal Prasad Upadhyaya, Megh Bahadur Pandey, Rinjan Shrestha, Dipesh Joshi, Janine Griffiths, Ambika Prasad Khatiwada & Naresh Subedi 26 March 2018 | Vol. 10 | No. 3 | Pages: 11361-11378 10.11609/jott.3712.10.3.11361-11378 For Focus, Scope, Aims, Policies and Guidelines visit htp://threatenedtaxa.org/index.php/JoTT/about/editorialPolicies#custom-0 For Artcle Submission Guidelines visit htp://threatenedtaxa.org/index.php/JoTT/about/submissions#onlineSubmissions For Policies against Scientfc Misconduct visit htp://threatenedtaxa.org/index.php/JoTT/about/editorialPolicies#custom-2 For reprints contact <[email protected]> Threatened Taxa Journal of Threatened Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 March 2018 | 10(3): 11361–11378 The status of Nepal’s mammals Communication Rajan Amin1, Hem Sagar Baral2, Babu Ram Lamichhane3, Laxman Prasad Poudyal4, 5 6 7 8 Samantha Lee , Shant Raj Jnawali , Krishna Prasad Acharya , Gopal Prasad Upadhyaya , ISSN 0974-7907 (Online) Megh Bahadur Pandey9, Rinjan Shrestha10, Dipesh Joshi11, Janine Grifths12, ISSN 0974-7893 (Print) Ambika Prasad Khatwada13 & Naresh Subedi14 OPEN ACCESS 1 Zoological Society of London, Regents Park, London NW1 4RY, UK 2 Zoological Society of London - Nepal Ofce, PO Box 5867, Kathmandu Nepal and School of Environmental Sciences, Charles Sturt University, PO Box 789, Albury, NSW 2640, Australia 3 Natonal Trust for Nature Conservaton (NTNC), POB 3712, Khumaltar, Lalitpur, Nepal 4 Department of Natonal Parks and Wildlife Conservaton, PO Box 860, Kathmandu, Nepal 5 RSPB, Unit 1 Brantham Mill Industrial Estate, Bergholt Road, Manningtree, Essex. CO11 1QT, UK 6,11 WWF Nepal, Baluwatar Kathmandu, Nepal 7 Department of Forests, Babarmahal, Kathmandu, Nepal 8,9 Department of Natonal Parks and Wildlife Conservaton, PO Box 860, Kathmandu, Nepal 10 World Wildlife Fund Canada, 410 Adelaide St W, Toronto, ON M5V 1S8, Canada 12 Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, , Richmond, TW9 3AE, UK 13,14 Natonal Trust for Nature Conservaton (NTNC), POB 3712, Khumaltar, Lalitpur, Nepal 1 [email protected] (corresponding author), 2 [email protected], 3 [email protected], 4 [email protected], 5 [email protected], 6 [email protected], 7 [email protected], 8 upadhyay.gopal@gmail. com, 9 [email protected], 10 [email protected], 11 [email protected], 12 [email protected], 13 [email protected], 14 [email protected] Abstract: The main objectves of the Nepal Natonal Mammal Red Data Book (RDB) were to provide comprehensive and up-to-date accounts of 212 mammal species recorded in Nepal, assess their status applying the IUCN Guidelines at Regional Levels, identfy threats and recommend the most practcal measures for their conservaton. It is hoped that the Mammal RDB will help Nepal achieve the Conventon on Biological Diversity target of preventng the extncton of known threatened species and improving their conservaton status. Of the 212 mammal species assessed, 49 species (23%) were listed as natonally threatened. These comprise nine (18%) Critcally Endangered species, 26 (53%) Endangered species and 14 (29%) Vulnerable species. One species was considered regionally Extnct. A total of seven species (3%) were considered Near Threatened and 83 species (39%) were Data Defcient. Over sixty percent of Nepal’s ungulates are threatened and almost half of Nepal’s carnivores face extncton (45% threatened). Bats and small mammals are the least known groups with 60 species being Data Defcient. Habitat loss, degradaton and fragmentaton are the most signifcant threats. Other signifcant threats include illegal huntng, small and fragmented populatons, reducton of prey base, human wildlife confict and persecuton, climate change, invasive species, disease and inadequate knowledge and research. Adequate measures to address these threats are described. It was also concluded that re-assessments of the status of certain mammal groups be carried out every fve years and the setng up of a natonal online species database and mapping system would also greatly help in land-use planning and policies. Keywords: Biodiversity, conservaton, mammals, Nepal, Red List, threatened species. DOI: htp://doi.org/10.11609/jot.3712.10.3.11361-11378 Editor: Sanjay Molur, ZOO/WILD, Coimbatore, India. Date of publicaton: 26 March 2018 (online & print) Manuscript details: Ms # 3712 | Received 02 August 2017 | Final received 11 December 2017 | Finally accepted 06 February 2018 Citaton: Amin, R., H. S. Baral, B.R. Lamichhane, L.P. Poudyal, S. Lee, S.R. Jnawali, K.P. Acharya, G.P. Upadhyaya, M.B. Pandey, R. Shrestha, D. Joshi, J. Grifths, A.P. Khatwada & N. Subedi (2018). The status of Nepal’s mammals. Journal of Threatened Taxa 10(3): 11361–11378; htp://doi.org/10.11609/jot.3712.10.3.11361-11378 Copyright: © Amin et al. 2018. Creatve Commons Atributon 4.0 Internatonal License. JoTT allows unrestricted use of this artcle in any medium, reproducton and distributon by providing adequate credit to the authors and the source of publicaton. Funding: Zoological Society of London. Competng interests: The authors declare no competng interests. For Author Details, Author Contributon and Acknowledgements see end of this artcle. 11361 Status of Nepal’s mammals Amin et al. INTRODUCTION geographical positon in the central Himalayas, in a region of overlap between the Palearctc realm to the north and The IUCN Red List is the World’s most authoritatve the Oriental (Indomalayan) realm to the south. Although and objectve inventory of the global status of plant it occupies only 0.1% of the world’s total landmass, Nepal and animal species. It, however, is not always possible is home to 3.2% and 1.1% of the world’s known fora to integrate this informaton at the global scale into and fauna, respectvely (MoFSc 2014), including around conservaton planning and priority-setng at natonal 4.2% of the world’s known mammal species (Jnawali et level, where most conservaton policies are implemented. al. 2011). Natonal Red listng was introduced to resolve this issue A large proporton (>23%) of the country’s landmass (Gärdenfors et al. 2001) and guidelines for assessments at is designated as protected areas, with 12 natonal the natonal or regional level were published (IUCN 2003). parks, one wildlife reserve, one huntng reserve and six Natonal Red Lists can gauge the extncton risk faced by conservaton areas (Fig. 1). Between 2002 and 2013 eight natve species, provide informaton about the rate of areas were declared as protected forests (1,337km2); eight change of a naton’s biodiversity over tme, and help in additonal areas (6,701km2) have been proposed by the the development of efectve conservaton policies and Government of Nepal because of their high biodiversity, acton plans based on robust and well established criteria. wildlife habitats and corridors (DoF 2015). In additon, The approach can also provide an excellent basis for 37 Important Bird Areas (IBAs) have been identfed (BCN measuring a country’s progress towards achieving one of and DNPWC in prep.). the Conventon on Biological Diversity (CBD) targets “By 2020 the extncton of known threatened species has been Nepal Mammal Red Data Book prevented and their conservaton status, partcularly of In October 2009, a team consistng of Nepalis and two those most in decline, has been improved and sustained”. Britsh scientsts embarked on a project to compile the In a relatvely small area of 147,181km2, Nepal Nepal Mammal Red Data Book (Jnawali et al. 2011), which harbours an extraordinary variety of landscapes, was completed in March 2012. This Red List is the frst habitats, wildlife and cultures. Its diverse physiographic comprehensive status assessment of all Nepal’s mammal features range from the Arctc high Himalayan peaks species using the IUCN Categories and Criteria (IUCN (the highest terrestrial ecosystem in the world), to the 2003). The results from this assessment are presented tropical lowlands of the Terai. Also important is Nepal’s here. Figure 1. Protected areas of Nepal 11362 Journal of Threatened Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 March 2018 | 10(3): 11361–11378 Status of Nepal’s mammals Amin et al. MATERIALS AND METHODS A further seven species (3%) were considered Near Threatened, meaning they are likely to be threatened The Nepal Natonal Red List work was initated in the near future if current levels of threat contnue. with the setng up of a Natonal Red List project Eighty-three species (39%) were classifed Data Defcient. steering commitee which included members of the Four of the species were found afer the Natonal Red Government of Nepal - Ministry of Forests and Soil List book was published (2012) and are listed as Data Conservaton, Natonal Trust for Nature Conservaton