• Krishnakumar Nagarajan
• Shiyabar Rahman S
• Ramakrishnan Balasundaram

Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve (STR), the fourth tiger reserve in Tamil Nadu, spanning 1408.4 km², is home to a diverse wildlife population, including 83 tigers (Jhala et al. 2020), 132 leopards(Jhala et al. 2018) along with wild dogs (Cuon alpinus)and striped hyaenas (Hyeana hyeana). Given extensive human use of area along the reserve’s fringes, and parts of it’s interiors where there are 28 forest and revenue settlements, the reserve faces the critical issue of livestock depredation by large carnivores. We recorded 127 cattle kills in two years between 2021 and 2022, with 115 of these cases being reported from the in core zone, and only 12 cases from the buffer zone. Questionnaire surveys were conducted with local residents to know the attitudes towards large carnivore conservation. A total of 100 livestock owners and 100 non-livestock owners residing in and around the core zone were interviewed. The results revealed that nearly half of them, both livestock and non-livestock owners expressed a positive approach towards coexistence with large carnivore conservation. Among the forest ranges, Thalavadi range recorded the highest cattle depredation incidences (n=54) followed by Thalamalai range (n=27). Therefore, the result envisaged that these two forest ranges need to be prioritized for human wildlife conflict management measures. Promoting coexistence of humans with wildlife and implement conflict mitigation measures as a crucial component for long run conservation of large carnivores in STR.

Livestock, Carnivore, Co-existence, Predator, Density

"Large carnivores conflict of Tiger (Panthera tigris tigris and Leopard (Panthera pardus fusca) in core zone of Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve, Southern India.", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.11, Issue 1, page no.g782-g784, January-2024, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2401690.pdf

"Large carnivores conflict of Tiger (Panthera tigris tigris and Leopard (Panthera pardus fusca) in core zone of Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve, Southern India.", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.11, Issue 1, page no. ppg782-g784, January-2024, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2401690.pdf