TY  - THES
T1  - Population Size and Occupancy Status of the Leopard (Panthera Pardus L.) in a Secondary Forest of the Ayer Hitam Reserve, Selangor
A1  - Sanei, Arezoo
LA  - English
YR  - 2010
UL  - http://discoverylib.upm.edu.my/discovery/Record/oai:ethesis.upm.edu.my:5838
AB  - Very little is known about the leopard (Panthera pardus), its food and habitat in South-east Asia particularly Malaysian tropical rain forests where intensive
deforestations have taken place in recent years. Current study has been carried out in a highly fragmented secondary forest namely Ayer Hitam Forest Reserve and its neighboring farm located within Malaysia’s fastest growing agglomeration (Klang Valley). This study has brought the first understanding on the status of this large territorial predator in a fragmented Malaysian tropical rain forest using a combination of various methodologies, namely unsupervised classification of leopard pugmarks, occupancy modeling and camera trapping activities. The main objectives of the study were to estimate (i) population size
of leopards, (ii) detection and occupancy probabilities of the leopard and priori known potential leopard prey species in the study area, (iii) effects of human and natural factors on occupancy status of leopards and their priori identified prey species and (iv) the existence of any unknown potential prey species in the study area. Data collection was started from February, 2008 over a period of 13 months. Detection/non-detection data from leopards, their four priori identified prey species that were wild boar, lesser mouse deer, long tailed macaque and
pig tailed macaque, a feral species (i.e. stray dogs) and human factors such as deforestation, plantation, local and indigenous people camping and construction activities have been recorded over the study span. Unsupervised
classification of leopard pugmarks revealed that at least four individuals of leopard were resident in the 1,411 ha study area with a high degree of overlap among their roaming areas. Wild boar was recognized as the main prey species of leopards in the study area followed by monkeys and mouse deers. The area was completely occupied by these species and there was no evidence of lack of prey sufficiency in this logged over and isolated secondary tropical rain forest. However, wild boar and macaque species were mostly affected by construction activities while lesser mouse deer was mainly affected by deforestation. Singleseason occupancy models developed from detection/non-detection data signified that although the whole area is occupied by leopards, presence/absence of wild boar and settlement status are the principle factors
affecting leopard movements. Jacob’s preference index demonstrates leopards prefer forest rather than more open areas in the vicinity. The research revealed that stray dogs are not the principle competitor for the leopards. They also did not affect the occupancy rates by leopard individuals. However, their presence in the area was disturbing for leopards as the study showed that leopards
avoided the grouping life style of stray dogs. Probability of detection of leopards in most of sampling occasions was lower than 50%. Probability of detection of wild boar (more than 0.72 in all the surveys) and macaque species (more than 0.64 in 92% of surveys) was higher than those of mouse deer (0.24-0.72 in all the surveys). In general,probability of detection of prey species through indirect signs and direct observations was much higher than detection
through camera trappings. Findings of this study could be used to design a suitable conservation and management plan for the study area with leopard as the top flagship
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