Shrinking striped hyena (Hyaena hyaena Linnaeus, 1758) distribution in Nepal

Population trends of striped hyena (Hyaena hyaena) in Israel for the past five decades

The striped hyena (Hyaena hyaena) is considered "Near Threatened" globally and "Vulnerable" in the Middle East. In Israel, the species has experienced extreme population fluctuations owing to poisoning campaigns during the British Mandate (1918-1948) which were also further exacerbated by the Israeli authorities in the mid-twentieth century. We collated data from the archives of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority for the past 47 years to elucidate the temporal and geographic trends of this species. During this period we found a 68% increase in population and the estimated density is at present 2.1 individuals/100km². This is significantly higher than all previous estimates for Israel. It appears that the major factors contributing to their phenomenal increase in number are the increase in prey availability because of the intensification of human development, preying on Bedouin livestock, the extinction of the leopard (Panthera pardus nimr), and the hunting of wild boars (Sus scorfa) and other agricultural pests in some parts of the country. Reasons should also be sought in increasing people's awareness as well as in advanced technological capabilities that have allowed an improved observation and reporting system. Future studies need to understand the effects of the large concentrations of striped hyenas on the spatial distribution and temporal activity of other sympatric wildlife to ensure the continued persistence of the wildlife guilds in the Israeli nature.

Anthropogenic mortality of large mammals and trends of conflict over two decades in Nepal

Wildlife conservation in human-dominated landscapes faces increased challenges due to rising conflicts between humans and wildlife. We investigated the human and wildlife loss rates due to human-wildlife conflict between 2000 and 2020 in Nepal. We concentrated on Asian elephant (Elephas maximus), greater one-horned rhino (Rhinoceros unicornis), tiger (Panthera tigirs), and leopard (Panthera pardus) mortality, as well as human mortality caused by these species. Over the 21-year period, we recorded 1139 cases of wildlife mortality and 887 cases of human mortality. Leopard mortality was the highest, followed by that of greater one-horned rhinos, tigers, and Asian elephants. Overall, the rate of wildlife mortality has been increasing over the years. Asian elephants were found to be more responsible for crop damage than greater one-horned rhinos, while leopards were found to be more responsible for livestock depredation than tigers. The generalized linear model indicated that the mortality of wildlife in the districts is best predicted by the additive effect of human mortality, the proportion of agricultural land, and the literacy rate of the districts. Retaliatory wildlife mortality was the most challenging issue for wildlife conservation, especially for the large mammals. Findings from this study are important for mitigation of human-wildlife conflicts, controlling retaliatory killing, and conserving these threatened large mammals.