Seasonal Ranging Pattern of Asian Elephants in the Protected Area Landscape of Bangladesh

Background Seasonal ranging pattern of the Asian Elephants was assessed within two major Protected Areas, namely Chunati Wildlife Sanctuary and Teknaf Wildlife Sanctuary situated in the southern Bangladesh, for the period between November 2016 and May 2018. The objective of this study was to see how do the elephants move across the Protected Area landscapes, what was the linkage between the water sources and elephant’s seasonal movement patterns and how does vegetation cover link to elephant movement. Methods The ranging pattern was analyzed using the elephant dung distribution data. Normalized Difference Vegetation Index and Normalized Difference Water Index were estimated through satellite image analysis. Results Study clearly indicated that the ranging pattern of elephants fully depends on the vegetation and water sources. The areas where water sources and vegetation coverage were good, elephant movement was higher. The study identified few areas of these two Protected Areas where both vegetation coverage and water sources were visible and those areas as hot-spots for elephants. Conclusions The findings of this study can be used in conservation and management of elephants, particularly through the protection of preferred water sources and vegetation covered areas. In future these areas need to be protected and take proper management interventions.

Population organization and ranging pattern of Rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta) at Bandar, Narayanganj

A study was conducted on population organization and ranging pattern of rhesus macaque at Bandar Upazila, Narayanganj, Dhaka from December, 2009 to September, 2010. Direct count method was used to study the group size and composition, and ranging was determined by GPS coordination plotting on the map. A total of 66 monkeys (29 to 37 individuals) were found in two groups with a mean of 33±5.6. Among the population 7.6% adult male, 33.3% adult female, 9.1% sub-adult male, 7.6% sub-adult female, 25.8% juvenile and 16.7% was infant. The ratio between adult male and adult female was 1:4.4 and between adult and nonadults was 1:1.4. Day range length varied from 1543m to1716m (mean=1638.43±56.7). Home range was completely overlapped and varied negligibly from 45.2 ha. to 45.5 ha. (mean=45.32±0.2). They minimized conflictions by using different time to move. But the growing dependence of these urban macaques on human resources is a matter of concern. Therefore, conservation strategies should be directed to minimize this dependence.Jahangirnagar University J. Biol. Sci. 3(1): 27-35, 2014 (June)