Living with the Large Carnivores: The interaction between humans, tigers and leopards in Chitwan National Park, Nepal

The dissertation investigates how human communities and two large carnivores, tigers and leopards, are co-existing within the human-dominated landscape in Chitwan National Park (Nepal). The study documented a high density of carnivores occurring in prey-rich areas with a mosaic of habitats. Coexistence was facilitated by the temporal and habitat segregation. The study also documented that a large portion of the large carnivore population avoids conflicts with the human communities, and a small group of individuals cause disproportionately higher number of conflict incidents. Human communities were found supportive of wildlife conservation despite frequent safety threats and economic losses from wildlife. Large investments of the buffer zone programs have contributed to reducing the wildlife impacts on humans. The local communities recommended a buffer zone program to focus their activities in reducing human-wildlife impacts. Carnivores were primarily eating wild-prey and attacks on humans were mostly accidental. The study provided a clue for human-carnivore coexistence by considering the biological needs of the carnivores and enhancing the social tolerance of carnivores. The social tolerance towards wildlife can be enhanced by involving local communities in conflict management, practicing targeted interventions to reduce the wildlife damages, promoting alternative income sources, and quickly compensating the loss from wildlife.