Data from: Leopard in a tea-cup: a study of leopard habitat-use and human-leopard interactions in north-eastern India

There is increasing evidence of the importance of multi-use landscapes for the conservation of large carnivores. However, when carnivore ranges overlap with high density of humans, there are often serious conservation challenges. This is especially true in countries like India where loss of peoples’ lives and property to large wildlife are not uncommon. The leopard (Panthera pardus) is a large felid that is widespread in India, often sharing landscapes with high human densities. In order to understand the ecology of leopards in a human use landscape and the nature of human-leopard interactions, we studied (i) the spatial and temporal distribution and the characteristics of leopard attacks on people, (ii) the spatial variability in the pattern of habitat use by the leopard, and (iii) the spatial relationship between attack locations and habitat use by leopards. The study site, located in northern West Bengal, India, is a densely populated mixed-use landscape of 630 km2, comprising of forests, tea plantations, agriculture fields, and human settlements. A total of 171 leopard attacks on humans were reported between January 2009 and March 2016, most of which occurred within the tea-gardens. None of the attacks was fatal. We found significant spatial clustering of locations of leopard attacks on humans. However, most of the attacks were restricted to certain tea estates and occurred mostly between January and May. Analysis of habitat use by leopards showed that the probability of use of areas with more ground vegetation cover was high while that of areas with high density of buildings was low. However, locations of leopard attacks on people did not coincide with areas that showed a higher probability of use by leopards. This indicates that an increased use of an area by leopards, by itself, does not necessarily imply an increase in attacks on people. The spatial and temporal clustering of attack locations allowed us to use this information to prioritize areas to focus mitigation activities in order reduce negative encounters between people and leopards in this landscape which has had a long history of conflict.

越来越多的证据表明，多用途景观（multi-use landscapes）对于大型食肉动物（large carnivores）的保护至关重要。然而，当食肉动物的活动范围与高密度人类聚居区重叠时，往往会面临严峻的保护挑战。这一情况在印度等国家尤为突出——当地因大型野生动物导致人员伤亡与财产损失的事件并不少见。
花豹（Panthera pardus）是广泛分布于印度的大型猫科动物（felid），常与高密度人类群体共享栖息景观。为探究人类活动景观中花豹的生态特征，以及人豹互动的本质，我们开展了三项研究：（i）花豹袭人事件的时空分布与特征；（ii）花豹栖息地利用（habitat use）格局的空间异质性；（iii）袭人地点与花豹栖息地利用之间的空间关联。
本研究区域位于印度西孟加拉邦北部，是一片面积达630平方千米的人口稠密混合用途景观，涵盖森林、茶园、农田与人类聚居区。2009年1月至2016年3月期间，共记录到171起花豹袭人事件，其中绝大多数发生在茶园区域内，且所有事件均未造成人员死亡。
研究发现，花豹袭人地点存在显著的空间聚集特征，但多数袭人事件仅局限于部分茶园，且多集中于每年1月至5月。对花豹栖息地利用的分析显示，地面植被覆盖度更高的区域被花豹利用的概率显著更高，而建筑密度较高的区域则被利用的概率较低。然而，花豹袭人地点并未与花豹高利用区域重合。这表明，某一区域被花豹更多利用本身，并不必然意味着该区域的袭人风险会上升。
袭人地点的时空聚集性特征，使我们能够借此划定优先级区域，开展针对性的缓解干预措施（mitigation activities），以降低这片长期存在人豹冲突的景观中人与花豹的负面接触事件。