Antelope space-use and behaviour indicate multi-level responses to varying anthropogenic influences in a highly human-dominated landscape

A primary means of conserving a species or a habitat in a human-dominated
landscape is through promoting coexistence with humans while minimizing
conflict. For this, we should understand how wildlife are impacted by
direct and indirect human activities. Such information is rare from areas
with high human densities. To investigate how animals respond to altered
ecological conditions in human-dominated landscapes, we focussed on a wild
herbivore of conservation concern in Krishnasaar Conservation Area (KrCA)
in Nepal. Here, blackbuck, Antilope cervicapra, a generalist grazer, lives
in refugia located in a growing human population. We studied the impacts
of humans on habitat use and behaviour of blackbuck. We laid 250 x 250 m
grid cells in the entire KrCA and carried out indirect sign surveys with
three replications for habitat use assessment. We observed herds of
blackbuck for 89 hours in different habitat types using scan sampling
methods. Our habitat-use survey showed that habitats under intensive human
use were hardly used by blackbuck, even when high-quality forage was
available. Habitat openness was the major predictor of habitat-use inside
the core area, where levels of human activities were low. We also found a
positive correlation between habitat use by blackbuck and livestock.
Blackbuck were substantially more vigilant when they were in forest than
in grassland, again indicating an influence of risk. Overall, blackbuck
appear to be sensitive to risk associated with both natural and
anthropogenic factors. Our findings have direct implications for managing
human-wildlife interactions in this landscape, specifically regarding
strategies for livestock grazing in habitats highly used by blackbuck and
concerning predictions of how changing land use will impact long-term
persistence of blackbuck. Our work suggests that wild herbivores may be
able to persist in landscapes with high human densities so long as there
are refuges where human activities are relatively low.