Capture history of Asiatic black bear from Himachal Pradesh, India

Robust population estimation of rare or elusive threatened species lacking distinct identifiable features poses a challenge in the field of conservation and management. The Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus) is one such species. Methodological frameworks—such as radiotelemetry, genetic sampling, and camera-trapping—though crucial and advantageous, sometimes require additional information through invasive methods for individual identification. In this study, we estimated the population density of Asiatic black bear in 2 protected areas in the Indian Himalayan Region without information on individual identification. We conducted the study through a spatial capture–recapture framework using camera traps in the summer during May–July 2018 in Daranghati Wildlife Sanctuary (WLS) and May–July 2019 in Rupi Bhaba WLS. Using the recently developed Spatial Presence–Absence model, we estimated g0 (detection probability), σ (scale or movement parameter related to home range of the species), and N...