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Papers by Santosh Bajagain

Forestry: Journal of Institute of Forestry, Nepal, 2020

Avifaunal diversity is the measure of species diversity via species richness and evenness. To thi... more Avifaunal diversity is the measure of species diversity via species richness and evenness. To this aim, avifaunal survey was conducted in the Institute of Forestry Complex, Hetauda from November 2017 to June 2018. Using line transect and point count methods, 132 species of birds were recorded, representing 15 orders and 44 families. Three species of these birds are in IUCN Red List while 90, 27 and 15 species are residential, visitor and migrant respectively. Higher Shannon diversity index (4.47) and Margalef index (18.78) indicate marked diversity and richness of bird species. A high value calculated for the Simpson index (0.98) represents higher evenness within the species individuals. Although, Pielou’s evenness index (0.92) shows uniformity in the species distribution, Shannon index seems to be influenced by diversity index, species richness and evenness values. The avifaunal diversity in the study area shows the importance of the Institute of Forestry Complex as a suitable bird...

Journal of Threatened Taxa

Pangolins are among the most extensively traded taxa in southeastern Asia mainly due to the perce... more Pangolins are among the most extensively traded taxa in southeastern Asia mainly due to the perceived medicinal value of their scales and other body parts, putting them at risk of extinction, however, little is known about their trade status in Nepal. The purpose of the study was to assess the status of pangolin trade in Makwanpur district of Nepal. Semi-structured interview with household (n = 90), key informant survey (n = 15), Four focus group discussion at each study site was conducted. Seizure data (2015–2019) were gathered from the law enforcement agencies to identify and analyze the major trade routes. The majority of the respondents (63%) were well aware of the protection status of pangolins. Further, our study found that historically local peoples used pangolin body parts in making rings, bags, jackets, and musical instruments but at present they stopped it. Pangolin traders were typically middle-aged men and unemployed youth. Majority of the hunting was found to be opportu...

Forestry: Journal of Institute of Forestry, Nepal, 2021

This paper presents the first photographic record of the Short-eared Owl Asio flammeus, one of th... more This paper presents the first photographic record of the Short-eared Owl Asio flammeus, one of the least studied species of Nepal during opportunistic survey. The new record for Bagmati River stretch on 26 November 2020 were five pairs of Asio flammeus in a grassland dominated area adjacent to agricultural land in Sarlahi district. With this record, conservation efforts in the area should include the regular monitoring and controlled human activities. Moreover, it is crucial to develop conservation awareness on the importance of owls in the ecosystem. It is also necessary to change the perception and attitude of people towards owl which are perceived as sign of evil.

Forestry: Journal of Institute of Forestry, Nepal

This paper presents the first photographic record of the Short-eared Owl Asio flammeus, one of th... more This paper presents the first photographic record of the Short-eared Owl Asio flammeus, one of the least studied species of Nepal during opportunistic survey. The new record for Bagmati River stretch on 26 November 2020 were five pairs of Asio flammeus in a grassland dominated area adjacent to agricultural land in Sarlahi district. With this record, conservation efforts in the area should include the regular monitoring and controlled human activities. Moreover, it is crucial to develop conservation awareness on the importance of owls in the ecosystem. It is also necessary to change the perception and attitude of people towards owl which are perceived as sign of evil.

Avifaunal diversity is the measure of species diversity via species richness and evenness. To thi... more Avifaunal diversity is the measure of species diversity via species richness and evenness. To this aim, avifaunal survey was conducted in the Institute of Forestry Complex, Hetauda from November 2017 to June 2018. Using line transect and point count methods, 132 species of birds were recorded, representing 15 orders and 44 families. Three species of these birds are in IUCN Red List while 90, 27 and 15 species are residential, visitor and migrant respectively. Higher Shannon diversity index (4.47) and Margalef index (18.78) indicate marked diversity and richness of bird species. A high value calculated for the Simpson index (0.98) represents higher evenness within the species individuals. Although, Pielou’s evenness index (0.92) shows uniformity in the species distribution, Shannon index seems to be influenced by diversity index, species richness and evenness values. The avifaunal diversity in the study area shows the importance of the Institute of Forestry Complex as a suitable bird...

Lesser Adjutant (LA) Leptoptilus javanicus (Horsfield, 1821) is categorized globally “Vulnerable”... more Lesser Adjutant (LA) Leptoptilus javanicus (Horsfield, 1821) is categorized globally “Vulnerable” in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (BirdLife International 2017). LA has been recorded from southern and southeastern Asia including Nepal (Karki & Thapa 2013). In Nepal, presence of LA has been recorded from 14 different important bird and biodiversity areas (IBAs), four national parks as well as in different forests patches and farmlands (BirdLife International 2017; Baral et al. 2020).

Breeding seasonality of Axis axis differs from place to place mainly due to the difference in veg... more Breeding seasonality of Axis axis differs from place to place mainly due to the difference in vegetation and climate. In Nepal, although Chital is found all over the lower Terai region, studies on breeding seasonality are limited. In this study, we observed the annual cycle of antler renewal and casting, monthly changes in frequency of bellowing call and ratio of new born fawn to adult and sub-adult females from October 2016 to March 2019. Seasonal peak of proportion of hardantlered males was found in June and seasonal peak of bellowing call frequency was found in May. Seasonal peak of fawning occurred in December, January and February, at the beginning of dry season before monsoon, probably to coincide with the energy demanding late lactation season with excessive food available in rainy season. From antler cycle, bellowing call frequency and fawning frequency data, peak breeding season was identified as May-June. This information can be crucial in nutritional management, herd comp...

We carried out a survey to document serpents in Institute of Forestry, Hetauda Campus Complex, Ma... more We carried out a survey to document serpents in Institute of Forestry, Hetauda Campus Complex, Makwanpur, Nepal. Data was collected using visual encounter surveys via transect walk and opportunistic visits. Surveys were conducted during day and night at intervals of 15 days from May to October, 2018. We documented the presence of 11 species from four families. In absence of any previous documentation, our checklist can serve as a reference for future serpent research and conservation efforts within the Institute of Forestry, Hetauda Campus.

The Himalayan Naturalist , 2019

Presence-Absence survey of Lesser Adjutant Stork was carried out in Sarlahi district during June-... more Presence-Absence survey of Lesser Adjutant Stork was carried out in Sarlahi district during June-July 2018. The survey provided positive results with record of three nesting colonies from the area. The area is suitable for the species in terms of habitat however anthropogenic threats still exists and require conservation intervention

Forestry: Journal of Institute of Forestry, Nepal, 2020

Avifaunal diversity is the measure of species diversity via species richness and evenness. To thi... more Avifaunal diversity is the measure of species diversity via species richness and evenness. To this aim, avifaunal survey was conducted in the Institute of Forestry Complex, Hetauda from November 2017 to June 2018. Using line transect and point count methods, 132 species of birds were recorded, representing 15 orders and 44 families. Three species of these birds are in IUCN Red List while 90, 27 and 15 species are residential, visitor and migrant respectively. Higher Shannon diversity index (4.47) and Margalef index (18.78) indicate marked diversity and richness of bird species. A high value calculated for the Simpson index (0.98) represents higher evenness within the species individuals. Although, Pielou’s evenness index (0.92) shows uniformity in the species distribution, Shannon index seems to be influenced by diversity index, species richness and evenness values. The avifaunal diversity in the study area shows the importance of the Institute of Forestry Complex as a suitable bird...

Journal of Threatened Taxa

Pangolins are among the most extensively traded taxa in southeastern Asia mainly due to the perce... more Pangolins are among the most extensively traded taxa in southeastern Asia mainly due to the perceived medicinal value of their scales and other body parts, putting them at risk of extinction, however, little is known about their trade status in Nepal. The purpose of the study was to assess the status of pangolin trade in Makwanpur district of Nepal. Semi-structured interview with household (n = 90), key informant survey (n = 15), Four focus group discussion at each study site was conducted. Seizure data (2015–2019) were gathered from the law enforcement agencies to identify and analyze the major trade routes. The majority of the respondents (63%) were well aware of the protection status of pangolins. Further, our study found that historically local peoples used pangolin body parts in making rings, bags, jackets, and musical instruments but at present they stopped it. Pangolin traders were typically middle-aged men and unemployed youth. Majority of the hunting was found to be opportu...

Forestry: Journal of Institute of Forestry, Nepal, 2021

This paper presents the first photographic record of the Short-eared Owl Asio flammeus, one of th... more This paper presents the first photographic record of the Short-eared Owl Asio flammeus, one of the least studied species of Nepal during opportunistic survey. The new record for Bagmati River stretch on 26 November 2020 were five pairs of Asio flammeus in a grassland dominated area adjacent to agricultural land in Sarlahi district. With this record, conservation efforts in the area should include the regular monitoring and controlled human activities. Moreover, it is crucial to develop conservation awareness on the importance of owls in the ecosystem. It is also necessary to change the perception and attitude of people towards owl which are perceived as sign of evil.

Forestry: Journal of Institute of Forestry, Nepal

This paper presents the first photographic record of the Short-eared Owl Asio flammeus, one of th... more This paper presents the first photographic record of the Short-eared Owl Asio flammeus, one of the least studied species of Nepal during opportunistic survey. The new record for Bagmati River stretch on 26 November 2020 were five pairs of Asio flammeus in a grassland dominated area adjacent to agricultural land in Sarlahi district. With this record, conservation efforts in the area should include the regular monitoring and controlled human activities. Moreover, it is crucial to develop conservation awareness on the importance of owls in the ecosystem. It is also necessary to change the perception and attitude of people towards owl which are perceived as sign of evil.

Avifaunal diversity is the measure of species diversity via species richness and evenness. To thi... more Avifaunal diversity is the measure of species diversity via species richness and evenness. To this aim, avifaunal survey was conducted in the Institute of Forestry Complex, Hetauda from November 2017 to June 2018. Using line transect and point count methods, 132 species of birds were recorded, representing 15 orders and 44 families. Three species of these birds are in IUCN Red List while 90, 27 and 15 species are residential, visitor and migrant respectively. Higher Shannon diversity index (4.47) and Margalef index (18.78) indicate marked diversity and richness of bird species. A high value calculated for the Simpson index (0.98) represents higher evenness within the species individuals. Although, Pielou’s evenness index (0.92) shows uniformity in the species distribution, Shannon index seems to be influenced by diversity index, species richness and evenness values. The avifaunal diversity in the study area shows the importance of the Institute of Forestry Complex as a suitable bird...

Lesser Adjutant (LA) Leptoptilus javanicus (Horsfield, 1821) is categorized globally “Vulnerable”... more Lesser Adjutant (LA) Leptoptilus javanicus (Horsfield, 1821) is categorized globally “Vulnerable” in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (BirdLife International 2017). LA has been recorded from southern and southeastern Asia including Nepal (Karki & Thapa 2013). In Nepal, presence of LA has been recorded from 14 different important bird and biodiversity areas (IBAs), four national parks as well as in different forests patches and farmlands (BirdLife International 2017; Baral et al. 2020).

Breeding seasonality of Axis axis differs from place to place mainly due to the difference in veg... more Breeding seasonality of Axis axis differs from place to place mainly due to the difference in vegetation and climate. In Nepal, although Chital is found all over the lower Terai region, studies on breeding seasonality are limited. In this study, we observed the annual cycle of antler renewal and casting, monthly changes in frequency of bellowing call and ratio of new born fawn to adult and sub-adult females from October 2016 to March 2019. Seasonal peak of proportion of hardantlered males was found in June and seasonal peak of bellowing call frequency was found in May. Seasonal peak of fawning occurred in December, January and February, at the beginning of dry season before monsoon, probably to coincide with the energy demanding late lactation season with excessive food available in rainy season. From antler cycle, bellowing call frequency and fawning frequency data, peak breeding season was identified as May-June. This information can be crucial in nutritional management, herd comp...

We carried out a survey to document serpents in Institute of Forestry, Hetauda Campus Complex, Ma... more We carried out a survey to document serpents in Institute of Forestry, Hetauda Campus Complex, Makwanpur, Nepal. Data was collected using visual encounter surveys via transect walk and opportunistic visits. Surveys were conducted during day and night at intervals of 15 days from May to October, 2018. We documented the presence of 11 species from four families. In absence of any previous documentation, our checklist can serve as a reference for future serpent research and conservation efforts within the Institute of Forestry, Hetauda Campus.

The Himalayan Naturalist , 2019

Presence-Absence survey of Lesser Adjutant Stork was carried out in Sarlahi district during June-... more Presence-Absence survey of Lesser Adjutant Stork was carried out in Sarlahi district during June-July 2018. The survey provided positive results with record of three nesting colonies from the area. The area is suitable for the species in terms of habitat however anthropogenic threats still exists and require conservation intervention