A study of mammal species survey Castle-rock to Tenai-ghat and to suggest avoiding a train-wildlife collision. 1.Introduction: Linear projects such as railways and highways are reviewed by the regional empowered committees which pass through wildlife habitat in order to evaluate the consequence of the project to the wildlife habitat. This examination helps to understand the unplanned impact on wildlife, forest cover and longterm environmental sustainability of the project. The Forest (Conservation) Act of 1980 outlaws the use of any forest land for non-forest activities without prior approval of the central government. This practice is known as forest clearance. In May 2019, the environment ministry distributed a circular to all state governments that the FCA, 1980, will not put on for doubling of track and gauge conversion projects if the land is railway land and was under non-forest use before 1980. Projects involving the construction of new lines would still need to apply for forest clearance. If the doubling project fall under forest areas and the impact of the project needs to be surveyed by the expert authority in order to guide the project authority to plan to protect wildlife migratory routes and minimize the loss of wildlife habitat. Mitigation is only one of the planning alternatives transportation agencies have to reduce or eradicate impacts of road/rail construction and expansion projects. Transportation projects can (1) have road/rail alignments that avoid critical wildlife habitat, (2) mitigate affected wildlife populations and habitats, (overpass/Underpass/alternation of lands/corridor linking) or (3) compensate for the loss of wildlife habitat and give land to the other areas to develop new forest acres. The Western Ghats providing a fairly intact mammalian fauna distinctive peninsular India. According to (Nameer et al. 2001) out the 135 species of mammals recorded in Ghats, 16 are endemic to the Western Ghats. The distribution of mammalian fauna in the Ghats determined by a number of factors such as topography, temperature, rainfall, vegetation and the history of habitat disturbance, transformation and fragmentation of the habitats. Mammals are usually among the taxa that are directly impacted by linear intrusions into their habitat; this is especially true of the larger mammals that are prone to collisions with vehicles on roads (Forman et al. 2003) or with trains along railway tracks (Gunderson & Andreasson 1998, Roy et al. 2009).The region has numerous endemic plants and animals and also provides a critically important tiger corridor between Karnataka and Goa. The sanctuary, with a beautiful mosaic of woodlands and grasslands, is home to tigers, leopards, gaur, sloth bears, sambar, spotted deer, chitals, foxes, wild dogs, king cobras elephants, and other threatened species of mammals, birds and reptiles. We have previously recorded 22 mammals’ species adjoining areas of this railway track sector in between Castle rock-Kulem section (Sukumar&Sitharam 2017). 2. StudyArea: The south Western Railways (SWR) plans to double line from Hospet to Marmagaon to boost the movement of imported coal from Marmagaon port to steel industries and upcoming thermal power plants in Karnataka. The Hospet-Hubli-Londa-Tinaighat-Vasco (407 Km) doubling rail line was sanctioned by the Railway Board at a total cost of Rs. 2,127 crore in 2010-11.The present study falls Castle -rock-Tenaighat part of the Hospet-Vasco doubling line project fall under Uttara Kannada district in the state of Karnataka. The proposed line passes through the core of Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary(400 km2 ) and Anshi National Park (340 km2) which is an important tiger habitat of the Anshi-Dandeli Tiger Reserve (rename as Kali Tiger Reserve during 2015 ) and the area is also a part of the Dandeli Elephant Reserve (Uttara Kannada, Belagavi, Haveri and Dharwad), covering an area extending up to 2,321sqkm and declared during 2002. The forests are a part of vital tiger corridors – one linking the Bhimgad Wildlife Sanctuary in Karnataka and Radhanagri Wildlife Sanctuary in Maharashtra and linking corridor to Anshi National Park in Karnataka and the Bhagwan Mahaveer Sanctuary and Mollem National Park in Goa (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Asian_Month/2019,). Anshi park adjoins the Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary, and together with six adjacent protected areas in the states of Goa and Maharashtra, forms an almost uninterrupted protected forest area of over 2,200 km2. The black panther, elephants and tigers live in the park but are rarely seen. Other large mammals here are Indian bison, sloth bear, Indian wild boar, bonnet macaque, northern plains gray langur, gray slender loris, several deer including: barking deer (muntjac), mouse deer (chevrotain), sambar deer and spotted deer (chital or axis deer). Wild dog, jackal, jungle cat, leopard cat, small Indian civet, Indian gray mongoose, flying squirrel, porcupine, Malabar civet, Indian giant squirrel and pangolin also make their home in the forests here. Reptiles in the park include the king cobra, spectacled cobra, Russell's viper, saw-scaled viper, common krait, Indian rock python, rat snake, vine snake, green or bamboo pit viper and monitor lizards. Interesting birds include the Ceylon frogmouth, great hornbill, Malabar pied hornbill, Malabar grey hornbill, Indian grey hornbill and Asian fairy bluebird. Around 200 species of birds are recorded in the park. These include the distinctive adjutant stork, ashy woodswallow, black-crested bulbul, blueheaded pitta, brahminy kite, broad-billed roller, crested serpent eagle, great hornbill, golden- backed woodpecker, Malabar pied hornbill, Sri Lanka frogmouth and yellow-footed green pigeon (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kali_Tiger_Reserve) The region is home to many endemic and endangered species. Due to the same, several environmentalists and wildlife activists are opposing the project. With increased traffic with the doubling of the CastlerockTenaughat railway line, the risks of collisions of mammals with trains we propose the study in the following objectives 3. Objectives: Following were the broad objectives of the study: i) Estimation of diversity of mammal species in this area both through direct sightings and indirect evidences also corroborated with camera traps. ii) Impact of doubling of railway line on the mammalian community especially on deaths or injuries to mammals in train collisions due to increased rail traffic. iii) Formulation of mitigation plan to reduce the impacts of doubling of railway line on movement of mammals across the rail track. 4. Methods. Both direct and indirect methods such as camera traps, study of animal signs, pellets, scats and other remains were employed to enumerate the diversity of mammalain assemblage in the project area. Each method employed is briefly described. i) Camera traps: Camera trapping was carried out along the stretch of the present railway track that is proposed to be doubled, in order to record the movement of mammal species. Most camera trap models are triggered by a passive infrared sensor detecting a moving object warmer than the ambient temperature such as animals, people, or vehicles passing in front of them. Camera trapping is most often used to capture images of medium to large sized terrestrial mammals and birds, but has also been recently used for arboreal mammals (Oliveira-Santos et al., 2008). Camera traps have been used to record fauna in a wide range of habitats, from snow leopard in the Himalayas (Jackson et al. 2006) and bobcat in northern California (Larrucea et al. 2007) to a wealth of studies in tropical forests (e.g. Karanth & Nichols 1998; Karanth et al. 2002; Rovero& De Luca 2007; Tobler et al. 2008a). Besides their use for carrying out faunal inventories and obtaining information on activity pattern and habitat preference, scientifically robust, inferential sampling studies using camera traps can allow the estimation of occupancy and animal density. Cudde-back X-Change Infrared camera trap model was used in this survey. At each location a camera trap was kept for 2 or 3 nights. From the railway track maximum 100 m both side of track camera trap were fixed. The spacing between two cameras traps were location 50m-250m distance. Total distance between Castlerock railway station and Tenaighat railway station is twelve km. Camera traps were deployed along the animal tracks and paths in order to get photograph of species close to the railway track. Six camera traps were used for this survey. Every location of Camera trap (GPS location) was recorded by hand held Garmin GPS. ii) Animal signs: Transects: Transects were laid parallel to the existing railway track on both sides of the track up to 10 meters and animal signs were searched visually. Every animal sign (foot print/pugmark/track sign, feeding sign, scat/pellets/faces, and scrapes/stretches/animal parts) was recorded. GPS locations of the every evidence taken by handheld Garmin GPS and locations plotted on maps using GIS software (Sathyakumar et al. 2011, Roy & Sukumar 2017). Sambar deer pellet Indian Gaur hoof mark Leopard scat Sambar deer hoofmark Direct Observation/Sightings: During the routine field survey whenever any animal was sighted close to railway track/forest areas were recorded. Species, date, time, place, GPS location were recorded for each sighting. Even if no animal were sighted during the field survey on that particular day the information was recorded in a particular data sheets. 5. Results: 5.1. Camera traps: A total of 72 (12 nights*6 camera traps) camera trap nights were ran during the period (29.06.2019-10.07.2019) .The camera traps were kept close to railway track on the animal paths and in between station Castle-rock & Tenai-ghat. Traps were kept based on consultations with local railway staff, forest staff and own assessment by research team. (photo of camera trap) A total of twenty three (23) photographs were captured belonging to six different species of mammals (including one bird species) were captured. The Indian gaur with 9 images topped the list followed by Indian porcupine (8) and Sambar deer (3). Results are tabulated in the table (Table1). Table1. Camera trap findings in between Castle-rock-Tenai-ghat sector Animal Name Indian Gaur (Bos gaurus ) Indian Porcupine(Hystrix indica ) Sambar deer(Rusa unicolor ) Small Indian Civet (Viverricula indica) Chital deer(Axis axis) *Peacock(Pavo cristatus) Overall No of Photo Capture 9 8 3 1 1 1 No of Individual Cap/CTN 13 8 3 1 1 1 0.125 0.111 0.042 0.014 0.014 0.014 23 27 0.319 5.2. Indirect signs: A total of 406 animal signs (footprint//hoof mark/pug mark/pellet faces/Scat/Shelter/Digging/Track sign /Feeding sign /others) were recorded between Castle rock railway station and Tenaighat railway station during the transect walks. Among the signs foot print/hoof marks were the dominant signs followed by signs of shelter and feeding signs (Table 2). Most abundant signs (57%) belonged to Indian Gaur (Bos gaurus) followed by Hanuman langur (Semnopithecus dussumieri) (20%) and Sambar deer (Rusa unicolor)(10%). Pugmarks (7) and scat (1) of the large carnivore Leopard was also recorded. 5.3. Direct sightings: There were 10 direct sightings of different animals during the routine field survey. They were Indian Gaur two (2) times, Hanuman languor four (4) times, Indian muntjac two (2) times, Indian porcupine (1) time, Bonnet macaque (1) one time. The sighting details are given here details is given (Table 3). Fig1.Camnera trap location Castle rock Tenaighat Table2.Animal sighs found both side of railway track (10m) in between Stations Castle rock – Tenaighat Animal Name Indian Gaur ( Bosgaurus) Hanuman Langur (Semnopithecusdussumieri) Sambar deer (Rusa unicolor) Wild boar ( Sussrorfa) Indian Porcupine(Hystrixindica ) Leopard (Pantherapardus) Barking Deer (Muntiacusmuntjak) Jungle cat (Felischaus ) Mouse Deer(Moschiolaindica) Malabar Giant squirrel(Ratufaindica ) Grand Total Foot print/ hoof mark 188 Pugmark Pellet Faeces Scat Shelter Diggings Track Feeding Sign Others Total 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 40 0 230 57 0 0 0 32 0 48 0 0 0 0 80 20 41 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 41 10 4 0 0 0 0 0 19 0 0 0 23 6 1 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 6 11 3 0 7 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 8 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 2 5 % 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 239 7 4 32 4 48 23 2 40 7 406 100 Fig2. Surveyed railway post location Castle rock to Tenaighat Fig3.Location of all animal signs found Castle rock to Tenaighat Table3.Direct sightings of mammal species during routine field survey Castle rock to Tenaighat Date Animal sighted Barking deer No of Animals Rly Km post GPS Latitude 15.41177 GPS Longitude 74.32672 15.41884 74.36710 6 15.40087 74.32264 4 15.40573 74.32603 Hanuma n Languor Barking deer 16 15.40237 74.33069 1 15.40063 74.32350 Castle Rock-Tenaighat Railway track Hanuma n Languor 5+ 15.44423 74.38664 Forest Rest House complex Castle rock Indian porcupin e 2 15.40056 74.32293 Time Place of sighting 30-Jun-19 08:45AM In-between Castle rock railway station to NH 748 Road (forest road) 30-Jun-19 10:20AM Castle Rock-Tenaighat Railway track Hanuma n Languor 6 1-Jul-19 01:30PM Bonnet Macaque 6-Jul-19 12:30AM Indian Gaur 6-Jul-19 01:30PM Forest Rest House complex Castle rock ( Karnataka Government Adventure Camp) In between Castle rock station to Castle rock Forest Range office road Castle rock market complex 7-Jul-19 10:30PM Forest Rest House Complex Castle rock to NH 7-Jul-19 10:28AM 8-Jul-19 09:00PM 1 18/7-18/8 13/3-13/4 9-Jul-19 12:00AM Castle rock market complex 10-Jul-19 11:20AM Tenaighat station Highway 748 railway gate near Hanuma n Languor Indian Gaur 12 2 22/3 15.40237 74.33069 15.41244 74.34092 A total of thirteen species (13) mammal were recorded in the Castle rock to Tenaighat section close to railway track by camera traps (5), indirect signs survey (10) and direct sightings (5). Out of thirteen, two species (Indian Gaur, Indian porcupine) were found all three methods, whereas three species (Barking deer, Hanuman langur, sambar deer) found both indirect sign and direct sighting method ( Table4). Table 4. Mammal species founds in Castle rock-Tenaighat section (camera trap, indirect sign, and direct sightings) Animal Sl No 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Camera trap Barking deer Indirect sign √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ Bonnet Macaque Chital deer √ Hanuman Languor Indian Gaur Indian Porcupine √ √ Jungle cat Leopard Malabar Giant squirrel Mouse Deer 11 Sambar deer 12 Small Indian Civet 13 Wild boar 5.4. Kernel density analysis: Direct sighting √ √ √ A kernel density map will be generated in Arc GIS software after plotting indirect signs. “Kernel density is an estimate nonparametric way to estimate the probability density function of random variable and calculates the density of point features around each output raster cell (Silverman 1986). Raster cell is a spatial data model that defines space as an array of equally sized cells arranged in rows and columns, and composed of single or multiple bands. Each cell contains an attribute value and location coordinates” (http://support.esri.com/other-resources/gis-dictionary/term/raste). In the map (Figure 4) we can clearly identify three major animal sign clusters. The orange zone (railway post will be given by Sunipa) has the maximum number and types of animal signs. We can therefore expect that for crossing this railway track, animals are using the three zones more (near railway posts railway post will be given by Sunipa) located within this cluster frequently. Therefore, we can say that these three zones have the maximum importance along this entire stretch from Castle rock to Tenaighat station and also that these locations need maximum maintenance to ensure that the passage is kept free for animal movement. ( Fig.4.) Fig4.kernel density analysis pf all Animals signs Castle rock to Tenaighat 6. Discussion & management recommendation: 6.1. On site constructions & habitat connectivity: As kernel density ( Fig3) was concentrated at threevarious zones of the track between Castle rockTenaighat,some underpasses (Box culverts) can be made between Rly Km post (Rly Km post ) to ( Rly km post) will be given by Sunipa) Castek rock –Tenaighat sector). Low fencing can be erected on both sides of the railway track at certain places to funnel smaller mammals towards an underpass. The remaining areas, except for high terrain, may also be fenced where needed to guide larger animals towards a bigger underpass. For arboreal species (especially Malabar Giant Squirrel but also primates such as Bonnet macaque and South Indian Grey plains langur) the construction of a canopy bridge using low cost material may be needed to ensure their crossing over the track. The report “Ecofriendly measures for mitigating linear Infrastructure” by Wildlife Institute of India (2017) can be taken as the standard reference for designing the appropriate type of structures for allowing animals of different body sizes to cross. 6.2. As our survey was done during peak monsoon period, we may leaveover some of the animal signs; thesemay be found during dry season. The following causation zone locations were given by railways (The station master Castle rock) in between stations Castle rock to Tenaighat. Beside kernel density zones these areas also need to be giving emphasis on animals crossing. (Table4). Extra 2-3 box culverts may be made beside three kernel density zones as there is no culvert for these sectors. Table4: location of causation zones Castle rock to Tenaighat Sl no 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Causation Zone Length From To (m) 24/000 23/600 400 22/800 21/300 1500 22/300 21/300 1000 16/500 14/200 2300 16/300 15/900 400 15/600 14/800 800 14/600 14/200 400 13/000 12/600 400 12/500 12/000 500 Total 7700 6.References: Jackson, R.M. , Roe, J.D. , Wangchuck , R., Hunter D.O., 2006, Estimating snow leopard population abundance using photography and capture-recapture techniques. Wildlife Society Bulletin ,34, 772-781 Karanth, K. U., and. Nichols, J. D, 1998, Estimation of tiger densities in India using photographic captures and recaptures. Ecology, 79 (8), 2852–2862. Karanth, K. U., N. S. Kumar, and J. D. Nichols. 2002. Field surveys: estimating absolute densities of tigers using capture– recapture sampling. Pages 139–152 in K. U. Karanth and J. D. Nichols, editors. Monitoring tigers and their prey: Amanual for researchers, managers and conservationists in tropical Asia. 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Sambar deer (Rusa unicolor) image capturedin camera traps Castle rock to Tenaighat Indian image captured in camera traps Castle rock to Tenaighat Gaur (Bosgaurus) Chital deer (Axis axis) image captured in camera traps Castle rock to Tenaighat Indian Porcupine (Hystrixindiac) image captured in camera traps Castle rock to Tenaighat Sambar deer (Rusa unicolor) image capturedin camera traps Castle rock to Tenaighat