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Striped hyaena den site selection in Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, India

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 October 2022

K. Ashish ,
Tharmalingam Ramesh Open the ORCID record for Tharmalingam Ramesh [Opens in a new window]  and
Riddhika Kalle
K. Ashish
Affiliation:
Division of Conservation Ecology, Sálim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu641108, India
Tharmalingam Ramesh*
Affiliation:
Division of Conservation Ecology, Sálim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu641108, India Centre for Functional Biodiversity, School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 3209, South Africa
Riddhika Kalle
Affiliation:
Centre for Functional Biodiversity, School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 3209, South Africa Division of Environmental Impact Assessment, Sálim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu641108, India
*
Author for correspondence: Tharmalingam Ramesh, Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

The den is a multi-purpose critical space of carnivores and provides a growth conducive refuge which ensures both substances and protection from interspecific predation and harsh climate. Selection of optimal den sites determined by various site-specific factors potentially reduces aversive interspecific interactions and provides cost-effective access to food sources. In this study, we have assessed the factors determining the den site selection by a small population of striped hyaena, Hyaena hyaena in a shared landscape dominated by large carnivores. We assessed den site selection as a function of vegetation patch characteristics, site-specific anthropogenic threats/activities and topographical variables using Bayesian algorithm through field collected binomial data on den use by the species. Our model suggested that hyaenas select rocky refugia surrounded by trees and tall grasses, situated on mountain slopes proximate to a water body. Our study consolidated the importance of undulating terrain in the species ecology and postulated the slope as an ‘energy-expensive’ terrain that refrains frequent movement of other carnivores, in turn providing more affordable denning space for the striped hyaena. This study provides critical information on denning ecology of last remaining major breeding population striped hyaena of southern India.

Keywords

Bayesian GLMden site selectionhabitat patch characteristicshyaenasouthern India
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 38 , Issue 6 , November 2022 , pp. 472 - 479
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press

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