Abstract

Studies on the distribution, ecological requirements and resource availability to selected mammals of Periyar Tiger Reserve was carried out for a period of about five years from 1997 to 1982. This sanctuary is located on the crestline of Western Ghats in Kerala State. The forest types in this high rainfall and undulating terrain consist of grasslands, deciduous and evergreen forests. The study methods included recording population parameters and activities of animals sighted and collection of evidences of animals from systematically laid out sample plots. The grass production from different parts of the habitat was estimated by the harvest method. The reserve had a rich avifauna of 181 species. Almost all the families of birds reported from Kerala are present in the study area. A total number of about 800 elephants were estimated to be present in the study area based on the quantity of dung heaps counted fron the sample plots. The overall density was about one elephant per square km., with an ecological density as high as two or three times this in some seasons in certain parts of the reserve. The proportion of various classes of individuals in the population and their sex ratio were comparable to that of healthy elephant populations elsewhere except in the proportion of adult male elephants. Density of animals like sambar, gaur and wild boar showed extreme variation. Frequency distributions of the number of animals in groups of sambar deer and wild boar were constructed and comparisons made with the same in other populations. Fodder and water did not appear to be a limiting factor to the animals. Based on the habits and habitat use the herbivores could be classified into two groups, the first one consisting of animals like barking deer, sambargaur, cattle and elephants and the second group consisting of mouse deer and hare. The wild boar was not part of either of these groups. The distribution of arboreal animals like the Nilgiri langur, Liontailed macaque, Bonnete macaque, and Giant squirrel were examined. The availability of prey to carnivores and the competition among them were also studied. The important suggestions towards scientific management are put forward, the first concerning the inadequacy of the present demarcation of the reserve into the tourism, buffer and core areas, and the second concerning the need for adopting different management strategies in the eight divisions proposed for the reserve