The Status of Nepal's Mammals: The National Red List Series - IUCN

Figure 3: Status of
mammals in Nepal.
Certain taxonomic groups of mammals are at a greater risk of extinction than others; however certain groups
have a larger proportion of Data Deficient species. Research efforts and finances are often concentrated on
more charismatic species leaving other groups such as small mammals and bats largely underrepresented
in terms of research. However, with limited resources, conservation efforts targeting umbrella/charismatic
species will benefit many of the smaller species occurring within their range.
The assessment of carnivorous species (canids, felids, weasels, Red Panda, civets, otters and badgers), shows
that 44% of these species are threatened, with a further 5% Near Threatened (Figure 4). That is, half of all
carnivore species that occur in Nepal are facing extinction currently or will do so in the near future.
Conservation programmes for the larger, charismatic species in this category may also benefit the smaller
species (Shafer 1990). Referred to as an ‘umbrella species’, the conservation of species such as Royal Bengal
Tiger will also aid the conservation of other species and habitats within their range.
Figure 4: Status of
carnivore species in
Nepal.
35.1%
23.3%
4.7%
14.0%
3.4%
38.0%
6.7%
25.6%
27.9%
12.5%
0.5%
3.8%
4.7%
RE
CR
EN
VU
NT
LC
DD
CR
EN
VU
NT
LC
DD
08