Certificate - Etheses - Saurashtra University

When the density of digging signs and scats per hectare was considered separately for
the extent of habitat use, the results were not consistent and as such no trend could be
established. There was a specific pattern of habitat use observed in the study area, and
this could be established when brown bear’s signs: number of diggings and scats were
combined together. According to this, density of brown bear signs per hectare was
highest in Moist sub-alpine scrub characterized by Rhododendron species (121
signs/ha) and Himalayan moist temperate forest with conifers (121 signs/ha),
followed by Mixed forest with conifers and broad leaf species (114.6 signs/ha each),
Grassland and forest blanks (101.91 signs/ha), Agricultural land (98.72 signs/ha),
Exposed rocks with slope grasses (82.8 signs/ha), Dry alpine scrub characterized by
Juniperus species (63.69 signs/ha), Riverine forest (57.32 signs/ha) and Near water
bodies, river and streams (25.47 signs/ha).
The frequency occurrence of food plants in plots used by bears varied considerably
(Table 3). Plots with presence of 1, 2 and 3 food plant species were 11.81%, 21.8%
and 31.8% respectively. Further as the number of food plant species increased, the
percentage of these plots decreased. Plots with presence of 6, 7 and 8 food plant
species were 3.6%, 2.7% and 1.8% respectively. Irrespective of this variation, the
proportional utilization these plots with variable number of food plant species was
very high, except the plots without any food plants. The high proportional utilization
of these plots ranged from 72.7% to 100%.
84