Certificate - Etheses - Saurashtra University

Chapter 5
Habitat use by brown bear
5.1 Introduction
In India, the increase in human and livestock populations has created pressure on all
natural resources. Most of the protected areas are fragmented, degraded, and disturbed
from anthropogenic activities. Forests, pastures and wastelands were brought under
cultivation to sustain increased demand of cereals and other food products (Chauhan
and Sawarkar, 1989). The unsustainable land-use patterns in rural areas have further
altered landscapes. This habitat modification has caused wildlife species to become
ecological dislocated.
The Himalayan brown bear (Ursus arctos) occurs in low densities in rolling up lands,
alpine meadows, scrub and sub-alpine forests. Due to increasing human population,
expansion of agricultural land, livestock grazing pressure and collection of medicinal
plants, brown bear population is disturbed and threatened. Survival of brown bear
depends on availability of suitable habitat, food and water in the sanctuary. The
quality of habitat is generally reflected in the status of food, shelter, vegetation cover
and its seasonal variation. The necessity of assessing preference or avoidance of a
given habitat or plant species in terms of its availability has long been recognized
(Neu et al., 1974).
The habitat utilization by bears showed varied patterns in different places. The ability
of brown bears to effectively use vastly different landscapes can be attributed to their
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