Journey to the Leopard land: Life in Kathmandu valley

Yatra chituwa bhumi ko: kathmandu upatyaka ko jiwan

यात्रा चितुवा भुमिको: काठमाण्डौ उपत्यकाको जीवन

I work at Center for Molecular Dynamics Nepal (CMDN), a conservation genetics lab in Nepal, as bioinformatics specialist since 2015. I have been involved in research works on Bengal tigers (Panthera tigris) at CMDN since then. Through this research, I got introduced into the world of conservation genetics specializing my skills in population genetics through various computational tools mainly STRUCTURE software. This exposure helped me gain the knowledge about how powerful tools like population genetics can be used to study ecology of an apex predator across a landscape they range. Bengal tigers are found across Terai Arc Landscape (TAL) in southern plains of Nepal, where their populations are fragmented mainly into three geographical divisions by various anthropogenic features. The landscape genetics study of the tigers across TAL clearly revealed that these populations have three main genetic subdivisions and a moderate level of gene flow affected by habitat fragmentation. CMDN also collaborates with NGOs, INGOs and researchers from national and international academic institutions to study population genetics of snow leopard (Panthera uncia). Through these involvements, I have got the chance to review various ways of studying these charismatic big cats that play a vital role in their respective ecosystems using tools of molecular ecology.

Big cats have always fascinated me since my childhood. Specifically, the leopard (Panthera pardus; in nepali: Chituwa, चितुवा) has had an important impact from earlier part of my life. I grew up in Kathmandu hearing news about leopard encounters just about 5km distance away from my house. These incidents I believe have left a deep impact in my mind. Now that I am into wildlife research, I started realizing that these particular cats, unlike its two congeneric cousins (tiger and snow leopard), are not given the same priority although they play an equally important role in their ecosystem. Big cats across the globe are being increasingly threatened due to various human activities, and it is our duty to help secure their future for the sake of greater ecosystem health. Being on top of the food chain, big cats help to keep numbers of herbivores in check and thus regulates their population, which in turn will affect the sound distribution of flora in the forests. They are an excellent example of ecosystem engineers. Thus, every big cat is equally important and worth the protection for the benefit of whole ecosystem including all flora and fauna within it.

I realized that I needed to do something for these neglected big cats (leopards) that calls my hometown its home too since ages and generations. I started hiking in the forests of surrounding hills in Kathmandu valley. These hikes played huge role to grow my deep passion towards leopards. It helped me train my skills of tracking various signs that these elusive cats left in their territory. I still remember that moment when I saw my first ever pugmark of a leopard in a small forest patch just about 1 km away from nearest human settlement in the hills of Kathmandu. My enthusiasm and curiosity increased that led me find many more interesting signs of leopards around the valley. I started taking notes and recording these data which helped me develop my field biology skills unknowingly. Conclusively, all of these were helping me to understand leopards better than any written materials would have had, although I regularly and unreservedly refer to various books and literatures for acquiring knowledge about their ecology, behavior and evolutionary enigmas. They are one masterpiece creation of nature that is currently under threat. They need us and it is our duty to secure their future not just for them, but for the mountains that depend upon them.

My boss, Dr Dibesh Karmacharya, came up with an idea of developing a molecular tool that can identify as well as differentiate multiple felid species genetically in single assay. I started working in silico on reference genome sequences of wild felids and soon enough designed a molecular assay to identify and differentiate multiple species of felids using PCR technique. Experiments were carried out to validate these assays in the lab. Along this effort, I started putting up a proposal for Rufford Small Grant in order to test these tools on actual field collected non-invasive genetic samples (scats/poops) and study the wild felids around Kathmandu valley. This would also help me in my passion driven research endeavor to study leopards. Thankfully, the Rufford Foundation generously decided to fund us in our effort to develop such tool and study the wild felids around Kathmandu valley, which would aid most importantly in the field of leopard conservation. I am immensely thankful to the Rufford Foundation for providing such a great source of encouragement. My nice colleagues and good friends played huge role in supporting me throughout this path to help me secure this grant that will now allow me to achieve my goal. By studying these cats in the mountains I have hiked, breathed and lived, I hope to understand about their amazing secretiveness and elusiveness but mainly their evolutionary antiquity that has shaped them into such a magnificent beast ever appeared on the planet.

I fully dedicate this project to these big cats of Kathmandu valley. My journey that started long time ago just attained a kick-start height in the stepping-stone. And I look forward to continue explore the surmounting nature that beholds these enigmatic wild cats and many other walks of life. To the leopard, for the Chituwa. 

Jai Chituwa!

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Leopards in Chandragiri landscape

Phantom of Kathmandu

Chandragiri landscape is a hilly range covering most of south-western ridge of Kathmandu valley. The hills are preserved by community forestry management, and are full of dense lush green hill forests. This landscape elevates from around 1500m asl to above 2500m asl with varying degree of vegetation types along the altitudinal gradients. It is an important biodiversity area, but not much of it has been studied in detail.

Leopards are largest wild carnivore and on top of the food chain in this landscape. They share their habitat throughout the landscape with humans along villages mostly in fringes and base of the hill range. Barking deer, wild boar, rhesus and assamese macaques could form the main prey base for leopards in this landscape. Stray or feral dogs roaming freely along the human settlements could also form one of the main urban prey options for leopards. Other sympatric carnivores include leopard cat, jungle cat, large indian civet, masked palm civet and golden jackal.

The indirect signs like scats, pugmarks and scratch marks of leopards are observed very often in the jungles of this landscape.  One day it so happened that I even felt a very fresh yet pungent smell of a spray or urine mark of leopard while walking a trail under canopy of the jungle. I felt the leopard could have been very near but never did I see it then. There are cases of leopards in conflict with people in and around the human settlements in the landscape. Settlement areas like Kirtipur, Matatirtha, Pharping, Chalnakhel are some of the regions around this landscape where leopards sneak into, mainly in search of domestic prey such as goats, stray cattle, pet animals and stray dogs.  Since Jan 2016 to Feb 2017, two leopards have been caught at two different occasions from local houses in Kirtipur and were released elsewhere in natural habitat; one leopard got killed in a man leopard conflict in Matatirtha; while another leopard died of an unidentified cause in Chalnakhel. This makes at least four leopards to have been removed from the area in just about one year time. We don’t know how many leopards still prowl this landscape, but it may not be long that they get to survive many generations to come.

PHOTOS:

FILE PHOTOS:

leopard captured after tranquilized in Kirtipur (Jan 2016).

Photo source: himalayan times

leopard rescued after tranquilized by Radha K Gharti, senior 

vet of zoo and kathmandu's professional leopard catcher

(Feb 2017).  Photo source: nepalireporter.com

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Nagarjun hill forest on 20Feb2015

Early in the morning, me and my dad left off in public vehicles to Balaju bypass where we would meet my cousin brother Akhilesh Manandhar. My dad has always been the source of inspiration to me for making me walk, walk and walk. Hence, accompanied by him and brother, we went for hiking into the Nagarjun forest sector of the Shivapuri Nagarjun National Park. The Shivapuri and Nagarjun sectors of the National Park are not physically connected due to villages and a highway that runs through these patches, and moreover the Nagarjun forest was made part of the National Park later only much recently. There after we reached the main entrance gate, and paid the entrance fee of Rs. 56.5 each, we ascended for hiking through the trail. As soon as we enter the forest or in fact from the vicinity of the park itself, the sounds of the forests makes us feel so live and charming and brings adrenaline into our blood for the exciting hike.

Just in a short while, we were met after by a local man, who sells candles up in the monastery. He told us about rhododendron high up in the hills, and to hide them in your bags so that the army wouldn't find out about. We asked him along about any leopard sightings he has had, he was fast, he said yes he has had encounter quite often, but the big cat either runs or goes his own way. Being a regular person, he shortly paced and outran us. We kept on our own speed. As my brother and dad were climbing the stone-stairs paved along the trail, I was constantly trying to explore any signs of wildlife along the path we took upon. Shortly after, we thought of taking a shortcut way from outside the trail, as there we saw a small unused path aside of the main trail. Thinking that it would meet with the main trail later in the way, we went through it. It was quite steep-path, a natural path that would normally serve as a highly for any local wildlife specially mammals. As we went forward, we soon discovered that its taking us to a different direction from the main trail and we would have to cut through into the forests in order to meet to the main trail again. There was no point of returning as we had traveled long way, then as we were trying to find a way out, there I noticed some feathers lying on the ground. As I inspected, it seemed it was of a whole bird that must have been the prey of some animal. The feathers were all over lying concentrated in one region mostly, I felt it was a good sign of a presence of a mammalian predator. The color of the feather was dark black to blueish black, looked kind of shiny. I thought for a second, it should be a clouded leopard's kill. That was my mind's first thought as it is so much enthusiastic about clouded leopards. But most probably, it could be from other mammalian predators such as leopard cats, civets, martens, jackals, jungle cats, and who knows could also be that of a leopards. Anyways that was a nice breakfast or last night supper for some elusive wild predator of the jungle. Then we moved forward and then took an uphill turn through steeps to meet the main trail. And yes we were almost lost as we had been moving in a wrong direction through that out-trail. We met some army persons after we got into the trail and they asked us why we were coming out from there, and they showed us the hiking path to take again. And there we went again climbing the stone-paved stairs but now the man-made pavements were slowly mixing with the natural pavements of blocks of medium-sized stones to rocky and muddy hilly paths.

After walking for some time, we reached an open ground that much of looked like a view-point as we could see much of the kathmandu valley from there. As we were viewing down into the valley, Akhilesh detected a movement in a tree just about 300 m away down the hill, and pointed it to me. I too saw a glimpse of movements there but could not really figure out what it was as it vanished into the forest before we could sight it. But whatever it was, it definitely was not a human activity, the tree was tall and the ground it was standing was very steep. Most probably, it should have been some monkeys, if not at least other medium mammals. And from there as we looked above, our destination - the Jamacho gumba was still so high above the clouds. After resting in the terrain for some time, we headed uphill through the dense forests again. Again with the sounds of birds all around and the shades of trees along the paths made us not even realize that we had already reached the summit, it felt so short way as we had seen the monastery from the view point to be still so far. But we have reached the place now. Then we started to eat what we brought with us, saw the valley and took photographs from the view tower there. Then we lit candles in the stupa there and prayed. After sometime, we had to move on most probably the same way we came from. But we thought of going still ahead after we have come so far, why not going just another high-point we were seeing from there. My dad was insisting to go back, but we made him convince as we two had majority. So there was again another quite unused path, and we moved ahead, there were the flags of buddhists prayers lying along the way from the trees and branches. We reached the point and there was a old army barrack which had been destroyed my maoist during the decade long people's war. It was vacant and most probably been serving as a refuge to the wildlife of the area. After spending some time there, we headed back towards the end of our journey. We passed the stupa and downhill through the forest, there again with the feel of nature and live jungle all around us. As we kept on going down, I stopped at a point with an excitement in me. I saw a poop in the way, I got excited as it was looking pretty fresh, another indirect wildlife sign. My dad and brother were joking as I was inspecting so curiously into the scat, and then my turn I said that's of a leopard and the leopard might have just walked by here about an hour or less ago. But it was not of a carnivore indeed, must be of a primate, thats most probably monkey. Then we headed downwards and reached the open field again. We sat to eat some fruits that was left with us. After finishing it, we started moving quite faster this time, it was starting to get dark slowly, we had to move fast. Then reached pass the army post we had encountered on the way. And then finally the main entrance/exit gate after about half an hour walk from there.

This way, our journey came to an end. What a wonderful hike it was, into the jungles full of wildlife, birds, nature and above all the exciting feel of the real wilderness at its best. Due to weather conditions, we could not see the Himalayas, but we did got the feel of the wind from the mountains flowing through our veins throughout the journey. It was a very splendid moment I spent my day on. I pray this pristine natural heritages of this wonderful country be always preserved through generations and generations to come. May all the wildlife living in it could take the full enjoyment of the rich nature here for decades and centuries and we humans to live in harmony with all these beautiful creations of nature. I plan to make this exploration again and again in coming days to get the feel of wilderness away from the busy urban kathmandu life.