Habitat preference of Himalayan Monal (Lophopohorus impejanus) in Langtang valley, Lamtang National Park, Nepal
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Department of Zoology
Abstract
Himalayan monal (Lophophorus impejanus) is the national bird of Nepal and is a protected
species in Nepal. Despite being protected, the species is highly hunted by poachers for food
trade. This species is found in higher elevation in forest land, shrub land and forages in
grassland. Its population status and habitat preference are largely unexplored and hence,
proper management is lacking for its conservation. This study, conducted in Langtang Valley
region in Lamtang National Park in the month of November (winter) for 14 days, aimed to
explore the habitat preference and associated threats to Himalayan monal. Survey was done
from Ghodatabela (3000 m asl) to Kyanjin Ri peak (4300 m asl) using route census method.
A total of 86 individuals of Himalayan monals were observed from 30 occurrence sites
within the elevational range between 3100 m asl and 3900 m asl. Himalayan monals
preferred the shrubland habitats with an occurrence ratio of 1.43. Generalized Linear Mixed
Modelling (GLMM) from the collected data for habitat preferences showed that
environmental factors NDVI and distance from walking trail had statistically significant
negative correlation with number of Himalayan monal indicating that with decrease in the
value of NDVI and distance from walking trail the number of Himalayan monal tends to
increase, while the distance from water source has marginal statistical significance with
positive correlation suggesting that with increase in distance from water the number of
Himalayan monal also tends to increase. This model suggests that NDVI, distance from
walking trail and distance from water plays significant role in selection of habitat by
Himalayan monal. The distribution of Himalayan monal around the Langtang Valley region
(3400–3500 m) was low suggesting Himalayan monal avoided settlement areas with high
anthropogenic pressure. The threat assessment of Himalayan monal using semi structured
questionnaire survey with local people revealed that poaching, anthropogenic pressure and
free livestock grazing are major threats to Himalayan monal in the study area.