With support from The Rufford Foundation, UK, Auckland Zoo, New Zealand, and Katie Adamson Conservation Fund, USA, a conservation and research project for the dark sitana has been jointly initiated by the Nepal Conservation and Research Center and the Mithila Wildlife Trust. Outreach education sessions were jointly conducted by these two institutions in March and April 2023. We worked with students in 15 schools and five peri-forest communities (i.e. living immediately adjacent to the forest and dependent on it). A total 1,055 students (492 boys and 563 girls) and 123 community members attended these sessions.
Our team members were invited to conduct sessions on “Herpetofauna Conservation and Research Techniques” by the Agriculture and Forestry University, Katari College. We taught the university students about the status of Nepalese amphibians and reptiles, identification keys, field research techniques, and photographic techniques. We stressed on key conservation issues for critically endangered species such as the Dark Sitana (Sitana fusca) and how the students can get involved in the ongoing research and conservation project for the same. This work is funded by The Rufford Foundation UK, Katie Adamson Conservation Fund, USA and Auckland Zoo, New Zealand.
The Dark Sitana (Sitana fusca) is an agamid lizard endemic to Nepal, only known from its type locality in Madhesh province. Due to increased habitat loss, forest fragmentation, and urbanisation in its type locality, this species is now ‘critically endangered’. There is also very limited information on its ecology and distribution. To help this, the Nepal Conservation and Research Center (NCRC), with support from The Rufford Foundation, Auckland Zoo, and Katie Adamson Conservation Fund, initiated a research and conservation project focusing on the Dark Sitana. Outreach and community engagement programmes, conducted jointly by NCRC and the Mithila Wildlife Trust, were also major components of this project. During these sessions, we taught students in ten schools and in three peri-forest communities (communities that live immediately adjacent to the forests, and are dependent on forest resources). A total of 671 students (268 boys and 403 girls) and 71 community members attended our sessions, wherein a ‘conservation poster’ of the Dark Sitana was also distributed. As a result of our outreach programmes, people, who previously had negative perceptions about this species, understood that these lizards are an important component of their ecosystem, and that they do not harm humans (in many Nepalese societies, lizards are considered to be relatives of snakes and deadly venomous; folklores also portray these reptiles to be lazy and dishonest).
Some of the peri-forest community members also promised to inform us whenever they spotted the species to help understand its distribution better. We found that our sessions were well-received among students and community members. Word spread and we started receiving invitations from several other schools for outreach sessions and requests for printed copies of the poster. Such interest and enthusiasm makes us look forward to conducting such sessions more often, including during Nepal’s national wildlife week, in collaborations with other organizations on ground. After all, the goal is to share knowledge and develop sustainable conservation measures for the Dark Sitana in Nepal.
Dark sitana (Sitana fusca) Photo: Santosh Bhattarai
The Dark Sitana (Sitana fusca) is an agamid lizard endemic to Nepal, only known from its type locality in Madhesh province. Due to increased habitat loss, forest fragmentation, and urbanisation in its type locality, this species is now ‘critically endangered’. There is also very limited information on its ecology and distribution. To help this, the Nepal Conservation and Research Center (NCRC), with support from The Rufford Foundation, Auckland Zoo, and Katie Adamson Conservation Fund, initiated a research and conservation project focusing on the Dark Sitana. Outreach and community engagement programmes, conducted jointly by NCRC and the Mithila Wildlife Trust, were also major components of this project. During these sessions, we taught students in ten schools and in three peri-forest communities (communities that live immediately adjacent to the forests, and are dependent on forest resources). A total of 671 students (268 boys and 403 girls) and 71 community members attended our sessions, wherein a ‘conservation poster’ of the Dark Sitana was also distributed. As a result of our outreach programmes, people, who previously had negative perceptions about this species, understood that these lizards are an important component of their ecosystem, and that they do not harm humans (in many Nepalese societies, lizards are considered to be relatives of snakes and deadly venomous; folklores also portray these reptiles to be lazy and dishonest).
Group photo after community session
Some of the peri-forest community members also promised to inform us whenever they spotted the species to help understand its distribution better.
We found that our sessions were well-received among students and community members. Word spread and we started receiving invitations from several other schools for outreach sessions and requests for printed copies of the poster. Such interest and enthusiasm makes us look forward to conducting such sessions more often, including during Nepal’s national wildlife week, in collaborations with other organizations on ground. After all, the goal is to share knowledge and develop sustainable conservation measures for the Dark Sitana in Nepal.
Abstract: Wetlands support around 27% of birds in Nepal, however, there is a paucity of information about bird diversity and the wetland habitat of Western Chure Landscape Nepal. The “point count” method along transects was carried out to evaluate the species composition and habitat associations of birds. A total of 2,532 individuals representing 152 species (winter: N = 140 and summer: N = 91) from 19 orders and 51 families were reported from Jhilmila Lake and its surrounding area. The number of birds was reported to be significantly higher during winter than in the summer season. The species diversity was also higher in winter (Shannon’s index (H) = 4.38, Fisher’s alpha = 30.67) than in summer (H = 4.21, Fisher’s alpha = 34.69) as this area is surrounded by oldgrowth forest that provides available habitats for forest, grassland- and wetland-dwelling birds. This lake is an example of a wetland present in the Chure area that plays an important role in the conservation of biodiversity along with birds. Hence, we recommend its detailed study in terms of biodiversity and water quality.
Abstract: Forest patches in urban areas can have the potential to provide shelter, resources, and breeding space for small mammals. This study aimed to explore the diversity, abundance, and habitat associations of non-volant small mammals in forest patches of Kathmandu Valley. Three sites were selected for the study: Ranibari Community Forest, Swayambhunath Hillock, and Coronation Garden of Tribhuvan University. The roost survey, line transect survey and direct observation methods were used for the study. The field survey was conducted in June–July 2019. In those selected sites, 250 m transects were laid and 25 live traps (Local, Sherman, and Tube) were set for capturing small mammals. Trapped individuals were measured, marked, and released at the site. From a survey of 600 trap nights, 61 individuals representing six species, four families and three orders were identified. Asian house shrew (Suncus murinus) was the most dominant species. Abundance of small mammals was higher in Ranibari Community Forest whereas Coronation Garden had the lowest abundance of non-volant small mammals. Small mammal distribution pattern was clumped in study areas owing to the uneven distribution of resources in the natural environment. Species response to five environmental parameters (distance to settlement, road, water, open canopy and closed canopy) showed significant relation in Ranibari Community Forest (F=2.446, P=0.018) and Coronation Garden (F=2.75 P=0.05), whereas it was insignificant in Swayambhunath Hillock (F=1.60 P=0.17). These results suggested that diversity, distribution, and abundance of small mammals in urban forest patches are influenced by habitat types and environmental parameters.
The dark sitana, a lizard endemic to a town in Nepal, is critically endangered by the loss and degradation of its habitat due to the BP Highway and unplanned urban development.
The critically endangered dark sitana (Sitana fusca), a rare lizard that hasn’t been reported anywhere else in the world, faces a host of challenges for its survival, most of them triggered by the highway development. “The main threat to its existence is the loss of its habitat, which has been fragmented and degraded by the construction of the BP Highway,” says researcher Santosh Bhattarai, who is pursuing a Ph.D. in herpetology.
The news has been featured in the following link on Mongabay.
