Integration of the landscape of fear concept in terrain management – an experimental study on deer in Bardia National Park, Nepal.

AbstractDespite the popularity of the ‘landscape of fear’ concept, the potential for integration of this idea into terrain management for wildlife conservation has remained largely unexplored. We carried out a multi-year experimental study in the tiger-dense Bardia National Park, Nepal. Using plots of varying mowing frequency (0–4 times), size (small: 49 m2; to large: 3600 m2), and artificial fertilisation type (none, phosphorus, nitrogen), we assessed to what extent ‘fear’ affects the use of managed terrain by three cervids (chital -Axis axis, swamp deer -Rucervus duvauceli, and hog deer -Axis porcinus). We show that these deer respond to the probable predation risk when using the terrain. The medium-sized deer strongly favoured large plots (mean = 0.1 pellet groups.m− 2in 3600 m2plots, vs. 0.07 in 400 m2, and 0.05 in 49 m2plots), wherein they tend to use edge areas less (mean = 0.13 pellet groups.m− 2at the edge vs. 0.21 at the centre). The smaller, hog deer did not show any reaction to the treatments. We posit that for medium-sized deer ‘feeling safe’ may be the principal determinant for using the managed terrain in subtropical monsoon grasslands. Our findings give important insights into the applicability of the landscape of fear dynamics in terrain management for wild ungulates and carnivores worldwide.