Striped hyena (Hyaena hyaena) status and factors affecting its distribution in the Gir National Park and Sanctuary, India

The striped hyena (Hyaena hyaena Linnaeus, 1758) is a near threatened large carnivore having a wider distribution range than other hyenas. However, very little information is available about its status and ecology. In the present study, we assessed the current status and population density of striped hyenas in the semi-arid tropical forests of the Gir National Park and Sanctuary, India. The density of striped hyenas was estimated through individual identification using a photographic capture-recapture framework. With an effort of 600 trap nights, 24 individual hyenas were identified with an average trapping effort of 17.6 per hyena photograph. The estimated density (individual/km(2) +/- SE) for central zone was 0.04 +/- 0.01, for eastern zone 0.12 +/- 0.03, for National Park 0.08 +/- 0.05, and for western zone 0.02 +/- 0.01, while the estimated mean density was 0.07 +/- 0.03. We discuss the results of this study in relation to the distribution of hyenas in the Gir National Park and Sanctuary, which provides them a safe denning refugia and dietary requirements. Striped hyenas are under continuous pressure of various threats that directly or indirectly affect its occurrence and abundance, and lack of reliable status of their populations makes it extremely difficult to develop and implement an effective conservation plan to arrest the inferred decline. Very few studies have been conducted so far on this species and our findings may provide some useful information for its conservation in India and elsewhere.