CAMERA TRAPPING COUPLED WITH FIELD SIGN SURVEY REVEAL THE MAMMALIAN DIVERSITY AND ABUNDANCE AT MURREE-KOTLI SATTIAN-KAHUTA NATIONAL PARK, PAKISTAN - Shehnila Kanwal; Tariq Mahmood; Tahir Mehmood; Faraz Akrim; Rizwana Aziz (Journal of Animal and Plant Sciences, 2026)
Murree-Kotli Sattian-Kahuta National Park was declared a protected area in 2009, however, not much is known about the diversity and relative abundance of its mammalian fauna. We used sign survey and camera trapping techniques to get an insight into the diversity of mammalian species inhabiting this park. Field Surveys were conducted from April 2023 up to the end of March 2024, to record field signs (scats, pugmarks etc.) of the mammals’ species. In addition, we deployed 22 infrared Camera traps” in different areas of the park, for 116 nights and a total of 516 photographs of different mammal species were captured by these camera traps. Results of camera trapping coupled with field signs surveys confirmed the presence of a total of 21 different mammal species (large, meso- and small mammals) in the park. Among carnivores, common Leopard, Asiatic jackal, Red fox, Leopard cats, Jungle cat, Asian palm civet, small Indian civets, grey mongoose and small Indian mongoose were recorded. Among the herbivores, barking deer and Yellow-throated marten were the key species. Wild boar, Asiatic Jackal and Indian-crested porcupine were recorded at 7 (maximum) each out of 11 sampling sites, The leopard cat and the Yellow-throated marten were recorded at only one site each. Leopard and Asian palm civets were overlapping species in the area, as their temporal activity pattern overlapped for 61%. The most abundant mammal species in the park was wild boar (Sus scrofa) while the least abundant was the Jungle cat (Felis chaus).
Keywords: journal article; Camera trapping; Diversity; Abundance; Evenness; Distribution; Mammals; overlapped