Daily activity pattern of Malayan Sun bear in Dampa Tiger Reserve, Mizoram, India

Sun bear (Helarctos malayanus) is the smallest bear species and remains the least known bear ‎among the ursids. Reliable information on population and activity pattern of Sun bear has been ‎lacking, thereby creating difficulties for field managers and conservationists to develop ‎a management plan for their conservation. The study was an attempt to determine the habitat ‎preference and daily activity of Sun bear through camera trapping and other signs survey ‎methods. In the study, we had a combined trapping effort of 647 trap-nights with a total of 18 ‎independent images of Sun bear recorded between May 2014 and March 2016. Distribution of ‎bear signs per hectare was found to be highest in the Bamboo forest (0.398), owing to large ‎numbers of termite's mounds. The photo capture rate of Sun bear in Dampa Tiger Reserve was ‎found to vary by different habitats with high numbers in degraded forest landscape within the ‎Reserve. The variation was also influenced by the disturbance of humans in the area and other ‎feeding opportunities. The relative abundance index shows that Old Chikha has the highest ‎index of 1.89 with a mean value of 5.26 ±0.670 among all blocks in Dampa Tiger Reserve. The ‎daily activity index suggests that Malayan Sun bears are more active during the crepuscular ‎period than diurnal. The highest activity was recorded between 1800- 2200 with 14.89% detection ‎probability. No activity was recorded during the mid-noon phase. Primary forests and degraded ‎forests with their large fruiting trees were represented as important habitat owing to the availability ‎of fruits, termites, and invertebrates. The study will hopefully be an important step towards ‎acquiring more knowledge on the ecology of the species and provide valuable information for ‎the conservation of the species and their habitat.