Rs. Krishnamurthy et Ar. Kiester, ANALYSIS OF LION-TAILED MACAQUE HABITAT FRAGMENTATION USING SATELLITEIMAGERY, Current Science (Bangalore), 75(3), 1998, pp. 283-291
Deforestation and forest fragmentation are the primary threats to the
habitat of endangered lion-tailed macaques, Macaca silenus, in Karnata
ka, India. Landsat satellite images of northwest Karnataka, India, fro
m 1977 and 1990 were analysed. Two study sites, measuring 16.35x19.14k
m (31,213ha) and 14.34x21.44km (30,561 ha), respectively, were selecte
d for analysis. Based on a group home range estimate of 131 ha, contig
uous habitat fragments large enough to support two or more groups of l
ion-tails remained available in the study area in 1990, A single conti
guous patch of 14,718ha in site 1 and two contiguous patches in site 2
, (4,276 ha and 9,097 ha) were available for reintroduction of captive
lion-tailed macaque populations. Loss of habitat has primarily been o
ccurring in and around previously disturbed regions. Ground-truthing o
f the identified potential unfragmented sites confirms the results of
the study.