Figure 1 : Location map of Nech Sar National Park (Source: Kelboro and Stellmacher 2012)
A total of 16 transect lines; six for grassland, five for bushland, four for the ground-water forest, and the remaining one for the riverine forest was established. The sampling transects selected from each census zone represented about 25-30% of each census zone (Yates 1960) (Table 1). The study was conducted during both the dry (December-February) and wet (March-May) seasons. A survey was conducted using GPS and binocular in each randomly selected block along the selected transects. The transect width varied between 100 m up to 500 m. The variation was determined based on the type of vegetation cover of each of the census zone. The length of transects also varied from 3.5 to 5 km and it was determined based on the type of ecological units (Figure 2, 3, 4, and 5).
The survey was conducted on foot along the established transects observing the prevailing mammals on each transect′s left and right sides. Two observers were involved in collecting data from the left and the right side of each line transect. Both were assigned to the left or right side of the transect line and scanned the route with the spotlight. Intensive transect samplings were carried out to maximize sampling effort. Accordingly, all transects were visited bi-monthly during the data collection periods of both wet and dry seasons. To enhance sampling effort, in a single visit, each transect was walked twice, early in the morning during 06:00-10:00 am and late in the afternoon 03:00- 06:00 pm when the wild animals were more active.
Table 1: Number, length, width, and proportion for randomly selected transects