ANS 495
Management and Conservation of Wild Animals in India
NC State University Study Abroad Program
Instructor(s): Dr. Shweta Trivedi
E-mail:
Course Schedule: Dec 16th- 30th, 2012
Course webpage (open access):
http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/an_sci/extension/vetpac/
COURSE INFORMATION
Credits: 2
Pre-requisites: none
COURSE LOCATION
The 2 week course begins with students meeting in New Delhi, India. Students will be expected to attend seminars, demonstrations and participate in field activities at the National Parks. We will begin the trip to the Sariska National Park and Tiger reserve, where we will participate in Module I of the course. We will head over to Ranthambore National Park for Module II. Tourist destinations include the city of Jaipur in Rajasthan. We will end the course by participating in the module III of the course where we will spend time and visit the Bear Rescue center in Agra to familiarize students with the largest Dancing Bear (Sloth Bear) rescue center and its rehabilitation efforts. The tourist destination includes the Taj Mahal in Agra.
COURSE DESCRIPTION
There are three-fold objectives of the course;
1. Educate and familiarize students about the exotic wildlife and effective wildlife management practices by incorporating lectures and hands-on experience.
2. Expose students to the current conservation challenges faced by wildlife management and human conflict issues around National Parks by including lectures and observation modules.
3. Acquaint students with the fascinating aspects of Indian culture, traditions and history and its integration with the wildlife education.
The course is an overview of the field strategies, basics of laboratory analysis, and interpretation approaches as well as tools that wildlife biologists use in management and conservation of the wildlife. The course will give students a better understanding about how wildlife biologists collect, analyze, use, and interpret data from wild animals. The course will be taught with the logistical support and assistance from various faculty of the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, India. (http://www.wii.gov.in/)
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
Weekly Readings –Students will be responsible for reading the assigned material from the course handouts and reading material provided on Moodle and during the course in India.
Modules – Three (3) modules will help in student understand some of the fundamental concepts in wildlife management and conservation
§ Module 1 – Wildlife Management Practices
§ Orientation to a Tiger Reserve, introduction to vegetation, terrain and animal tracks & signs
§ Wildlife techniques, radio-telemetry and tracking of tigers
§ Wildlife immobilization, monitoring and post capture care , demonstration and hands-on practice
§ Camera traps for small and large carnivores, mist netting of birds
§ Herbivore dung/pellet quantification, visit to vegetation enclosure site
§ Visual health monitoring of wild ungulates
§ Module 2 – Research and Management of wildlife in a National Park
§ Familiarization with diversity of habitats, floral and faunal diversity, endangered species management, current issues and management interventions
§ Understanding concepts of core and buffer zone management
§ Habitat management, management of grasslands, endangered species- tiger, swamp deer, bison etc.
§ Visitor and tourism management, interpretation facilities and environmental education
§ People park interface, communities, human dimension, man-wildlife conflict and current initiatives
§ Wildlife corridors and landscape level approach to conservation
Interface livestock issues and health management
§ Module 3 – Wildlife Rehabilitation & Human-Wildlife Conflict Issues
§ Overview of the process and package of community relocation, and rehabilitation program implemented in a rescue center, understand the intricacies and difficulties of implementing a government-private partnership project.
Assessments – There will be comprehensive assessments for each aspect of the class to test student knowledge and comprehension of the course material, in-class and field exercises, and required readings.
Pre-Departure Quiz = 100 points
Field Journal & participation = 150 points
Modules = 150 points (50 points each)
Final Exam/Paper = 100 points
Total = 500 points
Class participation will be judged by input from all lecturers:
Good participation: Listening attentively, asking relevant questions, never been late for meeting time, never leaving meetings/activities early, engaged in learning
Poor participation: Arriving late for meetings or leaving early, sleeping in class, rarely asking questions, disengaged.
POLICY ISSUES
Attendance
Class attendance is required. Student participation is critical for completing both individual and group lab modules and without near perfect attendance, a student is unlikely to receive a respectable grade in the course.
Missed Assessments
There will be NO makeup of missed exams and assignments except as defined by the official University policy on excused absences, which are anticipated or emergency. Anticipated absences must be cleared with the instructor BEFORE missing the class. Emergency absences consist of illness, injury, or serious illness or death in the family. For more information on excused absences please see: http://www.ncsu.edu/policies/academic_affairs/pols_regs/REG205.00.4.php
Grading Policy
The correlation between percentages and letter grades is:
A+ / 98-100 / B+ / 88-89 / C+ / 78-79 / D+ / 68-69 / F / 59 and belowA / 93-97 / B / 83-87 / C / 73-77 / D / 63-67
A- / 90-92 / B- / 80-82 / C- / 70-72 / D- / 60-62
Academic Integrity Statement
Assessments are built into the course to gauge a student’s understanding of the subject material covered in this class. Therefore, dishonesty in any form will not be tolerated. All individuals involved in an act of academic dishonesty ex. copying, plagiarism etc. will fail the assignment and/or the course. Please see the Code of Student Conduct at the following URL:
http://www.ncsu.edu/policies/student_services/student_discipline/POL11.35.1.php
Incompletes
In this course, an incomplete grade will be used in accordance with the official university grading policy, which can be found at http://www.ncsu.edu/policies/academic_affairs/pols_regs/REG205.00.13.php
Harassment
The role of all employees and students is to create and maintain a supportive and harassment-free working and learning environment for all members of the campus community. All faculty, staff, and students are responsible for understanding and complying with harassment policies. These policies can be viewed at www.ncsu.edu/equal_op/. Members of the campus community are encouraged and should feel free to seek assistance, information, and guidance from their department head, supervisor, the Office of Equal Opportunity (513-1234), Human Resources (515-4300), or the Office for Student Conduct (515-2963).
COURSE SCHEDULE (Subject to change based on field conditions)
Field trip to the National Zoological Park, New Delhi (1 day)
Module 1: Wildlife Management Practices (5 days)
Module 2: Research and Management of wildlife in a National Park (4 days)
(4 days)
Module 3: Wildlife Rehabilitation & Human-Wildlife Conflict Issues (2 days)
2