Habitat Suitability Mapping of Sloth Bear (Melursus ursinus) in the Sariska Tiger Reserve (India) Using a GIS-Based Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process

This chapter presents a habitat suitability mapping of sloth bear using fuzzy analytical hierarchy process that relies on geographical information system (GIS)–automated techniques. We selected nine parameters for assessing sloth bear habitat suitability: food availability, distance to waterholes, canopy density, slope, elevation, grazing, human disturbance, and distance to villages and roads. All the weighted parameter layers were integrated to obtain suitability classes. Of the total area of the Reserve, 44% area was found under moderate suitability class and 34% area under high suitability class. Within three core areas of the Reserve, the concentration of high suitability was observed in Core-I area. The habitat suitability classes were validated by analyzing their relationship with the zonal statistics of beat-wise habitat-use intensity data of sloth bear in the Reserve. This analysis revealed that the beat-wise habitat-use intensity coincides with suitability zones. Our study may prove to be beneficial for managing and formulating guidelines for the self-sustenance of the reintroduced bears in the Reserve. The model adopted in this study can also be applied for assessing habitat suitability of other bear species in different geographical regions at various scales.