1387
The Biob io
An In e na ional Qua e ly Jou nal o Li e Sciences
Websi e: www. hebiob io.in SJIF 2024:8.259
ISSN : 2393-9508
e-ISSN: 2582-4902 12(1&2): 1387-1392, 2025
Nee ish Gau a * & Shi anand Singh
Uni e si y Depa men o Zoology, B.R.A. Biha Uni e si y, Muza a pu , Biha , India
Recei ed : 29 h May, 2025 ; Accep ed : 29 h June, 2025
DOI:- h ps://doi.o g/10.5281/zenodo.17678578
Es ima ion o c op aiding in majo seasonal c ops by blue bull in
di e en a eas o Muza a pu , Biha .
ABSTRACT
C op aiding by blue bull in o an ag icul u al ield is a se ious p oblem ha can po en ially
unde mine ag icul u al p oduc i i y. We employed ou di e en app oaches o es ima e he
ex en and pa e ns o c op damage by Blue bull in some a eas nea and a ound Muza a pu ,
in he s a e o Biha , No h India. Fo he wo majo c ops o he abi and kha i seasons. The
s udy shows an es ima ed damage o 12% o he un enced ields, compa ed o he enced
ields. We ound ha he damage caused by Nilgai o he p oduc ion is no as signi ican as we
had expec ed.
Key Wo ds - C op aiding, Boselaphus agocamelus, Gange ic Plain, Muza a pu
*Co esponding au ho : gau a nee [email p o ec ed]
INTRODUCTION
Ag icul u al lands o en ace c op aiding by wild
animals, which can be a se ious p oblem o
cul i a o s whose ea nings depend on ag icul u al
p oduce. In o de o a oid economic loss, cul i a o s
apply a ange o p o ec i e measu es. They include
manual gua ding, he use o ba ie s, enches, and
he applica ion o de ices. The adi ional ba ie s
a e made using wooden poles and ho ny b anches.
Des uc i e p ocedu es can kill o inju e animals.
Ad anced echniques a e expensi e and need
con inuous ca e, and ha e a high isk o bo h
cul i a o s and animals. Howe e , many p ocedu es
ha e been de eloped and shown o be e ec i e on
an expe imen al scale; he e a e easons why hey
achie e limi ed success when employed on a wide
spa ial scale (Wa e e al., 2016). Economic loss
due o wildli e is a conside able h ea o animal
conse a ion due o inc easing esen men among
he cul i a o s, and may esul in e alia ion (Gu eja
& Hussain, 2002). App op ia e compensa ion is
hough o educe con lic , making conse a ion
e o s mo e e ec i e (Wagne , 1997). E en i we
make no assump ion o compensa ion helping
conse a ion, om a social jus ice poin o iew,
he go e nmen may accep i as i s du y o
compensa e he cul i a o 's loss. Al hough se e al
s udies on c op aiding add ess he p oblem in
di e en habi a s, hey a e caused by di e en
species o wild animals.
Few u ilize a en i e me hods o p ima y es ima ion
o damage and a emp o c oss-check o alida e
he me hods (Ma hu , 2015). The legal p o ocols
ha e no clea guidelines on how o es ima e he
ex en o damage; a isual explo a ion and
e alua ion o damage is made. The design o he
damage caused by di e en he bi o es can be
g ea ly di e en , and es ima ing hem using a single
me hod is no possible. Fo example, aiding by
Asian elephan (Elephas maximus) and A ican
elephan (Loxodon a a icana) leads o isibly
ob ious damage o e a measu able a ea whe eas
smalle o medium sized he bi o es like, blackbuck
(An ilope ce icap a), nilgai (Boselaphus
agocamelus), chi al (Axis axis), wild pig (Sus
1388
sc o a) e c. may chew o nibble some speci ic pa s
o a plan such ha he damage is no ob ious a a
glance (Chauhan, 1990) bu yields can be a ec ed
signi ican ly.
The c op species a e also li ing en i ies ha
espond o in lic ed damage in an adap able
manne . I he damage is no a al o a plan , i
ede elops and ies o make up o he loss a leas
pa ly. Thus, he ne damage a he end o he
season may be g ea ly di e en om wha appea s
immedia ely a e a aid. A s udy ha add essed
his ques ion showed ha he isible damage was
no co ela ed well wi h he g ain yield a ha es .
We used ou di e en me hods o damage
es ima ion in he s udy a ea since di e en me hods
o damage es ima ion ha e di e en sou ces o
e o s and biases; i hey con e ge on a simila
in e ence, he in e ence can be mo e eliable.
S udy A ea
The s udy a ea Muza a pu is si ua ed a (26.60°N
and 85.29° E), si ua ed abou 50 km om he capi al
ci y o Biha and 200 km om Valmiki Tige Rese e.
The a ea is plain. I has an a e age ele a ion o
47m. The s udy a ea is in he No h o he as
Gange ic Plain. I is si ua ed a he oo o he g ea
Himalaya. The ci y lies in a highly ac i e seismic
zone. The clima e is humid sub opical. Summe s
in he egion a e e y ho and d y, and he maximum
empe a u e in he egion will ange om 28 o 40
°C. The win e s a e pleasan , cold, and d y, and he
maximum empe a u e du ing his ime will ange
a ound 06 o 20°C. The a e age ain all is a ound
1346.7 mm. Muza a pu doesn' ha e o es a eas
o long s e ches o ege a ion; in ac , i is a
comple ely o es - ee a ea. Majo ege a ion is
ound in small pa ches, along oads and i e sides,
and na u ally g owing plan s on ba en land.
C ops a e cul i a ed in wo seasons, Kha i
(monsoon c ops) and Rabi (win e c ops). Rice
(O yza sa i a) is he p ima y kha i c op, whe eas
whea (T i icum aes i um) is he p ima y abi c op.
We selec ed hese wo c op species o ou
obse a ions and expe imen s as hey a e he mos
abundan c ops in he s udy a ea.
MATERIALS & METHODS
We used ou independen me hods o e alua e
c op damage.
(1) Pe iodic isual examina ion o c op damage
along ansec lines. (2) The ne g ain yield pe uni
a ea along he same ansec lines (measu ed a
he ime o ha es ). (3) Compa ison o yields on
enced and exposed neighbou ing a ms. (4)
Compa ison o g ain yields a e con olled a i icial
he bi o y.
Ac oss he ou me hods, one o mo e o he h ee
pa ame e s we e moni o ed:-
(i) F equency o isi s by bluebull, (ii) Visual
es ima e o appa en damage, and (iii) G ain yield
a ha es , all h ee we e es ima ed aking an
indi idual a me 's cul i a ed land as a uni and
Nee ish Gau a & Shi anand Singh
Fig. 1: Bluebull aiding c op
Fig. 2: Raided whea plan a di e en s ages
Fig. 3: Ag icul u al land o he a i icial he bi o y expe imen
1389
hen no malized by he a ea unde cul i a ion in
ha a m. We epo he esul s o 2 yea s o s udy
om 2022 o 2024 in his pape . Due o manpowe
limi a ions, each o he ou me hods could no be
employed ac oss bo h yea s, bu we a emp ed o
ensu e ep oducibili y. To compa e he esul s o
wo o mo e o he me hods, he compa ison was
made in he same season and he same a ea.
1. Visual es ima es o he equency o aids and
he a ea encoun e ed
Th ee ansec lines, each 2 km long, we e laid.
We expec ed he aiding equency o be a
mono onic dec easing unc ion o dis ance om he
ield. The geog aphical loca ion o each a m ha
was cu by he line was eco ded using a handheld
GPS de ice (Redmi 11, And oid). Baseline
in o ma ion abou he owne s and he c opping
season, c op species, o al a ea o a m, a ea unde
cul i a ion o each c op, i iga ion acili y, and o he
ag icul u e- ela ed in o ma ion we e no ed. A o al
o 14 a ms along ansec s we e hen isi ed once
e e y week by ou eam du ing he day ime o
obse e whe he he e we e isible a eas o
damage. Whene e damage was no ed, he
app oxima e a ea wi h isible damage was
measu ed in squa e me es. This mimics he
cu en ly employed me hod o isual inspec ion o
es ima e damage. The weekly obse a ions
con inued un il he c op was ha es ed. This
in o ma ion was ea ed as bina y o calcula e he
day p obabili y o damage, assuming ha he aids
we e andom and he e o e ollowed a Poisson
dis ibu ion.
2. G ain yield a ha es .
The a ms along he ansec lines men ioned
abo e, up o 2 km, we e isi ed a he ime o ha es
o no e he o al g ain yield o each c op pe uni
a ea. The eam physically e i ied he g ain yield
a he ime o ha es in e ms o he numbe o
bags and ac ual weigh in quin als. We s udied he
a ms along ansec s o subsequen yea s and
eco ded yields in 14 a ms o bo h he kha i and
abi seasons. G ain yield was no malized wi h
indi idual a me s' land a ea unde cul i a ion and
exp essed as quin als pe hec a e (Q/Ha).
3. Expe imen al plo s
A plo o one hec a e in p oximi y was used as an
expe imen al a m. The expe imen al a ea wi h
homogeneous soil and i iga ion condi ions was
di ided in o six sub-plo s, wo o which we e enced
wi h a combina ion o ba bed wi e and ho ny bush,
and he o he h ee we e le unp o ec ed. C op
species, namely ice du ing Kha i and whea du ing
Rabi season, we e g own in neighbou ing p o ec ed
and unp o ec ed a ms, keeping he pa ame e s o
cul i a ion, such as soil p epa a ion, e ilize , seed
densi y, and i iga ion, iden ical. All he
expe imen al a ms we e p o ec ed du ing day ime
o a oid any damage by domes ic animals and we e
obse ed silen ly a nigh om adi ionally
p epa ed 10-12 all wooden gua ding pla o ms,
locally known as 'machan'. The daily eco ded
pa ame e s included equency o isi s by bluebull,
hei g oup size, equency o isible damage, and
a ea wi h isible damage. A he end o he season,
he g ain yield pe uni a ea was eco ded.
4. A i icial he bi o y
To s udy he e ec o le els o damage on
indi idual plan s, pa icula ly hei eg ow h a e
damage and he esul an g ain yield, he plan s
we e manually cu using scisso s a di e en
heigh s and di e en ages, and compa ed wi h
uncu con ol plan s a he ime o ha es . These
expe imen s we e pe o med in a enced a ea du ing
wo consecu i e seasons o 2023 and 2024. In one
se o expe imen s, he main s ems o all plan s in
a uni sampling a ea we e cu a di e en heigh s
om he g ound in a p e- lowe ing s age (a 60 days
o whea ). In ano he se o expe imen s, he ips
comp ising lea es and buds in he uppe 2-3 cm
we e cu a di e en ages o he c op. The plan s
we e allowed o eg ow h ough he es o he
season. All he ea men plo s o all c ops we e
p o ided wi h he same amoun and combina ion
o e ilize s, pes icides, and wa e as he con ol
plo s. A he ime o ha es , all he ea men and
con ol plan s we e up oo ed ca e ully o measu e
he di e en pa ame e s, such as he heigh o he
eg own plan , he numbe o heads, and he numbe
o g ains/seeds.
Es ima ion o c op aiding in majo seasonal c ops by blue bull in di e en a eas o Muza a pu , Biha .
1390
RESULTS
1. Pe iodic moni o ing o a ms along ansec s
The mean equency pe nigh , calcula ed using
Poisson p obabili ies, showed a dec easing end
wi h dis ance. Al hough bo h seasons showed a
declining end wi h dis ance, he damage
equency in Kha i was nea ly wice ha in Rabi
o e he s e ch. This di e ence is likely due o
ac i e gua ding by a me s, which is di icul du ing
he monsoon and he e o e no p ac iced. I is
impo an o no e ha he equency o damage
occu s despi e manual gua ding e o s.
2. G ain Yield along ansec a ms
The dec easing end o isible damage by
he bi o es was accompanied by an inc easing end
in g ain yield wi h dis ance ansec s. Excep o
ice, he e was a signi ican and consis en
inc easing end wi h dis ance o whea . The end
in he equency o animal aids be ween he 1s
km and he in e al be ween he 2nd km showed a
ime decline in he equency o aids. Compa ed
o his decline he yield imp o ed by 1.37 o 2.85
old o whea . The end lines o g ain yield also
gi e us a ough es ima e o a e age damage. A
compa ison o g ain yields wi h he isual es ima es
o he a ea damaged made du ing weekly isi s o
he a ms e ealed a poo co ela ion be ween
isually es ima ed damage and he educ ion in ne
yield om he expec ed. Fo his analysis, done on
wo seasons (2023-2024), a cumula i e o he
weekly isual es ima e o damage was co ela ed
wi h he de ici om expec ed yield. The
co ela ions we e non-signi ican , and h oughou
he ange, he de ici in g ain yield was o de s o
magni ude g ea e han he cumula i e isual
es ima e o damage o a ms.
Rice was leas damaged bu s ill aced an 18% loss
in he un enced a eas in 2023. In his season, he
unp o ec ed a ea yielded 6.3 Q/Ha, whe eas he
p o ec ed a ea yielded 7.68 Q/Ha.
4. A i icial he bi o y
C ops a e li ing beings; pa ially damaged plan s
can eg ow. Plan s can also show li e his o y ade-
o s when acing he challenge o he bi o y.
A i icial he bi o y expe imen s by cu ing he shoo
ips a measu ed heigh s o a a ce ain age o
plan s e ealed ha he e was subs an ial g ow h
a e cu ing.
In whea , we obse ed ha plan s cu a he age o
25 days om sowing eg ew and gained a heigh
compa able wi h he con ol a ha es . The g ain
yield was also compa able o he con ols. Howe e ,
when cu a la e ages, i did no eco e su icien ly
in heigh o seed numbe . In o he wo ds, ea ly
damage appea ed o allow g ea e ime o
eg ow h, esul ing in be e g ain yield. I cu a e
he lowe ing s age, he e was no seed o ma ion.
Thus, in whea , damage a la e s ages o c op
appea ed o be mo e se ious. When g oups o plan s
we e cu a di e en heigh s in a p e- lowe ing
s age, hey eco e ed pa ially in e ms o heigh
and p oduced some seed, bu he yield was low,
he de ici in yield being p opo ional o he ex en
o cu ing.
C op
species
Plo
a ea
(m2)
Heigh a
which
plan s a e
cu (cm)
Age a
which
plan s cu
(days)
Numbe
o plan s
cu (n)
Numbe o
plan s on
ha es (n1)
Rice
1
Con ol
Con ol
100
98.3
1
5
20
100
84.2
1
10
45
100
79.6
1
15
60
100
64
Whea 1 Con ol Con ol 100 97.6
1 5 25 100 71.6
1 10 45 100 93
1 15 55 100 67.6
This phenomenon is known o a me s, and some
o hem p ac ice con olled plucking o inc ease he
yield. Howe e , cu ing down beyond a h eshold
was coun e p oduc i e and dec eased eg ow h as
well as seed o ma ion. A yield de ici o up o 37%
was no ed on cu ing down a plan a a p e-
lowe ing s age.
We did no pe o m a i icial cu ing in he case o
ice, bu did obse e ha in he un enced and
ungua ded plo exposed o he bi o y, he numbe
o ille s bea ing seed was abou 16% less, and he
numbe o seeds pe ille was 22% less han he
p o ec ed plo .
We employed ou di e en app oaches o assess
and compa e c op damage in he s udy si e. Each
Table 1: A i icial he bi o y o Rice and whea (a di e en days)
Nee ish Gau a & Shi anand Singh
1391
In expe imen s wi h enced a ms, o ice, he
p o ec ed a m yield was 21.66 Q/Ha, and o
whea , 24.88 Q/Ha. Since gi ing p o ec ion alone
could inc ease he yield o a le el compa able o
he highes yielding a eas, he end is due o
accessibili y and equency o isi s by bluebull and
cul i a o 's discou agemen om in es ing in
in ensi e ag icul u e appea o be esponsible o
he end in g ain yield (Wa e e al., 2016).
Resul s o he bi o y a e impo an because a
po en ial cause o a misma ch be ween a isual
es ima ion o damage and g ain yield de ici is
eg ow h o plan s a e damage (Paige, 1987). The
ege a i e pa s o plan s eg ow o a conside able
ex en a e he bi o y. The e a e claims o he bi o y
being bene icial o plan s owing o s imula ed
eg ow h (Paige, 1987). Rice, on he o he hand,
belongs o g asses ha ha e subs an ial oo
biomass, which is long-li ed and can eg ow in he
ollowing season. The e o e, on acing a g ea e
h ea o seed p eda ion, i may s a egically in es
mo e in oo biomass and less in seed p oduc ion.
This is impo an since a e damage wi hin a ew
days, he a m as a whole looks in ac and g een
due o eg ow h, and he e o e, he damage may
no be no iceable on isual inspec ion, bu a
subs an ial loss is incu ed.
The expe imen al plo showed a subs an ial de ici
in ice yield in he unp o ec ed a ea as compa ed
o he p o ec ed a ea. The de ici was unexpec ed
since he obse ed equency o aids was no e y
high. The di e ence can pe haps be due o pos -
ha es damage. The o he majo misma ch was
ha isual e alua ions always ga e g ea ly lowe
es ima es compa ed o all o he me hods. These
a e possible easons: (i) he p e alen he bi o e
species do mo e o nibbling damage, which is less
no iceable han ampling o up oo ing ype o
damage. (ii) No all ypes o damage a e no iceable
a he same ime. Fo example, oo o s em base
chewing by he Blue bull leads o slow d ying o
he indi idual, which becomes no iceable a e a
ew days. On he o he hand, nibbling he ips may
be appa en a e a ca e ul look immedia ely a e
he damage, bu he plan s eg ow soon, and he
Es ima ion o c op aiding in majo seasonal c ops by blue bull in di e en a eas o Muza a pu , Biha .
G aph 1: G ain yield (Rice) in enced and un enced ields in
successi e yea s
G aph 2: G ain yield (Whea ) in enced and un enced ields
in successi e yea s
G aph 3: G aph showing he esul o a i icial he bi o y o
Rice a di e en days
G aph 4: G aph showing he esul o a i icial he bi o y o
Whea a di e en days
o he me hods may su e om some law o
sho all. The ne yield ends obse ed wi h
dis ance om he o es a e likely o be a ec ed
by o he ac o s. I is possible o assess he wo
possibili ies om he a ailable da a.
1392
damage becomes di icul o no ice a e a ew
days. I is di icul o no ice all ypes o damage
oge he in a single inspec ion.
CONCLUSION
P e ious esea ch on c op aiding by wild animals
in India is hea ily biased owa ds damage by la ge
he bi o es, likely elephan s. In his case, he
damaged a ea is measu able, and he ne loss is
likely o be di ec ly p opo ional o he ac ion o
he isibly damaged a ea. Howe e , in he case o
smalle o medium-sized he bi o es, he case is
e y di e en . I is possible ha isual e alua ion
o damage wo ks o ce ain species o damaging
animals, bu ails o o he s. We sugges ha i
should be based on he g ain yield o ne p oduce
a ha es a he han isually assessed ege a i e
loss.
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Nee ish Gau a & Shi anand Singh
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