Seasonality and diversity of mammalian fauna of Gautala reserve forest, Maharashtra, India

Mammalian communities play an important role in ecological integrity. Gautala reserve forest is an importantpart of the ecological system. In the current study, fifteen spots were selected to identify mammalian speciesand assess their survival in the Gautala sanctuary area. During the survey, 30 mammalian species from 17mammalian families were detected. The transect method was used to sample direct and indirect evidence ofmammalian species. The Cercopithecidae family contains numerous mammal species, whereas the Manidaefamily contains fewer mammal species reported in the current study. This paper discusses seasonalfluctuations in mammalian diversity and statistical analysis methods. Four species are vulnerable such asTetracerus quadricornis (Blainville), Rusa unicolor (Kerr), Panthera pardus (Linnaeus), and Melursusursinus (Shaw); one species is near to threatened (NT) as the Hyaena hyaena (Linnaeus); and two species areEndangered such as the Cuon alpinus (Pallas), Manis crassicaudata (E. Geoffroy) as per the IUCN red data.The current study compiled baseline data on the survivability of these mammalian species. Future planningfor mammalian variety conservation will benefit from this information.