Protected species outside the protected areas: People's attitude, threats and conservation of the Yellow Monitor (Varanus flavescens) in the Far-western Lowlands of Nepal

Although there is high potential for conservation of species outside protected areas, it is often neglected in researches and conservation programs. Protected species are legally protected even outside the protected areas and can be flagships for conservation in these areas, but their conservation aspects in these areas are poorly studied. We studied conservation aspects of a poorly known species, Yellow Monitor (Varanus flavescens), which is protected in most of its range countries, outside the protected areas in the Far-western lowlands of Nepal. We studied people's relationship, attitudes and threats to the species through questionnaire survey with adults and children in Parasan Village Development Committee of Kanchanpur District. We found that most of the adults were unaware about the protected status and importance of the species, and both adults as well as children killed the species. The study revealed that most of the killing occurred in agricultural land and children were more responsible for the killing than the adults. We found that monsoon vacation in schools increased the threat to the species. Our study revealed that fear from the species was the main reason and use of the species as food, medicine and hide were other reasons for killing of the species by adults. Low awareness was the major reason behind the killing by children as most of the killing was not related to any good reasons. We estimated that 87 individuals of the species could have been killed in the area in that year. Based on available evidences, we recommend further studies to predict the vulnerability of the species. Our study suggests that raising awareness among locals about its legal status and importance is the simple and efficient measure for the conservation of the species as well as for conserving other protected species outside the protected areas.