Mammal occurrence along line transects for hornbill survey in the Western Ghats, India (2005-06)

The data contains 335 occurrence records of mammals detected along line transect surveys conducted across 34 localities in the Western Ghats, India, spanning five states: Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu. Surveys were carried out between February 2005 and May 2006 as part of a conservation status survey of hornbills and endemic birds along the Western Ghats. Data were collected by Divya Mudappa and T. R. Shankar Raman of the Nature Conservation Foundation (NCF), Mysore (ncf-india.org).

The dataset covers 18 mammal species (Class: Mammalia) belonging to seven families across five orders (Artiodactyla, Carnivora, Primates, Proboscidea, Rodentia), including large mammals such as Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus), Gaur (Bos frontalis), and Lion-tailed Macaque (Macaca silenus), as well as primates, deer, and squirrels. Transect surveys followed standard line transect (distance sampling) methodology in various forest habitats: dry deciduous, moist deciduous, semi-evergreen, and wet evergreen forests across protected areas, reserved forests, and plantation landscapes of the Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot.