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Models Mapped 1,571 km² of Rhesus Macaque Habitat and Conflict Hotspots in Pakistan’s Hindu Raj

Rhesus macaque in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
Conservation · Human–wildlife conflict

A spatial study in the Hindu Raj Mountains of Swat, Pakistan, mapped both suitable habitat for rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) and areas where that habitat overlaps with high human–macaque conflict risk. The habitat model identified 1,571 km² of suitable habitat, equivalent to 29.3% of the study area.

Suitable areas were concentrated mainly in mid-elevation forest–agriculture mosaics. Annual mean temperature, temperature range, precipitation during the driest month and forest cover were the strongest predictors of habitat suitability.

Conflict risk was highest where suitable macaque habitat overlapped with dense human presence. The largest proportions of conflict-prone area were mapped in Matta at 29.3%, Khwazakhela at 24.2% and Charbagh at 18.5%. Human modification and proximity to settlements were among the strongest predictors in the conflict model.

The authors use these spatial differences to identify where preventive measures could be prioritised. They recommend eco-friendly, non-lethal approaches and spatially targeted management aimed at reducing conflict while maintaining macaque habitat in the Hindu Raj landscape.

Sources and image credit

  1. Rehan, M., Kabir, M., Bohnett, E., Bian, J., Ahmad, F., Khan, T. A., & Li, A. (2026). From hotspots to action: Spatial risk and habitat priorities for human–macaque coexistence in the Hindu Raj Mountains, Pakistan. American Journal of Primatology, 88(4), e70145.Primary peer-reviewed study, first published 2 April 2026. Habitat-suitability and conflict-risk models mapped 1,571 km² of suitable rhesus macaque habitat and identified the strongest conflict-risk areas around Matta, Khwazakhela and Charbagh.

Image: Talha Mehmood Khattak — rhesus macaque in Karak District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, photographed 15 March 2017; representative species image, not an animal from the study. Source: Wikimedia Commons. · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source

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Human–wildlife conflict

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