Gajah Vigyan - Publication

Peer-reviewed publications

(10) Pokharel SS, Chettri AK, Chatterjee S, Seshagiri PB, Sukumar R (2025) Physiological responses in free-ranging Asian elephant populations living across human-production landscapes. Scientific Reports 15 (1), 32365

(9) Takahashi K, Pokharel SS, Kinoshita K, Ishiwata K, Soeda Y (2024) A newly discovered woolly mammoth molar from off the Notsuke Peninsula in Hokkaido, Japan. Journal of Fossil Research 57 (1・2), 50-57

(8) Pokharel SS, Brown JL (2023) Physiological plasticity in elephants: highly dynamic glucocorticoids in African and Asian elephants. Conservation Physiology 11: coad088. doi.org/10.1093/conphys/coad088

(7) Pokharel SS, Sharma N, Sukumar R (2022) Viewing the rare through public lenses: insights into dead calf carrying and other thanatological responses in Asian elephants using YouTube videos. Royal Society Open Science 9(5):211740. doi.org/10.1098/rsos.211740

(6) Pokharel SS, Yoneda H, Yanagi M, Sukumar R, Kinoshita K (2021) The tail-tale of stress: an exploratory analysis of cortisol levels in the tail-hair of captive Asian elephants. PeerJ 9: e10445. doi.org/10.7717/peerj.10445

(5) Sharma N, Pokharel SS, Kohshima S, Sukumar R. 2020. Behavioural responses of free-ranging Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) towards dying and dead conspecifics. Primates: 61, 129–138. doi.org/10.1007/s10329-019-00739-8 (Equal first author)

(4) Pokharel SS, Seshagiri PB, Sukumar R (2020) Influence of the number of calves and lactating adult females in a herd on the adrenocortical activity of free-ranging Asian elephants. Wildlife Research: 46(8), 679-689. doi.org/10.1071/WR18163

(3) Hanya G, Tackmann J, Sawada A, Lee W, Pokharel SS, de Castro Maciel VG, Toge A, Kuroki K, Otsuka R, Mabuchi R, Liu J (2020) Fermentation Ability of Gut Microbiota of Wild Japanese Macaques in the Highland and Lowland Yakushima: In Vitro Fermentation Assay and Genetic Analyses. Microbial Ecology: 24, 1-6

(2) Pokharel SS, Seshagiri PB, Sukumar R (2019) Lower levels of glucocorticoids in crop-raiders: Diet quality as a potential ‘pacifier’ against stress in free-ranging Asian elephants in a human-production habitat. Animal Conservation: 22(2), 177-188. doi.org/10.1111/acv.12450

(1) Pokharel SS, Seshagiri PB, Sukumar R (2017) Assessment of season-dependent body condition scores in relation to faecal glucocorticoid metabolites in free-ranging Asian elephants. Conservation Physiology 5: cox039. doi.org/10.1093/conphys/cox039

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Conference proceedings (*peer-reviewed proceedings)

18. Pokharel SS (2025) A tale of the elephant who wandered beyond the ‘forest’. Living Together: Human–Wildlife Relationships in a Changing World

Exploring Ecological, Ethical, and Cultural Dimensions of Coexistence. Uehiro Research Center for Japan Environmental Studies (UJES), Research Institute for Humanity and Nature (RIHN) and Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Interactive Meeting. (Invited talk)

17. Pokharel SS (2024) Physiological adaptations in large mammals: Exploring the present and the past (proboscideans). Stress and aging: a Japan-India biological research collaboration to meet 21st century challenges. IISc-Kyoto University Joint Workshop/Symposium-2024, India. (Invited talk)

16. Pokharel SS, Sharma N (2024) Dead Calf Carrying in Asian Elephants. First International Symposium on Comparative Evolutionary Thanatology, Kyoto University, Japan. (Invited talk)

15. Pokharel SS, Brown JL (2023) Physiological plasticity in elephants. 8th International Conference of International Society of Wildlife Endocrinology, Jim Corbett National Park, India.*

14. Pokharel SS (2023) Physiological tunings: How elephants react to changing ecological contexts. 4th DST-SERB School on Chemical Ecology, India. (Invited public talk)

13. Pokharel SS, Brown JL, Kinoshita K, Seshagiri PB, Sukumar R (2021) Cortisol as a clue of physiological stress: Decoding in extant species and its insights into extinct species. VIII International Conference on Mammoths and their Relatives, India.*

12. Pokharel SS (2021) Stress and elephants: Physiological adaptation to the changing ecological milieu. The Evolution and Adaptation: Current Scenario conference, GITAM University India. (Invited panel talk)

11. Pokharel SS, Yoneda H, Kinoshita K (2019) The tail-tale of stress: an exploratory study to assess hair cortisol in Asian elephants. A paper presented at the 7th Conference of the International Society of Wildlife Endocrinology, Kruger National Park, hosted by the Mammal Research Institute of the University of Pretoria and South African National Parks.* (Best Presentation Award)

10. Pokharel SS, Seshagiri PB, Sukumar R (2019) Lower levels of stress in crop-raiding Asian elephants: diet as a potential ‘pacifier’. Symposium of Integrative Biology: Biodiversity in Asia, Center for Ecological Research, Kyoto University, Japan. (Invited panel talk)

9. Pokharel SS, Seshagiri PB, Sukumar R (2018) Influence of ecological correlates on the stress status of free-ranging adult female Asian elephants. A paper presented at the 8th International Seminar on Biodiversity and Evolution, Wildlife Research Centre, Kyoto University, Japan.

8. Pokharel SS, Seshagiri PB, Sukumar R (2017) Herd-size, lactational-status and landscape affect stress status of free-ranging adult female Asian elephants: variations in fecal glucocorticoid metabolites. A paper presented at the 6th Conference of the International Society of Wildlife Endocrinology (ISWE), Florida, USA.* (Awarded with the International Travel Grant-ISWE)

7. Pokharel SS, Seshagiri PB, Sukumar R (2016) Stress physiology of free-ranging Asian elephants. A poster presented at the 15th International Elephant and Rhino Conservation and Research Symposium, Wildlife Reserves Singapore, Singapore.*

6. Pokharel SS, Seshagiri PB, Sukumar R (2016) Influence of intrinsic and extrinsic stressors on the stress status of free-ranging Asian elephants. A paper presented at the International Seminar on Biodiversity and Evolution, Wildlife Research Centre, Kyoto University, Japan.

5. Pokharel SS, Sukumar R (2016) Chemical Communications in Elephants. A paper presented at the SERB Collaborations in Indian Chemical Ecology, National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS), India. (Invited talk)

4. Pokharel SS, Seshagiri PB, Sukumar R (2015) Ecological variations impact the stress status of free-ranging Asian elephants. A paper presented at the 5th Conference of International Society of Wildlife Endocrinology, Berlin, Germany.*

3. Pokharel SS, Seshagiri PB, Sukumar R (2015) Use of non-invasive tool to understand the stress status in free-ranging Asian elephants. A poster presented at the National workshop on Reproduction and Welfare of endangered animals in conservation breeding, Laboratory for the Conservation of Endangered Species (LaCONES-CCMB), India.*

2. Pokharel SS, Chaudhary S, Uniyal VP (2010) Assessment of avian diversity in the human-dominated urban areas. A paper presented at the International Conference on Cooling the Earth: Tactics for Restoring Climate Order and Saving the Living Plane, G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, India.

1. Pokharel SS (2010) Reviewing the probabilities of Glacier Lake Outburst Floodings in Nepal. A review presented at the International Conference on Climate Change and Sustainable Management of Natural Resources, Institute of Technology and Management-Gwalior, India. (Invited panel talk)