Gopal Khanal

Gopal Khanal

PhD student
IRES Student Society PhD Representative, 2024-25

Contact Details

gkhanal[at]student[dot]ubc[dot]ca

http://www.gopalkhanal.com/

Research Interests

conservation science and practice, applied ecology, human-carnivore conflict, protected area planning, open and reproducible science

Bio

Gopal (he/him) is a Ph.D. student working under the supervision of Dr. Kaitlyn Gaynor. He is broadly interested in understanding how humans and wildlife respond to each other and identifying ways to ensure their coexistence. His doctoral research aims to better understand the socio-ecological factors affecting the human-carnivore conflict in Nepal. Gopal worked as a conservation officer for the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC), Government of Nepal, for four years before enrolling in UBC for his Ph.D. Gopal holds an MSc degree in Wildlife Biology and Conservation.

Featured Publications

Khanal, G., Mishra, C., & Ramesh Suryawanshi, K. (2020). Relative influence of wild prey and livestock abundance on carnivore‐caused livestock predation. Ecology and Evolution10(20), 11787-11797. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.6815 

Khanal, G., Suryawanshi, K.R., Awasthi, K.D., Dhakal, M., Subedi, N., Nath, D., Kandel, R.C., Kelkar, N.  (2016). Irrigation demands aggravate fishing threats to river dolphins in Nepal. Biological Conservation. 204, 386–393. DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2016.10.026

Khanal, G., Poudyal, L. P., Devkota, B. P., Ranabhat, R., & Wegge, P. (2020). Status and conservation of the snow leopard Panthera uncia in Api Nampa Conservation Area, Nepal. Oryx, 54(3), 421-428. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605318000145