Background: Habitat fragmentation and human encroachment of the Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus) in the Sikkim Himalaya has resulted in isolation of populations along with human-wildlife conflict. Frequent crop and livestock depredation incidents have resulted in many farmers giving up their farming practices. Though bear presence in these regions is frequent, studies on migratory route and habitat corridors are limited. This study provides spatial mapping of habitat and corridor connectivity for Asiatic black bear with focus on Fambonglho Wildlife Sanctuary (FWLS). 
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Method: Habitat suitability raster generated by MaxEnt software from 64 Asiatic black bear occurrence records and 48 environmental variables was used as a conductance layer in Circuitscape environment for modeling potential movement routes. Indigenously obtained data from structured survey of 117 farmers around FWLS was analyzed in IBM-SPSS framework for corridor connectivity and habitat impacts. 
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Result: The model had an overall accuracy of 96.37% with a Kappa Coefficient of 0.9621. Corridors that connect FWLS, Kyongnosla Alpine Sanctuary and Pangolakha Wildlife Sanctuaries have been found to be highly developed, whereas bottlenecks have been observed on the highways and rivers like Teesta River and Rangeet River. The surveys revealed a high level of awareness amongst the local community regarding existence of wildlife corridors; only 8.5% of the survey respondents were unaware. Areas like Barapathing Reserve Forest, Bulbulay Reserve Forest and Assam Reserve Forest, critical for connectivity, remain outside protected boundaries, necessitating immediate conservation action. A p-value &lt;0.005 confirmed statistically significant corridor usage patterns.

Corridor Planning for Asiatic Black Bear in Sikkim Himalaya: A Synergistic Approach of Technology and Indigenous Insights