India's tiger conservation efforts are showing results, but much more needs to be done.
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Tigers in India - conservation and relocation
- The story: The magnificent tiger is at the peak of the eco-system it inhabits. Conservationists claim that saving tigers is as good as saving the forest itself. Often, relocations are made in India, in order to balance certain needs.
- Tiger conservation: These top predators play an important role in maintaining the harmony of the planet’s ecosystems. The tiger moves in a big territory and requires a sizeable forest area for survival, and thriving. Tiger conservation efforts with landscape connectivity and conservation involve measures in such a large range. It's not trivial, and needs foresight and planning. It leads to the betterment and strengthening of the entire biosphere if done properly.
- Project Tiger in India: At the beginning of the 20th century, the number of Indian tigers was around 40,000. After 1947, rampant killing of tigers was observed, and the 1972 tiger census put their numbers at less than 1500. Most of the tigers were killed and their parts sold to South-East Asian countries, for medicinal purposes. It is wrongly assumed that tiger parts act as aphrodisiacs (sexual stimulants).
- The government realised the precarious situation of tigers, and banned their hunting and then launched ‘Project Tiger’ in 1973.
- It urgently created tiger reserves, and viable tiger population in their natural habitat was also maintained. Starting with nine tiger reserves in 1973, there are now around 50 tiger reserves in India.
- The project totally covers an area of nearly 40000 sq. km.
- Constitution of the NTCA: At the beginning of the 21st century, the tiger population again started declining. The main Protected Area which lost tigers due to hunting and poaching activities was the Sariska Tiger Reserve (Rajasthan) in 2004-2005. Subsequently, the Panna Tiger Reserve (M.P) faced the same in 2007-2008. This led to several inquiry commissions, at national and state levels. The government reconstituted ‘Project Tiger’ and converted it into the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), with more powers to check poaching, to preserve the tiger populations. Its mandate included setting up Tiger Protection Force and funding the relocation of villages from the protected areas.
- Corrective measures in Sariska: The Rajasthan government took up the challenge to reintroduce tigers in Sariska and set up a task force in June 2008. It approaced various institutions and global bodies, to plan and organize a population estimation exercise in Ranthambhore & Sariska. The genetic studies were undertaken to identify tigers suitable for translocation.
- For the first time in the history of tiger conservation, the wild cats were translocated from Ranthambhore to Sariska.
- The tiger population increased at a rapid speed from 1,411, as per the tiger census in 2006, to 2,226 in 2015 and 2,967 in 2018.
- Relocation need: Due to the loss of the forest corridors, tigers were surviving only in pockets like Sariska, Panna and Ranthambhore Tiger Projects. As these pockets were not connected, there was inbreeding of tigers. This, in the long run, would have affected their biological fitness, among other issues. Then there's the problem of maintaining the right male and female ratio. These issues could only be corrected/addressed by relocation.
- Related issues: Every year, more than 100 tigers die due to several reasons (health factors, poaching, man-animal conflict). Although protected areas are fundamental for their survival, a connecting landscape is also essential as they move between different habitats. These areas often have limited protection as many developments, mining, and extraction projects diminish the forest areas. It also gives opportunities to poachers to kill and hunt tigers and leopards.
- Summary: A key component in this game is to engage local communities. Once the humans understand the need and necessity of conservation, a lot of government intervention will become far more meaningful.
- Knowlege centre:
- Tigers in the world - After a century of decline, overall wild tiger numbers are starting to tick upward. Tiger populations are stable or increasing in India, Nepal, Bhutan, Russia and China. An estimated 3,900 tigers remain in the wild, but much more work is needed to protect this species if we are to secure its future in the wild. In some areas, including much of Southeast Asia, tigers are still in crisis and declining in number.
- Tiger species - There are two recognized subspecies of tiger: the continental (Panthera tigris tigris) and the Sunda (Panthera tigris sondaica). The largest of all the Asian big cats, tigers rely primarily on sight and sound rather than smell for hunting. They typically hunt alone and stalk prey. A tiger can consume more than 80 pounds of meat at one time. On average, tigers give birth to two to four cubs every two years. If all the cubs in one litter die, a second litter may be produced within five months. Males of the larger subspecies, the continental tiger, may weigh up to 660 pounds. For males of the smaller subspecies—the Sunda tiger—the upper range is at around 310 pounds. Within both subspecies, males are heavier than females.
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