Roar in the wild

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Roar in the wild.

( Buddhin Hazarika reveals fascinating facts about the endangered

Indian tiger.)

 

The Indian Tiger or Royal Bengal Tiger (Panthera tigris) is the most

impressive, majestic and biggest of all cats. The tiger is known for

its power, ferocity and agility. It is locally known as Dhekiapatia

Bagh (in Asomiya), Bagh (Bengali, Oriya), Nahar, Sela Bagh

(Marathi), Pulle (Telegu and Tamil). Right now India harbours nearly

65% of the global population of tigers. The colour of the tiger is

brilliantly attractive. The colours of its striped coat varies from

orange red to golden yellow and sometimes creamy white may mix in.

The cheeks, throat, belly and legs are white. The backs of the ears

are black with white spots in the centre and the insides of the ears

are white. The black markings on the patch of the white hair above

each eye provide clues for identifying individual tigers.

In recorded history,tigers have been known since 2500 BC from the

tiger seals of the Indus Valley Civilization of Mohenjodaro and

Harappa. In the last century, the Indian tiger was a very common

wildlife species in almost all the states of India and there were

about 40,000 tigers at the beginning of the century. Although its

general range remained unchanged, expansion of human habitat,

destruction of tiger habitat for agriculture, including jhum

(shifting) cultivations, depletion of prey base and ruthless

killings have resulted in the sharp decline of the wild tiger

population. Severe fragmentation and shrinkage of tiger habitat may

be the other vital cause for depletion of tiger population in India.

Moreover, killing and hunting of tigers was rampant in India till

1969. The tiger population gradually decreased to less than 2000 and

there has been a 95% decline in the tiger population in the

Seventies of the Twentieth century. In 1969,in a convention of the

International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural

Resources (IUCN), a sensational research paper titled " Vanishing

Indian Tiger " was presented by Kailash Sankhala where he established

that the tiger population in India was not more than 2000.After

three years i.e. in 1972, a comprehensive census of the Indian Tiger

showed the evidence of 1827 tigers in India, 20 in Bangladesh and

200 in Nepal. Its population in Bhutan and West Myanmar could not be

ascertained due to some unavoidable reasons. The status of the tiger

population is still vulnerable.

To protect tigers from illegal killing, the " Project Tiger "

programme was launched on April 1, 1973 by the Government of India,

which can be termed as a significant measure for tiger conservation.

Till date there are twentyeight tiger projects in India. The state

wise distribution of the projects are- Andhra Pradesh-1

(Nagarjunasagar), Asom-2 (Manas, Nameri); Arunachal Pradesh-2

(Namdapha, Pakhui); Bihar-1 (Valmiki), Chhatisgarh-1 (Indrawati);

Jharkhand-1 (Palamau); Karnataka-2 (Bhadra, Bandipur); Kerela-I

(Periyar); Madhya Pradesh (Pench, Kanha, Borisatpura, Bandhavgarh,

Panna); Maharashtra-3 (Pench, Melghat, Tadoba- Andhari); Mizoram-1

(Dampha); Orissa-1 (Simplipal); Rajasthan-2 (Sariska, Ranthambhore);

Tamilnadu-1 (Kalakad-Mundanthurai); Uttar Pradesh-1 (Dudhwa);

Uttaranchal-1 (Corbett); West Bengal-2 (Buxa, Sunderbans). As per

the 1997 census there were 927 tigers in Madhya Pradesh itself and,

rightly enough, Madhya Pradesh has been termed as the " Tiger State

of India " . But right now, as reported from the 2001-02 census, the

population has decreased to 710 tigers in Madhya Pradesh. Although

the Kaziranga National Park harbours the highest tiger population in

the world, still it has not been declared as a tiger reserve by the

Ministry of Environment and Forests. With due honour we acknowledge

the initiative taken by the Prime Minister of India, Dr. M M Singh

to support and uplift Kaziranga National Park as a Tiger Reserve.

Between 1975 and 1997 the number of National Parks and Sanctuaries

in India's Project Tiger network has risen from 100 to 500 covering

an area of about 1,50,000 sq. km (about 4.6 % of the country's

landmass). Still, large forest areas outside the protected areas

have a good number of tigers, which have perhaps not come under

census report. It is difficult to identify the sex of a tiger from a

long distance, but from a minute observation it can easily be

identified because adult males are generally bigger in size. An

average adult male Indian Tiger measures about 10 feet in length

(from nose to tail tip) where the mean length is 9 feet 6 inches and

a female measures up to nine feet in length. The average height of a

male tiger is 36 inchec at shoulder and weighs around 200 kg whereas

females weigh around 150 kg.

Tigers are confined to the Asian continent only. It has a wide

geographical distribution from the southern shore of the Caspian Sea

to Aral and Lake Baikal to the sea of Okhotsk. It extends as far as

the Malaysian Island to the south, the Turkish Georgia, to the west

and Sakhalin Island to the east. Tigers, being easily adaptable

animals in various environments, occupy a variety of habitats in

different parts of the continent. The species is represented by 8

(Eight) sub-species/ races. Of these the nominate sub-species

Panthera tigris is confined to the Indian sub-region. This race is

also commonly known as the Tiger or Royal Bengal Tiger.

Except in Sri Lanka, the tiger is found in Nepal, Bhutan, West

Myanmar, Bangladesh and India. In India, the tiger is known to be

present from the winter snows of the Himalayas, at an altitude of

10,000 feet, and in almost all the states. Generally tigers live in

humid evergreen forests, in dry open jungles and in the grassy

swamps of the terai regions while in the Sundarbans it leads an

almost amphibious life in the terrain of trees, mud and water. It

avoids deserts and desiccated zones. Three conditions are essential

for the survival of the tigers:

* The neighbourhood of large animals (prey base) on which it can

live.

* Ample shade to sleep.

* Water to quench its thirst.

Since, the tiger stalks its prey and does not run it down, the

secondary undergrowth in the forest helps to cover it for tactical

preying.

Ordinarily, tigers hunt after sunset (dusk) and before sunrise

(dawn) but, sometimes, the time may differ in stress. Tigers feed

mainly on the flesh of animals such as deer, antelope, gaur, wild

buffalo, wild boar, langurs, monkeys, the young of elephant, rhino

and tigers also. The tigers of the Sundarban mangroves (tidal)

forests hunt fishes, crabs, prawns and smaller mammals. Cattle

lifting by tigers is a regular practice in the forest periphery as

herds of cattle graze on forest vegetation. The practice of cattle

lifting is normally acquired from their parents. Incapacitated

tigers, which are unable to kill their natural prey, may also become

cattle lifters or man-eaters. Except for the Sundarban tigers, which

are believed to include man in their list of natural preys, no other

tiger population is known to hunt man for their food. Since

Sundarban tigers frequently or occasionally kill man, cubs of such

tigers also become man - eaters from the experience, which is passed

on from one generation to the next.

Tigers are generally solitary hunters and each has its own hunting

territory. After a kill, other tigers and tigresses may be allowed

to feast. Tigers are very good swimmers. In stress it can even climb

trees. In one night a tiger may travel 15-20 km if the need arises.

The female tiger attains sexual maturity at the age of 3 to 3.5

years while males do so in 4 years. However, in captivity the sexual

maturity of the tiger is attained a bit earlier. During the breeding

time, the adult male and female come close to each other where, if

necessary, males fight among themselves. The mating season of the

tiger generally starts from November to May but sometimes it may

occur at other times also. The gestation period of the tiger is

about 15-16 weeks (100-108 days). Generally, a tigress gives birth

to a litter of two to three cubs but in captivity litters of up to

seven are also reported. The cubs are nurtured on milk for about six

weeks and when they become about 16 months old they accompany their

mother for hunting. After 18-20 months they hunt independently.

The life span of a tiger is about 20 years but it varies in

different habitats and in captivity.

Steps to aid protection of tigers:

* The conflict between the fringe villagers and the wild animals

must be taken care of and managed. Alternative sustainable means of

livelihood should be developed to minimise the dependency on

protected areas so that the forests are not depleted.

* Eco-tourism and social forestry should be linked to tiger

conservation measures and plantation programmes are to be

implemented accordingly.

* Awareness programmes need to be organised at regular intervals at

the government level, specially through the NGOs.

* The legislation on tiger conservation has to be made more

stringent to stop illegal trade in tiger bones and other body parts.

CITES, to which 130 governments are now party, bans international

commerce in the tiger and its derivatives.

* Efforts should be taken to reduce the demand for tiger

derivatives in traditional medicines.

* Tiger habitats should follow no political boundary. Transboundary

discussions should be held more often between India and Nepal, India

and Bhutan and India and Bangladesh.

* Shifting (Jhum) cultivation should be minimised to resist tree-

felling and forest destruction activities. * Encroachment in

Protected Areas should be checked.

 

 

Buddhin Hazarika