On the big cat’s trail

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Link: http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1082207

 

On the big cat's trail

Tuesday, February 27, 2007 00:45 IST

 

 

Fellows at Wildlife Institute of India are camera-trapping tigers at

Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve. DNA's Ashwin Aghor takes a safari in the

wild.

 

With the major Project Tigers like Ranthambore and Sariska in

Rajasthan proving to be big failures, the tiger has fewer jungles to

roam in. Sadly enough, noted environmentalist and Tiger-Man of India,

Valmik Thapar, who once boasted the success of Project Tiger and

grabbed every opportunity to promote Ranthambore as a success story,

was one of those who learnt about failure of Project Tiger rather late

in the day.

 

However, before the striped majestic animal can fade into oblivion,

the Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) is proving to be the silver

lining.

 

In fact, the real land of the tiger in Chandrapur district of

Maharashtra is one place that has seen a consistent rise in its tiger

population over the last decade, especially after being included in

Project Tiger. The population of the big cat in TATR has increased

manifold over the years, courtesy dedicated and whole-hearted efforts

put in by forest department officials and positive support they have

got from people of the region.

 

The tiger population in TATR — in 1995 when it was declared a Project

Tiger — was around 27. As per the Census conducted in 2006, that has

gone up to 41. The biggest achievement of TATR is that the big cat is

not only moving freely inside the protected area, but also outside it.

This is proved by the fact that the tiger population in the

non-protected area adjoining TATR is 49. According to the first and

only Review of Tiger Reserves Assessment Report prepared by IUCN—the

World Conservation Union, Asia Region Office at Bangkok, published in

2005, TATR ranks 9th among 28 Project Tigers in India. Sariska ranks

28th while Ranthambore is on 26th place.

 

The concern raised following the sharp decline in the tiger population

in the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve and its extinction from Sariska

Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan, the Ministry of Forest and Environment

along with the Government of India jumped into action and began

assessing tiger density in the country. The outcome of marathon

high-level meetings was the All-India Major Carnivorous and its Prey

Assessment and Evaluation of Habitat Programme. The Wildlife Institute

of India (WII), Dehra Dun, was chosen for the project as the institute

was the best agency to take on the mammoth task. The WII is a part of

this programme started a massive study that began in July 2005 with

the training of forest officials and preparation of a model for the

programme.

 

The programme is now in the final stage of camera-trapping which began

in the state at two major Project Tigers — at 104 sq-km Dhargarh range

in Melghat Tiger Reserve (MTR) in Amravati and at 210 sq-km of Tadoba

Range in Chandrapur districts of Vidarbha.

 

Camera-trapping is also proposed at Pench Tiger Reserve in Nagpur and

is scheduled to begin in the first week of March. A team of research

fellows from WII are camping in these tiger reserves and have set up

their motion sensor cameras at various places with maximum tiger

movements. According to forest department sources, camera trapping

will be completed on February 28 and the scientists at WII will

compare data collected during three phases to arrive at approximate

range of total number of tigers in the state and country.

 

The main objective of camera-trapping is to collect data about the

tiger's presence, its prey base and habitat in the protected areas in

the country, explore possibilities of tiger growth and to submit

scientific report about possibilities of existence and growth of

tigers in non-protected areas.

 

Photographs of tigers trapped on cameras will be compiled and every

tiger coded for identification depending upon pattern of strips. Like

in humans, every individual has distinct finer prints, every tiger has

distinct strip pattern. Cameras are set on both sides of roads to take

pictures of every tiger from both - right and left sides - so as to

prevent any error in counting.

 

According to the assistant conservator of forests, TATR Girish

Vashishth, " Two cameras are necessary because there is a possibility

of the same tiger being counted twice if it repeatedly comes in the

camera's range. "

 

The WII is likely to submit a final report of the programme to the

Ministry of Forest and Environment by July. The institute will also

provide scientific guidelines about measures to be taken to establish

tiger in those parts of non protected areas where it dose not exist today.

 

" Major areas in the non-protected areas are favourable for the tiger's

dwelling and growth. The final scientific report by WII will enable

the state forest department to initiate steps to ensure this, "

Vashishth said. " The hope of tiger growth outside protected areas is

high and encouraging results can be expected if the entire process is

based upon a scientific report, " he added.

 

However, fate of the WII report hangs in balance. Given thtat the

state has yet to act on a similar report submitted by noted

environmentalist and tiger expert Ullah Karanth, who also carried out

camera trapping at TATR, MTR and Pench Tiger Reserve between 2001 and

2003. Karanth had submitted his final report to the state in 2005.

Apart from the camera trappings, Karanth had also provided an

approximate picture of tiger population and the prey base in these

projects. But policy makers seem to have lost the report mid-way.

 

Honorary Wildlife Warden, Chandrapur Uday Patel feels, " The state

should have acted on Karanth's report. The hard work put in by Karanth

and his team has gone down the drain due to lake of political will. "