TRUTH ABOUT TIGERS

THE TRUTH ABOUT TIGERS

The Tiger- The Basics• Easily recognized by its coat of reddish-

orange with dark stripes, the tiger is the largest wild cat in the world.

• The scientific name for the tiger is Panthera tigris.

• The big cat weighs up to 720 pounds (363 kilograms), stretches 6 feet (2 meters) long, and has a 3-foot- (1-meter-) long tail.

• The powerful predator generally hunts alone, able to bring down prey such as deer and antelope.

Facts about the Tiger• There are five subspecies of tiger:1. Bengal2. South China 3. Indochinese4. Sumatran5. SiberianThree subspecies of tiger — Caspian, Bali, and Javan—are extinct.• Tigers that live in cold northern areas are usually bigger

and heavier than those that live in tropical habitats.• Unlike most members of the cat family, tigers seem to

enjoy water. They swim well and often soak in streams or pools of water to cool off.

Wacky Facts about the Tiger-Why it’s so special

• No two tigers have exactly the same pattern of stripes.

• A tiger retracts its claws as it walks, leaving no claw marks in its tracks.

• Tigers hunt at night; they can see well in the dark.

• A tiger's roar can be heard as far as two miles (three kilometers) away.

• In captivity, a tiger can live to be 26 years old.

Wacky facts continued• Tigers live alone, except for mothers and their young. A male

and female tiger come together to mate, and then go their separate ways. 

• A female tiger may have from one to six cubs in a litter. The average is two or three. She raises them on her own. 

• The orange and black striped coat isn’t just for beauty but gives the cat a formidable disguise in dense undergrowth. 

• Tigers have a high level of social tolerance which means accidental disputes and fights are usually kept to a minimum.

• Despite this clear boundaries between tiger territories are usually marked just incase,

With all this information in front of us the biggest threat to tigers are still human poachers who have sent the species into a downward spiral and on the verge of extinction.

The Hidden Tiger Illusion

A century back we started with about a lakh, today there are less than 5000 tigers in the world and less than 1200 in India

WHY DID THIS HAPPEN?

Poaching and Hunting

POACHING – THE AFTER EFFECTS

Female killed

Cubs killed

Potential cubs destroyed

Male killed

Fight for territory

Disrupts breeding

THE LOSS OF HABITAT FOR TIGERS

• agricultural expansion• timber cutting, • new roads, • human settlement, • industrial expansion • hydroelectric dams

Competition

Tiger - Human Conflict

USE OF TIGERPARTS FOR MEDICINAL REASONS

• Tiger Eyeball Pills- Take one a day to prevent convulsions • Tiger Gallstone Salve -Combine with honey and rub on abscesses as

needed. • Tiger Bone Powder- Drink with wine at bedtime for spring tonic. • Tiger Whiskers Charm - Use as a protection against bullets. • Tiger Heart- Take three times a day at mealtimes for courage and cunning. • Tiger Tailbone Ointment - Mix with soap and rub on rashes. • Tiger Hair Repellent- Burn to drive away centipedes. • Tiger Skin- Sit on skin to reduce fever. • Tiger Brain Lotion - Mix with oil and rub on body to prevent acne and

laziness. • Tiger Claw Amulet- Put in your pocket for courage. • Tiger Penis - Add to soup and take at bedtime for virility (used as an

aphrodisiac)• Tiger Fat - Used as a cure for vomiting, dog bites, bleeding, hemorrhoids

and scalp aliment in children.• Tigers Nose - Used as a cure for epilepsy and children convulsions.

 The Genetic Threat

IMPACT OF CATASTROPHES

Impact of Catastrophes • Small isolated populations are

especially vulnerable to catastrophic events: natural disasters, such as forest fires, floods, hurricanes, and epidemics; and human-induced events, such as deforestation and conversion of habitat

• Monsoon floods and hurricanes regularly kill some tigers in the Indian subcontinent.

PROJECT TIGER

Launch Of Project Tiger• During the tenure of late Prime Minister,

Indira Gandhi, an ambitious project to protect the population of Tigers in India was launched.

• The “Project Tiger” was formed in 1972 and launched on 1st April 1973 at Jim Corbett National Park at Uttaranchal.

• Project Tiger Scheme has been under implementation since 1973 as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Government of India.

• The Project Tiger was established with an aim to provide tigers safe havens so that they are not killed.

• This project enabled tigers to flourish as a species.

• At the time of the commencement of the implementation of this project, there were only nine national parks. Gradually a total of 19 national parks came under the Project Tiger.

Aims of Project Tiger• To ensure maintenance of a viable

population of tigers in India for scientific, economic, aesthetic, cultural and ecological values.

• To preserve, for all times, areas of such biological importance as a national heritage for the benefit, education and enjoyment of the people.

Early development:With the co-operation of the Indian Government, Project Tiger initially established 9 reserves, across different ecosystems. These were devoted specifically to saving the tiger and eliminating those factors which were contributing to the decline of the tiger:

• Tiger Reserves are constituted on a 'core-buffer' strategy.

• The core area is kept free of biotic disturbances and forestry operations, where collection of minor forest produce, grazing, human disturbances are not allowed within.

Reserve Operations of Project Tiger

• Within the reserves, certain areas were designated as breeding grounds (core areas) and these were out of bounds to the public.

• It was hoped that as tiger populations increased any surplus animals would migrate to neighboring forests.

• To encourage this to happen, routes were established away from public view which allowed easy access to other forests.

• Wide buffer zones protected the breeding areas and public access to these was limited.

• The grazing of domestic cattle was halted, as was the harvesting of forestry.

• Entire villages were moved from the lands of their forefathers to areas where the people would no longer conflict with the wildlife.

• Most went with little complaint. Waiting for them were new houses, more land, and community facilities.

SHIVALIK GANGETIC PLAINS

• Stretches from a little west of the Yamuna River through southern Nepal to forests of Bhutan in the east.

•   The tiger has become locally extinct in 29% of the districts of this landscape.

• Currently the tiger occupies 5080 km2 of forested habitats with an estimated population size of 297 (259 to 335) in six separate populations.

UTTARAKHAND• The forest cover of Uttarakhand is 24,536 km2 ,

comprising 46% of the geographic area Of the State.•   Forests of Tiger Conservation Priority I &II were

13,000 km2 in Uttrakhand.•   Currently tigers occupy 1901 km2 of these forests

having tiger population of 178• Uttarakhand has a single major population of tigers

constituted by the Corbett Tiger Reserve and its surrounding forests of Lansdowne, Kashipur, West part of Haldwani, North

• Western Nainital and lower elevation area of Ranikhet comprising a occupied area of 1500

UTTAR PRADESHThe forest cover of Uttar Pradesh is 14424

Km2 constituting 6% of the land area Of this forested habitat 3175 Km2 constitutes Potential Tiger habitat of Priority I and II.

  Tigers were found to occupy 2766 km2 of forests with an estimated population of 109 (91-127) in Uttar Pradesh.

  Within Uttar Pradesh tigers are distributed in one major population and three smaller

Populations

BIHAR• The State of Bihar has a forest cover of 5,842 km2,

comprising 6 % of the geographical area of the State.

•   Tiger Conservation Priority I & II forests constituted 800 km2.

• Tiger occupancy was reported to be 510 km2 with an estimated tiger population of 10 (7-13) tigers.

• Tiger population in the state of Bihar occurs as single population in Valmiki Tiger Reserve.

• This population has a tiger occupancy of 510 km2 within India and is contiguous with

• Chitwan National Park in Nepal.

RAJASTHAN• Rajasthan has a forest cover of 21,292 km2 comprising 6% of

the geographic area of the state.•   There is only a single tiger population in Rajasthan in the

Ranthambore Tiger• Reserve. The contigious forest patch harbouring this

population is 496 km2 with a recorded tiger occupancy in 344 km2

• Ranthambore tigers have been reported to disperse through the

• Narrow “ridge top” forest connectivity in the districts of Kota and Bundi towards the South-West.

• The total population of tigers in the state of Rajasthan was estimated to be 32 with a standard error range of 30-35 tigers

MADHYA PRADESH• Madhya Pradesh has a forest cover of

80,717 km2, comprising 26% of the geographic area of the State.

•   Madhya Pradesh reported tiger presence in 15,614 km2, leopard presence in 34,736 km2,

• Dhole presence in 28,508 km2 and Sloth bear presence in 40,960 km2 of forested habitat.

ORISSA•   The state has a total forest cover of

27,427 km2 with mapable tiger occupancy reported in 9,144 km2.

• Tigers were distributed in four larger occupied units, three smaller units and sporadic

• Occurrences largely in Southern and Central part of the State.

1.

1. Anti poaching Initiatives

•

2. Strengthening of Tiger reserves:

special strategy for monsoon patrolling

funding support to tiger reserve states for

deployment of anti-poaching squads involving ex-army personnel/home guards

strengthening of communication/ wireless facilities.

3. Providing Financial Aid

4. To re-build Tiger reserves

:As part of active management to rebuild Sariska and Panna tiger reserves where

tigers have become locally extinct, reintroduction of tigers have

been done.

5. Co-existence agenda in buffer / fringe areas with landscape approach

6. Deciding inviolate spaces and relocation of villages from crucial tiger habitats within a timeframe by providing a better relocation package, apart from supporting States for settlement of rights of such people

7. Rehabilitation of traditional hunting tribes living in and around tiger reserves

8. Providing support to States for research and field equipments

9. Supporting States for staff development and capacity building in tiger reserves.benefit local people

10. Mainstreaming wildlife concerns in tiger bearing forests outside tiger reserves, and fostering corridor conservation in such areas through restorative strategy involving local people to arrest fragmentation of habitats.

Alarming Reversal in tiger numbers

Once Mrs. Gandhi was no longer in Government conservation of endangered species assumed a lesser importance.

By the end of the 1980s, protections that had been

put in place were fraying at the edges:» Politicians listened more to the local farmers who wanted to clear forests and convert them for agricultural use.» Buffer zones and access routes were encroached upon and forest areas once more fell to the axe.

Along with these things the population of India had increased by 300 million people since the inception of Project Tiger. Livestock numbers rose by 100 million animals. It was almost inevitable that in the face of these renewed threats tigers would once again begin to vanish at an alarming rate.

The Future• a) Use of Information and

Communication technology in Wildlife Protection and Crime Risk Management in Tiger reserves.

• b) Tiger Habitat & Population Evaluation System for the Indian Sub Continent

• Tiger Habitat & Population Evaluation System for the Indian Sub Continent

A 'Tiger Atlas of India' and a 'Tiger Habitat & Population Evaluation System for the country is being developed using the state- of - the - art technology.This involves:

1. Mapping , data acquisition and GIS modeling 2. Field data collection and validation 3. Data Maintenance , Dissemination and Use