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An Endangered Species
1By: Bipin Chandra Tripathi

Tigers are the largest
true carnivore in the
world.
Tigers live only in Asia.
Unlike most cats, tigers
like water and are very
good swimmers.
Tigers can jump up to 33
feet in one bound.
Tigers in the wild live to
be about 15 years old.
Tigers in the zoo live to
be about 21 years old.
Tigers in the zoo eat
ground up horse meat
including the bones, hide
and insides.
Tiger cubs are born one
to three to a litter and
they don’t open their
eyes for a few days after
they are born.
The largest tiger is the
Siberian tiger. The
smallest tiger is the
Sumatran tiger.

Tiger cubs are born one to three to a litter
and they are born blind. Their eyes will
open after a few days. They will drink their
mother’s milk for five or six months.

Tigers are only
found in Asia.
Scientists believe
they originated in
northern climates
and migrated
southward. They
are not as
comfortable in the
hotter regions.

Tigers are the
largest true
carnivore in the
world. They can
only eat meat. They
will eat most of an
animal that they kill
in order to get all
the vitamins and
nutrients they need.

Unlike most cats,
tigers like the
water and are very
good swimmers.
They can easily
swim one to two
miles.

Tigers can jump up to 33 feet in one
bound. That is longer than two minivans.

The Siberian tiger
is the largest tiger
in the world. The
male can grow to
be about 600
pounds. The
Sumatran tiger is
the smallest tiger,
weighing in at 268
pounds.

In the zoo, tigers
eat a daily diet of
ground up horse
meat that includes
the bones, hide
and insides. This
gives them all the
nutrients their
bodies need.

Tigers in the
wild only live
to be about
15 years old.
Tigers in the
zoo live a
little longer
to maybe 21
years old.

Dark orange to white
in color with black or
dark brown stripes.
Slender bodies with
powerful muscles.
Small, round ears.
Retractable claws.
Very good eyesight,
especially at night.
They live in jungles,
forests and
grasslands of Asia.
5 tigers website gives good
information on how to help save
tigers.
There are several national parks
and reserves set up to help the
tigers survive.

A Step to Save Tigers

Project Tiger: Project Tiger, launched in 1973-74, is one of our
most successful conservation ventures in the recent times. The
project aims at tiger conservation in specially constituted 'tiger
reserves', which are representative of various bio-geographical
regions falling within our country. It strives to maintain a viable
tiger population in the natural environment.
An estimate of the tiger population in India, at the turn of the
century, placed the figure at 40,000. Subsequently, the first ever
all India tiger census was conducted in 1972 which revealed the
existence of only 1827 tigers. Various pressures in the later part
of the last century led to the progressive decline of wilderness,
resulting in the disturbance of viable tiger habitats. At the IUCN
General Assembly meeting in Delhi, in 1969, serious concern was
voiced about the threat to several species of wildlife and the
shrinkage of wilderness in the country. In 1970, a national ban
on tiger hunting was imposed and in 1972 the Wildlife Protection
Act came into force. A 'Task Force' was then set up to formulate
a project for tiger conservation with an ecological approach.

The project was launched in 1973, and various tiger
reserves were created in the country on a 'core-buffer'
strategy. The core areas were freed from all sorts of
human activities and the buffer areas were subjected to
'conservation oriented land use'. Management plans were
drawn up for each tiger reserve, based on the principles
outlined below:
1. Elimination of all forms of human exploitation and
biotic disturbance from the core area and rationalization
of activities in the buffer zone.
2. Restricting the habitat management only to repair the
damages done to the eco-system by human and other
interferences, so as to facilitate recovery of the eco-
system to its natural state.
3. Monitoring the faunal and floral changes over time and
carrying out research about wildlife.

Initially, 9 tiger reserves were established in different States during the
period 1973-74, by pooling the resources available with the Central and
State Governments. These nine reserves covered an area of about
13,017sq.km-viz Manas (Assam), Palamau (Bihar), Similipal (Orissa),
Corbett (U.P.), Kanha (M.P.), Melghat (Maharashtra), Bandipur
(Karnataka), Ranthambhore (Rajasthan) and Sunderbans (West Bengal).
Initially, 9 tiger reserves were established in different States during the
period 1973-74, by pooling the resources available with the Central and
State Governments. These nine reserves covered an area of about
13,017sq.km-viz Manas (Assam), Palamau (Bihar), Similipal (Orissa),
Corbett (U.P.), Kanha (M.P.), Melghat (Maharashtra), Bandipur
(Karnataka), Ranthambhore (Rajasthan) and Sunderbans (West Bengal).
The project started as a 'Central Sector Scheme' with the full assistance
of Central Government till 1979-80: later, it become a 'centrally
Sponsored Scheme' from 1980-81, with equal sharing of expenditure
between the center and the states.
The W.W.F. has given an assistance of US $ 1 million in the form of
equipments, expertise and literature. The various States are also bearing
the loss on account of giving up the forestry operations in the reserves.

The main achievements of this project are excellent recovery of the habitat and
consequent increase in the tiger population in the reserve areas, from a mere 268 in 9
reserves in 1972 to 1576 in 27 reserves in 2003. Tiger, being at the apex of the food
chain, can be considered as the indicator of the stability of the eco-system. For a viable
tiger population, a habitat should possess a good prey base, which in turn will depend
on an undisturbed forest vegetation. Thus, 'Project Tiger', is basically the conservation
of the entire eco-system and apart from tigers, all other wild animals also have
increased in number in the project areas. In the subsequent 'Five Year Plans', the main
thrust was to enlarge the core and buffer zones in certain reserves, intensification of
protection and ecodevelopment in the buffer zones of existing tiger reserves, creation of
additional tiger reserves and strengthening of the research activities.
The management strategy was to identify the limiting factors and to mitigate them by
suitable management. The damages done to the habitat were to be rectified, so as to
facilitate the recovery of eco-system to the maximum possible extent. Management
practices which tend to push the wildlife populations beyond the carrying capacity of the
habitat were carefully avoided. A minimum core of 300 sq. km. with a sizeable buffer
was recommended for each project area. The overall administration of the project is
monitored by a 'Steering Committee'. The execution of the project is done by the
respective State Governments. A 'Field Director' is appointed for each reserve, who is
assisted by the field and technical personnel. The Chief Wildlife warden in various States
are responsible for the field execution. At the Centre, a full-fledged 'Director' of the
project coordinates the work for the country.

Wireless communication system and outstation patrol camps have been
developed within the tiger reserves, due to which poaching has declined
considerably. Fire protection is effectively done by suitable preventive
and control measure Voluntory Village relocation has been done in many
reserves, especially from the core, area. In Kanha, Bandipur and
Ranthambhore, all the villages have been shifted from the core, and after
relocation, the villagers have been provided with alternate agricultural
lands and other community benefits. This has resulted in the
improvement of the carrying capacity of the habitat. Live stock grazing
has been controlled to a great extent in the tiger reserves. Various
compensatory developmental works have improved the water regime
and the ground and field level vegetations, thereby increasing the animal
density. Research data pertaining to vegetational changes are also
available from many reserves. In general, the 'restorative management'
and 'intense protection' under 'Project Tiger' have saved many of our
eco-typical areas from destruction. The area around the buffer is now
contemplated as a zone of multiple use, to bring compatibility between
the reserves and the neighbouring communities.

a) Use of Information and Communication technology in Wildlife Protection and Crime Risk
Management in Tiger reserves.
Wildlife protection and crime risk management in the present scenario requires a widely
distributed Information Network, using the state-of-art Information and Communication
Technology. This becomes all the more important to ensure the desired level of protection in
field formations to safeguard the impressive gains of a focused project like 'Project Tiger'. The
important elements in Wildlife protection and control are: Mapping/plotting the relative spatial
abundance of wild animals, identification of risk factors, proximity to risk factors, sensitivity
categorization, crime mapping and immediate action for apprehending the offenders based on
effective networking and communication. Space technology has shown the interconnectivity of
natural and anthropogenic phenomena occurring anywhere on earth. Several Tiger Reserves are
being linked with the Project Tiger Directorate in the GIS domain for Wildlife Crime Risk
Management.
b) GIS based digitized database and MIS development/networking in Tiger Reserves:
With the advanced IT tools, a wide gamut of software solutions are available to improve wildlife
related information capture process, its analysis and informed decision making. Geographic
Information System is the most relevant of these technologies for natural resource
management projects, including wildlife management. The mandate of project tiger is to
conserve tigers in a holistic manner. The GIS based database at PTHQ is being linked with the
microcomputers in the Tiger Reserves, so that a dynamic linkage for rapid information flow is
established using Arc IMS facility.

c) 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
The following potential tiger habitats in the country are being covered:
1. Shivalik-Terai Conservation Unit(Uttaranchal, UP, Bihar, West Bengal, Nepal)
2. Nort east Conservation Unit
3. Sunderbans Conservation Unit
4. Central Indian Conservation Unit
5. Eastern Ghat Conservation Unit
6. Western Ghat Conservation Unit
Satellite data is being used and classified into vegetation and land use maps on a
1:50,000 scale, with digitized data relating to contour , villages, roads , drainage ,
administrative boundaries and soil . The spatial layers would be attached with
attribute data , viz. human population , livestock population , meteorological data,
agricultural information and field data pertaining to wildlife, habitat for evolving
regional protocols to monitor tiger and its habitat.

The dynamics of forest management and wildlife conservation have been distorted
due to need for income, lack of awareness, lack of landuse policy and population
pressure. Since the traditional use systems of people are neither static nor benign,
these should not be overlooked.
A regional development approach in landscapes having Tiger Reserves is of
utmost importance in our country. It should be viewed as a mosaic of different
landuse patterns, viz, tiger conservation / preservation, forestry, sustainable use
and development, besides socio-economic growth.
Tiger habitats exist in environments of thousands of indigenous communities
which depend on them. Therefore we cannot view these protected areas in
isolation from the surrounding socio-economic realities and developmental
priorities of the Govt. This calls for a cross-sectoral and cross-disciplinary
approach.
Tigers now need a "preservationist" approach. Regional planning is important
around Tiger Reserves to foster ecological connectivity between protected areas
through restorative inputs with integrated landuse planning. The management
plan of a Tiger Reserve, therefore, needs to be integrated in larger regional
management plans.

Submitted to:
Ms. Soni Kapoor
Submitted By:
Amit Pant

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