Showing posts with label tiger conservation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tiger conservation. Show all posts

Thursday, 7 November 2024

Disappearance of 25 tigers from India’s Ranthambore National Park


Times of India states that the reported disappearance of 25 tigers from India’s Ranthambore National Park has raised significant concern and prompted an official investigation. Ranthambore, known for its vibrant tiger population, estimated at around 75, has struggled with issues such as overcrowding, territorial fights, and potential poaching. The Rajasthan government has formed a three-member committee to probe the situation, aiming to address potential mismanagement and protect the remaining tiger population. This inquiry will assess whether these tigers have migrated, faced harm, or are unaccounted for due to record-keeping lapses.

Comment: The Indian government is proud of its tiger conservation programme. The problem is that it is an uphill struggle to protect the tiger in the wild in India because of the continuing increase in the human population of India. Here are some facts on that. Also the Indian authorities are not known for their efficiency. The disappearance of tigers in a main tiger reserve indicates poor management.

India's population has experienced substantial growth over the past decade, adding over 100 million people. In 2011, the Indian Census reported a population of approximately 1.21 billion, while recent 2023 estimates indicate it now stands around 1.428 billion, surpassing China's population to make India the most populous country globally.

As India’s demographic profile evolves, its relatively youthful population also stands out, with over 40% under the age of 25, which has significant implications for the country’s workforce and economic potential in coming decades.

Sources: Pew Research Center, World Data, and Our World in Data.

More people equates to more pressures on wildlife. Tigers need huge areas in which to live. The typical home range of a Bengal tiger varies significantly based on factors such as habitat type, prey availability, and population density.

  1. Range by Gender:

    • Male Bengal Tigers: Males generally have much larger ranges than females, often between 60 to 100 square kilometers (around 23 to 39 square miles). In some cases, depending on prey density and competition, a male's territory can exceed 200 square kilometers (77 square miles) in more open or resource-scarce areas.
    • Female Bengal Tigers: Females have smaller ranges, typically between 20 to 60 square kilometers (about 8 to 23 square miles). Their ranges often overlap with those of their cubs and sometimes with the territories of related females, allowing for social cohesion among relatives.
  2. Influence of Habitat and Prey Density:

    • In prey-rich environments, like certain parts of India's Kanha or Kaziranga reserves, Bengal tigers can sustain themselves in smaller ranges since prey is abundant. Here, a male might have a range of around 20 to 60 square kilometers, and females even less.
    • In less prey-dense or fragmented habitats, Bengal tigers require larger territories to access sufficient food, leading to ranges extending beyond 100 square kilometers.
  3. Human Encroachment and Conservation Areas:

    • In protected areas such as Ranthambore and Sundarbans, conservation efforts help to maintain tiger habitats, but human encroachment and resource competition may lead to changes in their range. For instance, in the mangrove-rich Sundarbans, Bengal tigers are reported to have more constrained ranges due to the unique terrain and availability of prey, typically around 20-30 square kilometres.

Bengal tiger home ranges are dynamic, influenced by ecological factors and conservation measures aimed at preserving their natural habitats.

Sources:

  • National Geographic and Panthera reports on tiger range and behavior
  • Research studies from Wildlife Institute of India and WWF
Ranthambore National Park, located in Rajasthan, India, covers an area of approximately 392 square kilometers (about 151 square miles). The park is part of a larger conservation area, the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve, which spans around 1,334 square kilometers (515 square miles), including surrounding sanctuaries such as the Sawai Mansingh and Keladevi Sanctuaries.
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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins. Also, sources for news articles are carefully selected but the news is often not independently verified. And, I rely on scientific studies but they are not 100% reliable. Finally, (!) I often express an OPINION on the news. Please share yours in a comment.

Tuesday, 23 April 2024

4 iconic wild cat species' numbers slashed over past 50 years (Infographic)

Most of us who read about the wild cat species and conservation understand that there has been a dramatic drop in numbers across the board. Here is an infographic showing the drop in population numbers of the lion, tiger, cheetah and leopard over the past 50 years with some additional information.

The the most important thing to note is (1) even the best experts sometimes don't know population numbers of wild cat species and when they do know (an estimate) the data is about 10 years old. Conservation is in a pretty poor state in my view and (2) there are some wonderful individual conservationists and groups concerned with conservation but the leaders of countries and the politicians are not truly committed to wildlife conservation and in this instance the conservation of the wild cat species.

That is why there's been a consistent decline over the past 50 years. The decline has been dramatic and shocking. It will continue for most of the species until the only individuals remaining on the planet will be those behind bars in zoos. Shame for the generations of kids to be born in the future.

The future of the wild cats from the smallest namely the rusty-spotted cat to the largest namely the Siberian tiger is pretty dire actually. I am very pessimistic but I could be wrong. I just don't see a great future for these species including the great iconic species.


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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

Sunday, 19 December 2021

Dams are damaging the conservation of the tiger

It is ironic that hydroelectric power through the building of dams is seen as ecologically friendly as they ostensibly help prevent global warming but at the same time they are ecologically damaging. This is because huge areas of tiger habitat are flooded. This removes habitat from the tiger. Habitat loss is the biggest problem in the conservation of the tiger. 

Dam on the Narmada River in India. Photo in public domain. You can see the tiger habitat around it.
Dam on the Narmada River in India. Photo in public domain. You can see the tiger habitat around it.

There is constant pressure on tiger habitat which is being gradually destroyed. It is all about increased human activity including deforestation, the building of settlements, mining, the removal of forests to build plantations to create products to sell on the international market. The building of dams adds to that problem.

A study found that 164 dams affect the habitat of the jaguar and 421 dams have eroded tiger habitats. They say that one in five tigers are affected by dams. Tiger numbers are already precariously low at around 3500 total in the world, in the wild.

And as dams destroy forest, they are contributing to global warming because forests remove carbon dioxide from the air, a global warming gas. There are other issues. 

RELATED: 5 reasons why the tiger is endangered

Rivers pass through many countries. If the country at the top of the river, at the source, builds a dam countries further down don't get their water. And as human settlements increase there is more demand for water. Industrialisation creates an increased demand for water. 

There is a big problem building up along the Nile. There is a long-running dispute between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia over a massive hydroelectric dam which is at the heart of Ethiopia's manufacturing and industrial dreams.

RELATED: Indian Bengal Tiger Reserves


Note: This is a video from another website which is embedded here. Sometimes they are deleted at source which stops them working on this site. If that has happened, I apologise but I have no control over it.

Tigers and jaguars need large areas in which to live. Their home ranges are enormous. Adult males in India can have home ranges 15 times larger than those of females. An female home ranges can be up to around 50 km². Arguably, India's reserves are already too small and they're being gradually eroded because of a continually increasing human population in India.

As human population grows there is a commensurate need for more energy, more power which puts pressure on governments to build more dams which in turn destroys tiger habitat at least potentially. It's a vicious cycle. It starts with human population growth. That is the root cause of pretty well all conservation problems.

Conservationists are going to have to try and compensate tigers for the loss of their habitat by providing additional protected areas. This is highly unlikely. Dams are contributing to the gradual and almost inevitable extinction of the tiger in the wild.

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