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News, August, 2007
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Tiger population drops to just 1300
in India
London:
A scientific count of tigers indicates there are
only 1300 of them in India now, according to well-known
conservationist Valmik Thapar. The last count in 2002
- based on the number of footprints found - put the
tiger population at 3,600, but this survey now stands
discredited. 'If this trend continues, the wild population
will disappear from many more places'. The latest census
signals "the end of the tiger for most of India," claims
Thapar. Dr J VJhala - one of the few Indian wildlife
biologists with an international reputation, led the
latest survey.
According
to The Telegraph, his team, from the Wildlife Institute
of India and trained forest officers, spent 352,000
man-days sampling 21,989 forest beats, walked 132,000
km of line transects and completed 330,000 km of carnivore
sign surveys. They drew up maps highlighting high, medium
or low-density tiger areas, and set up thousands of
camera traps in representative samples of each area.
This enabled them to count absolute tiger populations
and establish solid benchmarks so extrapolations could
be made. The final estimate of 1,300-2,200 animals does
not mean that India has lost 50-60 per cent of its tigers
since 2002, however, because previous counts were inaccurate
and therefore not comparable. The new census pinpoints
the tiger's few remaining strongholds, and provides
a realistic basis from which scientists and conservationists
can work.
The
findings, revealed in the latest edition of the BBC
Wildlife Magazine tally with a report prepared earlier
this year for the journal BioScience, which said that
in 10 years tiger habitat had declined by 41 per cent.
Dr Eric Dinerstein of the World Wildlife Fund and 15
co-authors, concluded: "While the tiger as a wild species
will most likely not become extinct within the next
half century, its current trajectory is catastrophic.
"If this trend continues, the wild populations will
disappear from many more places, or dwindle to the point
of ecological extinction," he says. In India the tiger
has been squeezed by the massive growth in the human
population with the consequent loss of its traditional
habitats. Lack of food has meant it has been almost
impossible for the tiger to survive outside protected
areas. Poaching - fuelled by the demand for tiger parts
in traditional Chinese medicine - is still widespread.
Two years ago the Sariskar Reserve in Rajasthan was
found completely sans tigers. The shocking discovery
forced the Indian government to take action.
Prime
Minister Dr Manmohan Singh has taken personal control
of a new and possibly final attempt to save the tiger
from extinction. He has set up a new autonomous National
Tiger Conservation Authority with powers to oversee
more effective management of reserves, which in the
past have been ineffective in protecting the dwindling
number of animals. The Prime Minister has said he wants
to see results before the end of the year. Diane Walkington,
head of species at WWF, said there was still time to
save the tiger. "The figures are frightening, but I
am hopeful. At least now we have figures that give us
a proper starting point. Fortunately tigers will breed
like rabbits given the right conditions. The most important
thing is we connect tiger populations that are still
viable. We must extend their areas and build links to
their habitats so they can migrate from one place to
another. If necessary we must move wild tigers from
one place to another." She said it was vital the Indian
government and conservation bodies were given international
backing in their efforts to save the tiger. The Indian
Government is now involved in a desperate race to preserve
the few tigers that are left and save the wild species
from extinction. But the signs are not hopeful and experts
forecast that the wild tiger, the largest of the big
cats, will disappear and in a relatively short space
of time could be seen only in a few heavily protected
reserves.
- August
30, 2007
