wild places | wild happenings | wild news
make a difference for our wild places

home | links | search the site
  all articles latest | past | articles by topics | search wildnews
wild news on wildsingapore
  PlanetArk 25 May 07
India Urged to Wake Up as Tiger Numbers Down Again
Story by Nita Bhalla

Yahoo News 23 May 07
Study: India's tiger numbers much lower
By Tim Sullivan

PlanetArk 24 May 07
India Tiger Numbers Far Lower Than Thought - Experts
Story by Nita Bhalla

NEW DELHI - Early results from a tiger census in India indicate the population of the endangered big cats is drastically lower than previously assumed, wildlife experts and conservationists said on Wednesday.

Experts from the government-run Wildlife Institute of India (WII) presented initial results of a new count of tigers in 16 of India's 28 tiger reserves and their surrounding areas.

The WII, which has been monitoring tiger populations across India for the past two years, did not give a new estimated national total for tigers but said habitat destruction and human encroachment were leading to declining numbers.

"In general, the situation is not good," Y.V. Jhala from the WII said after a presentation of population estimates from around 16 of India's 28 tiger reserves and their surrounding areas.

"The tiger reserves are doing much better than what we expected but the outside areas have lost most of the tigers," he said, adding that 60 percent of India's population of tigers was believed to be outside the reserves.

India has half the world's surviving tigers, but conservationists say the country is losing the battle to save the big cats. There were about 40,000 tigers in India a century ago, but decades of poaching had cut their number to about 3,700, according to a count conducted in 2001 and 2002.

Conservationists said they believed the new census results suggested there was a decline of 65 percent in the central state of Madhya Pradesh, which has one of the largest populations of tigers in India.

"The indications are that all over India, it will be the same," said Belinda Wright, director of the Wildlife Protection Society of India. "We appear to have only two healthy reserves from the 16 presented today -- it's a serious wake-up call and I hope it will shock and jolt state governments into taking action to save our tigers."

Earlier tiger counts had been done solely by spotting their pugmarks (tracks) but conservationists said that method was faulty, mainly due to varying soil and weather conditions. The new method involves actual tiger sightings using camera traps, as well as pugmarks and faeces.

Jhala said while there was good protection for tigers inside reserves and national parks, the outer areas needed to be equally well-protected as tigers often move into buffer areas.

"The tiger reserves and national parks are too small to have a population which can survive on its own for the long term," he said. WII experts said effective tiger conservation would only become a reality if reserves are connected to one another so tigers have a larger population and area to breed and hunt.

"The human population, where we add one Australia every year to the country, and demand for natural resources going higher by the day, (mean) a large carnivore living in your neighbourhood is not possible," said Jhala. The WII said full national figures would be released at the end of the year.

Yahoo News 23 May 07
Study: India's tiger numbers much lower
By Tim Sullivan, Associated Press Writer

India's population of wild tigers, which wildlife experts have long warned is on the decline, is dramatically lower than previously believed, according to initial results from an exhaustive study of tiger habitats released Wednesday.

The initial results of the study, conducted over the past two years by the government-run Wildlife Institute of India, found that the tiger population in some states may be nearly 65 percent less than experts had thought. Results were only available for some regions, and a total overall figure is not expected until late this year.

But conservationists said the early results indicated the last tiger census — which found about 3,500 tigers — was far too optimistic.

"The results are depressing," said Belinda Wright, director of the Wildlife Protection Society of India and one of the foremost big cat conservationists in the country. "But it's a major step forward that a government study has finally come to terms with this disastrous decrease in tiger numbers."

Poaching and encroachment on tiger habitat have savaged India's tiger population, which a century ago was believed to number in the tens of thousands.

The key to protecting the cats now, according to experts who have reviewed the results, is in ensuring tigers are able to hunt, mate and travel between the country's protected reserves, ensuring enough prey for the cats and keeping inbreeding to a minimum.

"Our biggest challenge is to conserve these linkages between protected areas," said Rajesh Gopal, secretary-general of the government's Tiger Conservation Authority of India, which also took part in the survey. "Only then can we save the tiger."

The last major tiger census, performed in 2001 and 2002, relied on estimating the cat population by examining footprints. The current study is far more extensive, using cameras "traps" triggered by passing animals, as well as hundreds of wildlife officers tracking the animals through droppings and footprints.

In Madhya Pradesh, a central Indian state thought to be home to a large percentage of the country's tigers, the new results estimated that anywhere from 210 to 340 tigers currently live in and around the state's wildlife preserves — far lower than the 710 estimated in the previous survey.

"The figures are quite different from what we've seen earlier," said Gopal. He noted, though, that the new study was far more detailed than anything in the past.

In 2001, the U.S. National Geographic Society estimated that 5,000 to 7,000 Bengal — or Indian — tigers existed in the wild, about half in India. However, conservationists believe official estimates of tigers in the wild are grossly exaggerated and the true figure may be closer to 2,000 — or as little as several hundred. The current study, when complete, will shed light on the actual number.

PlanetArk 25 May 07
India Urged to Wake Up as Tiger Numbers Down Again
Story by Nita Bhalla

INDIA: May 25, 2007 NEW DELHI - India should have received a wake-up call this week about the future of its dwindling tiger population, but conservationists are far from convinced it will be heard. Initial findings from a tiger census showed far fewer of the big cats than previously thought.

But tigers, unlike people, do not have a vote, and tiger conservation is not big enough business to capture the development agenda, say wildlife activists.

"The main problem is authorities are too interested in short-term development benefits such as destroying tiger habitat through deforestation and mining," said S.C. Dey, secretary general of the Global Tiger Forum. "But this is reckless development."

India is home to half the world's surviving tigers, but conservationists say it is losing the battle to save them. There were about 40,000 tigers in India a century ago. A count conducted in 2001 and 2002 suggested that number had fallen to around 3,700, after decades of poaching and habitat destruction.

The latest numbers, gleaned using more modern methodology but only covering part of the country, show the situation could be far worse.

In the central state of Madhya Pradesh, which has one of India's largest tiger populations, conservationists say there may be only a third as many tigers as previously thought.

The central government says it is committed to saving India's national animal. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh ordered a police investigation into reports of disappearing tigers in March 2005 and created a taskforce to protect the animal.

In September, the government passed new legislation aimed at tackling the crisis, setting up a National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and a Wildlife Crime Bureau to investigate poaching and curb the illegal trade in wildlife parts.

But that in itself is not enough, say activists, who want New Delhi to place tiger conservation alongside poverty alleviation and development on the government's priority list.

"There is a burning need for political will," said WWF-India in a statement. "The tiger needs sympathy and action."

What makes matters worse, by the government's own admission, is that it appears not to have much power over what happens in individual states. "There are three urgent actions required from the states," said Rajesh Gopal, member secretary of the NTCA, admitting on Wednesday that more needed to be done.

"Creating and evolving a tiger conservation plan, the constitution of a steering committee under the chairmanship of the chief minister and a foundation must be created where we can release the funds directly to the state units."

Communities living in and around protected reserves see the cats as a nuisance which kill their livestock, and do not care if tigers are wiped out -- a view reflected by local officials, wildlife activists say.

"Since the local people don't care, neither does the government," said A.J.T. Johnsingh, a wildlife biologist.

Pressure from big business leads to habitats being destroyed, funds to protect the animals are misused and vacancies for key environment positions remain unfilled.

In a country of 1.1 billion people, two thirds of whom are estimated to live on less than US$2 a day, saving animals is not a vote winner.

"India's tiger's are the envy of the world," said Belinda Wright, director of the Wildlife Protection Society of India. "But that doesn't matter in India, as the bottomline is that the tiger doesn't have a vote."
links
Related articles on Big cats
about the site | email ria
  News articles are reproduced for non-profit educational purposes.
 

website©ria tan 2003 www.wildsingapore.com