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Randeep Singh , Parag Nigam , Surendra Prakash Goyal , Bishamber Dutt Joshi , Sudarshan Sharma , Raghubir Singh Shekhawat

Abstract

Two orphaned tigers cubs aged 8-10 months of either sex were monitored over a period of one and half years between October 2008-March 2010 in the fragmented landscape of Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve (RTR), India. Both animals dispersed out into fragmented landscapes, however the male cub accidently ventured into human habitation and resulted in conflict. The cub was rescued and rehabilitated in an adjoining forest. The female cub dispersed naturally outside the national park area into Chambal ravines. Both the animals were monitored using camera trap and pugmark based tracking method during the study period. Both tiger cubs adapted well in the human dominated (fragmented) landscape, caused minimal conflict, and survived their first winter and summer till they attained the age of ≥ 24 months. This paper presents the survival of orphaned cubs in fragmented landscape and highlights the importance of translocation as a tool for alleviating conflict.

Keywords

Royal Bengal Tiger, Camera Trap, Human-wildlife Conflict, Dispersal, Translocation

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Randeep Singh ¹, Parag Nigam ¹, Qamar Qureshi ¹, Kalyanasundaram Sankar ¹, Paul R. Krausman ², Surendra Prakash Goyal ¹

Affiliations
1 Wildlife Institute of India, Post Box # 18, Dehradun 248 001, IN
2 Boone and Crockett Program in Wildlife Conservation, University of Montana, Missoula, Montana 59812, US

Abstract

In felids, mortality caused by dominant males can affect life history characteristics, demography and reproductive success. When a dominant male is removed, an incoming male may kill offspring sired by the previous male to induce the resident female into oestrus. We had the opportunity to observe the infanticide avoidance responses of female tigers (Panthera tigris) to incoming males in the core area of Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve (RTR), Rajasthan, during 2008-2010. In one case, following the disappearance of a dominant male tiger (TM-12) from the established territory of a female tiger (TF-13), the female tiger, accompanied by two cubs, immediately moved approximately 20 km away into riverine areas outside the protected area of RTR. In another case, a female (TF-04) died from a battle with a male while defending her cubs. These observations reveal the attempts of female tigers to avoid infanticide. Observations and results from behavioural decisions made by tigers are important to understand the species and the factors that facilitate their conservation.

Keywords

Camera Trap, Female Tigers, Infanticide Avoidance, Ranthambore Tiger Reserve.

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Puneet Pandey ¹, Deepa Goel ², Randeep Singh ³, Sujeet Kumar Singh ¹, Surendra Prakash Goyal ¹

Affiliations
1 Wildlife Institute of India, Chandrabani, Dehradun 248 001, IN
2 Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Technical University, Lucknow 226 301, IN
3 Amity Institute of Forestry and Wildlife, Amity University, Noida 201 313, IN

Abstract

Genetic approach is often suggested for resolving taxonomic ambiguities in areas where there have been overlaps in distribution of a species or subspecies. The Northeast part of India is one of the identified biodiversity hotspots, having the junction of Palearctic and Indomalyan realms with dense canopy forests and rugged terrains. The distribution range of two tiger subspecies, i.e. Bengal tiger and northern Indo- Chinese tiger, overlaps with each other in this region. The government authorities rescued three tiger cubs from Angrim Valley Village, Arunachal Pradesh, Northeast India in November 2012. We carried out a comprehensive genetic study on the rescued cubs to elucidate their subspecies status and determine their relationship with the remnant tiger populations. Our findings based on 3661 base pair of mitochondrial DNA sequence spanning across six mitochondrial genes (ND1, ND2, ND5, ND6, 12S rRNA and CytB) and non-coding control region (CR) suggest the Bengal tiger ancestry of the rescued tiger cubs. Further, comparison of mitochondrial haplotype with other Bengal tiger populations reveals that the haplotype reported for the rescued cub is novel and has close affinity to the northeast tiger populations of India. However, detailed population assignment to infer the source of origin was not possible due to lack of genetic data for all Bengal tiger populations. The present study attempts an assessment of tiger status that has resulted in identification of another tiger occupied landscape in India (Dibang Tiger Reserve).

Keywords

Bengal Tiger, DNA Sequencing, Single Nucleotide Polymorphism, Subspecies.

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Randeep Singh ¹, Puneet Pandey ¹, Qamar Qureshi ², Kalyanasundaram Sankar ³, Paul R. Krausman ⁴, Surendra Prakash Goyal ²

Affiliations
1 Wildlife Institute of India, Post Box # 18, Dehradun 248 001 and Amity Institute of Forestry and Wildlife, Amity University, Sector-125, Noida 201 303, IN
2 Wildlife Institute of India, Post Box # 18, Dehradun 248 001, IN
3 Wildlife Institute of India, Post Box # 18, Dehradun 248 001 and Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History, Coimbatore 641 108, IN
4 School of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721, US

Abstract

Understanding the social organization and acquisition of potential home ranges in solitary polygamous mammals is important for their management and conservation. However, such information requires a continuous long-term study. Therefore, limited information is available for mammals from South Asia. We studied the western most distributed Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris) population of Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve (RTR), Rajasthan, India, intensively during 2005–2011 using direct observation and intensive camera trapping-based methods. We examined how the home ranges of deceased tigers would be filled. Nine home ranges of tigers were vacated (two males and seven females) because of death, translocation, emigration and dispersal. Vacated female home ranges were filled by neighbouring tigers; 57% of neighbouring females were related to each other and after females vacated their ranges, their daughters acquired these home ranges. Mother tigers shared their home ranges with their daughters to increase the reproductive success of the latter. The home range of adult male tiger (TM-02) was estimated to be 73 sq. km using camera traps. Vacated male home ranges were filled by four transient individuals that were not related to each other. These data help understand the social organization and land tenure system of tigers in semi-arid habitats of India.

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