Migration of tigers outside protected areas under study - Times of India

PUNE: Researchers are studying the migration corridors of tigers in the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR), focusing on the landscape outside the protected areas to cut down man-animal conflict. "We want to understand the movement of tigers at a landscape level. We will try to look at how the areas outside the reserve's core and buffer zones are being used by tigers, their co-predators and their prey," VK Sinha, acting principal (wildlife), said. A joint effort by the state forest department, the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), the long-term project will cost Rs 1.64 crore for the first five years. The field work for the project commenced this April, Bilal Habib, a scientist at WII, said. By studying the dispersal of tigers and how they use the surrounding landscape, researchers hope to identify areas to be prioritized for man-animal conflict mitigation measures, he said. "For now, we have divided 7,000 sq km area outside the reserve into 13km by 13km grids — believed to be the ideal home range for a tiger. We are mapping these grids for various parameters such as the number of villages within the grid, human population density, livestock kept by villagers, population density of prey, type of forest and the presence of watering holes," Habib said. Based on the mapping, the study will identify areas that should be prioritized from a man-animal conflict point of view. For example, a grid that has 100% forest cover and no human habitation would not require conflict mitigation measures while a grid that has high human habitation and accompanying livestock would require more attention, he explained. "At present, we have to spread ourselves thin over a large area. But if we can pinpoint likely conflict areas, we will have a better grip," Sinha said. The next phase of the project will fit about a dozen tigers with radio-collars and monitor their movement. Habib and his colleagues will attach the radio-collars on two-year-old tigers as that is the age when they leave their mother's home range. They will be able to follow these tigers as they find newer areas — their dispersal through areas of human habitation. By monitoring their movement from season to season and comparing data over the years, researchers will be able to determine how long a tiger remains in an area. "We are planning to radio-collar the tigers this December," he said. As part of the socio-economic impact, the project will be able to study the relocation of villages from protected areas of the reserve, Sinha said. The project will also study infrastructural pressures on conservation. Sinha pointed out that, while the areas to the south and north-east of the reserve are relatively undisturbed, plots to its west are fraught with mining activity as well as human population pressures. "When mapping the grids, we will also keep in mind factors such as the presence or construction of roads, if there are any railway or mining projects in the area and how all of this affect tiger movement," Habib said. Why Tadoba? Tadoba-Andhari is known to be a reserve where tiger numbers are rising, says Bilal Habib, scientist at the Wildlife Institute of India (WII). "We know that tigers in Tadoba are breeding. We will be tracking young tigers for the project as they are coming out of their mother's home range and venturing into areas of human habitation," he said. Acting principal chief conservator of forest (wildlife) VK Sinha pointed out that Tadoba's location is ideal to study the linkages between tigers in Maharashtra and the broader landscape in central India. via Science - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNEnjVhnkjMb0mLG7Rxa1-fS1GJv5w&url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/flora-fauna/Migration-of-tigers-outside-protected-areas-under-study/articleshow/22218766.cms

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