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Tiger Reserves in India
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 (09-02-2018, 08:11 PM)Suhail Wrote:(08-23-2018, 11:24 AM)Rishi Wrote: You are quite right... 50 years from now South India might become a single conservation unit. (Which state are you from btw?) Actually as NagarjunSagar (NSTR) region is the northernmost part of southern section of Eastern Ghat before it's bifurcated by Krishna-Godavari basins, those parts were fairly well connected to forests of Telengana/Gadchiroli that's the largest wilderness complex in Central India. Understandably those tigers had a lot of genetic similarity, especially because to the southwest scrubland seperated it from the western ghats.  *This image is copyright of its original author When the tiger populations south of Gundla Brahmeswaram (GBM) Sanctuary dried up, only they remained. Only very recently tiger population has grown enough to migrate out of NSTR. With north not an option, they are swiftly spreading south... Quote:Tigers in 12 more grids outside protected areas in Andhra Pradesh, finds survey  *This image is copyright of its original author Lankamalleswara wildlife sanctuary already has tigers, who have made this sanctuary their transient home as one of them is breeding. A narrow corridor between Lankamalleswara & Seshachalam hills exist at the backwaters of Somasila. Sri Venkateshwara National Park (SVNP), the core area of Seshachalam Biosphere Reserve, is a highly protected area sans villages or human activity & is considered to be the best one in Andhra Pradesh. Tigers are expected to occupy this area within 2020. So in the next decade we can expect genetic exchange between Eastern Ghat & Nilgiri though Koundiya Wildlife Sanctuary. The place already resident elephants that have come in from Cauvery WS in Tamil Nadu which link Nilgiri to Eastern Ghats. @parvez can you find out if NSTR is still connected with Papikonda NP & Kawal TR? 
@Rishi i just got a reply from an expert who told me nagarjuna sagar tiger reserve is connected to papikondalu and kawal tiger reserve. I guess it is probably with narrow patches of forests as I have read articles regarding nstr, gbm corridors and there are few tigers there as human interference is too high. Then these reserves that are far away from each other with maps showing no connectivity between them must also be having narrow patches of forests in between them. I can imagine connectivity through papikondalu. But to kawal i can't imagine a healthy connectivity. I came across many maps in which these narrow patches of forests are not to be seen.
(09-04-2018, 10:01 AM)parvez Wrote: Is nandhour India's 51st tiger reserve? There are three more may join the club in near future. First is Ranipur Wildlife Sanctuary (<map) in Chitrakut district of Uttar Pradesh(UP), only one in the state in Central India landscape. Proposal has already been sent.  *This image is copyright of its original author Right now it's basically a sink for increasing number of tigers in Panna. (crossed 40 recently). At only about 250 km² it's just expected to be a buffer like Amangarh TR. The MP & UP gifts are planning on creating and maintaining a viable corridor for dispersing tigers from Panna to Ranipur. The Mahaveer Swami Wildlife Sanctuary (<map) would be developed to try & join Panna to Madhav NP & Kuno. Second is Derbigarh Wildlife Sanctuary (<map) in Odisha. After Satkosia is stabilised there are plans to concentrate on Debrigarh. Once a major tiger habitat, it lies on the corridor between Simlipal/Satkosia & rest of Central Indian tiger populations.  *This image is copyright of its original author The third candidate is ofcourse Nauradehi Wildlife Sanctuary. With already a tiger mating pair there relocated & another arrived naturally from Panna, Nauradehi is to be declared a Tiger Reserve on reaching a viable number of breeding adults.  *This image is copyright of its original author Strategically placed in between atleast 6 thriving tiger habitats Nauradehi might be the key to connecting them to each other.  (09-22-2018, 11:51 AM)Rishi Wrote:Good to hear that those forests are still connected with corridors.by declaring the forests as tiger reserve,we secured large habitats for those wide ranging animalas.(09-04-2018, 10:01 AM)parvez Wrote: Is nandhour India's 51st tiger reserve? Proposal for another two tiger reserves also under consideration. There is a proposal to create a dedicated Tiger reserve in Goa, which will form a contiguous buffer with the Kali Tiger Reserve in karnataka and fairly connected with sahyadri tiger reserve in maharshtra.presence of at least five tigers were confirmed in the recent census in goa.  *This image is copyright of its original author The proposal recommended the conversion of Goa's four wildlife sanctuaries - Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary, Bhagwan Mahavir Wildlife Sanctuary and mollem National Park, Netravali Wildlife Sanctuary, Cotigao Wildlife Sanctuary- into (765 sq km)one contiguous tiger reserve along the border with karnataka and maharshtra extended upto the sea level.The area forms cruital part of the 10,800sq km sahyadri konkan corridor. The second is mm hills-cauvery wildlife sanctuary in karnataka. The 906 sqkm MM hills and 1027 sq km cauvery wildlife sanctuaries are a part of single landscape which includes BRT tiger reserve, Bannerghatta National Park, Satymangalam tiger reserve and north Cauvery wildlife sanctuary in Tamil Nadu. link: https://www.deccanherald.com/content/521457/mm-hills-cauvery-sanctuaries-potential.html
@Suhail We forgot to include the upcoming Megamalai-Srivilliputhur Tiger Reserve!
(06-12-2018, 11:56 AM)Rage2277 Wrote: http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/c...19645.html Tamil Nadu's biggest tiger reserve in the making
Proposal for another two tiger reserve also on the menu.don't know how valid the proposal is.
spread over an area of 600 sq km, kudremukh national park is one of the largest expanse of mountain shola grassland ecosystem in the Western ghats.kudremukh links the forests of nilgiri biosphere reserve to the North Western ghats. Landscape view with wildlife: Herd of gaur and sambar. Credits vijay DS  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author
Atleast 8 forests of India can hold 4-times their present tiger populations
(Some data quoted is old though. Eg: Nandhaur has 24 adults & total 40+ with cubs as per latest estimate.)  *This image is copyright of its original author Eight forests in India can collectively support more than quadriple their current tiger populations, although the timelines for these increases could range from years to decades, new research has suggested. The tiger population in the eight sanctuaries distributed across eastern, central, northern and southern India could increase from the current estimated count of 62 to 287, according to the study by researchers with the World Wide Fund for Nature. The sanctuaries are part of 18 tiger “recovery sites” in Asia that the WWF researchers assessed to determine how many tigers each site might support with available prey and conservation efforts, which at present support 165 tigers but have potential to harbour 585 tigers. At four sites — Nandhaur and Western Rajaji (both in Uttarakhand), Shuklaphanta in Nepal and Srepok in Cambodia — the tiger population could increase to the recovery targets within 15 to 20 years. At all the other sites, significant population recovery could take 30 to 50 years, and critically depend on the growth of prey populations. But, the researchers say, future tiger populations at these sites would hinge on conservation efforts to maintain enough prey and, among other measures, minimise the risk of human-tiger conflicts. And interventions will need to be site-specific. (09-22-2018, 05:22 PM)Suhail Wrote: The second is mm hills-cauvery wildlife sanctuary in karnataka. MM Hills may become state's 6th tiger reserve UPDATED: JAN 11 2019  *This image is copyright of its original author Karnataka is all set to get its sixth tiger reserve, with the State Wildlife Board deciding to propose to the Centre to notify Malai Mahadeshwara Hills Wildlife Sanctuary (MM Hills) distinguished tag. Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, who is the chairman of the Board, has however decided to defer the notification of the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary (CSW) as a tiger reserve for the time being. The government had earlier proposed to declare the CWS jointly with MM Hills. If the proposal had come through, the tiger reserve would have gone by the name -- Cauvery-Malai Mahadeshwara Tiger Reserve (CMTR). C Jayaram, PCCF (Wildlife), told DH that the idea was to take up the declaration process in a “phased manner”. “The Chairman felt that it was better to first declare and establish MM Hills as a tiger reserve. He said that the declaration process can be taken up in a phased manner. Hence we are extending the benefit to MM Hills first,” he added. Jayaram said that once the gazette notification comes through, the proposal will be sent to the Centre (National Tiger Conservation Authority). “The NTCA will be happy to declare it, because it had only mooted the idea in 2014,” he added. Jayaram said that MM Hills, with 906 sq km, was home to around 13 tigers, while CWS with its 10 forests is an area of 1,027.53 sq km had around 17 tigers. Photographs of tigers and tiger cubs through camera traps have also depicted healthy breeding of the large cats, he added.  *This image is copyright of its original author “The prerequisite now will be the protection of the predator and its prey alongside habitat improvement. The department will focus on increasing the number of anti-poaching camps (APCs), fire protection camps and towers and providing a good source of water for these animals,” he said. The adjoining tiger habitats -- Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple (BRT) in Karnataka and Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve (STR) in Tamil Nadu has been acting as an effective source sink landscape, increasing the density of tigers and their prey in MM Hills, which itself has resident tigers. In addition to connecting BRT, through the Edyaralli-Doddasampige elephant corridor, MM Hills also connects the Bannerghatta National Park -- forming a contiguous landscape of 3,000 sq km of wildlife habitat. This is one of the largest landscapes in the country for the conservation of tigers, elephants and other large and wide-ranging mammalian species. Tiger population in BRT Tiger Reserve has reached critical threshold limits, dispersing young tigers to other areas to MM Hills and CWS. “Future protection activities will ensure that the tiger population in these areas also reach high levels. Also, improved prey base will ensure that tigers in these areas will reach their ecological carrying capacities. There are convincing estimates of abundance of a population of ungulates and herbivores to shore up long term persistence of tiger in these protected areas,” added Jayaram The proposed Tiger Reserve forest area is also rich in flora and fauna. Both CSW and MM Hills sanctuaries are spread over a total area of 1,93,372.25 ha in Chamarajanagar, Mandya, and Ramanagar districts. These sanctuaries are home to mammals like tigers, leopards, wild dogs, hyenas, sloth bears, elephants, honey badgers, guars, sambars, chitals, The government has also proposed that 4,659 ha of Section 4 forest areas and 3,249.20 ha of other government lands that are in the administrative control of Malai Mahadeshwara Wildlife Division, can be considered as part of tiger reserve buffer. https://starofmysore.com/mm-hills-set-to-become-states-sixth-tiger-reserve/amp/ 'Declaring a Tiger Reserve provides several benefits to a forest area as it can easily get funds from the Centre under Project Tiger. “In North India, even if there are two tigers in the forests, funds are procured in the name of Project Tiger. The Male Mahadeshwara Hills and the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary are spread over a total area of 1,93,372.25 hectares in Chamarajanagar, Mandya, and Ramanagaram districts. These sanctuaries are home to mammals like Tigers, Leopards, Wild Dogs, Hyenas, Sloth Bears, Elephants, Honey Badgers, Gaurs, Sambars and Chitals,” said a forest officer. A study conducted by Conservation Scientist Sanjay Gubbi, who is also a State Wildlife Board Member finds that Male Mahadeshwara Hills and Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary have more Tigers than some tiger reserves in India like Namdapha Tiger Reserve in Arunachal Pradesh, Kawal in Telangana and Buxa Tiger Reserve in West Bengal. “It is heartening that the confluence of the Western and Eastern Ghats that had been under the long terror reign of forest brigand Veerappan for decades, is today a haven for big carnivores with good prey availability.”
'Sariska need not be a tiger reserve'
Ghazala Shahabuddin says the protected area does not have the requisite wherewithal to support tigers anymore By Rajat Ghai Last Updated: Wednesday 20 February 2019 The Sariska Tiger Reserve (STR) in northern Rajasthan's Alwar district need not remain a tiger reserve, leading researcher Ghazala Shahabuddin said. The forest, which had to be restocked with tigers after it lost the ones that were there in the previous decade, can't support the apex predator any more, according to her. "STR does not have any connectivity with other protected areas (PAs)," Shahabuddin said at Ashoka University, Haryana, on February 20, 2019. "Let us keep it for its other wildlife and other ecosystem values such as it being the home of Aravalli fauna and being a storehouse for water in the region,” she added. According to Shahabuddin, affiliated to the Centre for Ecology, Development and Research, Dehradun, 'rewilding' has spectacularly failed in the case of Sariska. 'Rewilding', not a scientific term, refers to restoring and consolidating large, human-free, natural landscapes by reintroducing large predators and other mammals to them to rejuvenate ecosystems. Notable examples include the introduction of gray wolves in Yellowstone National Park and Florida Panthers into the Everglades, in United States in 1995. In STR, however, the PA was not properly studied before being notified. "Out of 866 square kilometres, only 400.14 that forms Core Area 1 is good habitat for tigers," Shahabuddin said. Surrounded by villages, STR is largely cut off from other forests, she added. Even the core area was highly degraded as far back as 10-12 years before the tigers disappeared. Tree species were not regenerating due to the disappearance of seed dispersers like sloth bears; over grazing by cattle caused pastures to disappear. So the herbivore population declined, which was another blow for tigers. "Locals were alienated because they had been denied development. Villages had been displaced in the 1970s, but had come back. They had assets outside but were mostly grazing cattle in the park. They were mostly Gujjars and the Forest Department was contemptuous about them. They were not compensated for livestock loss," Shahabuddin said. When tigers were brought from the Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve to restock STR in 2007, more mistakes were made and key issues were not addressed, she added. The first few litters of cubs were usually sired by the same male. So, there was a chance of inbreeding. In 2011, one of the relocated tigers was poisoned by villagers, who are yet not convinced that they can benefit from tiger translocations. "A study of five tigers showed that they were moving in the same 200 sq km area of the park. If they moved outside park boundaries, they had to be tranquilised and brought back," Shahabuddin said. Though the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) scientist in charge of the relocation calculated that STR could support 15 tigers, Shahabuddin pegs the number at half of that. Most importantly, Shahabuddin said, the restocking of STR was a political decision. "The forest department kept persisting in bringing back the tiger because they fear a loss of status as a tiger reserve, due to which high returns from tiger tourism may be affected," she said. It could also be seen as a loss of face, she added.
Another new tiger reserves at the heart of India, anytime now!
 *This image is copyright of its original author After the issue left hanging for years Madhya Pradesh government is finally on verge to declare Ratapani Wildlife Sanctuary as tiger reserve. The new one would jointly be the largest tiger reserve of India along with NSTR. The final approval for the reserve will be given in the state wildlife board meeting, scheduled to be held in August. The state had received an ‘in-principle’ approval for the same from the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) 11 years ago, back in 2008. Back then the place had little note than a dozen tigers, now it has about 50. Confirming the development, minister of forest Umang Singhar said, “We have completed all the conditions of NTCA to declare Ratapani Wildlife Sanctuary a Tiger Reserve. This will boost tourism and improve the local economy of the area.” “Ratapani Wildlife Sanctuary has a population of about 40 tigers while the movement of 12 tigers has been reported in the 200km² forest area (recently converted to a separate forest range with extra manpower) near the state's capital city of Bhopal. The whole area will be combined as one to declare it as a tiger reserve. The area of about 3,500 km² of Raisen, Sehore and Bhopal districts has been reserved for this project. The 1,500 km² will be designated as a core area while 2,000 km² as a buffer zone,” said SPS Tiwari, chief conservator of forest, Bhopal. “The area has good availability of water sources and breeding places. The area is favorable for the tiger population. The facilities will be improved after notification as good budget allocation will be received from the center.” The forest department is also working on resolving the issue of tiger deaths due to accidents and poaching. “We will soon start construction of at least 25 overpasses and underpass for the safety of tigers. A dozen villages from the core area will also be relocated,” said another official. Hailing the decision of the government, wildlife activist Ajay Dubey said, “After being notified as a tiger reserve, the layers of security in the area will be increased. We are happy about it. We fought a long fight for it as illegal mining and poaching are spoiling one of the best tiger habitats.”  *This image is copyright of its original author In January 2016, the then BJP-led state government had said they were not willing to convert it into a tiger reserve as tigers were already thriving there. But after coming to power the new INC govt. has decided to go ahead with it, in light of recently increasing cases of tigers deaths due to poaching & accidents in the area with increase in their numbers. In time there's plans to convert Nauradehi Wildlife Sanctuary as a tiger reserve as well. The reintroduced tigers there have started to breed & now more tigers have reached the region naturally from other forests. Sources: https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-new...HnhMP.html https://mnaidunia.jagran.com/madhya-prad...ve-3033862 https://m.patrika.com/bhopal-news/new-ra...n-3841027/ http://www.mpbreakingnews.in/Breaking-Ne...erve-50776
Personally, southern states including Maharashtra should come up with a composite plan to make a wildlife corridor all along the Western Ghats into the Nilgiris and then into the adjoining Eastern ghats. This way a tiger could possibly move from Sahyadri in Maharashtra all the way to Mudumaai and set up territory traversing nearly 800 kilometres. Or even on the other coast at Srisailam. Lower karnataka already has a corridor between Nagarhole into Periyar. But, the fragmented parts in Hassan, Udupi and adjoining areas makes the “source sink model” a bit redundant.
(07-24-2019, 09:07 AM)Ashutosh Wrote: Personally, southern states including Maharashtra should come up with a composite plan to make a wildlife corridor all along the Western Ghats into the Nilgiris and then into the adjoining Eastern ghats. This way a tiger could possibly move from Sahyadri in Maharashtra all the way to Mudumaai and set up territory traversing nearly 800 kilometres. Or even on the other coast at Srisailam. Lower karnataka already has a corridor between Nagarhole into Periyar. But, the fragmented parts in Hassan, Udupi and adjoining areas makes the “source sink model” a bit redundant. The way thing are going, that may actually happen sooner than you think. The eastern-western ghats' tigers are getting connected with Satyamangalam & Malai-Mahadeshwara becoming tiger reserves and AP's tigers moving south from Gundla Brahmeshwaram (refer to older post on this thread #15). Although the corridors in between will require consolidation, it's fairly doable. As for Maharastra, back in 2016 they were thinking of linking Radhanagari sanctuary & Sahyadri tiger reserve, to boost their unstable western metapopulation with Goa's & Karnataka's tigers, by habitat development in Tillari region. I don't know its present status, or if anything came of it. There's also a concept called the Sahyadri Corridor Project. (05-19-2019, 08:05 AM)Rishi Wrote: After years of unconfirmed sighting & reports of tiger presence in Goa, 2013 saw a tigres camera-trapped in Mhadei Sanctuary of the tiny state sandwiched in between Maharastra & Karnataka. After which the presence of the same tigress was repeatedly captured on camera for successive years. To reduce conflict in the former & augment the later with breeding females, surplus tigers from Chandrapur area were also to be moved to Sahyadri that was once connected with central India to the north.
After getting some dismal news from the Orissa-Jharkhabd-Chattisgarh belt, I am guessing the focus on conservation will be put a bit more. So, Orissa has two tiger reserves, both in poor shape -Simplipal and Satsokia - and a third one is about to be notified with area of about 1080 sq.km in Sunabedha. Currently, there is no tiger presence here, but, it is contiguous with Udanti in Chattisgarh.
http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/bhubaneswar/2019/jul/31/sunabeda-tiger-reserve-to-be-notified-in-a-month-2011921.html
Re-populating tiger reserves
INDIA Experts say tigers are now limited to tiger reserves and tiger landscapes. But the northeastern landscape and the central Indian landscapes are not connected at all, making certain populations extremely vulnerable.  *This image is copyright of its original author Jayashree Nandi Hindustan Times, New Delhi  *This image is copyright of its original author Bengal’s Buxa Tiger Reserve and Mizoram’s Dampa Tiger Reserve can be re-populated by introducing tigers from Assam’s Kaziranga National Park, the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA)’s recent tiger estimation summary has recommended. Likewise, Jharkhand’s Palamau Tiger Reserve and Odisha’s Simlipal National Park can be re-populated with tigers from a source that has the same genetic cluster. The source for this endeavour has not yet been identified. Securing tiger populations in these four reserves is crucial because of their “genetic distinctiveness”, the NTCA and independent biologists have observed. Though India has managed to double the number of tigers from 1,411 in 2006 to 2,967 in 2018, the 2018 estimation indicates it has lost tigers that are of highest conservation priority because of their “genetic distinctiveness”. Tiger numbers in the northeastern hills and the Brahmaputra plains have not increased much in the 2018 census. Mizoram and north Bengal have not recorded any tigers in this census despite recording tiger signs (pug marks, scat) in 2014. Tiger numbers in Odisha have fallen from 45 in 2006 to 28 in 2014. The number has stayed the same in 2018. A recent research paper by scientists of the Wildlife Institute (WII), titled Genetic Structure of Tigers in India and its Implications for Conservation, has concluded: “Combined with the low density and small tiger numbers in the north-eastern hill region, the north-eastern tiger populations merit the status of a special population unit of high conservation value. For managerial purposes, the two sub-clusters of the north-eastern landscape needs to be maintained, i.e., a) the hills and b) flood plains and foothills.”  *This image is copyright of its original author Qamar Qureshi, one of the authors of the WII study published last month in Global Ecology and Conservation journal of Elsevier, said, “Northeastern tigers are genetically different. They are the same population but have their own signature. It is understood that tigers evolved in Southeast Asia and came to India via the Northeast. So they are the ancestral population.” The tiger population below the Palghat gap between Tamil Nadu and Kerala in the Western Ghats is also considered unique, as is the population in Odisha and Bihar. But these populations are very small and completely cut off from the tigers in rest of India. The NTCA’s summary report on the status of tigers states: “Buxa and Dampa can be repopulated through reintroductions from Kaziranga, after prey restoration in Buxa and strengthening protection in Dampa which already has a good prey base.” Experts say tigers are now limited to tiger reserves and tiger landscapes. But the northeastern landscape and the central Indian landscapes are not connected at all, making certain populations extremely vulnerable. “We suggest a paradigm shift from indiscriminately doubling tiger numbers to prioritising conservation of naturally occurring diversity amongst tigers to retain their full evolutionary potential, while managing to mitigate anthropogenic induced genetic structuring,” the WII study has recommended. Not just between landscapes in India, the NTCA summary report has suggested that habitat corridor connectivity between source populations in India and Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Myanmar “is essential for long term viability of tiger populations within India and the region.” |
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