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[GuateGojira]

(04-21-2014, 08:36 AM)'Apollo' Wrote: There are two projects which I consider the most important for Indian wildlife and especially for Bengal tigers.

1)
The first project is joining the forests in the southern western ghats of South India, this will cover three southern states (Tamilnadu, Karnataka and Kerala) and several National Parks, Wildlife sanctuaries and Reserve forests (Mudumalai NP, Bandipur NP, Nagarahole NP, Eravikulam NP, Mukurthi NP,  Silent Valley NP etc etc). This will cover an area of 15,000 square kilometers.

2)
The second project is the new transboundary landscape in the Hindu kush Himalayan region covering parts of eastern Nepal, Sikkim and the northern parts of West Bengal in India. This Kangchenjunga landscape spans 16,000 square kilometers.

If these two projects come to reality then they will be the Asia's largest unbroken protected forests.
The western ghats landscape is a hilly rainforest.
The Kangchenjunga landscape is a terai forest.
I hope these projects come true for the well being of Indian wildlife.
 

 

Based in what I have learn and read, only these two populations, together with that of the Russian Far East, have the highest chances to survive in the long therm.
 
Other investigators states that the populations of Malaysia and Sumatra had also high hopes, but the human overpopulation, the lack of care of the habitat (especially in Sumatra) and the low numbers of tigers (about 500, but not based in entirely scientific methods) put some doubts to this affirmation.
 
In the wild, it seems that only Bengal tigers (the Terai belt and the Western Ghats landscape) and the Amur tigers (Russian Far East and northern China) have some future in the long term, while Malayan and Sumatran tigers are relative safe in captivity with very well managed populations in north America and European zoos.
 
There is the myth that the Sundarbans have the highest tiger density, based in governmental data, however Dr Karanth shows that the density of tigers in the area is very low and probably no more than 150-200 specimens (probably even less) survive in the entire region (India and Bangladesh together). This and the fact that the mangroves themselves are disappearing and that the low prey base is even shrinking the tiger size, suggest that this population, in the long term, is doomed to its extinction, unless than some dramatic actions could be taken.
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