Tiger Directory

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My take on regarding radiocollaring,

I too spoke to several amateur photographers and amateur naturalists regarding the collaring issue on tigers.
Almost all of them were against collaring the tigers.

The common reasons what they gave was

* These collars make tigers to carry unwanted weight around its neck.

* Some of the tigers showed uncomfortable behaviours when there is a collar around its neck. Generally it has been proposed stating that the weight of the tracking device should not exceed 5% of the host‟s bodyweight in order to avoid detrimental effects to behavior (Cochran 1980; Aldridge and Brigham 1988). But in the case of the tigers collared the collar weight was 1% of the entire body weight. But still I wont rule out the possibility of behavioural changes (because these are living animals and not machines)
An example is Gabbar from Tadoba seems to run away from vehicles after being collared. This is definitely a behavioural change. Collaring is not only about the radio collar but the entire process involved.
Another example is a collared tiger in Ranthambore started showing more aggressive behaviour towards vehicles.
We have to remember unlike the collared tigers in Russia these tiger reserves in India are big tourist attraction centers. So the guides, drivers, photographers, naturalists will see these tigers day in and day out and will definitely notice if there is a change in the behavioural pattern.

* Several tigers in Kanha were collared 10 years ago (2004-2009) for research purposes but not a single study or research paper as been published yet.

* Among all the tigers collared initially at Kanha, all of them died except one and what research the scientists did and why didnt they publish anything on their research work, instead they started collaring more new tigers.
One example is a tiger named Arjuna (one of the link 7 brothers) died after a territorial battle with Munna. When his body was examined they found that one of his front paw was stuck in the collar through his claws. This immobilized Arjuna and could have cost is downfall. The claws were so firmly stuck to the collar that the vets were unable to remove it, so finally they cut the collar to get the frontlimb out.
Another example is a tiger named Pattewala male (brother of Munna and he was collared) went missing after a fight with Munna and no attempts were made to track him and find him, he is still being missing and considered dead.
Umarpani tigress's collar was cut and removed because there was a big maggot infested infection around the collar portion.
T4 tigress died due to infection around radio collar in Panna. On T4's death Madhya Pradesh's chief wildlife warden Narendra Kumar said "It seems the radio-collar caused infection around her neck". Wildlife biologist Vidya Athreya the one who collared the T4 tigress said "It is likely that the Panna tigress had a wound on her neck which the collar did not allow for healing". Athreya also adds that in a place like Africa, where visibility is good and there are not as many people as in India, you can drive up to the animal, see it clearly and then intervene if the animal has a problem with the collar etc.

* Tracking tigers for tourism purpose where there is zero scientific values. All the tigers collared initially at Kanha were from tourism zone.

* There are faulty collars which dont work, hence the tiger as to be recaptured and recollared.[/size]

and some more points similar to this.



What I would say is
* These people are amateur photographers and amateur naturalists, they love these tigers and they know alot about these animals life history but they lack the authority to question scientific methods.

* Most of their complaints were due to poor management by the autorities on collaring tigers.

* They talk out of passion and love for this animals. They think radio collars and collaring process can be annoying and stressful for tigers but this method as been successfully used by scientists on different animals for research purposes. They miss the point that greater good which comes out of collaring a few for the species or subspecies as a whole.

* No matter how good a scientific method is, it all depends on the authority and the management which governs it.

One example is
Faulty radio collars force scientists to kill 18 deer

http://www.thelocal.ch/20130903/botched-...ll-18-fawn



There are frequency alotment issues in India

Radio collar stuck in Customs dept, release of tigress into Pench stalled

Refusal by the Wireless Planning Commission (WPC) under the Union Ministry of Communications and IT to allot a frequency for a radio collar has stalled the release of a tigress into Pench National Park.

The satellite-aided radio collar, costing Rs 3.5 lakh with accessories, had reached India from Germany in February. However, the importer has been unable to retrieve it from the Customs Department following the Centre’s decision to not grant any new frequencies.

The four-and-a-half year old tigress — TF1 — is one of the three orphaned siblings brought to Pench in Nagpur district from the then Bor Sanctuary (now a tiger reserve). The cubs were raised by the Forest Department in captivity and released into soft enclosures over a year ago.

After studying their behaviour, the officials found that the male — TM1 — showed familiarity with humans and was unfit for release in the wild.

TF1, on the other hand, was kept in a large enclosure (3.5 ha) and was hunting the live animals released in the enclosure. “We decided to release her in the wild first. For that, we need the radio collar to keep a watch on her movements. So, we placed an order,” said Pench Field Director M S Reddy.

Sumit Sabharwal of A&S Creations said, “We have been told by WPS officials that no new frequencies are being granted since June 30, so we will have to wait till the new allotment starts.”

http://indianexpress.com/article/india/i...h-stalled/


Im not being irresponsible or blaming radiocollars for Gabbar's lose in weight, but instead the weight loss concides with the collaring.
Reserves like Bandhavgarh and Tadoba have prey availability throughout the year and there is less seasonal changes compared to reserves in the north. Thats why generally we see very less variations in tigers physique in these reserves.

Regarding your questions Guate
1. Who is collaring these tigers?
2. Why they are been radiocollared?

As far as I know there is forest department, state government, central government, governement approved vets, biologists etc are involved in one way or the other, but more details can be obtained only when anything is published.
Forest department always says tigers are collared to monitor there movements, ecology etc .


You say "​Every process can be safe, as long as is carrying out by professionals."
But the snares used in Russia were done by professionals and it was never a safe method, everyone knew but still the so called professionals used it. You dont need a Phd to know that snares are dangerous for animals, snaring animals is being practiced for centuries by hunters, poachers etc.



I see a debate going on in radio collaring vs cameratrapping.
Are cameratraps the next step from radiocollars in tiger conservation in India ?
Can cameratraps replace radiocollars in India ?

The real question is what radiocollars can do which the cameratraps cannot and what the cameratraps can do which the radiocollars cannot. What are the disadvantages on cameratrapping and radiocollaring. 

 

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