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Bigcats News
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Carcass of a tiger found in floodwaters inside Kaziranga National Park on August 18,2017
I think that is only a big Javan Leopard.
Declared extinct decades ago, a Javan tiger may have just been photographed in Java’s Ujung Kulon National Park By Coconuts Jakarta Sep. 14, 2017 A big cat photographed in Ujung Kolon National Park on August 25, suspected to be a Javan tiger. Photo: Ujung Kolon National Park  *This image is copyright of its original author The species panthera tigris sondaica, better known as the Javan tiger, has been considered extinct for decades as there have been no confirmed sightings of the big cat that once stalked the jungles of Indonesia’s biggest island since the 1980s. But based on photographic evidence from Java’s Ujung Kulon National Park in West Java, the Javan tiger may be making a comeback. This new photographic evidence of the Javan tiger’s continued existence was captured late last month but was only revealed to the media recently. It was taken by a park ranger while doing an inventory of banteng (a species of wild Javan cattle) on August 25. At the time, he saw a dead banteng being eaten by a big cat unlike any species known to reside in the park. “My fellow ranger saw a large cat, but with stripes a bit different from the leopards usually found in Ujung Kulon. Finally, he photographed it, and we suspect it is either a type of Javan leopard or another one of the large cats, such as the Javan tiger,” Ujung Kulon Park Head Mamat Rahmat told Detik on Wednesday. Mamat noted that Ujung Kulon used to be home to many Javan tigers and he hoped it still was. But he was careful to note that the animal in the photograph, while appearing quite distinct from other big cats like the Javan Leopard, still might not be a member of the long lost tiger species. This photograph of a live Javan tiger, Panthera tigris sondaica, was taken in 1938 at Ujung Kulon and published in A. Hoogerwerf’s “Ujung Kulon: The Land of the last Javan Rhinoceros”.  *This image is copyright of its original author Indonesia’s Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK) said that they would send research teams to investigate whether it was indeed a Javan tiger in the photograph. Their experts said that while the cat’s stripes are right, its body language seems wrong. “Its markings are like the Javan tiger, but its posture less so. The posture of the Javan tiger is bigger, more muscular, and shorter than the Sumatran tiger,” KLHK’s Director of Conservation and Natural Resources Wiratno yesterday, noting that its posture was closer to that of the Javan Leopard. However, Wiratno said that there is a good chance that the Javan tiger could have survived in Ujung Kulon since it has long been a conservation area. He said they would be setting up numerous camera traps throughout the area to get better photographic evidence so they could make a confirmation. There have been numerous alleged sightings and evidence of the Javan tiger over the years, but previous research expeditions failed to produce concrete proof of its continued existence.  
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Too far off to distinctly make out stripes and spots clustered together easily give the misconception of stripes. I'm not exactly sure what you're saying in the 2nd part of your statement, but leopards have white on their inner limbs, neck and stomach. That is a Leopard, there is no doubt about it, the photo is bad so it's hard to make out color but it looks a bit light, almost like a strawberry leopard but you'd need to see a much clearer image before you could determine that and it still looks a little darker than the strawberries I have seen. I'd say it's just a lighter colored leopard, nothing out of the ordinary.  *This image is copyright of its original author
(09-15-2017, 01:31 AM)Pckts Wrote: @ I mean, I do see spots on the leopards body and upper arms tho. But i thought it was weird how i see stripes on the legs of the leopard. 
Interesting photo. My gut says leopard. The tail is very long and even though there is something like stripes on that back leg, I'd think that one would continue across the rest of the body if those stripes were more than a camera artifact.
Edit: I found the stripes on the inner leg in the photo below (leopard on right).  *This image is copyright of its original author
(09-15-2017, 05:38 AM)tigerluver Wrote: Interesting photo. My gut says leopard. The tail is very long and even though there is something like stripes on that back leg, I'd think that one would continue across the rest of the body if those stripes were more than a camera artifact.Wow ok, it makes sense now they seem to have closer spots that makes it look like stripes.
Kazakhstan to reintroduce wild tigers after 70-year absence
Sandra Laville Friday 8 September 2017 08.52 BST Project supported by WWF is likely to take many years and involves creation of nature reserve and restoration of forest Siberian tigers. The first tigers in Kazakhstan will be introduced in 2025 at the earliest. Photograph: David Lawson/WWF UK  *This image is copyright of its original author Wild tigers are to be reintroduced to Kazakhstan 70 years after they became extinct in the country. The animals will be reintroduced in the Ili-Balkhash region in a project that involves the creation of a nature reserve and the restoration of a forest that is part of the animal’s historical range. If successful, Kazakhstan will be the first country in the world to bring wild tigers back to an entire region where they have been extinct for nearly half a century. Previous relocation projects have only been considered in existing tiger habitats, such as in reserves in India. Poaching and habitat loss has decimated the wildlife on which wild tigers once fed, including the kulkan, or wild donkey, and bactrian deer, both native to central Asia. The animals will be reintroduced to the nature reserve to provide enough food for the tigers when they are relocated from elsewhere in Asia. The project, which is being supported by WWF, is likely to take many years. The landscape has to be prepared and the wildlife they feed on reintroduced before the first tigers are brought in in 2025 at the earliest. Igor Chestin, the director of WWF-Russia said: “Thanks to years of close collaboration between Kazakhstan and Russian conservation experts, we have now identified the best possible territory in Ili-Balkhash for the restoration of a thriving wild tiger population. “Our continued cooperation will be key in the successful creation of a new reserve, the restoration of rare native species and, in a few years’ time, achieving an unprecedented trans-boundary relocation of wild tigers to central Asia.” Since the beginning of the 20th century, wild tigers have lost more than 90% of their historical range, including in central Asia (modern Turkey and Iran to north-west China). Wild tigers completely disappeared from Kazakhstan in the 1940s due to poaching and the loss of territory, WWF said. There were thought to be about 100,000 wild tigers at the beginning of the 20th century. Now there are about 3,900, but it is hoped the Kazakhstan project will play a key role in increasing tiger range and populations. Askar Myrzakhmetov, the minister of agriculture, said: “Kazakhstan is moving along the path of green development. We are honoured to be the first country in central Asia to implement such an important and large-scale project, that not only will bring wild tigers back to their ancestral home but also protect the unique ecosystem of the Ili-Balkhash region.” Ekaterina Vorobyeva, the director of WWF-Russia’s Central Asia programme, said there was hard work ahead to make the area ready. “That means tackling poaching and illegal activities, having well-trained and equipped rangers, thriving prey populations and engaged local communities.”  (09-17-2017, 03:33 AM)Ngala Wrote: Kazakhstan to reintroduce wild tigers after 70-year absenceGreat News, hope it happens soon 
Central India region has highesttiger genetic variation, says study
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city...931587.cms Nagpur: Genetically connected tiger populations in Central India, Terai and North-East has high variation and future of tigers will depend on connected populations only, says a latest study by wildlife scientists and tiger researchers form leading Indian institutes. The regions are geographically the largest connected forest units with maximum tiger genetic variation. The experts who conducted the study include Meghna Natesh, Goutham Atla, Parag Nigam, YV Jhala, Arun Zachariah, Anuradha Reddy, Udayan Borthakur and Uma Ramakrishnan. For the first time, all tiger genetics labs, including the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), Hyderabad, National Centre for Biological Sciences-Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (NCBS-TIFR), Kerala Veterinary & Agricutural Sciences University, and Aranyak from across India came together to share their genetic and tissue samples. The scientists investigated genetic variation and its partitioning in wild Indian tigers using information from across the genome. Their analyses identified Ranthambore as a possibly isolated, low genetic variation population while Central India, Terai and North-East as genetically connected tiger populations with high variation. "Tigers are charismatic carnivores of global conservation concern. The Indian subcontinent is home to the largest number of tigers in the world, and the Indian government has invested significantly in tiger monitoring and conservation. "Conservation goals include preservation of genetic diversity in endangered species. But this requires understanding what the genetic units of a species are, and which units have higher or lower variation and hence the study," says Jhala from WII. Hence, the scientists used state-of-the-art, next generation sequencing to type 10,184 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from across the genomes of 54 individuals, but the final study included 38 individual tigers. "From these samples we studied amount of genetic variation, adaptive differences and related issues. SNP is a single base-pair difference in the DNA sequence of individual members of a species," said Natesh, one of the researchers. Tigers in India can be divided into three genetic units. One unit coincides with Ranthambore in the north-west, the second unit comprise tigers from Terai, North-East and Central India, and third unit includes tigers from southern Indian reserves. The results suggest that inbreeding, or mating between close relatives, could threaten the small and isolated tiger population of Ranthambore, the study states. The findings mention that the second unit (Central India, Terai & North-East) was geographically the largest and had maximum genetic variation. The third (southern Indian) unit had intermediate genetic diversity. Acquiring tissue samples from tigers is logistically challenging. But for the first time, the study was able to glimpse genetic variation from many parts of the entire tiger genome using SNPs. While previous studies looked at 10-12 regions in the genome, the latest study analysed data from over 10,000 regions. Despite this, not all tiger reserves could be sampled. Yet, the results have implications for tiger conservation. The study shows that high genetic diversity is maintained across connected populations, while isolated populations become genetically depauperate. Genetic variation is the raw material for evolution and survival. The future of tigers will largely depend on connected populations. 
Relocation of tiger: Wildlife panel visits Mukundra reserve
TNN | Sep 27, 2017, 11:00 IST (Ranthambore can be seen at top-right corner)  *This image is copyright of its original author KOTA: Speeding up the pace for reintroduction of tigers in Mukundra Hills Tiger Reserve (MHTR), members of standing committee on wildlife headed by DGP Ajit Singh on Tuesday held a meeting with district and forest officials in Kota to review the preparation and to discuss plan of action. Later, the members visited a part of the reserve and assessed the conditions there. The committee includes members of State Wildlife Board and experts in the field. The committee reportedly discussed on expansion of enclosure areas and periphery for the tiger to be shifted by end of this year in Mukundra. The members reviewed the conditions in Rawantha, Darra, Sawan-Bhadon and grassland areas of the reserve, deputy conservator of forests S R Yadav said. The members are scheduled to visit other relevant areas of the Reserve on Wednesday following which they would hold the meeting to direct as needed on the outcome of the visits, he said. Earlier this year the state Forest Department had requested the tiger relocation to be preponed as habitat & prey-base development was already complete. Technical committee of National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) earlier this month in principle approved that tiger could be reintroduced to Mukundra Hills Tiger Reserve by December 2017. In the first phrase, three tigers, two female and one male are proposed to be shifted most probably from Ranthanbore National Park (RNP) to MHTR. Stretched over an area of 759 sq. km. including 417 sq. km core area and 342 buffer zone, the reserve covers four districts namely Kota, Bundi, Chittor and Jhalawar. Mukundara Hills tiger reserve, located in the Hadoti region of south-eastern Rajasthan, has been waiting for the big cats since its inception in 2013. Mukundara Hills is the third notified tiger habitat in Rajasthan after Ranthambhore in Sawai Madhopur and Sariska in Alwar. The reserve was formed to provide a home range to the excess tiger population in Ranthambhore, which at present is said to have around 65 of the striped cats. The state government had recently sought the Centre’s nod for shifting the tigers. The recent killing of sloth bear in train run over on railway track near Darra has however raised concern over the safe and secure habitation of the proposed three tigers in Mukundra. The wildlife activists in Kota following the incident intensified the demand to raise fencing on both sides of the seven kilometre railway track on both the sides raised in Mukundra. A delegation of the activists also went to meet the DRM with memorandum but was not allowed by the official. PS: Black bucks spotted in Mukundra for first time.
Russia opens conservation center for endangered Amur leopard
By INGA VELANSKAYA SEPTEMBER 30, 2017 9:22 PM (UTC+8)  *This image is copyright of its original author Photo: William Warby, Flickr The Amur is the world's rarest large cat Russia has opened a research center in a national park in the Far East of the country dedicated to preservation of the critically endangered Amur leopard, of which only 80 or so individual animals are estimated to remain in the wild. The center will be within the 262,000-hectare park, known as “Land of the Leopard,” which was set up five years ago to provide a protected habitat for the Amur, the world’s rarest large cat. Areas of Russia’s Far East and parts of China are the only identified habitat of the Amur and about 90% percent of the known population of the species live within the national park, which is about 135 kilometers from Vladivostok. The US$6 million, five-hectare research site will be the world’s largest for conservation of the Amur, comprising laboratories, an administrative building, a hotel for tourists and participants in conferences, and a museum. “We will be able to receive scientists from all over the world here and at the same time, the area is also a cultural and educational center all in one, in which you can learn about nature in the region,” said Tatyana Baranovskaya, the national park director. The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) estimates 80 to 82 Amur leopards remain, while Russian ecologists put the number at about 70. Still, this represents an improvement from 10 years ago, when only 30 or so were thought to be alive. The new center will become a base for scientists and for better management of the national park itself, said Dale Miquelle, the director of the Russian program of the WCS. In a matter of weeks, the WCS will start training programs at the new center for park employees. “We plan to help in the scientific process and to conduct studies,” Miquelle said. |
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