Eyes on or hands on? A discussion of human interference

[GuateGojira]

(11-10-2014, 11:07 PM)'Pckts' Wrote:

(11-08-2014, 10:14 AM)'GuateGojira' Wrote: There is no issue on the tiger health, the risks are minimum now and the modern methods to work with the sedate specimens are safer than in past days (remember the Curve of learning).
 
You are ignoring the fact that the knowledge about the need of tigers in habitat matters came from radiocollaring studies. In fact, tigers don’t need unmolested areas as much as we think. Corbett, Dr Sunquist and Dr Karanth had found several cases of tigers living very near human settlements without conflict, showing that despite human presence (which is inevitable in the present), tigers manage to have normal lives. Conflict arises, of course, but as long as tiger prey is at good level and human retreat from forest areas, tigers will not attack cattle and by extension, humans. Of course, this don't include the destruction (in a industrial way) of the habitat, which is a completely different issue.
 
Finally, we don’t know where tigers exist by sure. We can infer trough signals and habitat quality, but often, this doesn’t show the full detail. Check for example the huge forests of Cambodia, we can say that there are tigers in the area, but at the end, we have no evidence and most of scientists believe that the population in that area is now at the brink of extinction.
 
In this case, we need the use of camera traps to corroborate the presence of tigers and this is the correct use of this tool. After we can corroborate that there are tigers in the place, the next step is to radiocollar a few specimens in order to monitor they social life and ecological needs. This is the logic way and the normal patter in Science.
 


 

You are ignoring the FACT that tigers have died due directly to being collared.
So there is absolutely a issue of health from it.

Now you think that tigers don't need unmolested forrests to survive?
Look where the highest densisty of tigers exist, Kaziranga. A place that is extremely hard to find a tiger to view, same with corbett, and Kaziranga also is the last place to see the Indian Rhino, do you think that is coincidence?
Compare it to Sumatra, a place completely over ran by humans, forrest are destroyed and tigers have become man killers while being the smallest tigers in exist.
Just because tigers are hardy and smart and are capable of surviving in humans area's doesn't mean thats right. It means they have no choice.
BTW tigers in habitat areas comes from camera traps, not collaring. Hence Bhutan....

 

Obviously you are ignoring, again, relevant parts of my post.

1. You insist in mentioning that "tigers have died due directly to being collared", but you too ignore the FACT that only FOUR tigers have died in Scientific and supervised studies, which is less than 4% of captured tigers (named Chitwan, Nagarahole, Panna, Sariska and Sundarbans, which has been supervised by international teams and NGO organizations). I don't know the statistics, but it first sight, it seems that is more safe to radiocollar a tiger that have a heart surgery!

*This image is copyright of its original author

Dr Sunquist and others have proved that the tigers are very resilient species and have manage to live with people and survived. Of course, this is not the best option, but for the moment, is the best that we can do, specially in Southern Asia, an area with large people densities and high poverty index.

Places like Kaziranga and Corbett are not free from this. Ward (1997) in his outstanding article "More space for the tigers" in NatGeo magazine clearly states that Kaziranga is a place at war, litteraly. He describe that Kaziranga is a small area with NO buffer zone and the communities with they productions of rice reach the edges of the park. At the other side of the Brahmaputra river are the full fields of pour refugees from Bangladesh, and some of them will be very happy to pass poacher to the park for a few money. Here are the scans of the article about Kaziranga (sorry, is only in Spanish, I will translate it latter):

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

As you can see, Kaziranga is by any means the "paradise" that you think and this situation is the same at 2014. In fact, there is no such thing as a tiger paradise in ANY part of the world, and you most take in count this before make assumptions that tigers "can and most" live without people. That, at 2014, can't be done, holistic solutions are necessary, programs are been created and should be taken in count. According with Valmik Thapar, India should look to Kenya and Tanzania and learn how to conserve its tigers, but that will take time and great efforts.

The example of Sumatra is incorrect here Pckts, because I clearly mentioned in my previous post (quoted in this post yet) that the destruction in Sumatra is no longer at the same level than that of India. In Sumatra, all is at an Industrial level, in India, it is not at that level yet, and let's hope that the Indian Government finally take a stand, just like Russia, and make clear laws to protect its tigers.

Finally, nobody denies that camera traps are useful to found tigers in "new" habitats, the problem is that this tool have a particular function, and is not that of the radiocollars. Both tools most be used, then you will have good "Tiger science".
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