ON THE EDGE OF EXTINCTION - A - THE TIGER (Panthera tigris)

[peter]

AMUR TIGER RESEARCH - THE CLAYTON S. MILLER THESIS - II


D -  THE GLOBAL TIGER RECOVERY PROGRAM 

1 -  In an unprecedented action to save a rapidly diminishing wildelife species, government leaders from all 13 tiger range countries gathered in St. Petersburg to discuss efforts to save tigers from extinction in November 2010.

2 - At the end of the 3-day meeting, all 13 leaders endorsed the Global Tiger Recovery Program, with a primary goal of doubling the number of tigers by 2022.

3 - All wild tigers are threatened by poaching. Apart from that, the primary threat in north-east Asia is declining prey populations. The primary threat in south-east Asia, where tigers often have plenty to eat, is too little room for dispersal due to habitat loss and fragmentation.


E - SOME THINGS TO REMEMBER REGARDING THE RUSSIAN FAR EAST

1 - Tiger range in the Russian Far East consists of 156.000 square km. of contiguous forests with relatively low human densities.

2 - There are over 60.000 registered hunters in the Russian Far East who rely on multiple use lands.

3 - Wildlife management organizations are responsible for managing hunting, controlling poaching and conducting surveys of game species on leased hunting territories which compass about 85% of Amur tiger habitat.

4 - Annual ungulate surveys from 1998 to 2009 have documented a steady decline in ungulate prey populations throughout Amur tiger habitat. Less than 15% of the remaining 156.000 square km. of tiger habitat is protected and hunting or large ungulate species - the same species which tigers depend on - is both legal and a traditional source of protein for local villagers in the remaining 85%.

In a classic example of conflict between hunters and carnivores, Russian hunters claim that tigers are reducing the amount of prey, yet conservationists maintain over-hunting and poaching is the cause of the reduced prey base. Because Amur tigers require large forested areas with sufficient ungulate prey and low human densities to survive en reproduce, tigers and people must find a way to co-exist in the multiple-use forests.

5 - Different studies have shown that Amur tigers living in protected areas kill more large ungulates than tigers living in unprotected areas. Same for this study.


F -  THE AIM OF THIS STUDY

Within the multitude of conservation actions, sufficiently high ungulate densities are the foundation on what any recovering tiger population depends. Poaching and legal substence hunting have led to the forest syndrome throughout much of Asia where intact forests are depopulated of large ungulate prey - the main prey required for persistence of tiger populations. Researchers recently reviewed the literature to define the preferred prey and preferred weight ranges of tigers. This information will help land managers develop strategies that befenit these key prey species.

` ... What remains to be clearly defined are the prey requirements and kill rates of tigers .. ` (pp. 1). Many studies have addressed this aspect of tiger ecology, but none have harnessed the recent technological advances in our field to rigorously estimate kill rates across all seasons. This thesis is the first project to use GPS technology to expand existing scientific knowledge of year-round tiger-prey dynamics in the RFE, to improve kill-rate estimation methods and contribute, in this way, practically to sustainable wildlife management.

The thesis is divided into two main chapters concerning Amur tiger kill rates and prey requirements. In Chapter 2, Miller developes methods for estimating kill and consumption rates from GPS data to estimate annual kill rates on large ungulates. The results are compared to those in other studies based on GPS data. He also developes a method to determine the threshold consumption rate for survival and reproduction. In Chapter 3, Miller developes an energetic model to estimate the prey requirements for tigers to survive and to reproduce. Reply