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The Terai Tiger
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After seeing the kaziranga and Sunderban tiger threads, I decided to start this one. I firmly believe that tigers should be classified after the ecosystem they inhabit, instead of the region, which is the norm right now. For example, Panna tiger reserve is technically in Northern India, but not part of the Terai. Also, AFAIK, Nepal doesn't have any tigers outside the terai arc landscape.
The "Terai Arc"  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author Often called 'Northern Indian' or 'Nepal' tigers, the animals that inhabit the Terai ecosystem are unique in terms of appearance and behaviour. The Terai landscape is simply the forest patch that runs along the foothills of the himalayas. Because of good forest cover and availability of water throughout the year, the landscape is able to support a large variety of birds and mammals, including tigers, rhinos, elephants, sloth and asiatic black bears and numerous other species. From WWF-India's page: "The Terai Arc Landscape (TAL) is an 810km stretch between the river Yamuna in the west and the river Bhagmati in the east, comprising the Shivalik hills, the adjoining bhabhar areas and the Terai flood plains. It is spread across the Indian states of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, and the low lying hills of Nepal. The landscape boasts of some of India’s most well-known Tiger Reserves and Protected Areas such as Corbett Tiger Reserve, Rajaji National Park, Dudhwa Tiger Reserve, Valmiki Tiger Reserve and Nepal’s Bardia Wildlife Sanctuary, Chitwan National Park, and Sukhla Phanta Wildlife Sanctuary. In total, the landscape has 13 Protected Areas, nine in India and four in Nepal, covering a total area of 49,500 km2, of which 30,000km2 lies in India. These forests are home to three flagship species, the Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris), the greater one horned rhino (Rhinoceros unicornis) and the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus). Apart from these, there are several other species of cats such as the rusty spotted cat, fishing cat, jungle cat, leopard and leopard cat, as well as antelopes and deer such as the four horned antelope, sambar, chital, hog deer and barking deer. Other wildlife includes the sloth and Himalayan black bear, yellow-throated marten, Indian pangolin, Himalayan goral, Gangetic dolphin, gharial and crocodile. The Protected Areas in this landscape are connected with one another through wildlife corridors, which are mostly part of the interconnected Reserve Forests. These corridors are used by wildlife, especially large mammals, to move from one forest to another, in an attempt to find new territory, mate and prey." http://www.wwfindia.org/about_wwf/critic...landscape/ List of Protected ares in the TAL, from Wikipedia.
Please feel free to add photos of tigers from this landscape and any other useful information. 
Terai Arc Landscape (TAL), Nepal
 *This image is copyright of its original author Malupothi is one of the tigers whose whereabouts have been monitored by "camera traps". These are cameras that have been set to automatically take a picture when a large animal moves by. Camera trapping is part of the scientific research on tiger behaviour and ecology that forms the basis for planning for their conservation. Terai Arc Landscape, Nepal.© WWF Nepal Program Quote:The Terai Arc Landscape in Nepal is populated by 6.7 million people. 60 per cent of households own less than 1 hectare of land. The average annual income for a person is US$100. 61 per cent of households rely on wood as their main fuel for cooking. Most get their fodder from forests.Integrating sustainable livelihoods with tiger conservation The health of Nepal's Terai Arc Landscape is of critical importance for both the human communities and the wildlife that live within it. Sometimes described as the rice bowl of the country, it is home to some of the largest surviving populations of the Royal Bengal Tiger and the Greater One Horned Rhinoceros. The densely populated area is currently under extreme ecological pressure, to the detriment of both wildlife and human populations, especially the rural poor. These pressures are compounded by a high level of political instability, including the long standing Maoist rebellion in the country. Links between Livelihoods and Wildlife WWF has been involved in wildlife conservation in Nepal since 1967. Root Causes Analyses (RCA) carried out in the Terai Arc Landscape in Nepal identified that rural livelihoods are heavily dependent on forests, which are also the habitats of many of Nepal's wildlife species. The conservation of these forests therefore benefitted not only the wildlife, but also the livelihoods of the rural poor in a significant way. Ensuring that rural communities have access to healthy forests provides them with a sustainable source of fuel, fodder, wild foods, building materials, agricultural and household tools and medicine (Livelihoods Study 2003). Good Governance through Resource Management WWF approaches conservation in Nepal by working to enable local people to become resource managers, beneficiaries and stewards of the forests in which they live. The legal framework through which this occurs is ‘Community Forestry' which gives forest user groups clear cut forest rights and responsibilities that provide them access, use and economic gains from the forests that they manage. Promoting gender equality and women's participation It empowers women to participate in management and decision making, and on average a Community Forest User’s Group earns USD 4760 annually. Sustainable forest management through Community Forestry is restoring forest corridors that connect protected areas, and are essential for the dispersal and survival of the tiger and other species. In this remote, conflict torn region, resource governance through local communities is able to provide perhaps the only model of governance functional in the area. Strengthening human and social assets The species conservation programme has demonstrably helped build the human capital of the area through capacity building aimed at diversifying on and off-farm economic activity, strengthening entrepreneurial skills and local ability to sustainably manage natural resources, and providing support structures such as small credit and marketing schemes. Supporting basic infrastructure and equipment Infrastructure developed through the programme includes renovated school buildings, small irrigation schemes, health centres and subsidiary roads as well as micro-hydro schemes, and toilets. The provision of alternative energy sources such as biogas plants and energy saving devices such as fuel wood efficient stoves ensures that communities are less reliant on illegal and exploitative resource extraction, which degrades the environment for both humans and wildlife. Political conflict has caused setbacks for the programme, but over the longer term, wildlife habitat conservation through community forestry management in Nepal has protected and enhanced the resource base, promoted the sustainable use of resources and empowered and benefited communities. Furthermore, this approach has continued to deliver benefits and services when other government institutions have been incapacitated. http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/how_we_w...tal_nepal/
Tiger Nation
2 hrs · Conserving the Bengal Tiger in the Himalayas - Why responsible wildlife travel is so important.  *This image is copyright of its original author Conserving the Bengal Tiger in the Himalayas Dibesh Karmacharya is a conservation biologist who returned to his home country Nepal to contribute his genetics expertise to a momentous task:… youtube.com I'm watching it now... 
Interesting thread, Shardul. Very informing posts, PC. I might want to borrow a few maps, PC.
Based on the information on size in the tiger extinction thread (referring to the tables on tigers in northern India and Nepal I recently posted), a case could be made for different regions and different tigers. I would get to southwestern India (a), southeastern and south-central India (b), central and eastern-central India ©, the Terai (d), the Sunderbans (e), northeast India (f) and the extreme east (g). The longest tigers are those in the Terai (Nepal and northwest India), followed by the Nagarahole tigers and those in the northeast (the far eastern wing of the Terai, but different habitat). The shortest tigers can be found in the Sunderbans, southeastern and south-central India and the extreme east. This also could be the right order for weight, as there is a strong correlation between total length and weight in tigers. Tigers in the northeast and in central India could be a bit more robust and relatively heavier than those in other regions. There is some evidence that the largest skulls are from Terai tigers. As it is likely that size and habitat are strongly connected, it would be interesting to know more about the typical habitats in the regions mentioned. Some regions seem to have sub-regions. There's no question that Chitawan tigers, in the heart of Nepal and directly south of the Himalayas, are larger than those inhabiting the fringes. One reason could be that Chitawan has been a protected area for quite a long time, meaning tigers (and the animals they prey on) have not been hunted for a long time.
Some awesome images from Corbett
Corbett Aadil Sorry for pic Quality Pic taken in Very Low Light 2 Sharmili sub Adult Cub Bijrani CTR Feb 2016  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author Shibu Nair P Follow · June 8, 2015 · The Stalking Queen!!! Tigress Panthera Tigris Dhikala , Jim Corbett  *This image is copyright of its original author Sharmali  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author Male Cub Bijrani Zone of Corbett Tiger Reserve March 2015 — with Corbett Aadil.  *This image is copyright of its original author " Watch your Steps" A Somewhat playful interaction between a group of subadult gaurs and a young subadult tusker . A very intriguing moment in my wildlifing career , usually we have seen that whenever these 2 animals come close it ends up in a clash .But as we always remember childhood is free from all complications , its depicted in this episode quite vividly . A herd of about 10 gaurs were hobering around the salt pit , when this not so big single young adult tuaker came out strolling . Seeing the big animal the gaurs made a retreat into the forest other than 2 subadult females . We thought the gaurs willsoon b manhandled .Instead the tusker stopped in front of them and looked at the gaurs pretty curiously and the gaurs too seemed not b afrain of the tusker .After that they started a game as if 3 children are having a big time fun.... the elephants and gaurs started running accross each other , no hitting no charging , the elephant was very gently pulling one of the 2 gaurs tail .... this continued for a spell of 3-4 minutes untill the adult gaurs called those subadult girl gaurs in . They had to leave reluctantly ,and the elephant even rumbled at them ... we did record the episode in video , and this one of the documented shot of the entire episode ... it was like two cute little adolescent girls ( gaurs) charmed by the handsome young boy ( ele . ) Sight : Jaldapara National Park , photographed by  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author
Chitwan, Nepal
 *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author In a single season, this tiger was photographed six times in different locations, making him the most photographed tiger in Bardia National Park.  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author Camera Trap images from Nepal http://www.worldwildlife.org/projects/ph...s-in-nepal  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author
@Shardul,
If you want to put whole pdf, then click on "New Reply" button and attach your pdf file. In case you want to post an Image which is inside your pdf, then, first you have to save that image on your system hard disk, then use the upload button (third from last, "i") directly to upload image here. Please read this thread for more clear details http://wildfact.com/forum/topic-how-to-upload-image
For us who haven't seen Tigers in the wild, you wan't to know how hard it actually is to spot a tiger, here you go.
Read this story from Adrian Steirn, one of my all time favorite photographers, I just posted some of his work in the Lion pictures thread if you'd like to take a look. Here is the story below How I photographed a tiger for the first time Wildlife photographer Adrian Steirn describes the moment when he photographed a tiger from less than 35 metres away  *This image is copyright of its original author By Adrian Steirn 7:00AM BST 27 Jul 2013  *This image is copyright of its original author Comment The Jungle Book was one of the first books I remember reading. As a child I was captivated by the adventures of Mowgli and would often recreate scenes with Baghera and Baloo the Bear, hiding from Mowgli’s nemesis - the Royal Bengal Tiger – Shere Khan. This is where my love affair with tigers began. I tried to picture what a tiger would look like up close and how an animal so distinctively orange could camouflage itself in a world of greens and browns. It was this fascination with tigers that led me to a career in photography; I used the camera as a way to seek the adventures I’d dreamed of as a boy and to get up-close with wildlife.  *This image is copyright of its original author To reach the National Parks of Nepal as part of the team established by Whiskas and WWF, to document the work being done to protect these animals from extinction, was an opportunity I seized with both hands. Finally I had the chance to witness a tiger in the wild for the very first time - and yet I was conflicted: I quietly worried how the reality would compare to my imagination. “Please understand that it’s very unlikely you will see a tiger and even more unlikely that you’ll get a photograph. They are very secretive animals. I’ve worked in this National Park for many years and haven’t once been able to photograph a wild tiger,” said my guide as he eyed my assortment of cameras and lenses. I knew the odds were against me but in that moment I understood the lengths I would go to, to capture that photo. I live in Africa. I have spent years photographing lions and leopards on foot, from vehicles and even helicopters. The drill was pretty similar for these big cats - your best opportunity to photograph them is at dusk and dawn and back home, trawling slowly through the reserves in a specialised Landrover had become the quintessential photographic safari experience. However as I found myself on the other side of the globe on the back of an elephant wondering how to secure my cameras, sit comfortably and try to spot one of only 120 tigers in Nepal, I began to understand the challenges I would face. The local communities had explicitly briefed me that the best way to spot a tiger was to sit atop one the custom built towers, used by rangers to spot and monitor tigers, and wait until midday. At this point if you were very lucky and very quiet you might get a glimpse of this elusive animal. We only had four days, which was spent waiting by rivers in the heat with very little shelter provided by the tiny trees, and bit by bit reality had hacked away at our enthusiasm and energy. On the third day our sound man had been with a team who had seen a tiger from a distance of two kilometers and this had lifted our spirits. That was until we returned to camp and saw what it looked like in the viewfinder. I looked at the grainy distant spec of a tiger with disappointment and really understood just how rare a tiger sighting was. So this was it. I had failed. We were due to leave the jungle for Katmandu in ninety minutes without any tiger photos. Sitting in the dust I furiously managed my expectations - then came the strangled noise of my guide screaming “tiger” out the side of his mouth as quietly as he could. I followed his hand out onto the horizon and saw nothing. Then my eyes locked onto the tiniest of specks and my spirits dropped. The speck must have been over 1.5 km away in a pool that had formed in the adjacent river fork. I grabbed the longest lens I could hold and started to run. My guide stopped ahead of me as the path vanished. “We cannot go any further,” he said dejectedly and handed me back my binoculars. Even magnified the animal was still minute, however the size of the head was enormous, suggesting the tiger was a male. At this point my guide seemed to measure the importance of getting in closer and suggested another way down to the pool. We ran. As we closed in on the tiger, I asked the guide to remain where he was as I would need to go in through the reeds alone if I was to get a chance at the tiger. He shook my hand and wished me good luck as I rechecked my camera settings and started to crawl my way through the reeds. Now there are a few things to remember when crawling anywhere - it takes a long time, it’s actually really hard work and the lower in the grass you get, the less you can see what is ahead of you. By this stage the last glimpse I’d had of the tiger had been about 30 minutes ago so I tried to stay on track by following the largest tree on the horizon behind the big cat. As I crawled through the reeds I became disorientated, remaining as silent as possible whilst keeping the big camera off the ground. At about 400m in I startled some spotted deer that were hiding in amongst the reeds. Although reassured that I had managed to stalk within meters of the tiger’s main prey, the flip-side provoked all sorts of thoughts to fly through my head. My mind wandered nervously as I imagined crawling into the tiger amongst the reeds - it would be as surprised as me and at that proximity and there would be no standing it down. I decided that the tiger would hear me in the undergrowth long before I would see him and move off never to be seen again. I moved on as slowly and as silently as I could. Another 50 metres and I could see the riverbed through the thinning reeds. I scanned the scene and there - to my eternal surprise - in the middle of the shallow water hole sat an enormous male tiger, completely unaware of my presence. I decided to absorb the scene before I made any movement as it was likely that the tiger would dart off as soon as it detected me. Fortunately the wind was in my favour so I edged forward weighing up my options. To get the shot I would have to emerge from the reeds about 35 metres away from the tiger and due to the height of the undergrowth, it meant that I would need to stand at full height. The last couple of metres felt like torture. My mind skipped momentarily back to the Jungle Book. I took a final breath, wiped the sweat from the camera shutter and slowly stood up at the edge of the bank. The look on the big cat’s face was almost embarrassed as it slowly turned to face me. Water dripped off the thick orange pelt. The size of it was extraordinary. I willed the calmest energy I could towards the tiger as I slowly squeezed the shutter. The reflex mirror broke the spell as the tiger turned its back and slunk off through the water to the opposite embankment. I fired off more shots as it walked and then it stopped to face me and stared. That orange was as brilliant as I had imagined. And then the tiger was gone, moving effortlessly through the long grass and vanishing from sight. There are around than 3,200 wild tigers left in the wild. The feeling that I can’t shake is the age-old conservation question – ‘will these great cats be here for our next generation?’ I imagine a little boy in fifty years time, reading the Jungle Book in his bedroom and asking his mum where he can see a wild tiger, only to be told that the last wild tigers had become extinct twenty five years earlier. Surely in a progressive world we can find the means to save an animal that can’t save itself. Without us there is no them. It’s often said but few take heed: “What we do to the animals we do to ourselves”. whiskas.co.uk/wwf http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/en...-time.html
Suman Chakraborty
Where Tiger's Rule Bijrani,CNP.  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author
From Maneaters of Kumaon, by Jim Corbett
 *This image is copyright of its original author This descriptions hows Corbett was not prone to exaggerations, admitting he was scared of the 10'7" Bachelor of Powalgarh.  *This image is copyright of its original author Accuracy of hunters in predicting length based on just visual observation.  *This image is copyright of its original author The 10'3" Pipal Pani tiger  *This image is copyright of its original author Two more ten footers he mentions, and one white tigress!  *This image is copyright of its original author Another picture  *This image is copyright of its original author
beautiful, the bachelor is still one of the most impressive Tigers I have seen to this day.
Great read and some beautiful tigers...
http://assets.worldwildlife.org/publicat...1412088432
on this eve of Wildlife day this pic captured in the month of January 2016 at Bijrani, Corbett National Park would be a perfect contribution. A special thanks to all my friends on this day who have made all this possible.
Sharmille, Virat and Pandit- bijrani, CTR —  *This image is copyright of its original author Her cubs are huge. |
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