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Tigers of the High Himalayas
Tigers of the High Himalayas
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Tigers of the High Himalayas
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Signs of Bengal tigers in southwest China (Tibet Autonomous Region).
Kunming Institute of Zoology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) have spotted signs of Bengal tigers in remotest forested part of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region. The infrared cameras set up by its staff in Tibet's Mêdog County took Bengal tiger pictures for the first time there.  *This image is copyright of its original author Beginning in October 2018, the team led by Li Xueyou has set up 48 infrared cameras in the county, located deep in the Yarlung Tsangpo (Brahmaputra in India) Grand Canyon. The county is the last one in China to get highways. In recent years, local villagers have reported seeing footprints of tigers. The pictures were taken in January.  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author
How can they possibly tell if they are Bengal tigers or Indochinese tigers or some sort of mixture of the two?
(08-10-2019, 03:17 PM)Ashutosh Wrote: How can they possibly tell if they are Bengal tigers or Indochinese tigers or some sort of mixture of the two? There are no Indochinese tigers nearby in Myanmar, so they're assuming Bengal But tiger subspecies fade into each other, not change abruptly. These Arunachal tigers may carry genetic materials of both... most likely closer to Indochinese than central Indian tigers, but not as close as northeast Indian ones. . 
What is the maximum size of Himalayan tigers? Are they the same size as Bengal or Indochinese specimens?
@johnny rex. No they are not bigger than Bengal tigers. They are smaller than Bengals. Actually they are Bengals, hybrids and in rare cases Indochinese tigers, in many cases Bengal dominant ones are more.
(08-10-2019, 08:27 PM)parvez Wrote: @johnny rex. No they are not bigger than Bengal tigers. They are smaller than Bengals. Actually they are Bengals, hybrids and in rare cases Indochinese tigers, in many cases Bengal dominant ones are more. https://wildfact.com/forum/topic-tiger-r...9#pid89429 (08-10-2019, 04:34 PM)Rishi Wrote:(08-10-2019, 03:17 PM)Ashutosh Wrote: How can they possibly tell if they are Bengal tigers or Indochinese tigers or some sort of mixture of the two? As far as I know, there are tigers in Hukawng Valley tiger reserve in Myanamar, which is very contiguous with Namdapha in Arunachal Pradesh. So, an Indo chinese tiger dispersing from Myanmar into Arunachal and then into South Eastern Tibet is not a far flung possibility. The Northern part of Myanmar and upper parts of Arunachal are just so wild and barely explored, add the Tibetan part of Yarlung Tsangbo valley above Namcha Barwa and there is a possibility of tigers thriving here. Without further studies, it is tough to determine which subspecies they belong to. Who knows, maybe they are their own subspecies, because I remember they caught a couple of abandoned cubs from Arunachal and the cubs had no oscilli on the back of their ears and the ears were jet black with no white spots. The Hindu reported these tigers to be bigger than Bengal subspecies (I have my doubts about that because they were raised in captivity). https://m.economictimes.com/news/environment/flora-fauna/grown-up-tigers-cant-be-released-from-park-arunachal-forest-officials/articleshow/63665866.cms The male tiger in captivity weighs 300 kilos and the female weighs 200 kilos. https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy...867331.ece 
interesting article, i remember reading it a while ago and i wonder if has something to do with the fact that these tigers literally live on the mountains. perhaps an evolutionary trait? I can see why they could be different compared to the tigers elsewhere in India.
@parvez @"ashutosh” both made good points, you can never rule out the possibility that they could very well be Indo-chinese and Bengal tiger hybrids. remember, tigers can travel large distances. It would be nice to know if Dr.Jhala got any further info on those dna results. tfs
Oh, I almost forgot to post that. I did some digging up on those DNA results, and the genetic markers all pointed to them being Royal Bengal Tiger or Panthera Tigris tigris if you will. But, the interesting distinction came in further sequencing as they did not match upto any genetic markers from subpopulations of Bengal tigers anywhere. Their closest relatives were Tigers of Eastern India and flood plains (but not kaziranga). And, even more interestingly, their closest marker came from a subpopulation in Nagarhole National park of Western Ghats landscape (I could have read the genome tree incorrectly, so apologies).
In some camera trap images of tigers in Bhutan, I saw some tigers didn't appear to be Bengal though they were stockier. That's why I said they must be hybrids as genes of Indo Chinese tigers must be present in them, their habitat isn't far. But the Indochinese tigers of pure breed may not be living here due to intensity of gravitational waves. Bengals may be going to Indochinese habitat but vice-versa may be rare. But Bengal dominant genes may be present in them they must be majorly Bengal with some traits of Indochinese tigers.
@parvez, @Rishi, @Roflcopters
Here is the detailed report of the DNA analysis on the orphaned tigers Ipra and Chipi rescued from Dibang Valley in 2012. The relative closeness to a Tiger haplogroup marker to tigers from Nagarhole actually threw me off. https://www.currentscience.ac.in/Volumes/114/11/2368.pdf PS: The genetic sequencing is bound to cause some discussion about subpopulations, so I put the sequence on the thread “In what categories we can divide Bengal tigers” for further discussion.
Tigers present in high altitudes in four Indian states: NTCA report
India has been conducting studies on Himalayan tigers to form long term conservation master plan. INDIA Updated: Sep 04, 2019 05:57 IST Bhutan tigers spilling to adjoining Indian states of Sikkim, West Bengal & Arunachal Pradesh.  *This image is copyright of its original author The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has confirmed the presence of tigers in high-altitude areas of Sikkim, Uttarakhand, West Bengal and Arunachal Pradesh in a study submitted to the environment ministry. Camera trapping has shown tiger presence in Kedarnath at about 3,600 metres above sea level. In Sikkim also their presence has been confirmed at about 3,300 metres above sea level. “We now have concrete evidence that tigers are present in high altitude areas of all four states. The study was to understand tiger presence in high altitude regions of Nepal, Bhutan and India. In all three regions tigers are there in the higher reaches. We are not sure if they reside there or are moving from other places. That will be verified in the second part of our study,” said Nishant Verma,deputy inspector general, NTCA and nodal officer of the project. The team has studied secondary data, conducted interviews with local people and used camera traps to ascertain tiger presence. Going by initial reports that tigers are present in high-altitude regions of Sikkim, Uttarakhand, West Bengal and Arunachal Pradesh by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), environment minister Prakash Javedekar, on Tuesday, said the government is working on a master plan based on the new findings. “The instant situation analysis study provides the rationale for stepping up high altitude conservation of the tiger, while identifying possible viable habitats, corridor linkages, anthropogenic pressures, and induced landscape level changes for evolving an in-situ conservation roadmap,” the statement from MoEFCC said. The MoEFCC also recognised the gaps in understanding tiger populations in high-altitude regions. “Most of the high-altitude habitats, within the range have not been surveyed for an appraisal of tiger presence, prey, and habitat status. Hence, it becomes important to embark on a said appraisal, involving mapping of the habitat and carrying out a situation analysis for a future roadmap,” read the statement, adding that tiger habitats in high altitude require protection through sustainable land use. The study is led by the Global Tiger Forum with range country governments of Bhutan, India and Nepal. “This provides the action strategy for a high altitude tiger master plan, with gainful portfolio for local communities and ensuring centrality of tiger conservation in development, trough an effective coordination mechanism, involving stakeholders and line departments operating within the landscape,” was stateed by Global Tiger Forum. Sources: https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-new...T1arO.html https://www.iamatigeradvocate.org/conser...altitudes/ https://weather.com/en-IN/india/news/new...-mountains |
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