SAVING THE INDIAN TIGER- SCIENCE TO THE FORE

By Dr. Ullas Karanth

There is so much bad news about tigers that conservationists appear to be giving up hope. Rapid economic growth, land-hunger of the poor and thoughtless development projects are pushing back tiger habitats. Even as the pressure of poaching mounts on prey species and tigers, the guardians of India’s forests are drifting off-course from their mission of protection, seduced by lucrative distractions like ‘ecodevelopment’, ‘ecotourism’ and ‘habitat management’. The tiger’s cause seems hopeless. Is it really? Let us remember: Jim Corbett had set the date for extinction of India’s wild tigers 50 years ago, and more recently, several leading conservationists had reset that clock for the year 2000. Despite both deadlines having passed, the tiger hangs in there grimly.

When I was in school 50 years ago, tigers seemed to be far worse off than they are now. There were no effective laws to protect wildlife from poachers, or tiger habitats from massive destructive development. There were, in fact, official bounties for killing tigers and other predators: the aim was to eradicate tigers. The tough conservation laws came only in the 1970-1980 period. Despite their recent unfortunate dilution under pressure from both the “pro-people” and “pro-industry” lobbies, these are still much better than those we had 50 years ago. These laws need to be implemented effectively: something conservationists can indeed fight for, instead of throwing up their hands.

Fifty years ago, the forest department had no official mandate to protect tigers, nor did it have enough money. Lone warriors like K. M. Chinnappa and Sanjay Deb Roy struggled on with very little more than their passion and committment. Now, there is a clear mandate to protect tigers and lots of money: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has earmarked Rs. 6,000 million in the current Five Year Plan for saving tigers. What conservationists need to do now is ensure its proper use. A lot
of this money is already being misused for destructive habitat manipulations, ecodevelopment and such other follies. Focused use of these funds for tough protection on ground and generous voluntary relocation projects for local people who are locked in perpetual conflict with tigers is something conservationists can now fight for.

Fifty years ago, other than a handful of naturalists and hunters, rest of the society was simply not bothered about the fate of wild tigers or forests. Now there is a huge potential constituency for conservation within the rapidly growing rural and urban middle class. If only conservationists can distract say five per cent of the membership of this class away from its current preoccupation with cricket, cinema and music videos, they can do a lot for tiger conservation. If those who preach ideologies of Maoism, Hindutva and such other causes can attract new recruits into their ranks from the same middle class, conservationists should also be able to.

But mere passion is not enough: we need to act in reasonable ways to make that passion work for tigers on ground. We have to act, but based on careful reasoning. Five decades ago, scientific methods of studying tigers were unknown and as a result, little knowledge of the ecology of the tiger was available. Since then tiger research using modern scientific methods has generated substantial knowledge of tiger ecology. This know-how can help solve conservation problems and objectively evaluate successes and failures. How so?

An average tiger requires 50 prey animals per year: about 500 prey animals are necessary to support a single wild tiger. However, tiger habitats in India are extremely productive for prey numbers, if human hunters and livestock can be kept out. Alluvial grasslands and deciduous forests can hold up to 25 to 50 prey animals per square kilometre. As a result, a tigress can raise her cubs within a home range of 15-30 sq. km. Contrast this with the extremity of tiger habitats in the snow-bound Russian Taiga, where her home range would be 500 sq. km. Densities of adult tigers vary from a low of one tiger/100 sq. km. in Russia to 10 to 20 tigers/100 sq. km. in India’s high quality habitats. This is good news for tiger conservation in India.
From long-term research, we know that Panthera tigris is a resilient species with a high reproductive potential. A tigress starts breeding at the age of three or four years, and for the next six to 10 years, produces three cubs once every two to three years. This reproductive potential depends on having enough prey animals in the forest. Such productive tiger populations can take about 10 per cent losses every year without dipping down to unviable numbers.

What do these facts mean for tiger conservation in India? A mere 1,000 sq. km. of forests – a circle within a day’s walk in any direction – can potentially hold 100-200 wild tigers.  Even if 10-15 per cent of these tigers are poached or disperse annually, the population can still survive. Tigers are not like ancient fig trees; they replace themselves rapidly if there is enough food – just as we humans do. Various assessments show that 100,000-200,000 sq. km. of potential tiger forests still survive in India. If conservationists can effectively engage on ground to protect patches of a few thousand square kilometres at a time, many tiger populations can still be recovered. This will not be easy: each recovery will be a slow, complex painstaking mission extending over decades. There is no ‘closure’ in the business of conservation. I repeat, mere emotional committment to the tiger won’t help. Clear thinking and knowledge-based local advocacy are specifically required at each tiger recovery site. While lobbying at the top political level and pow-wows in high-power committees, conferences and task forces do matter and rallies and events in metros do keep the tiger buzz alive, timely local action at tiger sites is the most critical element for success. And because time is slipping away, conservationists need to prioritise this aspect.
Application of such knowledge-based advocacy by local conservationists – where working in tandem with the few remaining committed officials – has resulted in tiger populations holding steady and even bouncing back at some of my long-term study sites in Karnataka. Despite all the bad news from elsewhere, because of constant daily conservation struggles, at Nagarahole-Bandipur and Bhadra, I do get 100 tigers in my camera traps. Tiger and prey numbers are rebounding in Bhadra.  Local conservation leaders of a new generation, in this case, D. V. Girish in Bhadra, Pandira Muthanna in Nagarahole (a protégé of the legendary K. M. Chinnappa) and others in their teams, are making a difference for tigers on the ground. While these are indeed extraordinary individuals, I am sure many others like them are hidden undiscovered in our vast country. Such conservation Jedi warriors need to be identified, energised and supported over a long term. I think therein lies the primary conservation challenge in sustaining wild tigers into the 22nd century and beyond.