10 Ways To Protect Our Tigers

Scared, lonely, sad and hungry, jumping at the smallest sound, waiting for his mommy to come back. But maybe she is not coming back. Save our tigers, there are just 1411 – is the tagline of the video being telecast on television all over India.

Looking at the young two months old cub waiting for his mommy in the cave was really touching as he looked lost, alone with no one to console him just like an orphan, who has no idea where to go, whom to go and how to survive. People involved in saving our tigers are urging to use social media to create awareness among each other. So here are ten steps to stop the dwindling population of tigers in India.

1. Create awareness

Anyone and everyone can help if they put their mind to it. So make posters, fliers, shout it out from the roof tops, spread a word; in other words create awareness about the importance of tigers on the planet. Organise birthday parties with tiger theme, parents can take the children to zoo for more information on tigers.

2. Educate the locals

People living near the forests need to be educated about the importance of tigers in terms of ecosystem. They need to be told that if there will be no tigers there will be no forests as all the grass eaters will devour the forests.

3. Stop poaching and don’t encourage poachers
Sale of tiger skin and other body parts is banned. So if you find somebody hunting tigers, report them to your local police station or even the forest officials. They will take care of the poachers.
4. Support a cause
Join a cause for tigers. You can join save our tigers and support them by blogging, or by making posters, sending fliers among other things. You can also organise a tiger sale and donate the money to the cause.
5. Severe punishment for poachers
Ensure that the poachers are not allowed to go easily. Make sure that they receive severe punishment for their crime.
6. Ban the goods made of tiger skin
Please do not use goods made of tiger skin. Also please don’t use the medicine made out of tiger’s body parts. On an average one wild tiger is killed each day for profit killing.
7. Protect forests
In order to save tigers forests need to be protected. Apparently the species are becoming extinct because of the loss of their natural habitat.
8. Take an eco tour
An eco tour that focuses on tigers can be beneficial in making people understand the importance of tigers. Also the money made out of these tours can help in convincing government that tigers can be profitable.
9. Support accredited zoos and wildlife sanctuaries
You can also support various accredited zoos and wildlife sanctuaries in your area. They are active in research and conservation programmes with some of the zoos involved in captive breeding of tigers
10. Donate money to tiger conservation organisations
You can also donate some amount to tiger conservation organisations who are constantly striving to fund money for their research as well as educational programmes on tigers.
These are few of the ways that you can save the tigers from becoming extinct. There were eight species of tigers on the planet earth. However, three of them are already extinct save the rest five. The three species that are extinct now are Bali tigers, Javan tigers and Caspian tigers.

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FACTS ABOUT TIGERS

A powerful hunter with sharp teeth, strong jaws, and an agile body, the tiger is the largest member of the cat family (Felidae). It is also the largest land-living mammal whose diet consists entirely of meat. The tiger's closest relative is the lion. Without the fur, it is difficult to distinguish a tiger from a lion but the tiger is the only cat with striped fur.

Scientists have classified tigers into eight subspecies: Bali, Java, Caspian, Sumatran, Amur (or Siberian), Indian (or Bengal), South China, and Indo-Chinese. The first three subspecies are extinct. However recent analysis suggests that there is little reason for dividing living tigers into these subspecies; all are nearly identical both genetically and physically. Some scientists suggest making a distinction between island tigers (of which only the Sumatran remains) and mainland tigers.

Size: Tigers range in size from the diminutive Sumatrans, in which females weigh between 165 and 242 pounds and males weigh between 220 and 310 pounds, to the largest mainland tigers, such as Indians, in which females weigh between 220 and 352 pounds and males weigh between 396 and 570. Total length ranges from seven to 12 feet.

Habitat: The tiger's current distribution is a patchwork across Asia, from India to the Russian Far East. Tigers require large areas with forest cover, water, and suitable large ungulate prey such as deer and swine. With these three essentials, tigers can live from the tropical rainforests of Sumatra and Indochina to the temperate oak forest of the Amur River Valley in the Russian Far East.

he tiger hunts alone, primarily between dusk and dawn, traveling six to 20 miles in a night in search of prey. A typical predatory sequence includes a slow, silent stalk until the tiger is 30 to 35 feet from the selected prey animal followed by a lightening fast rush to close the gap. The tiger grabs the animal in its forepaws, brings it to the ground, and finally kills the animal with a bite to the neck or throat. After dragging the carcass to a secluded spot, the tiger eats. A tiger eats 33 to 40 pounds of meat in an average night, and must kill about once per week. Catching a meal is not easy; a tiger is successful only once in ten to 20 hunts.

Territoriality: An adult tiger defends a large area from all other tigers of the same sex. The primary resource of this territory is food. A female's territory must contain enough prey to support herself and her cubs. A male's territory, additionally, must offer access to females with which to mate. Thus, a male's territory overlaps with that of one to seven females. Male territories are always larger than those of females. But territory size varies enormously and is directly related to the abundance of prey in a given habitat. For instance, Indian tigers in prey-rich habitats in Nepal defend quite small territories: female territories average just eight square miles. At the other extreme, in the prey-poor Russian Far East, Amur tiger female territories average 200 square miles. In both areas, male territories are proportionately larger.

Social Behavior: Except for a mother and her cubs, tigers live and hunt alone. But that does not mean they are not social. Scent marks and visual signposts, such as scratch marks, allow tigers to track other tigers in the area, and even identify individuals. A female tiger knows the other females whose territories abut hers; in many cases, a neighbor may be her daughter. Females know their overlapping males (and vice versa) and probably know when a new male takes over. All tigers can identify passing strangers. So, solitary tigers actually have a rich social life; they just prefer to socialize from a distance.

Reproduction: A male and female meet only briefly to mate. After a gestation of 100 to 112 days, two to three blind and helpless cubs are born in a secluded site under very thick cover. Cubs weigh just over two pounds at birth and nurse until they are six months old. During the next 18 months, they gradually become independent, and at about two years of age strike out alone to find their own territory. Females may establish a territory adjacent to that of their mother, or even take over part of their mother's territory. Adult females generally produce a litter every two years.

Mortality and Longevity: Tigers can live to 20 years of age in zoos but only 15 years in the wild. And most wild tigers do not live that long. Only half of all cubs survive to independence from their mother at about two years of age. Only 40 percent of these survivors live to establish a territory and begin to produce young. The risk of mortality continues to be high even for territorial adults, especially for males, which must defend their territories from other males.

Some Matter You Should Look Into

when it comes to our National Animal.. Panthera tigris..

There is nothing that can be said clearly..
1947…. A free Nation…. India has 92 National Parks and 28 Tiger Reserves. A country known as the Land of Tigers.

Every possible security is given to the animals here. Still everyday we read news about poaching and poachers being arrested. They are the biggest threat to our forests. Cases of killing Tiger for Skin, Teeth has been increasing day by day. Tiger skin and other body are being smuggled outside and the money involved is very large.

The number of tigers has fallen to just 1500 in 2007. The ongoing estimations indicates that only 1300-1500 tigers are left in the country. This was announced by Valmik Thapar(Tiger Conservationist) . Wildlife Institute of India indicated the presence of not more than 1500 tigers in India. The WII would be coming up with the final report and figures by the end of this year.

If this rate of killing continues we wont be able to see Tigers in the near future..
Our National animal would only exist in Pictures and Books..

This may not be the only problem our country is going through.. Still it is a major issue that cannot be overlooked..

We are harming ourselves..
 

Poachers Vs. Predators

SEVERAL ARRESTS AND SEIZURE OF TIGER SKINS, BONES AND IRON TRAPS ARE A CLEAR INDICATION OF POACHERS BEING EXTREMELY ACTIVE IN THE NATIONAL PARKS..

THE MOST COMMON WAYS OF POACHING ARE POISONING, TRAPPING, ELECTROCUTION AND SNARING..
THE POACHERS OFTEN TEMPT THE VILLAGERS LIVING NEAR THE TIGER HABITAT AS THEY KNOW THE MOVEMENT OF THE TIGER BETTER THAN THE POACHERS.. SOMETIMES THE POACHERS EVEN OUTSOURCE THE JOB TO THE VILLAGERS, AND THE JOB IS DONE FOR NOT MORE THAN A SUM OF THREE TO FIVE THOUSAND RUPEES..

ON JUNE 7 A TIGER SKIN WAS RECOVERED FROM ERAMANGALAM IN KERELA.. LAST WEEK TWO TIGERS WERE FOUND DEAD UNDER SUSPICIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES IN KARNATAKA'S BANDIPUR RESERVE.. ON MAY 16TH THE CID FOREST CELL OF THE KARNATAKA POLICE HAD SEIZED A TIGER SKIN IN NAZARBAD.. THIS ANIMAL WAS POISONED A MONTH BACK.. 106 PIECES OF TIGER BONE WAS SIEZED FROM THE HOUSE OF NAWAB ALI IN SATNA DISTRICT OF MADHYA PRADESH ON 29TH MAY.. ON 31ST MARCH A TIGER WAS FOUND INJURED AFTER BEING SHOT BY POACHERS.. IT WAS PARALYSED.. THIS ANIMAL WAS SHIFTED TO NANDANKANAN ZOO..


I CAN STILL REMEMBER AN ARTICLE PUBLISHED IN THE TIMES.. A YEAR AGO.. STATING.. A TIGER WORTH 20 CRORES IN THE FOREIGN MARKET IS SOLD FOR NOT MORE THAN 20 THOUSAND IN INDIA..

THESE VILLAGERS DONT KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING.. THEY'RE
 NOT ONLY KILLING TIGERS BUT AT THE SAME TIME THEY'RE KILLING
THEMSELVES.. SOMETIMES THEY KILL TIGERS IF THEY FEAR THE DANGER
OF THEM KILLING THEIR LIVESTOCKS.. AND SOMETIMES THEY DO THIS AS A PART OF VENGEANCE..
THE FINAL TIGER CENCUS FIGURES ARE EXPECTED TO COME BY THE END OF THIS YEAR.. AND I WOULD NOT BE SURPRISED IF THE FIGURE FALLS EVEN LOWER..

IS THIS THE TREATMENT OUR NATIONAL ANIMAL DESERVES FROM US ??

Hurting , but hopeful ( Says Who ? )

Even though many of the articles are painful to read, there is some good news too. It warms my heart to know about people like Prannay Kohli, a 16-year old student from Delhi,
who has been working to save us tigers since he was in Class 2!

What Is Project Tiger ( Did You Even Know About This )

PROJECT TIGER

Past

Project Tiger: Project Tiger, launched in 1973-74, is one of our most successful conservation ventures in the recent times. The project aims at tiger conservation in specially constituted 'tiger reserves', which are representative of various bio-geographical regions falling within our country. It strives to maintain a viable tiger population in the natural environment.

An estimate of the tiger population in India, at the turn of the century, placed the figure at 40,000. Subsequently, the first ever all India tiger census was conducted in 1972 which revealed the existence of only 1827 tigers. Various pressures in the later part of the last century led to the progressive decline of wilderness, resulting in the disturbance of viable tiger habitats. At the IUCN General Assembly meeting in Delhi, in 1969, serious concern was voiced about the threat to several species of wildlife and the shrinkage of wilderness in the country. In 1970, a national ban on tiger hunting was imposed and in 1972 the Wildlife Protection Act came into force. A 'Task Force' was then set up to formulate a project for tiger conservation with an ecological approach.

The project was launched in 1973, and various tiger reserves were created in the country on a 'core-buffer' strategy. The core areas were freed from all sorts of human activities and the buffer areas were subjected to 'conservation oriented land use'. Management plans were drawn up for each tiger reserve, based on the principles outlined below:

1. Elimination of all forms of human exploitation and biotic disturbance from the core area and rationalization of activities in the buffer zone.
2. Restricting the habitat management only to repair the damages done to the eco-system by human and other interferences, so as to facilitate recovery of the eco-system to its natural state.
3. Monitoring the faunal and floral changes over time and carrying out research about wildlife.

Initially, 9 tiger reserves were established in different States during the period 1973-74, by pooling the resources available with the Central and State Governments. These nine reserves covered an area of about 13,017sq.km-viz Manas (Assam), Palamau (Bihar), Similipal (Orissa), Corbett (U.P.), Kanha (M.P.), Melghat (Maharashtra), Bandipur (Karnataka), Ranthambhore (Rajasthan) and Sunderbans (West Bengal).

The project started as a 'Central Sector Scheme' with the full assistance of Central Government till 1979-80: later, it become a 'centrally Sponsored Scheme' from 1980-81, with equal sharing of expenditure between the center and the states.

The W.W.F. has given an assistance of US $ 1 million in the form of equipments, expertise and literature. The various States are also bearing the loss on account of giving up the forestry operations in the reserves.

The main achievements of this project are excellent recovery of the habitat and consequent increase in the tiger population in the reserve areas, from a mere 268 in 9 reserves in 1972 to 1576 in 27 reserves in 2003. Tiger, being at the apex of the food chain, can be considered as the indicator of the stability of the eco-system. For a viable tiger population, a habitat should possess a good prey base, which in turn will depend on an undisturbed forest vegetation. Thus, 'Project Tiger', is basically the conservation of the entire eco-system and apart from tigers, all other wild animals also have increased in number in the project areas. In the subsequent 'Five Year Plans', the main thrust was to enlarge the core and buffer zones in certain reserves, intensification of protection and ecodevelopment in the buffer zones of existing tiger reserves, creation of additional tiger reserves and strengthening of the research activities.

The management strategy was to identify the limiting factors and to mitigate them by suitable management. The damages done to the habitat were to be rectified, so as to facilitate the recovery of eco-system to the maximum possible extent. Management practices which tend to push the wildlife populations beyond the carrying capacity of the habitat were carefully avoided. A minimum core of 300 sq. km. with a sizeable buffer was recommended for each project area. The overall administration of the project is monitored by a 'Steering Committee'. The execution of the project is done by the respective State Governments. A 'Field Director' is appointed for each reserve, who is assisted by the field and technical personnel. The Chief Wildlife warden in various States are responsible for the field execution. At the Centre, a full-fledged 'Director' of the project coordinates the work for the country.


Present                                                                                                               

Wireless communication system and outstation patrol camps have been developed within the tiger reserves, due to which poaching has declined considerably. Fire protection is effectively done by suitable preventive and control measure Voluntory Village relocation has been done in many reserves, especially from the core, area. In Kanha, Bandipur and Ranthambhore, all the villages have been shifted from the core, and after relocation, the villagers have been provided with alternate agricultural lands and other community benefits. This has resulted in the improvement of the carrying capacity of the habitat. Live stock grazing has been controlled to a great extent in the tiger reserves. Various compensatory developmental works have improved the water regime and the ground and field level vegetations, thereby increasing the animal density. Research data pertaining to vegetational changes are also available from many reserves. In general, the 'restorative management' and 'intense protection' under 'Project Tiger' have saved many of our eco-typical areas from destruction. The area around the buffer is now contemplated as a zone of multiple use, to bring compatibility between the reserves and the neighbouring communities.



Future  

                                                                                  
a) Use of Information and Communication technology in Wildlife Proection and Crime Risk Management in Tiger reserves.

Wildlife protection and crime risk management in the present scenario requires a widely distributed Information Network, using the state-of-art Information and Communication Technology. This becomes all the more important to ensure the desired level of protection in field formations to safeguard the impressive gains of a focused project like 'Project Tiger'. The important elements in Wildlife protection and control are: Mapping/plotting the relative spatial abundance of wild animals, identification of risk factors, proximity to risk factors, sensitivity categorization, crime mapping and immediate action for apprehending the offenders based on effective networking and communication. Space technology has shown the interconnectivity of natural and anthropogenic phenomena occurring anywhere on earth. Several Tiger Reserves are being linked with the Project Tiger Directorate in the GIS domain for Wildlife Crime Risk Management.

b) GIS based digitized database and MIS development/networking in Tiger Reserves:

With the advanced IT tools, a wide gamut of software solutions are available to improve wildlife related information capture process, its analysis and informed decision making. Geographic Information System is the most relevant of these technologies for natural resource management projects, including wildlife management. The mandate of project tiger is to conserve tigers in a holistic manner. The GIS based database at PTHQ is being linked with the microcomputers in the Tiger Reserves, so that a dynamic linkage for rapid information flow is established using Arc IMS facility.

c) Tiger Habitat & Population Evaluation System for the Indian Sub Continent

A 'Tiger Atlas of India' and a 'Tiger Habitat & Population Evaluation System for the country is being developed using the state- of - the - art technology.
This involves:

1. Mapping , data acquisition and GIS modeling
2. Field data collection and validation
3. Data Maintenance , Dissemination and Use
The following potential tiger habitats in the country are being covered:
>Shivalik-Terai Conservation Unit(Uttaranchal, UP, Bihar, West Bengal, Nepal)
>Nort east Conservation Unit
>Sunderbans Conservation Unit
>Central Indian Conservation Unit
>Eastern Ghat Conservation Unit
>Western Ghat Conservation Unit

Satellite data is being used and classified into vegetation and land use maps on a 1:50,000 scale, with digitized data relating to contour , villages, roads , drainage , administrative boundaries and soil . The spatial layers would be attached with attribute data , viz. human population , livestock population , meteorological data, agricultural information and field data pertaining to wildlife, habitat for evolving regional protocols to monitor tiger and its habitat.

Vision For the Future

The dynamics of forest management and wildlife conservation have been distorted due to need for income, lack of awareness, lack of landuse policy and population pressure. Since the traditional use systems of people are neither static nor benign, these should not be overlooked.

A regional development approach in landscapes having Tiger Reserves is of utmost importance in our country. It should be viewed as a mosaic of different landuse patterns, viz, tiger conservation / preservation, forestry, sustainable use and development, besides socio-economic growth.

Tiger habitats exist in environments of thousands of indigenous communities which depend on them. Therefore we cannot view these protected areas in isolation from the surrounding socio-economic realities and developmental priorities of the Govt. This calls for a cross-sectoral and cross-disciplinary approach.


Tigers now need a "preservationist" approach. Regional planning is important around Tiger Reserves to foster ecological connectivity between protected areas through restorative inputs with integrated landuse planning. The management plan of a Tiger Reserve, therefore, needs to be integrated in larger regional management plans.

Just 1411 left. ( We Have To Act Fast )

Our national animal is fighting for its life.

From around 40,000 at the turn of the last century, there are just 1411 tigers left in India.

If we don’t act now, we could lose this part of our heritage forever.

Speak up, blog, share the concern, stay informed… Every little bit helps.

Aircel has partnered with WWF-India to help save our tigers. Explore the site to know how you can help.

Watch this space for updates from Stripey, the tiger cub.