Govt's plan to revive struggling tiger reserves, Pg4

Key Highlights:

• The Centre released two new assessments on tiger management and reintroduction lessons during an event marking 18 years of tiger reintroductions at Sariska Tiger Reserve.
• India's tiger population increased from 1,411 in 2006 to 3,682 in 2022 across 58 Tiger Reserves.
• Despite overall growth, 12 tiger reserves have fewer than three tigers, with Kawal, Kamlang, and Dampa having zero tigers.
• The new strategy focuses on reviving reserves with low tiger numbers and poor habitats to aid dispersal from high-density areas.
• Sariska (2008) and Panna (2009) were among the first reserves to undertake tiger reintroductions.

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Detailed Insights:

• The assessments aim to shift focus from overall tiger counts to improving reserves with low tiger populations and inadequate prey availability.
• Uneven tiger distribution leads to pressure in high-density areas, causing human-wildlife conflict and increased poaching risks.
• Reintroduction efforts have seen mixed success, with failures noted in Satkosia (Odisha) due to community rejection and slow progress in Mukundara Hills (Rajasthan).
• The Centre's assessment calls for consolidating "source populations" in 13 reserves like Corbett, Bandipur, and Kaziranga.
• Priority interventions, including reintroductions, are suggested for at least 25 reserves where fewer than five tigers remain.
• A well-connected landscape of forests is crucial for establishing a metapopulation, facilitating genetic exchange and reducing extinction risk.
• Long-term tiger recovery depends on the interplay of prey abundance, habitat quality, and natural colonization by tigers.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Tiger Reintroduction: The process of releasing captive-bred or wild-caught tigers into an area where they previously existed but were extirpated.
• Source Populations: Tiger habitats with high numbers, good prey availability, and successful breeding, from which tigers can disperse.
• Sink Populations: Areas with low or no breeding tigers, often lacking connectivity to healthier forests, and where tiger populations are not self-sustaining.
• Metapopulation: A group of spatially separated populations of the same species which interact at some level, typically through dispersal.