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Indian Express
17 hours ago
- General
- Indian Express
Explained: State of India's tiger prey, why challenges to their habitat need to be addressed
For the first time, a detailed assessment of the status of ungulates (hoofed mammals), including deer, pigs, antelopes, and bison, has estimated their abundance across India. It has revealed a decline in their populations in several states and highlighted conservation challenges, such as habitat loss and deforestation. The findings are crucial for the conservation of India's tigers and forests, as ungulates form the core prey base of the striped cat and other large predators. India currently has more than 3,600 tigers, accounting for 70% of the world's tiger population. Additionally, the animals help regulate forests and soil health with their feeding habits. The National Tiger Conservation Authority and the Wildlife Institute of India prepared the assessment report, using data from the 2022 All-India Tiger Estimation exercise to estimate the animals' distribution and density. India's tiger prey base, mainly comprising the chital (spotted deer), sambar (large deer), and the vulnerable gaur (Indian bison), presents a highly uneven distribution across forest landscapes. The report drew on extensive direct and indirect evidence, like field surveys, camera traps, and dung signs collected during the 2022 estimation exercise. According to the findings, spotted deer, sambar, and gaur populations are thriving in large parts of the country, but declining in east-central India in Odisha, Jharkhand, and Chhattisgarh. The signs of prey decline and low density are due to severe habitat degradation, infrastructure development and mining that fragments forests, left-wing extremism, and subsistence hunting by residents. Forests in Uttarakhand, Western Ghats, central India and the northeast have a fairly healthy population of ungulates. However, small and isolated populations of species such as barasingha, wild buffalo, pygmy hog, and hog deer face bottlenecks in their genetic diversity, with habitat fragmentation preventing the intermixing of different animals. The core tiger prey species are abundant, especially within tiger reserves and national parks, but not so much in sanctuaries that receive a comparatively lower level of protection, and even less in forest divisions abutting tiger reserves. Health of different species The chital (spotted deer) remains the most abundant ungulate across Indian forests. Its wide distribution and ability to thrive in a variety of habitats, including forest edges and agricultural interfaces, make it a key prey species for tigers. The population of the sambar, another crucial prey animal, remains stable across most tiger landscapes, particularly in central India and the Western Ghats. The wild pig, an adaptable species, is also found in good numbers across regions. The Nilgai and the gaur show healthy populations in many areas. Nilgai, India's largest antelope, is highly adaptable and often ventures into farmland, while gaur prefers dense forests and uneven terrain, and is especially abundant in the Western Ghats and parts of central India, Eastern Ghats, and northeastern Himalayan foothills. In contrast, species with narrow ecological preferences are faring poorly. Populations of the hog deer, which live in grasslands and floodplains, have significantly declined due to the destruction and fragmentation of their preferred wetlands and swamp habitats. Their current distribution is confined to isolated patches in the Terai grasslands and floodplains of the Ganga and Brahmaputra. Similarly, the once widespread barasingha or swamp deer is now limited to select locations such as Kanha, Dudhwa, and Kaziranga. Despite some successful reintroduction efforts in Bandhavgarh and Satpura, the species remains vulnerable due to its dependency on specific wetland-grassland ecosystems. Significance for tigers Loss of habitat, especially quality habitat, competition with livestock and humans, conflict with humans, deforestation, development projects and subsistence hunting are some of the key challenges to the ungulate population. A fall in their numbers affects the ecological balance of forests both inside and outside tiger reserves. The lack of prey base is also a double whammy for tigers, impacting the existing tiger occupancy and forcing them to kill livestock and smaller species. Secondly, tiger-abundant regions such as Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh are nearing their capacity to sustain their wildlife population with available resources (what is known as 'carrying capacity'). As a result, tigers often wander towards the east-central states, but struggle to occupy the forests due to poor prey base and other pressures on the ecosystem. These states have a high potential to harbour a substantial tiger population, but it will be contingent on improvements in habitat and prey, and stepping up their protection. Another direct fallout of low prey base is tigers moving beyond the reserves to hunt livestock, putting them in closer contact with humans, who kill tigers in retaliation for livestock depredation. In states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, ungulates such as wild pigs and nilgai often damage crops, adding another dimension to the human-wildlife conflict due to the loss of wild habitats. A major concern is the conversion of swampy grasslands, seasonal wetlands, and floodplains into urban settlements or farmlands. Linear infrastructure, such as highways, railways and power lines, can fragment the contiguity of ungulate habitats, disturbing the survival of wildlife, as well as forest dynamics. The report prescribes augmenting prey populations through on-site breeding in enclosures to protect them from predators.
Indian Express
a day ago
- General
- Indian Express
Express View on dip in tiger numbers in Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Odisha: A new conservation challenge
Conservationists were jolted in 2006 when the country's tiger population plummeted to an all-time low of about 1,400. Course corrections in wildlife management have led to the majestic animal staging a remarkable recovery since that crisis. The country's protected areas have more than 3,600 tigers according to the latest enumeration of the animal in 2023. That Tiger Census also underlined areas of concern. The data revealed a dip in tiger numbers in Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Odisha. Now, another national assessment by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) and the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has flagged an emerging conservation challenge in the protected areas of these states. It has revealed that the prey that sustains these big cats — chital, sambal and the Indian bison — are declining. A sufficient prey base is not just elemental for the nutritional needs of the big cat, it's also necessary to obviate human-wildlife conflict. With enough herbivores within the protected areas, the tigers are less likely to stray out in search of alternative sources of food. A study published in the journal Science earlier this year also joined the dots between tiger population and the animal's declining prey base. The reserves where tiger populations have come down — Guru Ghasidas, Indravati, and Udanti-Sitanadi in Chhattisgarh, Simlipal and Satkosia in Odisha, and Palamau in Jharkhand — are situated in some of the poorest districts in the country. The study linked poverty with the poaching of ungulates. 'These reserves are known to have high incidences of bush meat consumption, often with the use of traps and snares that are usually indiscriminate in killing prey and predators,' the study found and made a strong case for linking 'biodiversity recovery' with socioeconomic improvements. It drew a contrast with tiger habitats in proximity to relatively prosperous areas, where people have received the benefits of conservation-related tourism. To revive the prey base, the WII and NTCA study recommends on-site breeding of ungulates in enclosures designed to keep predators away. This should, at best, be seen as a short-term measure. Herbivores raised in a protected environment are known to have a weak anti-predatory response. They cannot provide a sustainable prey base for the tiger in the long-run. More critical for the tiger's recovery is improving the quality of the animal's habitat. The good news is that some of the areas where the tiger and its prey are on the wane — in Chhattisgarh, for example — still have good-quality forests. Left-wing extremism is also on the decline in these areas. More needs to be done to make people partners in sustainable conservation.
Indian Express
2 days ago
- Health
- Indian Express
Report flags tiger-human conflict risk as prey base shrinks in Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Odisha
Even as India celebrates a rise in its tiger population, a new national assessment has flagged an emerging conservation challenge: some of the prey species that sustain these big cats — chital (spotted deer), sambar (large deer), and the vulnerable gaur (Indian bison) — are declining across key tiger landscapes in east-central India, particularly in Odisha, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. These findings come from a first-of-its-kind assessment of ungulates (hoofed mammals) conducted by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) and the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), using data from India's 2022 tiger census. Ungulates form the bulk of a tiger's diet and are also critical to the forest ecosystem. Yet, across tiger habitats in these regions, they are facing increasing pressure from loss of habitat due to deforestation, development, agricultural expansion, urbanisation, human-wildlife conflict, and subsistence hunting. The report points to the broader consequences, drawing a direct link between low prey numbers and human-wildlife conflict. 'High bushmeat consumption and civil unrest in the region negatively impact wildlife presence, leading to low ungulate densities,' the report notes on Odisha. 'Palamau (in Jharkhand), an important part of the Central Indian corridor, faces challenges such as Left Wing Extremism, which affects wildlife presence,' it says. To revive prey populations, the report recommends on-site breeding of chital and sambar in secure enclosures designed to keep out predators. However, even as eastern and central Indian states are seeing prey depletion, several other landscapes show healthier trends. The Shivalik Hills and Gangetic plains — from Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh to eastern Bihar — as well as tiger reserves in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra have a stable prey base. In the Western Ghats, chital, sambar, wild pigs, gaur and barking deer are widely distributed, while the hog deer and wild pigs dominate in the Northeast. The report Status of Ungulates in Tiger Habitats of India is based on field data from the 2022 tiger estimation, supplemented with data from the 2018 and 2014 cycles. While ungulates have been mapped in each cycle, this is the first time their data has been analysed and published separately. Unlike tigers, whose individual numbers are tracked, prey estimation focused on mapping the density of chital and sambar. For other ungulates, scientists estimated where these animals are found and how many there might be, based on direct and indirect evidence such as field surveys, dung trails, and camera trap images. India is home to over 3,600 wild tigers — about 70% of the global population — and their survival depends heavily on prey such as chital, sambar and gaur. Other species in their diet include nilgai, wild pigs, hog deer, barking deer and chinkara. Leopards, wild dogs, jackals and hyenas also rely on the same prey base. 'The quality of forests within 40 per cent of tiger reserves — and outside them — is low. These assessments (of ungulates) are crucial as we have to look beyond the numbers (of tigers). These are measurable biodiversity indicators and can guide us on how to address forest quality on a large scale,' said Qamar Qureshi, wildlife biologist and co-author of the report. According to the report, a density of 30 ungulates per square km can support four tigers in 100 square km. Tiger numbers may rise with prey density, but plateau at about 75 ungulates per sq km due to ecological constraints such as territoriality, competition and lack of habitat connectivity. Among the tiger reserves, Pench in Madhya Pradesh has one of the highest chital densities — nearly 54 per sq km. 'Maintaining quality habitat and reducing pressures on the prey base is crucial. We are working with WII to improve prey density,' said Gobind Sagar Bharadwaj, Additional Director General of Forests (Project Tiger) and NTCA Member Secretary. The report draws a link between low prey numbers and human-wildlife conflict. In areas like Tadoba (Maharashtra) and Ratapani (Madhya Pradesh), tigers are attacking livestock due to the lack of natural prey, sparking conflict with local communities. The report also identifies strongholds of prey abundance. Chital populations were found thriving across clusters like Rajaji-Corbett-Ramnagar-Pilibhit-Dudhwa (Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh), Kanha-Pench-Achanakmar (Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Chhattisgarh), Bandhavgarh-Sanjay Dubri-Veerangana Durgawati (Madhya Pradesh), and the Nagarhole-Bandipur-BRT-Wayanad-Mudumalai-Sathyamangalam landscape (Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu). These clusters span diverse forest types — from the Terai-Duar savannas to the moist deciduous forests of Central and Southern India. An award-winning journalist with 14 years of experience, Nikhil Ghanekar is an Assistant Editor with the National Bureau [Government] of The Indian Express in New Delhi. He primarily covers environmental policy matters which involve tracking key decisions and inner workings of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. He also covers the functioning of the National Green Tribunal and writes on the impact of environmental policies on wildlife conservation, forestry issues and climate change. Nikhil joined The Indian Express in 2024. Originally from Mumbai, he has worked in publications such as Tehelka, Hindustan Times, DNA Newspaper, News18 and Indiaspend. In the past 14 years, he has written on a range of subjects such as sports, current affairs, civic issues, city centric environment news, central government policies and politics. ... 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The Print
5 days ago
- General
- The Print
Nauradehi to be cheetahs' new home in MP. It's preparing by expanding prey base, relocating villages
The expanse of Nauradehi is located on a plateau spread across Sagar and Damoh districts in the Bundelkhand region. While it has a deciduous forest with sal, teak, mahua, bamboo and bel trees in abundance, there are also extensive continuous grasslands, which act as grazing lands for herbivores, with a substantial prey base, including four different categories of antelopes, wild bores and black bucks. A senior official from Madhya Pradesh's forest department told ThePrint, 'The team of National Tiger Conservation Authority gave a go-ahead to prepare the sanctuary to receive cheetahs.' Bhopal: The Madhya Pradesh government has begun work to develop the Nauradehi Wildlife Sanctuary as the third home for cheetahs in the state, after Kuno National Park and Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary. A team of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) inspected the sanctuary in May, and earmarked a 30 km area spread across three ranges of Mohli, Jhapa and Singpur to be prepared to house cheetahs. The forest department is also working to further augment this prey base with the translocation of cheetals or spotted deer from Pench and Kanha Tiger Reserves. In 2010, Nauradehi was one of the priority sites considered for the reintroduction of cheetahs, but was later dropped, owing to the large number of villages that were yet to be relocated from within the sanctuary. According to senior wildlife officials, there were a total of 93 villages at its core, of which 44 have been shifted outside, while 49 still remain within the sanctuary. The forest department is currently undertaking the relocation of three more villages, while seven others, including Mohli village—one of the largest ones—will be taken up for relocation later this year. The three ranges of Mohli, Jhapa and Singpur earmarked by the inspection team, comprising Vaibhav Mathur, deputy inspector general of forests at NTCA, have a total of 13 villages, which will be taken up for relocation. The 30 km area will also be fenced to reduce biotic pressure. The divisional forest team has also sought an additional funding of Rs 150 crore for the relocation of these 13 villages. Nauradehi will also be equipped with veterinary doctors, filling up the vacant positions in the sanctuary. After going extinct in India in 1952, cheetahs were brought back to the country in September 2022, when eight of them were flown in from Namibia to the Kuno National Park in the state's Sheopur district. Another batch of 12 was flown in from South Africa in February 2023. These were also housed at Kuno, taking the total number of cheetahs in India to 20. However, the Narendra Modi government's Project Cheetah suffered a major setback the following monsoon, when several of them suffered infections, causing the death of eight males, bringing down the total number of adult cheetahs to 12. Over the past two years, a total of 26 cubs were born to these cheetahs, but only 19 survived. With the 12 adults and 19 cubs, the total number of cheetahs in India currently stands at 31. In April this year, two adult male cheetahs, Pawan and Prabhas, who were among the 12 cheetahs brought in from South Africa, were relocated to Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary that has been developed as the second home for the big cats in the country. The aim of developing more homes is to create a metapopulation of cheetahs at different locations in the country. (Edited by Mannat Chugh) Also Read: Mr India, Machli, Maya—Why India's tiger reserves keep breaking the no-naming rule
Time of India
26-05-2025
- Time of India
Tiger spotted in Chhattisgarh's Udanti Sitanadi Reserve
RAIPUR: A tiger was spotted in trap cameras on 24 May in Chhattisgarh's Udanti Sitanadi Tiger Reserve (USTR) during the ongoing wildlife census. The team had been tracking the tiger's movement since April, when its pugmarks were first sighted in the Reserve. USTR Deputy Director Varun Jain stated that the tiger's pictures will be sent to the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) Tiger Cell. This is to establish the tiger's identity by matching its unique stripe pattern with the national database of tigers. Earlier in October 2022, a tiger captured in USTR camera traps was identified as having travelled from Kawal Tiger Reserve, Telangana. 'We will get the details about the tiger from the NTCA's Tiger Cell after matching its stripe pattern, which is unique to each individual,' Jain said. Jain added that current census data and trap camera images show a significant increase in the Reserve's herbivore population. He also noted that the construction of new ponds and soil-moisture conservation efforts in the Reserve might be reasons for the tiger remaining there during summer. The tracking team is working to identify the tiger's territory through sign surveys and GIS mapping. The USTR team is also alerting villagers and securing the Reserve to ensure a safe habitat for the tiger. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Secure Your Child's Future with Strong English Fluency Planet Spark Learn More Undo Separately, the Anti-Poaching Squad intercepted and arrested an accused for poaching a monitor lizard on the morning of 24 May. A thermal drone has been deployed for night surveillance. The team is monitoring the tiger's movement to prevent human-animal conflict and is fast-tracking compensation cases for cattle loss. The team is also tracking three elephant herds, comprising around 30 elephants, and alerting villagers about their movement.
