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Time of India
28-07-2025
- General
- Time of India
Corbett, Rajaji nearing saturation, but half of tiger reserves operating below capacity
Dehradun: Nearly 50% of India's tiger reserves are operating below their carrying capacity, but in Uttarakhand, reserves like Corbett and Rajaji are nearing saturation, raising concerns of increased human-wildlife conflict as tigers begin moving into non-protected areas. Wildlife experts said that unless habitat quality improves in low-density reserves across the country, the growing tiger population could soon become unmanageable. The warning comes ahead of International Tiger Day, observed on Tuesday. "Nationwide reserves with historically low tiger densities due to habitat degradation or fragmentation must now be urgently restored to accommodate spillover from saturated zones. Without serious habitat restoration, rising tiger numbers will become unmanageable," said Qamar Qureshi, former senior scientist at the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) and co-author of the All-India Tiger Estimation (AITE) 2022. "Poaching and conflict are major concerns. Habitat rewilding takes 8–10 years to show results. We are already late." In Uttarakhand, which now hosts an estimated 560 tigers — including around 260 in Corbett and approximately 54 in Rajaji — officials said the pressure is increasing. "With Corbett and eastern Rajaji nearing full capacity, tigers are beginning to move into non-protected areas, increasing the likelihood of conflicts," a senior IFS officer said. A preliminary WII report on the carrying capacity of tiger reserves in the state highlights this shift. Though yet to be finalised, the report suggests that Corbett can support 20 tigers per 100sqkm, eastern Rajaji 14, and western Rajaji just eight per 100sqkm, forest officials said. "Corbett and eastern Rajaji are nearing saturation. They offer the best habitat and, as a result, the tiger population is increasing," said Ranjan Mishra, chief wildlife warden of Uttarakhand. India's tiger population rose to 3,682 in the 2022 estimation, making up over 70% of the world's wild tiger count. However, experts warn that without parallel investment in habitat restoration and connectivity corridors, the growing numbers could become unsustainable. The National Tiger Conservation Authority has identified habitat saturation and lack of buffer space as emerging risks in states with high tiger densities, including Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, and Karnataka. The rising population is also shifting fatality trends. Tigers have caused more human deaths (9) than leopards (6) in the state so far this year, reversing the usual pattern. "The rising tiger population is both an asset and a responsibility for Uttarakhand," Mishra said.
United News of India
23-06-2025
- Science
- United News of India
WII scientists track hyena's 85-km trek, flag corridor concerns
New Delhi, June 23 (UNI) In what wildlife biologists are calling a rare and significant observation, the Dehradun-based Wildlife Institute of India (WII) has documented a striped hyena's 85-km dispersal from Rajaji Tiger Reserve to Corbett Tiger Reserve — the longest such journey recorded for the species in India through camera traps. The hyena (Hyaena hyaena) was first photo-captured in Rajaji National Park in March 2018, followed by a sighting in the adjoining Shyampur forest division in August, and finally in Corbett Tiger Reserve (Kalagarh) in January 2019, according to a study published in the latest issue of journal Current Science. While typical hyena movements range between 0.7 to 9.5 km, this individual covered an estimated 85 km, one of the farthest recorded for the species in India. This unusual dispersal behaviour highlights the importance of wildlife corridors that connect fragmented forest landscapes. 'This is the first documented dispersal event of a striped hyena through a camera-trap network in India,' said Dr. Ayan Sadhu, lead author of the study titled, 'Dispersal record of a striped hyena from a camera trap survey'. 'It underlines the functional connectivity between Rajaji and Corbett, and the importance of intact forest corridors in supporting such movements.' The researchers used systematic, grid-based camera trapping conducted as part of the All India Tiger Estimation 2018, covering Rajaji, Corbett, and adjoining forest divisions. The Terai Arc Landscape, where the study was conducted, is home to multiple large carnivores including tigers, leopards, and bears, and is increasingly threatened by infrastructure development, agriculture, and urban expansion, said the wildlife biologists. 'Despite facing risks such as road mortality, disease spillover from domestic animals, and human conflict, carnivores like the striped hyena are still able to disperse—provided suitable habitat corridors remain intact,' said Dr. Qamar Qureshi, senior scientist at WII and co-author of the study. The other authors included Kainat Latafat and Yadvendradev V Jhala, both from the WII. Wildlife corridors between Rajaji and Corbett are already under pressure due to linear infrastructure, including highways and railways, which fragment habitats and pose barriers to animal movement. The study highlights the utility of large-scale camera trap surveys in capturing behavioural and ecological insights for species that are otherwise difficult to study, at the same time calling for protecting and restoring wildlife corridors to facilitate movement and maintain gene flow between isolated populations. "Safeguarding such corridors is critical not only for hyenas but for the long-term survival of the entire large carnivore community in the region," it said. The study was conducted with support from the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) under the Union Environment Ministry and the Uttarakhand Forest Department. UNI AJ SSP
