Tiger - The Stripes- The Awe...

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I’m penning down this blog – a deviation from my regular excursion related blogs, to showcase importance of tigers in our ecosystems and the method of estimating their population. Having associated with the prestigious Wildlife Institute Of India in project tiger, I have tried to explain in very simple and non technical terms the process of population estimation of tigers and the challenges involved during the exercise. Hope you will appreciate tigers for ecological role they play along with it’s beauty, after going through the blog…

Let’s get started……

Mowgli and "Sher Khan" from our childhood

We aptly remember from childhood memories, the rather infamous “Sher Khan” from Kipling’s Jungle book. He is depicted as a strong and intimidating animal of the forest, who, by his dominating presence sends other animals into hiding. A sense of apprehension would behold us when there was a tense faceoff between “Sher  Khan” and Mowgli. Though “Sher Khan” was portrayed as villain animal who troubles Mowgli and his friends, still we loved and admired his character.The “Sher Khan” or Tiger has always mesmerized humans by its enthralling beauty from historical times. The big cat with its beautiful stripped coat, strong jaws, knife like teeth, majestic walk and thundering roar has always been man’s synonym for strength and courage. Humans have has always had an intrinsic connection with tigers from time immemorial. Be it the curious visits to Zoo’s – where our eyes eagerly searched for tiger’s cage, or the entertaining visits to Circus – when seeing the performance of tigers brought an awe of excitement in audience. In recent times where tigers have become brand ambassadors/mascots of many sport events, marketing products, even political party symbols!!.. The animal has always garnered our respect and admiration. We Indians have an affectionate cultural link with tigers. We worship them as Vehicle of Gods/Goddesses, they are considered as elder brothers in many parts of nation. And of-course tigers have always found place in our bed time stories. Thus, having keen interest, admiration and curiosity towards this animal is very obvious for most of us.  Tiger, for being so magnificent is national animal of 5 nations including India, Bangladesh, Malaysia and South Korea and Vietnam.                                                                                                                                     

For a lay man, tiger is just another animal living in forests. His definition of tiger ends with describing it as beautiful, strong, colorful, dangerous and some other words of praise towards the animal. While the gesture of admiring the tiger by taking its photographs, visiting forests for safaris or voicing concern towards tigers on social media pages to show your appreciation for national animal is noteworthy to gain some attention but when we talk about tigers from an ecological point of view it takes more of science than rhetoric to understand the needs of tiger from ecological sense and perils they are facing. Tiger- being on top of food chain has a pivotal role in maintaining the fragile ecological balance. They have an average life span of 12-15 years. With gestation period of nearly 110 days, tigers give birth to an average of 3/4 cubs at once. They are nocturnal and solitary in nature. Tigers are highly territorial and mark their territory with urine sprays, faecal deposition (Scent marking). Habitat of tiger varies from flat lands, rugged terrains to high altitude snow bound areas of Arunachal Pradesh. Also tigers are found in marshy lands of Sunderbans, which has mangroves forests. The intrinsic relation tiger shares with fellow creatures of forest is very essential in maintaining the delicate balance of natural systems like vegetation, prey population, river system, soil health etc.

Scientific Classification

Tigers are scientifically known as “Panthera Tigris”. India has population of Royal Bengal Tigers. IUCN regards them as “Endangered” species. Tigers are found in more than 10 countries, but India holds highest population of “Wild Tigers”. Global population of “wild Tigers” is somewhere between 3500-4000, and more than 70% of this are found in India. Hence, the onus of protecting and saving this animal from extinction is largely on our shoulders. Tigers have been in peril since historic times. Often it is guessed that at the beginning of 19^th century there were nearly 40,000 tigers in India. From pre independence days when they were shot down as “Game” to post independence era, the killing of tigers for various needless reasons continues unabated. Tigers have reduced from more than 90% of their historical home range owing to various human actions. Today there are more captive tigers in world than those roaming freely in forests.  

Coming to Indian scenario, during 1970’s when tigers started declining in India’s forests,  scientists from all over voiced their concerns regarding dwindling tiger numbers across country. That is when the government decided to ban tiger hunting in total and introduced wildlife Protection Act in 1972 with aim to protect nation’s flora and fauna.  Project tiger was started in 1973 with dedicated areas declared as tiger Reserves for better protection of forests especially tigers. Initially project tiger started with 9 tiger reserves and as of today i.e in year 2020 we have 50 tiger reserves in India.  Though things appeared positive in the initial 2 decades, but tiger poaching started making headlines again in 1990’s. Organised poaching gangs killed tigers and smuggled their skin and other body parts like bones, nails, teeth etc out of country to nations where they are used in traditional medicines. Tiger skin is used for display as symbol of royalty. While methods of dealing with menace of poaching of tigers was widely discussed across the country, the news of tigers being completely wiped off by poachers in Sariska Tiger reserve in Rajasthan during the year 2004-2005, came as stinging shock for all conservations across the nation. A tiger reserve that was created with intention to save tigers had lost all of its tigers to poaching!!, this was something which was completely unacceptable.   Another grey area was the methodology of counting tigers using Pug mark technique. The counting of tigers by casting their paw prints gave large margin of error and suspect regarding the authenticity of tiger numbers. Many scientists even discarding the methodology as farse and unreliable.

The way India was dealing with affairs of its national animal was a matter of shame. If appropriate measures were not taken by the government of day, it would have spelt doom’s day for tigers in the country. Fortunately, it was in 2005 that tiger task force was constituted and strong suggestions were echoed across the tables by ecologists regarding need for better management of parks and a solid, scientific and reliable methodology to estimate tiger numbers across the country. Better management of parks meant better protection to forests and animals, against variety of human induced impacts like poaching, forest fires, encroachment etc. Robust scientific methodology of counting tigers using Camera traps would ensure if steps taken in park management were bearing fruits or still more needs to be done. Scientific assessment of tigers was needed to eliminate the menace of “Paper Tigers”, which existed only on papers and not on grounds.

Thus, after intense brain storming by experts, bureaucrats, politicians and various stake holders, the NTCA i.e National Tiger Conservation Authority was formed in 2005 with one of it’s mandate to count(Estimate) tigers once every 4 years across the nation. Thus began the 4 year cycle of tiger estimation across the country with 1^st cycle in 2006. As per 1^st cycle report in 2006, there were 1411 tigers in country, which sent shock waves across the nation regarding this numbers. Tigers were initially assumed to be in very high numbers, partially owing to faulty counting technique. The 2006 tiger census report made the task of protecting and saving the national animal a matter of urgency. As told earlier, India is the only nation with highest numbers of “Wild Tigers” in world, so we had to take urgent and stringent measures in saving them. And steps were taken accordingly. 

      I was part of 4th cycle of tiger estimation in 2018.

It was in December 2017 that we got our selection mails from the prestigious Wildlife Institute Of India in Dehradun, as Research Biologists for NTCA funded All India Tiger Estimation – 2018 project. The excitement level was high and we were looking forward for adventures that was about to unfold over next 20 months of time. 50 of us, new researchers, from various corners of country were part of this project along with already working seniors. The tiger project was to be carried under the expert guidance and supervision of internationally acclaimed scientists whose names regularly make rounds conservation related discussions.  

                Initially we had field training for a week in Rajaji Tiger Reserve. For city dweller like me, the thought of spending time inside forests itself is a privilege. The training involved learning various field techniques like deploying camera traps, walking transects, collecting field samples, learning methods of traversing in forests, using of instruments like GPS/Compass/ Range finder etc., and most importantly we were taught how to work as team!, which is an absolute essential skill-given the fact that all of us were from different states, languages and cultures of the country, and we need to work together in field as one team.. Field training was very important from point of view that all researchers would be dispersing and working independently as small team of 2-3 members in different forests across various states of the country.  I will tell in very brief regarding field techniques involved in tiger estimation.

Camera Traps

1.  Camera Trap:  These are self-triggering cameras which are put across the forest on the routes regularly used by tigers. The cameras are enclosed in steel cages to avoid damage by other animals, especially elephants and theft by humans.  2 cameras are placed opposite to each other in 2 square kilometre grid throughout the forests. Grids are generated in computers using GIS. Though, effort is made to deploy cameras in all grids, however owing to terrain and various reasons it is often not possible to cover all grids. The cameras are placed along trails/paths regularly used by tigers minimum of 25-30 days.  Such paths are selected by identifying tiger signs like its pugmark, scrape mark, rake marks etc, which increases the chances of tiger getting captured in photo. The cameras are placed opposite to each other so that photograph of tiger is captured from both the sides. When tiger/ any animal passes in front of the cameras, it automatically triggers and animal gets photographed. Cameras work both day and night times. Like human fingerprint, every tiger has unique stripe pattern on its body. The stripes are very useful in identifying individual tigers and thus reduce chances of repeatedly counting the same individual.  The cameras have memory cards, which need to be changed regularly else they might exceed their storage limit.                                                                

Pug Marks

2.  Line Transect:  Line transect is done to get abundance of herbivore animals on which carnivores prey upon. The herbivores generally are active during early morning and evening times, hence transect walking is done in the early mornings. Depending on forest types, straight lines of 2km known as transect line are walked in every administrative beats. The transect walk is done in the early mornings and sightings of all animals (Especially herbivores) encountered during this walk, are recorded. Details like animal species, it’s distance from line (Measured using range finder) and its angle (Measured using Compass) is recorded. This walk is repeated for 3 -5 times on same line, but on different days. Also line transect is walked only by team of 2-4 people max, so that disturbance is least and animals can be recorded silently. Walking line transect is challenging and risky due to fact that we are completely on foot, and are vulnerable to dangerous confrontation with wild animals. Hence line transect walking should be done very cautiously. Should there be a confrontation with wild animals on the transect line, the walk is abounded for the day and carried out the next day.

3.       Field sample collection: Often we come across animal kills, droppings/dungs/scats (Scat is the excreta of carnivores) while walking in forest to deploy cameras or for line transect. When scats are encountered, it is collected in zip locks and stored in silica gel. Scats/ tissues are used for DNA extraction. DNA data helps in understanding, how diverse is the species. Also, it is possible to identify the species of animal based on DNA analysis of scats. In places where deployment of cameras is not possible, Scat collection plays a very important role. 

Above 3 are major works involved in field.                                                                                         

Field training by Eminent scientist

In our field training days at Rajaji tiger reserve, we were lucky enough to sight a carcass of Sambar kill during our 2^nd day. Examining puncture wounds on neck and pug marks nearby, the kill seemed mostly likely made by a tiger. We were explained in great details regarding how to reconstruct the kill scene by scientists, and were told not to linger around the kill for long as it is risky. Most adventurous part of entire training was crossing stretch of river Ganga by foot the 4^th day. Everyone had to cooperate with each other while crossing the river, else there was chance of being swept away by water currents.  Also adventurous was the night walk we took the penultimate day. We were taught how to avoid being inside forests at night, as it is risky. However, if it so happens that we get caught inside forest during evening times then we should know how to face it. And endless moments of joy when for first time you see wild animals like elephant, sambar, rare hyena etc, field training at Rajaji Tiger Reserve was activity of great learning and bonding for us.

Field training over, and we were back to Wildlife Institute for post-field training in analyzing the collected data. Data analysis included a lot of statistics and number of software. We were given hands on training for various software. We were told briefly about analysis and procedure involved in tiger population estimation. The time was ticking for field work, and data collection from entire nation was pending. Also this time, a Mobile App called MSTrIPES was used for 1^st time which is very handy while collecting data from field. The APP ensures there is no loss of data due to various reasons which generally happens when papers are used.

  With on field and post field training over, people started leaving in batches for various field sites assigned to them. A memorable sea off was ensured whenever every batch left, as they would return only after 6-8 months of filed work. The duration of field work in forests depends on various conditions like obtaining necessary permissions, local political/administrative situations, how vast is forest, it’s terrain, climatic conditions, logistics, physical fitness even mental toughness. In some forests, especially in central India, the temperatures soar above 40-42 Degree centigrade, where as in North-East states like Arunachal Pradesh, the temperatures dipped below 0 degrees. So you need to be fit enough to work across varying field conditions. The terrain varies from one site to another, and no 2 forests give you similar work conditions. Field work is very challenging and sometimes a toll on you both physically and psychologically!!...

Some of field Encounters

 

The encounters with wild animals during field work and stories that follow them are endless. Everyone associated with wildlife will have the experience of being chased by elephants/Rhino/ Bear at least once. Everyone has one or other story to share from their field experience. One of teams had rather scary experience of a badly tempered one horned Rhino biting off and making a hole on jeep’s mudguard. While one of teams had to abandon all instruments and run for dear life after they were chased by herd of elephants.  Be it crossing crocodile infested rivers or not noticing tiger sitting close by for more than 30mins while deploying cameras. Such stories are always interesting and are countless. Undoubtedly, the most dangerous animal both inside and outside forest is the Human itself!!...there were instances when field work suffered due to non-cooperation by localities.  While at one site the researchers had to face wrath of local villagers due to mis-information circulated to them, at another site the team was gheored by armed groups.  More than animals, it is humans who pose more threat to work with. Field work had to be restricted in some places due to resistance and non-conducive work environment. Luckily was no harm caused to any of our members in any of such incidents.                                                                                                

                Orang is a small tiger reserve in Assam spread over 80sqKm, and home to nearly 20 tigers. I take deep sense of pride in saying that the entire field work in Orang tiger reserve was carried out in total by 2 female researchers. If anyone says field work in Wildlife branch or any other stream is risky and not for women, this is an example which stands contrary. Right from making connection with forest department, local people, deploying camera traps, transect walks, all work was carried out by 2 female researchers over period of 5 months, at a stretch. This exemplifies how women are taking lead in field work and at the institute. The ratio of men to women in field work was never biased. 

                There are other countless incidents like accident of jeep inside forests which resulted in injury to forehead and required stiches. One of women team member had to even undergo spinal operation due to constantly working in rugged terrains. Muscle sprains, torn ligaments, ankles/knee injury, are some of identity of field works. Tick and leech bites become part of your life, as you accept there is very little that you can do about them.  The arduous working conditions of field take both physical and psychological toll sometimes. Like for team working in Sundarbans and Corbett National park, there was always threat of man eating tigers. Also, there are times when you go out of network for more than a week deep inside forests accompanied by field assistants, with whom you who don’t even share similar language to have basic conversation. Staying far from civilization for months together, away from home, loved ones is easier said than done.

But yes, there are also perks of it, because you get to visit places which are restricted to public. The zeal of exploring raw nature is fulfilled. You get to witness undisturbed events of wildlife and learn many things from direct observation. The sight of animals which were seen on television screens till date are live in front of you. And yes, you learn to co-ordinate with local administration, local villages, adjusting with changed cultural habits, food habitats, adjusting with colleagues and many more things. Sometimes also there is difference of opinion amongst team members. But you learn to deal with all these things and become a better human being.

         

Thus, with field work coming to an end people were now returning to Dehradun and started working on post field analysis of data at the Wildlife Institute. There are 4 phases of work involved in estimation of tigers:

Phase I – Involves recording direct sightings and indirect signs of all animals. The indirect signs are animal scats/dungs pugmarks, hoofmarks, scrape signs, etc. This is done by forest department. 

Phase II- This is totally Lab based work. Here GIS and Remote Sensing is used to correlate various factors like forest type, human disturbances, elevation, density of roads/drainages etc to model tiger occupancy and abundance. 

Phase III – This involves camera trapping, transect walking which is done by researchers. Many states have well trained staff, and do this work themselves. Phase III is done to predict density estimates. 

Phase IV - This phase roughly involves same activities as phase I and II, but this is carried out only in tiger abundant areas like Tiger reserves on yearly basis. 

Once data (Camera Trap images) are obtained from field, the first step of analysis is to segregate photos as per species, from all the images obtained from Cameras. Each photograph is tagged with its GPS

Camera Trap image 

location. This is tedious task, as number of photographs for one site run into lakhs and lakhs of images. Though software helps in automatic segregation of these images, still manual check is required. Total number of camera trap photos of entire country was more than 3 crores!!, of which tiger images were nearly 76,000. So you can imagine the volume of work. Next step is to separate tigers according to their flank side, so that individual tigers can be identified based on their stripes. The process involves many steps like Extract compare, batch compare, and visual compare etc. This information is fed into central repository. The central repository is highly useful in identifying tigers whenever their skin is seized anywhere in India. By comparing the seized tiger coat stripes with tiger images available in repository it is possible to tell from which state and which forest has the tiger been poached. The technology has been highly useful in combating poaching as well.

In places where it has not been possible to do camera trapping due to various reasons like terrain, safety etc, the DNA analysis from Scat/ tissue samples gives the minimum number of tigers. Now you know why scat/tissue collection is done. Once individual tigers are identified from camera trap images and minimum number of tigers are obtained from via scat samples, the further analysis is done by statistical techniques known as CMR – Capture mark recapture and SECR – Spatially Explicit Capture Recapture to arrive at final estimated number of tigers in the whole country. The expertise of scientists in dealing with these complicated statistical terminologies is amazing and it is evident why they are internationally acclaimed.                                                        

PM announcing Tiger numbers

From beginning of our training at Rajaji tiger reserve to announcing of tiger population in India by prime minister on 29^th July 2019, it took nearly 18 months of time. A mammoth exercise, both in scale and space.  The efforts put in by scientists, researchers, forest departments, Various NGO's and all associated stake holders is commendable. I still remember, in the final days of analysis, all of us used to work till 2 Am in the midnight. As per 4^th cycle of All India tiger estimation, the number of tigers in India stand at 2967. It is an increase of 33% as compared to previous cycle. The increase in numbers can be attributed to various factors like increased protection, better management of parks, improved counting methods. There have been voices of constructive criticism by some scientists regarding methodology adopted in tiger estimation, the criticism is always required as it makes science more robust. Also critics should not be disregarded as they bring more accountability and transparency. However, the heartening news that tiger number are on the rise in the country is something that should be celebrated. Today, tigers are found in 18 of Indian states. Considering the disastrous situation the tigers were pushed during late 90’s, the path of their recovery is highly significant. Various stake holders like bureaucrats, entire forest department machinery, scientific community, politicians and ofcourse people living on fringes of forests, etc all deserve the credit for this heartening recovery rate of tigers in country. India has shown a progressive path to world, as to how to do conservation and development at same time. However, the threat to tigers like habitat loss, poaching, and hunting of its prey animals looms large and we need to maintain a constant vigil round the clock.

Story till Date....

The increase of tiger numbers comes with another set of challenges of it’s own. Since tigers are territorial and disperse from their natal place, especially males, the increase in their numbers may bring them into conflict with humans. This brings into picture the importance of corridors which help in maintaining connectivity between forest patches, thereby allowing dispersing animals to move safely across forests.

Now, after all why do we need to spend so much money, man power to save tigers??

The increase in tiger numbers is not only a win game for tigers alone, it is win for the entire eco system. The slogan, “save tiger” is not meant only for tigers, it is for entire forest community. When tigers get attention, the entire forest and habitat along with other animals are also getting protected.  Hence it is not only about saving tigers as individual species, it is also about saving the habitat and other species it shares forests with. Tiger is considered as an umbrella/keystone species, which is face of protecting forests. Monitoring tiger numbers gives us an idea how is the species faring and also the forests along with it. Saving tigers saves vast areas of forest which has many ecological benefits for man. An example being the river systems- as majority of rivers originate in forests, by saving tigers we save a lot of green space. The root of trees hold large quantity of soil, and the soil in turn holds water which is released throughout the year, thereby ensuring supply of water all the time. Thus, without soil to hold water, may lead to floods or droughts. Hence saving tigers and thus saving forests is of paramount importance for benefit of man as well. Also tigers control herbivore population, thereby ensuring that over grazing of vegetation does not happen.

From this blog, I have tried to explain in very simple terms how tigers are counted, what are challenges faced in doing so and why it is essential to save these big cats. So next time you come across news of camera trap or tiger population, you know how much man power, associated risks and science goes into it. I hope, along with appreciating the tiger for being so magnificent and beautiful you also realize the critical role tiger plays in safeguarding your and my future as well... 

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