On the tiger’s trail in the Sundarbans

[Guest guest]

The Sentinel ( www.sentinelassam.com) [Refer to NATIONAL page]

 

On the tiger's trail in the Sundarbans

 

lkata, Dec 8 (IANS): Come January and the many secrets of the

enigmatic tigers roaming the marshy mangrove forests of West

Bengal's Sundarbans might unravel with a high-tech census to count

the numbers as well as prepare a detailed profile.

 

When the tiger census in the Sundarbans in eastern India begins Jan

5, forest officials would not only focus on counting the tiger

population but also introduce satellite technology to study their

habits and habitat and prepare tiger maps.

 

For one, at least two of the elusive big cats in the Sundarbans

would be radio-collared and their hourly movement tracked through

satellite systems to prepare a profile of the royal resident of the

marshy mangroves, one of the largest such forests in the world.

 

The almost 10,000 sq km marshlands, along the coast of the Bay of

Bengal, are one of the last surviving natural habitats of the tiger.

 

Today India has an estimated 3,500 tigers, a drastic fall from

40,000 in the beginning of the last century.

 

Though the 2004 census put total tiger population in the Sundarbans

at 274, officials estimate that there are anything between 240 to

280 tigers in the mangrove forests.

 

The latest census using satellites and elaborate on-the-ground

methodology should clarify the picture.

 

" During the census this time, we will initially capture at least two

tigers and tranquillise them and put radio collars round their neck

before releasing them in the wild, " explained Atanu Raha, director

of the Sundarbans Biosphere Reserve.

 

" These two tigers would be tracked every hour. Their geographic

position or the geo coordinates would be noted by the satellite

which would send the notings to our GISL (Geographic Information

Sciences Laboratory), " Raha told IANS.

 

With the data collected from the satellite through radio collar

experimentation, beginning with two tigers, authorities would be

able to prepare a tiger density map (the number of tigers per 100 sq

km area) of the Sundarbans for the first time.

 

" This time we are trying to know the entire home range of a tiger in

the Sundarbans through this new satellite and radio collar method.

 

" We know a male tiger's territory is only 10 to 12 square km area in

other tiger zones. We want to know the territory of a Sundarbans

tiger and how it behaves, " said Raha.

 

The new census is also following a more elaborate three-pronged

methodology to count tigers. Instead of depending only on pugmarks

where there are chances of duplication, the forest officials are

also taking into account the roar of a tiger and actual sighting.

 

" This time we have started daily monitoring since April. Our men

carry with them a map of the area and a diary. Whenever they spot a

pug mark, hear a roar of the tiger or sight a tiger, it is recorded.

 

" At the end of the day we compile the tiger encounter rate (a pug

mark spotting or a roar or actual sighting is called tiger

encounter) and then every month we compile the monthly tiger

encounter rate to divide the Sundarbans into low, medium and high

encounter regions, " said Raha.

 

According to him, when the census is carried out in January wildlife

authorities would thus know the encounter rate in the three zones.

 

" Then, again, from each zone we will select 20 percent of the area

for intensive sampling. From these selected areas, our teams, which

include NGO representatives to maintain absolute transparency, will

again collect all the pug mark plaster casts that would be sent to

laboratory for tracing, " Raha went on to add.

 

The tracings would be given to the Indian Statistical Institute

(ISI) here, which has developed software for computer analysis to

give a more correct figure of actual tiger population.