Study suggests habitat loss is leading to inbreeding of Indian tigers 

Study suggests habitat loss is leading to inbreeding of Indian tigers 

Subject: Environment

Section: Biodiversity

Context: Inbreeding in tiger population

Concept :

• Tigers when kept in one location can only mate with the other tigers in their own population. Over time, this will result in inbreeding, they will end up mating with their relatives
• Whether this inbreeding compromises their fitness, their ability to survive, we do not yet know
• While genetic diversity across a population improves their chances of survival in the future, the study said population fragmentation of tigers can decrease this variation, and endanger them further.
• With 70% of the world’s tigers living in India, the researchers said understanding the genetic diversity of tigers in the country is critical to the feline’s conservation worldwide.
• Conservation Status of Tiger:
  • Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972: Schedule I
  • International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List: Endangered.
  • Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES): Appendix I.
• Steps taken for Conservation:
  • Conservation Assured | Tiger Standards (CA|TS):
    • 14 Tiger Reserves in India have already been awarded with international CA|TS accreditation and efforts are on to bring in more Tiger Reserves under CA|TS accreditation.
  • Project Tiger:
    • It is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) launched in 1973. It provides havens for tigers in the country’s national parks.
  • Petersburg declaration:
    • With 2,967 tigers, India, four years in advance, has achieved the target set in the 2010 St Petersburg Declaration of doubling tiger population by 2022. India had around 1,400 tigers in 2006.
    • The Heads of the Governments of Tiger Range countries at Petersburg, Russia, had resolved to double tiger numbers across their global range by 2022 by signing the St. Petersburg declaration on tiger conservation.
    • During the same meeting it was also decided to celebrate 29th July as Global Tiger Day across the world, which is since being celebrated to spread and generate awareness on tiger conservation.
    • There are currently 13 tiger range countries – India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Russia, Thailand and Vietnam.