Tigers struggle to move within Nepal even as they cross borders: study
- July 20, 2023
- Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
- Category: DPN Topics
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Tigers struggle to move within Nepal even as they cross borders: study
Subject: Environment
Section: Species in new
Context:
- Tigers in Nepal are increasingly isolated in protected areas and facing difficulties moving within the country due to human activities and habitat fragmentation.
Details:
- Suhelwa Wildlife Sanctuary in Uttar Pradesh which borders Nepal is the new habitat of tigers of that region.
- Tigers move from here to Banke National Park of Nepal.
- Both the countries, India and Nepal, adopted the landscape-based approach in the early 2000s to save the Tigers in the Terai ARC Landscape (TAL), a flatland region along the Ganges and its tributaries.
- Presently Nepal has 355 wild Tigers.
- Domestic corridors in the Siwalik hills could connect the tiger populations and increase their genetic diversity and viability.
- Conservationists recommend involving community forest user groups and implementing wildlife-friendly infrastructure guidelines to manage and protect the domestic corridors.
Concern:
- The habitat destruction due to various causes include:
- Construction of east-west highway across India and Nepal
- Deforestation
- Development of new settlements
- Mining activities
- The tiger habitat in the ARC region confined to Chitwan and Parsa in the east and Banke-Bardiya and Shuklaphanta in the west.
- All this has reduced the genetic diversity of tigers.
About Tiger:
- Scientific Name: Panthera tigris
- Indian Sub Species: Panthera tigris tigris.
- Habitat:
- Its habitat stretches from Siberian temperate forests to subtropical and tropical forests on the Indian subcontinent and Sumatra.
- It is the largest cat species and a member of the genus Panthera.
- Traditionally eight subspecies of tigers have been recognized, out of which three are extinct.
- Bengal Tigers: Indian Subcontinent
- Caspian tiger: Turkey through central and west Asia (extinct).
- Amur tiger: Amur Rivers region of Russia and China, and North Korea
- Javan tiger: Java, Indonesia (extinct).
- South China tiger: South central China.
- Bali tiger: Bali, Indonesia (extinct).
- Sumatran tiger: Sumatra, Indonesia.
- Indo-Chinese tiger: Continental south-east Asia.
- Threats:
- Habitat destruction, habitat fragmentation and poaching.
- Protection Status:
- 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.
- Tiger Reserves in India
- Total Number: 53 according to NTCA.
- Largest: Nagarjunsagar Srisailam Tiger Reserve, Andhra Pradesh on the basis of core area.
- Smallest: Orang tiger reserve in Assam on the basis of core area.
About Suhelwa WLS:
- Suhelwa Sanctuary is a wildlife sanctuary located in Balrampur, Gonda and Sravasti districts of the state of Uttar Pradesh in India.
- It covers an area of 452 square kilometres.
- The main mammals of Suhelwa are Bengal tiger, Indian leopard, sloth bear, antelope and deer. Other animals include fox, hyena, Indian elephant and wild cat.
Banke National Park:
- It is located in the Lumbini Province and was established in 2010 as Nepal’s tenth national park after its recognition as a “Gift to the Earth”.
- The protected area covers an area of 550 km2 (210 sq mi) with most parts falling on the Churia range.
- Together with the neighbouring Bardia National Park, the coherent protected area of 1,518 km2 (586 sq mi) represents the Tiger Conservation Unit (TCU) Bardia-Banke.