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.