Recently, Prime Minister Modi inaugurated the 3rd Asia Ministerial Conference on Tiger Conservation in New Delhi stressing much on tiger conservation.
The Royal Tiger is an Asian species. This species is found in the Siberian Islands including within the Arctic Circle and also from Central to Northern Asia where plenty of rich vegetations support abundance of varied animals of herbivores. When the climate for the tiger was not congenial for this royal cat, it extended its territory over greater part of the Asian continent. The tiger as well as the panther, another cat of this region, gradually extended their way to Amurland, Korea, Annam, China, Siam and Malay peninsula and also into India through Assam, besides to Java and Sumatra. The race first established itself in greater part of the Himalayas and then to the peninsular region of India. This species is not found in Cylone. The deep sea acted as a block for the tiger to enter into Cylone/Sri lanka.
There are eight sub-races/ species of tigers in Asia and three are extinct and four are endangered. The reasons for depletion of tiger races are: Craziness for tiger trophies and the commercial market for skins. In China, the parts of this species are needed very much for treatment of aphrodisiac. The cause of disappearance of this magnificent cat is also fear.
The details of sub-species of tigers are: (1) Siberian or Manchurian found in the USSR (2) Chinese tiger, (3) Sumatra tiger, (4) Indo- Chinese tiger, (5) Bali tiger, (6) Caspian Region tiger of USSR, (7) Afghanistan tiger and Javan tiger. Out of all these sub-species, the Bali tiger (Panther tigris balica) is the smallest of all tiger species. It is similar to Javan tiger. The Bali tiger is known to be extinct. The royal cat has been declared extinct in South -East Asian countries for the reasons of poaching. At present the Cambodian Government needs some tigers from India to re-introduce the species in its forests, which has long disappeared from their forests. The South-East Asian country is trying to propagate the Indian sub-species of tiger in its land for which it is likely to submit a proposal to India for the same.
The habitats are not conducive for tigers as anti-poaching laws are very much encroached and forests are open in India. The Wildlife Protection Society of India is reluctant to give any tiger to Cambodia as there is no surety of protection of the cats in their country. There are genetic variations in Asian tigers but the tigers from India or Nepal can acclimatise to the forests of Cambodia as the country comes under the zones of tropics. The officials of 13 countries of Tiger-Rouges of Asia assembled in Delhi from April 12 to 14 for a discussion on protection and conservation of tigers. All the members of 13 tiger Asian countries passed a resolution to double the present world number of tigers by 2020. The current world number of tiger is said to be 3,890. Such efforts are welcomed, if faithfully materialized by the Governments of the tiger lands.
Prime Minister Modi while addressing to the Conference on Tiger Conservation laid emphasis on conservation of nature-capital. Modi sought collaboration between the Governments at the highest level to check the trafficking of tiger body parts by the poachers.
India is very rich in cat population in the globe and we have varieties of cats like tiger, lion, leopard or panther, snow leopard, clouded leopard, golden cat, fishing cat, leopard cat, marbled cat, jungle cat and domestic cat. We have eleven types of cats which are unique in the world. The Indian race of tiger is designated as typical type; which is distributed from the Himalayas to Cape of Comorin, except the desert of Rajasthan, Punjab, Cutch and Sind. This range extends to Burma, which shows the tiger can acclimatize to variable climates. In India the tiger in the Himalayan range can move up to 10,000feet altitude and establish itself. Besides, it lives in humid evergreen forests, in dry open forests and in grassy swamps of the Terai. But in Sundarvan of Ganga- Hooguli mangrove forests, the tiger almost leads a life of an amphibian in the terrain of mangrove trees mud and water.
The tiger requires three things to make its habitat like rich neighbourhood large and small animals to prey upon, ample shade to take rest without least interference and plenty of water to quench thirst and neutralise body heat. The tiger hunts between sunset and dawn. Usually it hunts female elephants and young ones, gaur, and buffalo. It preys on deer, nilgai, wild pig, bears and porcupines and can kill and eat panthers and other tigers if driven by hunger. The killing of bear, panther or tiger by a tiger for food is the exceptional case, but it is not the usual habit of a tiger. Similarly lifting of man or cattle is not the usual habit of a tiger. When a prey is not available or it becomes physically unfit to prey upon any wild animals, it attacks the lazy man and cattle. In Sundarvan of Ganga - Hooguli estuaries all the tigers of this land hunt man and cattle to feast on them. It also preys on deer, nilgai, monkeys almost any fowl, fish, reptile or carrion. In Sundarvan, tiger usually preys on fish, monkeys and crabs. It is very fond of monkeys.
The monkeys mean langurs or the black faced monkeys. In jungle, the monkeys become dam afraid of two things; that is the presence of a tiger and of Mankedia tribe. The monkeys become nervous and jump from one tree to another and fall from the tree tops and become the prey of the tigers and Mankedia tribes. The youngs always follow the parental examples and acquire similar food habits to survive. All the Sundarvan tigers are man eaters in habit. It climbs trees, when needed.
In Odisha the forest fire usually occurs within the period from February to May. Many ground animals and birds are killed due to the wildfire. The tiger cubs are also killed. The rapid decline of tiger population in the country and especially in Odisha is a cause of concern. Since 1970 various conservation measures like creation of sanctuaries and tiger reserves are established in India. But the moot point is unless the people of the reserves are associated in this drive, the mission cannot succeed.
(The writer is a former senior forest officer and an environmentalist. Tel no 9937460649)