Tigers

An Endangered Species

By: Bipin Chandra Tripathi 1

Tigers Are An Important Part of
Our World
Tigers are the largest
true carnivore in the
world.
Tigers live only in Asia.
Unlike most cats, tigers
like water and are very
good swimmers.
Tigers can jump up to
33 feet in one bound.
Tigers in the wild live to
be about 15 years old.
Tigers in the zoo live to
be about 21 years old.
Tigers in the zoo eat
ground up horse meat
including the bones,
hide and insides.
Tiger cubs are born one
to three to a litter and
they dont open their
eyes for a few days
after they are born.
The largest tiger is the
Siberian tiger. The
smallest tiger is the
Sumatran tiger.
By: Bipin Chandra Tripathi 2
Babies
Tiger cubs are born one to three to a litter
and they are born blind. Their eyes will
open after a few days. They will drink
their mothers milk for five or six months.

By: Bipin Chandra Tripathi 3

Asia
Tigers are only
found in Asia.
Scientists believe
they originated in
northern climates
and migrated
southward. They
are not as
comfortable in the
hotter regions.

By: Bipin Chandra Tripathi 4

Largest Carnivore
Tigers are the
largest true
carnivore in the
world. They can
only eat meat. They
will eat most of an
animal that they kill
in order to get all
the vitamins and
nutrients they need.

By: Bipin Chandra Tripathi 5

Good Swimmers
Unlike most cats,
tigers like the
water and are
very good
swimmers. They
can easily swim
one to two miles.

By: Bipin Chandra Tripathi 6

Good Jumpers
Tigers can jump up to 33 feet in one
bound. That is longer than two
minivans.

By: Bipin Chandra Tripathi 7

Biggest And Smallest
The Siberian tiger
is the largest tiger
in the world. The
male can grow to
be about 600
pounds. The
Sumatran tiger is
the smallest tiger,
weighing in at 268
pounds.

By: Bipin Chandra Tripathi 8

Zoo Diets
In the zoo, tigers
eat a daily diet of
ground up horse
meat that
includes the
bones, hide and
insides. This gives
them all the
nutrients their
bodies need.

By: Bipin Chandra Tripathi 9

Short Lives
Tigers in the
wild only live
to be about
15 years old.
Tigers in the
zoo live a
little longer
to maybe 21
years old.

By: Bipin Chandra Tripathi 10

Tigers
Dark orange to white
in color with black or
dark brown stripes.
Slender bodies with
powerful muscles. 5 tigers website gives good
Small, round ears. information on how to help save
Retractable claws. tigers.
Very good eyesight, There are several national parks
especially at night. and reserves set up to help the
They live in jungles, tigers survive.
forests and
grasslands of Asia.

By: Bipin Chandra Tripathi 11

Project Tiger
A Step to Save Tigers

By: Bipin Chandra Tripathi 12

Past of Project Tiger
Project Tiger: Project Tiger, launched in 1973-74, is one of our most
successful conservation ventures in the recent times. The project aims
at tiger conservation in specially constituted 'tiger reserves', which are
representative of various bio-geographical regions falling within our
country. It strives to maintain a viable tiger population in the natural
environment.
An estimate of the tiger population in India, at the turn of the century,
placed the figure at 40,000. Subsequently, the first ever all India tiger
census was conducted in 1972 which revealed the existence of only
1827 tigers. Various pressures in the later part of the last century led to
the progressive decline of wilderness, resulting in the disturbance of
viable tiger habitats. At the IUCN General Assembly meeting in Delhi, in
1969, serious concern was voiced about the threat to several species of
wildlife and the shrinkage of wilderness in the country. In 1970, a
national ban on tiger hunting was imposed and in 1972 the Wildlife
Protection Act came into force. A 'Task Force' was then set up to
formulate a project for tiger conservation with an ecological approach.

By: Bipin Chandra Tripathi 13

Past of Project Tiger
continues..
The project was launched in 1973, and various tiger reserves
were created in the country on a 'core-buffer' strategy. The
core areas were freed from all sorts of human activities and the
buffer areas were subjected to 'conservation oriented land
use'. Management plans were drawn up for each tiger reserve,
based on the principles outlined below:
1. Elimination of all forms of human exploitation and biotic

disturbance from the core area and rationalization of activities

in the buffer zone.
2. Restricting the habitat management only to repair the
damages done to the eco-system by human and other
interferences, so as to facilitate recovery of the eco-system to
its natural state.
3. Monitoring the faunal and floral changes over time and
carrying out research about wildlife.

By: Bipin Chandra Tripathi 14

Past of Project Tiger
continues..
Initially, 9 tiger reserves were established in different States during the period
1973-74, by pooling the resources available with the Central and State
Governments. These nine reserves covered an area of about 13,017sq.km-viz
Manas (Assam), Palamau (Bihar), Similipal (Orissa), Corbett (U.P.), Kanha (M.P.),
Melghat (Maharashtra), Bandipur (Karnataka), Ranthambhore (Rajasthan) and
Sunderbans (West Bengal).
Initially, 9 tiger reserves were established in different States during the period
1973-74, by pooling the resources available with the Central and State
Governments. These nine reserves covered an area of about 13,017sq.km-viz
Manas (Assam), Palamau (Bihar), Similipal (Orissa), Corbett (U.P.), Kanha (M.P.),
Melghat (Maharashtra), Bandipur (Karnataka), Ranthambhore (Rajasthan) and
Sunderbans (West Bengal).
The project started as a 'Central Sector Scheme' with the full assistance of Central
Government till 1979-80: later, it become a 'centrally Sponsored Scheme' from
1980-81, with equal sharing of expenditure between the center and the states.
The W.W.F. has given an assistance of US $ 1 million in the form of equipments,
expertise and literature. The various States are also bearing the loss on account of
giving up the forestry operations in the reserves.

By: Bipin Chandra Tripathi 15

Past of Project Tiger
continues..
The main achievements of this project are excellent recovery of the habitat and
consequent increase in the tiger population in the reserve areas, from a mere 268 in
9 reserves in 1972 to 1576 in 27 reserves in 2003. Tiger, being at the apex of the
food chain, can be considered as the indicator of the stability of the eco-system. For
a viable tiger population, a habitat should possess a good prey base, which in turn
will depend on an undisturbed forest vegetation. Thus, 'Project Tiger', is basically the
conservation of the entire eco-system and apart from tigers, all other wild animals
also have increased in number in the project areas. In the subsequent 'Five Year
Plans', the main thrust was to enlarge the core and buffer zones in certain reserves,
intensification of protection and ecodevelopment in the buffer zones of existing tiger
reserves, creation of additional tiger reserves and strengthening of the research
activities.
The management strategy was to identify the limiting factors and to mitigate them
by suitable management. The damages done to the habitat were to be rectified, so
as to facilitate the recovery of eco-system to the maximum possible extent.
Management practices which tend to push the wildlife populations beyond the
carrying capacity of the habitat were carefully avoided. A minimum core of 300 sq.
km. with a sizeable buffer was recommended for each project area. The overall
administration of the project is monitored by a 'Steering Committee'. The execution
of the project is done by the respective State Governments. A 'Field Director' is
appointed for each reserve, who is assisted by the field and technical personnel. The
Chief Wildlife warden in various States are responsible for the field execution. At the
Centre, a full-fledged 'Director' of the project coordinates the work for the country.
By: Bipin Chandra Tripathi 16
Present of Project Tiger
Wireless communication system and outstation patrol camps have been
developed within the tiger reserves, due to which poaching has declined
considerably. Fire protection is effectively done by suitable preventive and
control measure Voluntory Village relocation has been done in many
reserves, especially from the core, area. In Kanha, Bandipur and
Ranthambhore, all the villages have been shifted from the core, and after
relocation, the villagers have been provided with alternate agricultural lands
and other community benefits. This has resulted in the improvement of the
carrying capacity of the habitat. Live stock grazing has been controlled to a
great extent in the tiger reserves. Various compensatory developmental
works have improved the water regime and the ground and field level
vegetations, thereby increasing the animal density. Research data pertaining
to vegetational changes are also available from many reserves. In general,
the 'restorative management' and 'intense protection' under 'Project Tiger'
have saved many of our eco-typical areas from destruction. The area around
the buffer is now contemplated as a zone of multiple use, to bring
compatibility between the reserves and the neighbouring communities.

By: Bipin Chandra Tripathi 17

Future of Project Tiger
a) Use of Information and Communication technology in Wildlife Protection and Crime Risk
Management in Tiger reserves.
Wildlife protection and crime risk management in the present scenario requires a widely
distributed Information Network, using the state-of-art Information and Communication
Technology. This becomes all the more important to ensure the desired level of protection in
field formations to safeguard the impressive gains of a focused project like 'Project Tiger'.
The important elements in Wildlife protection and control are: Mapping/plotting the relative
spatial abundance of wild animals, identification of risk factors, proximity to risk factors,
sensitivity categorization, crime mapping and immediate action for apprehending the
offenders based on effective networking and communication. Space technology has shown
the interconnectivity of natural and anthropogenic phenomena occurring anywhere on
earth. Several Tiger Reserves are being linked with the Project Tiger Directorate in the GIS
domain for Wildlife Crime Risk Management.
b) GIS based digitized database and MIS development/networking in Tiger Reserves:
With the advanced IT tools, a wide gamut of software solutions are available to improve
wildlife related information capture process, its analysis and informed decision making.
Geographic Information System is the most relevant of these technologies for natural
resource management projects, including wildlife management. The mandate of project
tiger is to conserve tigers in a holistic manner. The GIS based database at PTHQ is being
linked with the microcomputers in the Tiger Reserves, so that a dynamic linkage for rapid
information flow is established using Arc IMS facility.

By: Bipin Chandra Tripathi 18

Future of Project Tiger
continues..
c) Tiger Habitat & Population Evaluation System for the Indian Sub Continent
A 'Tiger Atlas of India' and a 'Tiger Habitat & Population Evaluation System for the country

is being developed using the state- of - the - art technology.

This involves:
1. Mapping , data acquisition and GIS modeling
2. Field data collection and validation
3. Data Maintenance , Dissemination and Use
The following potential tiger habitats in the country are being covered:
1. Shivalik-Terai Conservation Unit(Uttaranchal, UP, Bihar, West Bengal, Nepal)
2. Nort east Conservation Unit
3. Sunderbans Conservation Unit
4. Central Indian Conservation Unit
5. Eastern Ghat Conservation Unit
6. Western Ghat Conservation Unit

Satellite data is being used and classified into vegetation and land use maps on a
1:50,000 scale, with digitized data relating to contour , villages, roads , drainage ,
administrative boundaries and soil . The spatial layers would be attached with attribute
data , viz. human population , livestock population , meteorological data, agricultural
information and field data pertaining to wildlife, habitat for evolving regional protocols to
monitor tiger and its habitat.

By: Bipin Chandra Tripathi 19

Vision for The Future
The dynamics of forest management and wildlife conservation have been distorted
due to need for income, lack of awareness, lack of landuse policy and population
pressure. Since the traditional use systems of people are neither static nor benign,
these should not be overlooked.
A regional development approach in landscapes having Tiger Reserves is of utmost

importance in our country. It should be viewed as a mosaic of different landuse

patterns, viz, tiger conservation / preservation, forestry, sustainable use and
development, besides socio-economic growth.
Tiger habitats exist in environments of thousands of indigenous communities which

depend on them. Therefore we cannot view these protected areas in isolation from
the surrounding socio-economic realities and developmental priorities of the Govt.
This calls for a cross-sectoral and cross-disciplinary approach.
Tigers now need a "preservationist" approach. Regional planning is important around

Tiger Reserves to foster ecological connectivity between protected areas through

restorative inputs with integrated landuse planning. The management plan of a Tiger
Reserve, therefore, needs to be integrated in larger regional management plans.

By: Bipin Chandra Tripathi 20

Thank you for Viewing

Submitted to: Submitted By:

Ms. Soni Kapoor Amit Pant

By: Bipin Chandra Tripathi 21