Sundarbans tiger project

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The Sundarban Tiger project is a Bangladesh Forest Department initiative that effectively started its field activities in February 2005. The idea for creating such a project was first developed during a field survey in 2001 conducted by Md. Osman Gani, Ishtiaq U. Ahmad, James L. D. Smith and K. Ullas Karanth. They realized that the Sundarbans mangrove forest at the mouth of the Ganges River contained probably one of the largest populations of wild tigers left in the world. As such, there was an urgent need to start measures that would ensure the protection of this precious area.

The Save the Tiger Fund and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service generously donated funds to support the initial phase of research that aims to collect data on tiger ecology using telemetry, and study the tiger’s environment by assessing its habitat and prey.

But management of a wilderness area needs more than just information on the species to be protected. Personnel with skills and resources to implement conservation strategies, and the general support of the country are also required. So from the research base, the project is evolving rapidly to also encompass capacity building and conservation awareness activities. It has been able to do so through the forward thinking approach to management taken by the Forest Department, and the incredible support of the Bangladeshi people.

The project is administered by the Forest Department and it utilizes wildlife consultants from the University of Minnesota to advise on research strategies and train staff. At the field level, there is a team of 8, made up of Forest Department personnel and one wildlife consultant.

[edit] Why study tigers in the Sundarbans?

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Why not put all our resources and efforts into protection? Surely we know enough about tigers by now to know how to help save them! Why are you trying to catch and collar tigers? Isn’t that a dangerous undertaking that endangers a tigers life?

These are important questions that deserve careful thought and response. Imagine if you are trying to manage an animal and its environment but you don’t know (1) how many animals you have, (2) what resources they need to survive, (3) how their habitat is changing and (4) what threats they are facing. The tigers of Bangladesh present such a conundrum. Studies from other countries such as Nepal, Russia, and India has told us a lot about some general life history characteristics and behavior that can probably be applied to all tigers, but we simply don’t know the first thing about the current Sundarbans tiger population or how current management strategies are affecting it.

There have been several valiant attempts to gain understanding of how tigers living in the Sundarbans survive, but the thick vegetation, large tidal fluctuations and a maze of waterways has hampered these efforts. The only way to really get to know how tigers exist in a particular habitat type is to follow those tigers using telemetry. This will give information on how much area they need, and what particular parts of the forest are essential for its well being. A female’s territory, for example, is directly related to the quality of the habitat, measured in abundance of prey. A female tiger needs to defend enough food for both itself and its young to live off. Defending to much will decrease its chances of survival (through increased competition from other tigers), as will defending too little (through starvation). Getting information on the home range size of female tigers in a particular setting will give a good estimate of the breeding population size.

This can be used to calculate how the population will change to various pressures and will allow formulation of monitoring schemes that can quantify the effectiveness of management activities. Knowing about the population in isolation is not enough. We also need to know how the tigers use its environment, i.e. are their factors essential for their survival that also need to be managed and protected. Relating locational data from the radio/GPS collars will identify which factors are important. In addition, following tigers on a daily basis will give a huge amount of behavioral information that will help understand such issues as man-eating. Not less importantly, a research program also helps tiger conservation indirectly by two different means.

Firstly, a field level team provides ground level “eyes” in the forest that provide feedback to administrative policy makers, and act as a deterrent to human activities that would otherwise threaten the tigers or their habitat. Secondly, the information gained can be used to dramatically increase support for conservation by if it is made available to all levels of society, from government bodies and local communities to schools, universities and the general public. There is certainly a small but very real risk to individual tigers that are captured for study. However, there is an even greater risk to the tiger population as a whole by sitting back and doing nothing. Look at other tiger countries and see where the most effective conservation has been carried out. You will soon find a clear pattern of well managed tiger populations connected to long-term scientific research programs.