Tiger ecology

Sundarbans (Bangladesh) mangrove forest is the largest contiguous mangrove ecosystem in the world. At 10,000 square km, it is also the largest wetland ecosystem with international importance for waterfowl habitats. The Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) is a focal species for biodiversity conservation management in the Sundarbans. Conservationists claim that Sundarbans harbors the largest population of tigers in south Asia. Sundarbans also acquired national and international protected area classifications; 23% of its total area has been designated as Sundarbans Wildlife Sanctuaries and United Nations World Heritage Sites. Use of the tiger as a keystone species and its impact on socioecological and economic considerations needs to be reviewed critically with the aim of formulating a management action plan for tiger conservation in the region.

The tiger Panthera tigris (L.) has a fragmented modern biogeographic range, much contracted by recent extinctions, covering continental Asia from India, Nepal and Bhutan east through China and south to Peninsular Malaysia and the island of Sumatra in Indonesia. In Southeast Asia, the historic range of tiger included Java and Bali, and archaeozoological research has shown that it was also present on Borneo in the terminal Pleistocene and Holocene, possibly until fairly recently. Here we report on the first evidence of the former presence of tiger on the south-western Philippine island of Palawan. This new record confirms that the tiger was once distributed throughout the Sundaic biogeographic region and all the large islands of Southeast Asia west of Wallace's Line of Huxley. The disappearance of the tiger from Palawan probably resulted from climatic and palaeogeographic changes at the end of the last glaciation as the landmass greatly decreased and open woodland environments were replaced by closed tropical rainforests. Reduction in prey availability could also have played a role, as local deer populations diminished and eventually disappeared.

Harimau sumatra adalah satu-satunya anak jenis harimau endemik Indonesia yang tersisa.
Harimau sumatra kini tersebar di kantong-kantong kawasan hutan konservasi yang menjadi
habitat di Pulau Sumatera. Daya Dukung habitat merupakan salah satu ukuran ukuran populasi
yang sangat penting dalam menentukan kelestarian populasi dalam jangka panjang. Dalam
strategi konservasi harimau sumatera ini dapat disimpulkan, bahwa :
1. Populasi Harimau Sumatera dan satwa mangsanya, memerlukan data yang akurat dan
menggunakan metode ilmiah dapat membantu dalam pengelolaan populasi Harimau
Sumatera dan satwa mangsanya.
2. Pengelolaan habitat Harimau Sumatera, harus ditingkatkan baik luasan dan daya dukung
habitat pengelolaan di dalam kawasan hutan konservasi dan di luar kawasan konservasi.
3. Manajemen pengelolaan instu dan exsitu, kegiatan pengelolaan in situ antara lain
peningkatan kualitas SDM, patroli perlindungan habitat dengan skema RBM (Resort Base
Management), restorasi dan pengembangan koridor, monitoring populasi, dan mitigasi
konflik. Sedangkan pengelolaan ex situ dengan kerjasama pengelolaan bersama Lembaga
Konservasi dengan para pihak sesuai peraturan perundangan yang berlaku.
4. Penegakkan hukum terhadap perlindungan Harimau Sumatera. Kegiatan pencegahan,
penyadartahuan, penyuluhan, kampanye kepedulian dan pasrtisipasi masyarakat terhadap
kelestarian ditingkatkan terhadap pelestarian Harimau Sumatera, dan tindakan tegas
terhadap pelanggaran dalam upaya penegakkan hukum yang berlaku terhadap para pelaku.

As pressure from a growing human population increases around the world, greater levels of conflict between people and wildlife over shrinking available land may be inevitable. The conversion of Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary to Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) in India is a conservation initiative under "Project Tiger" scheme to facilitate greater habitat connectivity across the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. We interviewed local people in the MTR landscape to determine their interest and attitude towards resettlement and tiger conservation following MTR's new status designation. We found that non-tribal Mountain Chetties generally had negative attitude towards tiger conservation, Kurumbas were positive toward the idea, and Kattunaickers, and Irula people and other minor ethnic groups were found neutral. We found that literate respondents were less likely to collect firewood and more likely to exhibit positive attitude towards tiger conservation and the establishment of MTR. Households with higher milk production, and people with generally negative attitude towards wildlife conservation , were against the declaration of MTR. People employed in private sectors and those having negative perception towards wildlife conservation were more likely to show negative attitude towards declaration of MTR. Locals desiring resettlement post MTR declaration were literate, and interested in availing better livelihood resources. However, they usually suffered relatively high livestock loss to large carnivores, and high crop damage caused by elephant (Elephas maximus). Most respondents (74.3%) were interested in resettlement provided that basic amenities were available to them. We recommend that conservation authorities facilitate "choice-based resettlement" options, which account for local people's consent before making decisions on "re-settlement". This approach will avoid possible conflicts between forest managers and local people.

This article provide background information pertaining to the disappearance of two sub-species of tigers from South East Asia. These wild tigers were in great numbers and used to serve as keystone species in Indonesian and Malaysian rainforest. The species are now extinct from the wild. The article reflects the fundamental anthropocentric causes that drove these tiger sub species into extinction.

Spider diversity is studied to explore the spider fauna of Mumbra. This is the attempt made for preparing a systematic list of species. Extensive search revealed 28 species belonging to ten families were recorded in Mumbra-Maharashtra. This represents 16.66 % of the total families recorded in India. Araneidae were the dominant family in this biome, which was composed of Lycosidae as next dominant family, followed by Tetragnathidae , Pholcidae Oxyopidae , Scytodidae, Theridiidae Salticidae and Philodromidae and Eutichuridae was the order of dominance of the characteristic families, of this region. Species abundance are related to grassland with waterlogged areas and mountain site with low inhabitants. Simpson diversity index showed maximum diversity with 20 species is 0.927 for spider in grassland habitat and 0.218 in mountain site. Shannon's diversity with 20 species is 2.809 in grassland and 1.743 for mountain habitat

1. India, a mega-diverse country in terms of both biodiversity and people, is battling environmental problems on many fronts: chronic dependence on natural resources, dwindling ecosystem services, declining environmental quality, effects of climate change, and a
biodiversity crisis.
2. We review the current focal areas and infrastructure for ecological research and education in India, along with the surrounding legal and policy aspects of related socio-economic issues.
3. Currently, ecological and applied research is predominantly focused on charismatic species within protected areas. This scope could be broadened beyond organismal biology towards functional landscapes and ecosystems; the education system also needs to promote ecology as a career-choice for scientists. Expectedly, many environmental challenges are generic in nature and occur in other regions of the world, are primarily biophysical in origin but extend into human dimensions; some challenges are socio-political and have implications for biodiversity conservation.
4. Synthesis and applications. India’s environmental concerns include, but are not restricted to the biodiversity crisis. The biodiversity crisis, in turn, includes, but is not restricted to, the most charismatic species. Greater integration and alignment among the mandates of government agencies, scientists, policy makers, and educators is needed to meet contemporary environmental issues."""

1. Several conservation initiatives are aiming to improve the status of the rapidly dwindling populations of tiger Panthera tigris. However, possible cascading effects of intra-guild competition on other sympatric carnivores are rarely considered while planning such recovery programmes.

2. In this study, we examine how, following the reduction of anthropogenic pressures by relocation of pastoralists, a recovering tiger population affects leopards Panthera pardus in the Chilla Range of Rajaji National Park (RNP), India. By combining data gathered over 4 years (2004–2005 to 2007–2008) on prey availability, food habits and population density of the two predators, we investigate some of the mechanisms of niche partitioning.

3. Based on existing information, we predicted that there would be high dietary overlap between the two predators. Over time, optimal habitats would be dominated by tigers forcing leopards to the periphery of the protected area where they would subsist on small prey and domestic livestock. Consequently, leopards would occur at a lower density where sympatric with tigers.

4. Our results confirmed that annual dietary overlap (0·89, 0·82, 0·78, 0·77) between the two predators was high during the study. As expected, we observed a shift in the diet of leopards towards a significantly higher intake of domestic prey (∼6·8% to ∼31·8%) and small prey (∼9% to ∼36%). Mean leopard density declined from 9·76 animals per 100 km2 in 2004–2005 to 2·07 per 100 km2 in 2007–2008, while the mean density of tigers increased from 3·31 per 100 km2 to 5·81 per 100 km2 over the same period.

5. Synthesis and applications. Although based on small sample sizes, our study revealed that over the 4 years following the relocation of pastoralists out of RNP, the tiger population recovered but leopard densities declined sharply. The concurrent shift in leopard diet indicated heightened livestock depredation from the surrounding area. Therefore, it is important that conservation initiatives targeting the recovery of tigers should be preceded by careful examination of interspecific interactions with sympatric carnivores. Comprehensive human–carnivore conflict management measures like monitoring the extent of livestock depredation, improving livestock management and providing adequate compensation and/or insurance schemes are critical for successfully implementing such conservation efforts.

Sundarbans is the largest mangrove forest ecosystem on earth and the last remaining wild Bengal tiger habitat in Bangladesh. Sundarbans is Ramsar and World Heritage Site and according to the World Wildlife Fund and Wildlife Conservation Society, USA, the high priority tiger conservation landscape (TCL) for the viable population of wild tigers for the long term survival. Despite all these international designations, wild tiger population estimation and monitoring research continue to be ad-hoc based although few scientific studies have been carried out recently to understand the population parameters of the Sundarbans tiger. Nevertheless, the scopes and potentials to integrate remote sensing and GIS tools are still in its infancy to better appreciate the population and habitat parameters of this flagship species of tropical Asia. This paper attempts to introduce readers with potential power of GIS and its integration approach to better understand and manage endangered vertebrate such as Bengal Tiger of Sundarbans ecosystem.

The tiger is a breathtakingly charismatic species. It is the largest terrestrial carnivorous mammal on earth and sits on top of the food chain in tropical, grassland and boreal ecosystem s ranging from South Asia to Central Asia and Siberia in the former USSR. In these eco-regions, the tiger has served as a flagship mammal and hence acted as an umbrella species for overall biodiversity conservation management. It is an ecological indicator species from which wildlife biologists can detect various ecological changes in terms of species richness, size, equitability, biomass, etc. Some wildlife biologists refer to the tiger as an ecological litmus paper because of its role in helping to indicate the overall health of tropical ecosystem s in South and South-East Asia.

Home range and food habits of tigers (Panthera tigris tigris) were studied in Sariska Tiger Reserve from July 2008 to June 2009. Three tigers (one male and two females) were radio-collared and reintroduced in Sariska Tiger Reserve from Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve, Western India during 2008-2009. The reintroduced tigers were monitored periodically through ground tracking using "triangulation and homing in techniques." The estimated annual home ranges were 168.6 km 2 and 181.4 km 2 for tiger and tigress-1 respectively. The estimated summer home range of tigress-2 was 223.4 km 2 . In total, 115 kills and 103 scats of tigers were collected to study the food habits. The line transect method was used to estimate the prey availability. The density of peafowl (Pavo cristatus) was found to be highest (125.2 ± 15.3/ km 2 ) in Sariska followed by livestock (Bubalis bubalis and Bos indicus) (59.9 ± 22.3/ km 2 ), chital (Axis axis) (46.7 ± 9.5/ km 2 ), sambar (Rusa unicolor) (26.2 ± 4.9/ km 2 ), common langur (Semnopithecus entellus) (22.8 ± 6.5/ km 2 ), nilgai (Boselaphus tragocamelus) (19.5 ± 3.3/ km 2 ) and wild pig (Sus scrofa) (15.4 ± 4.4/ km 2 ). Tigers fed on seven prey species as shown by kill data. Tigers' scat analysis revealed the presence of five prey species. Prey selection by tigers based on scat analysis was in the following order: sambar> chital> nilgai> livestock> common langur. It is proposed to restock the tiger population initially with five tigers in Sariska and subsequent supplementation of two tigers every three years for a period of six years, which will allow the population to achieve demographic viability. Removal of anthropogenic pressure from the national park will be crucial for the long term survival of tigers in Sariska.

Tiger- the charismatic mega-carnivore is a globally endangered species despite the concerted international conservation initiatives over the past several decades to safeguard its dwindling population size across its range nations. Due to its sheer magnificence, mischievousness, and awesome power, the tiger magnetized global attention and became a hallmark species for ex situ conservation initiatives across the continents. People around the globe often enjoy visiting zoos, which hold tigers, and many zoos have now adopted the tiger as its priority species for promoting ex situ wildlife conservation outreach and education programs with particular focus on schoolchildren as the major target group. Sadly, in situ wild tiger conservation initiatives remain disproportionately lacking in terms of scientific and socio-political interventions despite the consensus among civil societies and governments in tiger range countries to protect this species and its habitats. The Sundarbans mangrove ecosystem in Bangladesh is one of such habitats that became a global priority for wild tiger conservation in the 21st century. This paper attempts to place conservation priorities for the free-ranging wild Bengal tigers Panthera tigris tigris in the context of the Sundarbans by integrating the modern science of wildlife and landscape ecology.

We report on land management and protected area management effectiveness in the tiger range. Wild tigers Panthera tigris are found in 13 countries, with habitat that is also important for ecosystem services, biodiversity and a number of other threatened species. Timber production, mineral mining, oil and gas concessions and protected areas are common land-use designations in tiger habitat. Twenty-one per cent of the current tiger range is under some form of protection, while 9% is designated as ‘strictly protected,’ in IUCN categories I or II. Fifteen per cent of the tiger range is under oil and gas concession. These concessions also overlap 152 protected areas, 55 of which are categorized as strictly protected. Management effectiveness tracking tool responses suggest that the majority of protected areas in the tiger range are inadequately managed to meet their objectives, and the most commonly reported management challenges are minimal enforcement and budgets. We observe that even strictly protected areas are subject to a variety of pressures, particularly resource extraction. Results imply that the establishment and enforcement of effective protected areas in each tiger landscape, sufficient to protect and grow breeding tiger populations, could help change current trends. These areas should be free from incompatible land uses, and should be adequately resourced to meet management, enforcement and monitoring challenges. Weaknesses in protected area management identified here have implications for species and ecosystem services that share the same geography as tigers. In addition, results suggest that similar issues may exist for threatened species and protected areas in other geographies as well.

Small to large carnivorous mammals in the tropical belt face extinction at an unprecedented rate. The vanishing of sympatric wild cats appears to be due to habitat fragmentation, human encroachment & poaching. The focus of this study is on ecological and distributional parameters that influence the wild cat communities in tropical South Asia. The distributional data for five sympatric cats is analyzed with the aim of understanding the species-habitat association under a conceptually unified binary-matrix framework. The use of cluster analysis techniques in this ecological study have helped to reveal the natural groupings among felid guilds and their ecological resource partitioning mechanism in shared habitats.

Conflating "co-occurrence" with "coexistence" Carter et al. (1) argued that coexistence is practical at fine spatial scales based on temporal segregation between tigers and people in and around Chitwan National Park, Nepal. The authors presented their coexistence model as an alternative to the widely held principle that long-term tiger conservation requires extensive areas where human-use is excluded. We believe that this study makes a fundamental logic error by conflating "co-occurrence" with "coexistence." Their data demonstrate spatial co-occurrence conditioned on temporal separation, an unsurprising finding. Coexistence, the relevant interspecific dynamic process, has not been demonstrated and requires long-term data they did not collect.

Three of Malaysia's endangered large mammal species are experiencing contrasting futures. Populations of the Sumatran rhino (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) have dwindled to critically low numbers in Peninsular Malaysia (current estimates need to be revised) and the state of Sabah (less than 40 individuals estimated). In the latter region, a bold intervention involving the translocation of isolated rhinos is being developed to concentrate them into a protected area to improve reproduction success rates. For the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus), recently established baselines for Peninsular Malaysia (0.09 elephants/km 2 estimated from one site) and Sabah (between 0.56 and 2.15 elephants/km 2 estimated from four sites) seem to indicate globally significant populations based on dung count surveys. Similar surveys are required to monitor elephant population trends at these sites and to determine baselines elsewhere. The population status of the Malayan tiger (Panthera tigris jacksoni) in Peninsular Malaysia, however, remains uncertain as only a couple of scientifically defensible camera-trapping surveys (1.66 and 2.59 tigers/100 km 2 estimated from two sites) have been conducted to date. As conservation resources are limited, it may be prudent to focus tiger monitoring and protection efforts in priority areas identified by the National Tiger Action Plan for Malaysia. Apart from reviewing the conservation status of rhinos, elephants and tigers and threats facing them, we highlight existing and novel conservation initiatives, policies and frameworks that can help secure the long-term future of these iconic species in Malaysia.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently appeared in an episode of Man vs Wild, a reality television-styled show that follows an explorer's journey through the wilderness. The explorer is Bear Grylls, who parachutes into inhospitable places and survives without help. But Grylls’ attempts towards conservation messages are saddled with anachronisms. It is an alpha male attitude that seems closer to a colonial hunter-cum-explorer ideology, rather than rendering any modern solutions.

Large carnivores living in tropical rainforests are under immense pressure from the rapid conversion of their habitat. In response, millions of dollars are spent on conserving these species. However, the cost-effectiveness of such investments is poorly understood and this is largely because the requisite population estimates are difficult to achieve at appropriate spatial scales for these secretive species. Here, we apply a robust detection/non-detection sampling technique to produce the first reliable population metric (occupancy) for a critically endangered large carnivore; the Sumatran tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae). From 2007-2009, seven landscapes were surveyed through 13,511 km of transects in 394 grid cells (17×17 km). Tiger sign was detected in 206 cells, producing a naive estimate of 0.52. However, after controlling for an unequal detection probability (where p = 0.13±0.017; ±S.E.), the estimated tiger occupancy was 0.72±0.048. Whilst the Sumatra-wide survey results gives cause for optimism, a significant negative correlation between occupancy and recent deforestation was found. For example, the Northern Riau landscape had an average deforestation rate of 9.8%/yr and by far the lowest occupancy (0.33±0.055). Our results highlight the key tiger areas in need of protection and have led to one area (Leuser-Ulu Masen) being upgraded as a 'global priority' for wild tiger conservation. However, Sumatra has one of the highest global deforestation rates and the two largest tiger landscapes identified in this study will become highly fragmented if their respective proposed roads networks are approved. Thus, it is vital that the Indonesian government tackles these threats, e.g. through improved land-use planning, if it is to succeed in meeting its ambitious National Tiger Recovery Plan targets of doubling the number of Sumatran tigers by 2022.

My research looks at the meaning tiger extinction holds for forest-dwelling communities (both forest-dependent and partially-forest dependent communities) experiencing regular cattle depredation in Sariska tiger reserve, where tigers went locally extinct in 2004 and were re-introduced in 2008. I investigated the meaning of tiger extinction for villagers; and if the tiger was a 'conflict' animal.

Tigers evolved from the genus Panthera approximately two million years ago during the Cenozoic era and were widely distributed in China and Southeast Asia. They then expanded their range northwards into Russia, Japan and Korea, and south and westwards into the Indian subcontinent and Caspian regions about one million years ago. Tigers branched off as a distinct species under the Panthera genus long before lion Panthera leo, leopard Panthera pardus, and jaguar Panthera onca. Tiger is essentially an Asian species and the fossil evidence suggests that it has never been found on any other continents, primarily due to the geo-climatic factors that shaped its ecological niche, along with its obligate mode of adaptation which is primarily based on preying on large ungulate mammals from tropical and sub-tropical monsoonal forests and riparian grassland ecosystems in South Asia. Empirical evidence suggests that in the 19th century there were over 100,000 tigers living in Asia, but by the turn of the mid 20th century, tiger numbers had astronomically plummeted to less than 10,000 across its range nations – due to the large scale British colonial hunting regime administered fashionably and ruthlessly to systematically kill tigers and other charismatic species in the Indian subcontinent.

Bengal tigers of Bangladesh are at brink of extinction due to anthropocentric disturbances. The article provide ecological perspective to help conserve the dwindling population of tigers in Bangladesh Sundarbans: the largest deltaic mangrove ecosystem in tropical belt.

Sundarbans mangrove ecosystem in bangladesh is unique due to its high socio-ecological and ecosystem significance. This ecosystem is the only wetland based biome that harbours wild Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) in Bangladesh. The article provide brief background of Bangladesh Sundarbans mangrove and its intricate ecological and sociological parameters in relation to tiger ecology and conservation in Bangladesh landscape....

There is a little understanding of how apex carnivores partition their diet to coexist. We studied food habit and trophic niche overlap of two apex carnivores, tiger and leopard in the tropical forest of Similipal tiger reserve, eastern India. We used line transect and scat analysis method, to estimate the prey availability and determine the diet and prey selection of two apex carnivores. Tigers consumed mostly large and medium-sized prey, whereas leopards mostly consumed medium and small-sized prey. Both carnivores were not random in their consumption of prey, sambar and wild pigs were selectively consumed by tigers, whereas leopards selectively consumed wild pigs, barking deer and mouse deer. Dietary overlap between two carnivore species was moderate (Pianka's niche overlap index: 0.55), and trophic niche breadth (Levin's standardized niche breadth) of the leopard (0.52) was greater than that of the tiger (0.37). Overall, tigers exhibited specialized feeding habits, whereas leopards showed generalist feeding habits. Our study highlights the opportunistic nature of leopards and probably a reason for the species successfully coexist with tigers.

Large carnivores living in tropical rainforests are under immense pressure from the rapid conversion of their habitat. In response, millions of dollars are spent on conserving these species. However, the cost-effectiveness of such investments is poorly understood and this is largely because the requisite population estimates are difficult to achieve at appropriate spatial scales for these secretive species. Here, we apply a robust detection/non-detection sampling technique to produce the first reliable population metric (occupancy) for a critically endangered large carnivore; the Sumatran tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae). From 2007-2009, seven landscapes were surveyed through 13,511 km of transects in 394 grid cells (17617 km). Tiger sign was detected in 206 cells, producing a naive estimate of 0.52. However, after controlling for an unequal detection probability (where p = 0.1360.017; 6S.E.), the estimated tiger occupancy was 0.7260.048. Whilst the Sumatra-wide survey results gives cause for optimism, a significant negative correlation between occupancy and recent deforestation was found. For example, the Northern Riau landscape had an average deforestation rate of 9.8%/yr and by far the lowest occupancy (0.3360.055). Our results highlight the key tiger areas in need of protection and have led to one area (Leuser-Ulu Masen) being upgraded as a 'global priority' for wild tiger conservation. However, Sumatra has one of the highest global deforestation rates and the two largest tiger landscapes identified in this study will become highly fragmented if their respective proposed roads networks are approved. Thus, it is vital that the Indonesian government tackles these threats, e.g. through improved land-use planning, if it is to succeed in meeting its ambitious National Tiger Recovery Plan targets of doubling the number of Sumatran tigers by 2022.

To be successful, conservation practitioners and resource managers must fully integrate the effects of climate change into all planning projects. Some conservation practitioners are beginning to develop, test, and implement new approaches that are designed to deal with climate change. We devised four basic tenets that are essential in climate-change adaptation for conservation: protect adequate and appropriate space, reduce nonclimate stresses, use adaptive management to implement and test climate-change adaptation strategies, and work to reduce the rate and extent of climate change to reduce overall risk. To illustrate how this approach applies in the real world, we explored case studies of coral reefs in the Florida Keys; mangrove forests in Fiji, Tanzania, and Cameroon; sea-level rise and sea turtles in the Caribbean; tigers in the Sundarbans of India; and national planning in Madagascar. Through implementation of these tenets conservation efforts in each of these regions can be made more robust in the face of climate change. Although these approaches require reconsidering some traditional approaches to conservation, this new paradigm is technologically, economically, and intellectually feasible.

Three of Malaysia’s endangered large mammal species are experiencing contrasting futures. Populations of the Sumatran rhino (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) have dwindled to critically low numbers in Peninsular Malaysia (current estimates need to be revised) and the state of Sabah (less than 40 individuals estimated). In the latter region, a bold intervention involving the translocation of isolated rhinos is being developed to concentrate them into a protected area to improve reproduction success rates. For the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus), recently established baselines for Peninsular Malaysia (0.09 elephants/km2 estimated from one site) and Sabah (between 0.56 and 2.15 elephants/km2 estimated from four sites) seem to indicate globally significant populations based on dung count surveys. Similar surveys are required to monitor elephant population trends at these sites and to determine baselines elsewhere. The population status of the Malayan tiger (Panthera tigris jacksoni) in Peninsular Malaysia, however, remains uncertain as only a couple of scientifically defensible camera-trapping surveys (1.66 and 2.59 tigers/100 km2 estimated from two sites) have been conducted to date. As conservation resources are limited, it may be prudent to focus tiger monitoring and protection efforts in priority areas identified by the National Tiger Action Plan for Malaysia. Apart from reviewing the conservation status of rhinos, elephants and tigers and threats facing them, we highlight existing and novel conservation initiatives, policies and frameworks that can help secure the long-term future of these iconic species in Malaysia.

The spatial distribution of Calomera littoralis nemoralis (Olivier, 1790) (Coleoptera Carabidae Cicindelinae) was studied on the marine sandy beach area of 1 km, near the mouth of a stream in Catanzaro province (Southern Italy, Calabria). During the sampling period (July-August 2011- 2012) we investigated the distribution of adults of C. littoralis nemoralis by visual census method and the spatial distribution of larval burrows of C. littoralis nemoralis along three transects (A, B, parallel to the coast line; C, embracing the river mouth). All the transects were selected by soil microclimate (a higher or lower humidity) and food availability. Larval burrows distribution was performed using QGIS. The dispersal index (ID) shows regular distribution of adults along transects A and B while in C the individuals are aggregated. Concerning the larval galleries distribution, the QGIS analysis shows a significant difference in their spatial distribution. The sampled data were analyzed using...

Large carnivores living in tropical rainforests are under immense pressure from the rapid conversion of their habitat. In response, millions of dollars are spent on conserving these species. However, the cost-effectiveness of such investments is poorly understood and this is largely because the requisite population estimates are difficult to achieve at appropriate spatial scales for these secretive species. Here, we apply a robust detection/non-detection sampling technique to produce the first reliable population metric (occupancy) for a critically endangered large carnivore; the Sumatran tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae). From 2007-2009, seven landscapes were surveyed through 13,511 km of transects in 394 grid cells (17617 km). Tiger sign was detected in 206 cells, producing a naive estimate of 0.52. However, after controlling for an unequal detection probability (where p = 0.1360.017; 6S.E.), the estimated tiger occupancy was 0.7260.048. Whilst the Sumatra-wide survey results gives cause for optimism, a significant negative correlation between occupancy and recent deforestation was found. For example, the Northern Riau landscape had an average deforestation rate of 9.8%/yr and by far the lowest occupancy (0.3360.055). Our results highlight the key tiger areas in need of protection and have led to one area (Leuser-Ulu Masen) being upgraded as a 'global priority' for wild tiger conservation. However, Sumatra has one of the highest global deforestation rates and the two largest tiger landscapes identified in this study will become highly fragmented if their respective proposed roads networks are approved. Thus, it is vital that the Indonesian government tackles these threats, e.g. through improved land-use planning, if it is to succeed in meeting its ambitious National Tiger Recovery Plan targets of doubling the number of Sumatran tigers by 2022.

Three of Malaysia's endangered large mammal species are experiencing contrasting futures. Populations of the Sumatran rhino (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) have dwindled to critically low numbers in Peninsular Malaysia (current estimates need to be revised) and the state ...

Large carnivores living in tropical rainforests are under immense pressure from the rapid conversion of their habitat. In response, millions of dollars are spent on conserving these species. However, the cost-effectiveness of such investments is poorly understood and this is largely because the requisite population estimates are difficult to achieve at appropriate spatial scales for these secretive species. Here, we apply a robust detection/non-detection sampling technique to produce the first reliable population metric (occupancy) for a critically endangered large carnivore; the Sumatran tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae). From 2007-2009, seven landscapes were surveyed through 13,511 km of transects in 394 grid cells (17617 km). Tiger sign was detected in 206 cells, producing a naive estimate of 0.52. However, after controlling for an unequal detection probability (where p = 0.1360.017; 6S.E.), the estimated tiger occupancy was 0.7260.048. Whilst the Sumatra-wide survey results gives cause for optimism, a significant negative correlation between occupancy and recent deforestation was found. For example, the Northern Riau landscape had an average deforestation rate of 9.8%/yr and by far the lowest occupancy (0.3360.055). Our results highlight the key tiger areas in need of protection and have led to one area (Leuser-Ulu Masen) being upgraded as a 'global priority' for wild tiger conservation. However, Sumatra has one of the highest global deforestation rates and the two largest tiger landscapes identified in this study will become highly fragmented if their respective proposed roads networks are approved. Thus, it is vital that the Indonesian government tackles these threats, e.g. through improved land-use planning, if it is to succeed in meeting its ambitious National Tiger Recovery Plan targets of doubling the number of Sumatran tigers by 2022.

This short video features interview excerpts between Julie West, 2014-15 Fulbright Scholar studying tiger conservation in India, and Prerna Sharma, a research biologist studying wildlife conservation at the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, with large carnivore expert Dr. Yadvendradev Jhala as faculty advisor. In this conversation Prerna talks about her prior experiences working at Wildlife SOS, a rehabilitation center in Agra, where she worked to save and rehabilitate dancing sloth bears, educate ("rehabilitate") children and adults of dancing bear communities to prepare them for better futures, and protect snakes from harm. And she reflects on time spent working at WII, Jim Corbett Tiger Reserve, and the importance of protecting tigers and other wildlife, and their wild habitats.

https://vimeo.com/145323905

Abstract Three of Malaysia's endangered large mammal species are experiencing contrasting futures. Populations of the Sumatran rhino (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) have dwindled to critically low numbers in Peninsular Malaysia (current estimates need to be revised) and the state of Sabah (less than 40 individuals estimated). In the latter region, a bold intervention involving the translocation of isolated rhinos is being developed to concentrate them into a protected area to improve reproduction success rates.

To be successful, conservation practitioners and resource managers must fully integrate the effects of climate change into all planning projects. Some conservation practitioners are beginning to develop, test, and implement new approaches that are designed to deal with climate change. We devised four basic tenets that are essential in climate-change adaptation for conservation: protect adequate and appropriate space, reduce nonclimate stresses, use adaptive management to implement and test climate-change adaptation strategies, and work to reduce the rate and extent of climate change to reduce overall risk. To illustrate how this approach applies in the real world, we explored case studies of coral reefs in the Florida Keys; mangrove forests in Fiji, Tanzania, and Cameroon; sea-level rise and sea turtles in the Caribbean; tigers in the Sundarbans of India; and national planning in Madagascar. Through implementation of these tenets conservation efforts in each of these regions can be made more robust in the face of climate change. Although these approaches require reconsidering some traditional approaches to conservation, this new paradigm is technologically, economically, and intellectually feasible.

The main contention of ‘Shooting a Tiger’ is that hunting during the colonial period was not merely a recreational activity, but a practice intimately connected with imperial governance. The book positions shikar or hunting at the heart of colonial rule by demonstrating that, for the British in India, it served as political, practical and symbolic apparatus in the consolidation of power and rule during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This study offers an exciting promise to those interested in the history of colonial India, environment and empire, and India’s wildlife history and cultural geography.

This book extends our understanding of hunting in colonial India in a number of significant ways. It tells the reader about the essential link between shikar and governance. An enormous amount of research has gone into this book, and in that it advances the study of hunting and empire, together with the conservation aftermath, in very significant ways. The salient points of the book are as follows: the book appropriately makes the links to hunting in the pre-British era, starts out with analysis of early colonial hunting during the Company period, and then surveys in depth different aspects of hunting during the high imperial decades in the later nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. All of this is based on a tremendous number of sources, original, printed and secondary. The book draws upon an impressive array of archival material and uses a wide range of evidence to support its contentions.

The book examines hunting at a variety of social and ethnic levels – military, administrative, elite, princely India, Indian professional hunters, and in terms of Indian auxiliaries and (sometimes) resisters. It also deals with different geographical contexts – with the plains, the mountains, North and South India, and it covers interesting areas such as what is described as the cultural geography of hunting. Throughout the book the reader would learn about rituals, about the variety of prey, the hierarchies of animals shot and hunted, the technology of firearms, as well as forms of hunting on horseback, such as pig-sticking and how it became integral to the governing classes of the Raj, and the introduction of hunting with hounds after the British manner, mainly in pursuit of jackals in the Nilgiri hills. And there are two final chapters on conservation, particularly the last chapter focusing on two British ‘converts,’ Jim Corbett and Colonel Richard Burton.