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Tracking the tigers

By Marcus Dam

KOLKATA, JULY 31. Satellite-based radio collars are to be fastened around the necks of tigers in a wildlife reserve for the first time in the country, to monitor their movement patterns, their home range and prey base. The experiment, approved by the Central Government, is to be taken up shortly in the Sunderbans in West Bengal, home to the Royal Bengal Tiger. It is sponsored by the Sunderbans Biosphere Reserve (SBR), Project Tiger and the Wild Life Institute of India, Dehra Dun.

The Chief Conservator of Forests, West Bengal, and Director, SBR, A.K. Raha, said that for starters the collars would be fitted on six tigers, which would be released into the Sunderbans. The mangroves here, spread across 4,200 sq km, have an estimated 274 tigers, including 37 cubs.

``Till now there has been no study in the country of the animal's movement patterns in the wild and its habitat preferences,'' Mr. Raha said. ``This innovative and novel experiment is expected to provide us with some answers on tiger ecology.''

The Sunderbans authorities are planning to use remote-sensing satellites to map the region, considered to be one of the densest mangrove forests. Studies had revealed certain changes in the drainage pattern of the forests but a recent census indicated that the tiger population is largely stable. The vigil against poaching has evidently been effective.

Patrolling has been intensified along the southern shores and in the remote parts of the island. And no case of poaching has been reported in recent times, said Mr. Raha. ``Three land-based camps have been set up and the vigil has been intensified with the acquisition of patrol boats. The communication network has been modernised. There has been no report of abnormal deaths, which indicates that the habitat is apparently safe for the tigers,'' he said.

The situation in those parts of the Sunderbans that lie on the other side of the Indo-Bangladesh border will, however, be known only when the results come of a tiger census conducted there. A first-time census there with the assistance of forest officials from West Bengal was carried out this year.

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