Date:09/12/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/12/09/stories/2007120953811200.htm

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System to track Sunderbans tigers

Antara Das

Kolkata: Technology appears to have triumphed over natural adversities in the Sunderbans forests of West Bengal, with a satellite-aided system being brought in to keep track of its native tiger population and arrive at a near-accurate count.

The tigers inhabiting the dense mangrove forests having an intricate network of creeks and small rivers are being fitted with satellite-based radio collars that will help monitor their movements.

The system, which would provide information on their movement patterns, habitat choice and the type of vegetation that they prefer, would help in assessing their home range or the territory they are occupying, Atanu Raha, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, West Bengal said.

A correct assessment of home range was essential to an accurate calculation of tiger population density, Mr. Raha said. While satellite based collars were tried on tigers in other States such as Madhya Pradesh, it had never been tried in the Sunderbans.

Mr. Radha said the conventional methods of counting tigers, such as direct sighting, signage like pugmarks or scat and even hidden cameras and conventional radio collars often failed in the difficult terrain of Sunderbans. “With 45 per cent of its area under water, it is impossible to physically monitor tigers here.”

“They are also shy, solitary animals that do not stay together except during mating,” he said. There were around 270 tigers in the Sunderbans area according to last census.

As of now, two waterproof radio collars have been procured from the U.S. and one of them was already fitted to a tiger. An expert from the Wildlife Institute at Dehradun has also been roped in.