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Long-term monitoring of a Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) population in a human-dominated landscape of Central India

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Abstract

Long-term monitoring of tiger population is essential in any human-dominated landscape as globally their population is showing a declining trend due to unrelenting stress or stochastic events. In view of that, Bengal tiger population was monitored in Pench Tiger Reserve (Pench), Madhya Pradesh of Central India between May 2006 and April 2013. The population, age-sex ratios, survival rate, growth rate, and recruitment pattern of adult (≥36 month), subadult (≥18 to 36 month), and cubs (≤15 month) were studied using camera trap and radio-telemetry techniques. Overall, tiger density ± SE/100 km2 using Maximum Likelihood Spatial Explicit Capture Recapture method was 5.5 ± 1.6 in first trapping period or year and 3.7 ± 0.8 in last or seventh trapping year. The estimated survival rate of all tiger (n = 66) was 0.66 (±0.04), whereas mean annual growth rate (±SE) was 1.15 (±0.11) i.e. 15%. The sex ratio (male/female) found to be female biased and more than 80% of overall recruitment was contributed by female tiger. The dispersal of subadults in the tiger population contributed gradual fluctuation in survival rate and annual growth rate, as resident adult tiger population remained almost stable over the study period. As the overall tigers are surviving in a small population size and operating at carrying capacity, the important corridors connecting with neighboring population of Kanha Tiger Reserve and Satpura Tiger Reserve may ensure constant emigration and immigration to reduce the chances of genetic drift or inbreeding in the Pench tiger population.

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Acknowledgements

We are thankful to Madhya Pradesh Forest Department (MPFD), National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), Director and Dean, Wildlife Institute of India, for their support in various ways. Special thanks to Dr. Y. V Jhala (Scientist, WII), Dr. Rajesh Gopal (Former Member Secretary, NTCA), Mr. P. R Sinha (Former Director, WII), Dr H.S. Pabla (Former Chief Wildlife Warden, MPFD), Mr. N. S Dungriyal, Dr. H.S. Negi, and Dr. Khageshwar Nayek (three Former Field Directors of Pench Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh) for their tremendous support during field data collection. We are extremely thankful to all forest officials and staff of Pench Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh for their overall support extended during the field work. Mr Subhranjan Sen (Present FD Pench MP) is highly acknowledged for providing old photographic database of breeding females. Dr Akhilesh Mishra (Park Veternarian), Dr. Santanu Basu and our all field assistants are also acknowledged for their assistance during field data collection.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Forest Research Institute, Polipathar, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, 482008, India

    Aniruddha Majumder

  2. Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, India

    Qamar Qureshi

  3. Sálim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History, Coimbatore, India

    Kalyanasundaram Sankar

  4. Madhya Pradesh Forest Department, Bhopal, India

    Alok Kumar

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  1. Aniruddha Majumder
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Correspondence to Aniruddha Majumder.

Appendix

Appendix

Table 5 Model selection statistics for robust design analysis of tiger (overall, male, female, residential male, and female) capture data from Pench Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh (May 2006 to April 2013)
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Majumder, A., Qureshi, Q., Sankar, K. et al. Long-term monitoring of a Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) population in a human-dominated landscape of Central India. Eur J Wildl Res 63, 17 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10344-016-1070-5

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