Tiger Reserves

Country's top wildlife scientist Dr K Ullas Karanth on Wednesday said India had potential to hold population of at least 10,000 tigers in the wild if tiger-prey relationship was properly understood. As per the tiger census 2014, there were 2,226 tigers in the country.
"Poaching is not the main reason for dwindling tiger population but declining prey base. You have vast stretches of forests in Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Arunachal Pradesh with virtually no tigers, because there is no prey there," said Karanth.
Karanth, who is executive director of Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), Bengaluru, said over 100 tigers dying annually was not a big thing for me because there were at least 1,000 breeding females in the country that produce around 1,000 cubs annually. "Even if 40-50% of the cubs suffer mortality, 400 to 500 tigers are being added annually to the population," the scientist added.
Karanth's WCS has done pioneering research in knowing ecology and conservation status of tigers in India. Supporting the line transect methodology to know animal population, he said for exact results, robust designing and thinking were needed.
To a question on missing radio-collared tiger Jai, Karanth, who is also into radio collaring of tigers since 1990, supported collaring of tigers but refused a specific comment saying as he had not collared Jai he won't say anything on the case.
Last year the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) radio-collared two tigers, Jai and a problem tigress from Brahmapuri, but whereabouts of both are not known and there is no tracking too. Both the costly collars failed to function.
"Collaring doesn't mean protection but you need to track the animal professionally post-collaring. This is because you don't get animal behaviour data even if movement pattern is not established," said Karanth.
He said declaring new protected areas (PAs) though is one solution to tiger protection but PAs are not science-based. "Our approach while declaring PAs is irrational though it is an investment," said Karanth.
The topmost biologist was opposed to the idea of shifting surplus tiger population in Tadoba landscape in Brahmapuri in other landscapes. "This is not a solution. By doing this you are merely shifting conflict elsewhere. Such decisions should be based on prey populations," Karanth stressed. Central India does not have a single viable population of 100 tigers as per science, he added.
On tourism , Karanth said he was opposed to '1 tiger, 20 Gypsys' model. He was optimistic about the future of tigers citing example of Karnataka where there were no tigers 30 years ago but 20% of country's tiger population lived there. "NGOs, scientists and forest officials can make a good combination," he said.