Tiger Reserves

KOLKATA: The Bengal tiger seems to be doing well in the Sunderbans. For the first time, a data-collection exercise has revealed that the population of the swamp tiger is on the rise even outside the Sunderbans Tiger Reserve (STR), a protected area.
The camera trap data of 2015 -the latest set of numbers thrown up by the yearly exercise -shows the presence of at least 22 tigers in the South 24-Parganas forest division, spread over an area of more than 1,500sq km, outside the 2,500sq km of the protected area. The 2016 exercise is still under way but, going by trends and field reports, the authorities seem confident that the population of the big cat is very much stable.
In more heartening news, the camera traps caught the images of four cubs outside the STR, a figure the authorities haven't included in the figure of 22. This is a pointer to the fact that areas outside the core zone have a good population of tigers that are breeding well.
The first camera-trap exercise in this zone in 2012 had recorded at least 18 tigers. Of the latest captures, 11ti gers were found in the Raidighi zone, nine in Ramganga and two in Herobhanga. Bolstered by the findings, the authorities have decided to put in place a "management evaluation method" based on international standards in the South-24 Parganas forest division, a 462sq km area in the West Sunderbans Wildlife Sanctuary that has a good tiger density .
"The latest data will be available soon," said chief wildlife warden Pradeep Vyas."The addition of a couple of new tigers doesn't have much significance," he added.
"This is wildlife, and we can't expect all tigers to appear before the cameras each time.But there's no doubt that the population is stable." Elaborating on the evaluation process, Vyas said the Global Tiger Forum, National Tiger Conservation Authority and the ministry of environment and forests would implement the Conservation Assured|Tiger Standard (CA|TS), a tool of the International Union for Conservation of Nature. CA|TS sets minimum standards for effective management of target species in protected areas. Vyas said the management evaluation outside the protected areas would be based on six criteria, including protection measures, presence of tigers and use of technology .
Joydip Kundu, of the conservation NGO Society for Heritage and Ecological Researches (SHER) said: "Since the South 24-Parganas forest division has a sizeable tiger population, this area should immediately be brought under the protection protocol of the tiger reserve zone. Tourism should also be restricted in this zone."
Biswajit Roy Chowdhury of Nature Environment and Wildlife Society (NEWS), another NGO, explained the importance of forests outside the protected areas. "Most tiger reserves in India have crossed their carrying capacity . Unless tigers outside the protected areas are counted, the entire tiger census will remain incomplete," he said.