224
Introduction
The tiger (Panthera tigris) is the largest and one of the most charismatic and endangered cat species in the world. It is a flagship icon for wildlife conservation, being
at the apex of the food chain in the majority of the eco-regions in Asia (Sunquist
et al. 1999; Jhala et al. 2008, 2015). The tiger has been held in mythical reverence
across the world, is worshipped in certain faiths and religions and is the national
animal for India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Malaysia and both North and South Korea.
Until the early nineteenth century, nine subspecies (Luo et al. 2004) of tiger were
found across Asia, from the Caucasus and the Caspian Sea to Siberia and Indonesia.
Three of these subspecies are now extinct; the Bali Tiger (Panthera tigris balica),
Javan Tiger (P.t.sondaica) and Caspian Tiger (P.t.virgata). The remaining six occur
as fragmented populations in the Russian Far East, northeast China and the Asian
subcontinent.
India supports about 70% of the World’s tiger population and one of the key
areas of importance is the Indo-Bhutan Manas Tiger Conservation Landscape
(IBMTCL), which offers a contiguous protected landscape of over 6000 sq km and
constitutes the core area of Manas National Park (NP) in India and Royal Manas NP
in Bhutan. Between November 2010 and February 2011, a large camera trap survey
was conducted in Manas NP and the southern section of Royal Manaus NP by
organisations in both India and Bhutan. This survey was undertaken to locate, identify and track the movements of individual Royal Bengal tigers (Panthera tigris
tigris) and two other sympatric species, the leopard (Panthera pardus) and clouded
leopard (Neofelis nebulosa). Landsat-derived classifications of land cover, historical
MODIS fire records and spatial information on human development of the landscape were then used in combination with the survey results to provide a better
understanding of niche separation as well as influences on the movement and range
of these large cat species over the period of observation. Through this approach, the
potential contribution of integrated field campaigns and earth observation to supporting management of Tiger Conservation Landscapes (TCLs) was assessed.
Background
Why Are Tigers Endangered?
Whilst once widespread, the range of tigers has been reduced to a mere 7% (less
than 1,184,911 km
2
) of their former geographical range, and approximately 55% of
the inhabited landscape is essentially non-tiger habitat (Sanderson et al. 2006). A
general compilation of national estimates suggests a global population of approximately 4240 tigers remaining in the wild (Goodrich et al. 2015). The causes for their
decline has largely been habitat loss and poaching and the pressures continue to
escalate (Sanderson et al. 2006; Dinerstein et al. 2007). They are also vulnerable to
S. Ghosh and R. Lucas
Introduction
The tiger (Panthera tigris) is the largest and one of the most charismatic and endangered cat species in the world. It is a flagship icon for wildlife conservation, being
at the apex of the food chain in the majority of the eco-regions in Asia (Sunquist
et al. 1999; Jhala et al. 2008, 2015). The tiger has been held in mythical reverence
across the world, is worshipped in certain faiths and religions and is the national
animal for India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Malaysia and both North and South Korea.
Until the early nineteenth century, nine subspecies (Luo et al. 2004) of tiger were
found across Asia, from the Caucasus and the Caspian Sea to Siberia and Indonesia.
Three of these subspecies are now extinct; the Bali Tiger (Panthera tigris balica),
Javan Tiger (P.t.sondaica) and Caspian Tiger (P.t.virgata). The remaining six occur
as fragmented populations in the Russian Far East, northeast China and the Asian
subcontinent.
India supports about 70% of the World’s tiger population and one of the key
areas of importance is the Indo-Bhutan Manas Tiger Conservation Landscape
(IBMTCL), which offers a contiguous protected landscape of over 6000 sq km and
constitutes the core area of Manas National Park (NP) in India and Royal Manas NP
in Bhutan. Between November 2010 and February 2011, a large camera trap survey
was conducted in Manas NP and the southern section of Royal Manaus NP by
organisations in both India and Bhutan. This survey was undertaken to locate, identify and track the movements of individual Royal Bengal tigers (Panthera tigris
tigris) and two other sympatric species, the leopard (Panthera pardus) and clouded
leopard (Neofelis nebulosa). Landsat-derived classifications of land cover, historical
MODIS fire records and spatial information on human development of the landscape were then used in combination with the survey results to provide a better
understanding of niche separation as well as influences on the movement and range
of these large cat species over the period of observation. Through this approach, the
potential contribution of integrated field campaigns and earth observation to supporting management of Tiger Conservation Landscapes (TCLs) was assessed.
Background
Why Are Tigers Endangered?
Whilst once widespread, the range of tigers has been reduced to a mere 7% (less
than 1,184,911 km
2
) of their former geographical range, and approximately 55% of
the inhabited landscape is essentially non-tiger habitat (Sanderson et al. 2006). A
general compilation of national estimates suggests a global population of approximately 4240 tigers remaining in the wild (Goodrich et al. 2015). The causes for their
decline has largely been habitat loss and poaching and the pressures continue to
escalate (Sanderson et al. 2006; Dinerstein et al. 2007). They are also vulnerable to
S. Ghosh and R. Lucas