Why in the News?
India’s tiger population is undergoing a major eastward expansion, as young male tigers from central India’s source reserves (like Kanha and Bandhavgarh) disperse into eastern forests (Jharkhand, Odisha, and West Bengal) in search of territory and mates.
Recent Incidents of Tiger Migration:
- Bandhavgarh (MP) → Palamu (Jharkhand) → Purulia (WB) → Rescued and sent back to Palamu
- Simlipal (Odisha) → Jharkhand → Lalgarh (WB) → Tiger killed by villagers
- Tadoba (Maharashtra) → Simlipal (Odisha) → West Bengal → Zeenat the tigress translocated and dispersed
Back2Basics: Royal Bengal Tiger
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Behavioural Traits of Tigers Influencing Dispersal:
- Territorial Independence: Upon maturity, male tigers must leave their natal territory to find exclusive prey-rich zones and mates, triggering long-distance dispersal.
- Gendered Dispersal:
- Males are wanderers – they cover vast areas and often cross multiple states.
- Females are philopatric – they stay close to their birthplace and are usually accepted by nearby relatives.
- Source-Sink Dynamics:
- Source forests (e.g. Kanha, Bandhavgarh) produce surplus tigers due to good prey and protection.
- Sink forests (e.g. Palamu, Dalma) cannot sustain tiger populations without new immigrants.
- Adaptive but Risk-Prone: Tigers are biologically wired to explore new habitats, even degraded ones, but often face food scarcity, isolation, and human conflict.
- Prey Dependence and Conflict: In prey-deficient forests, floater tigers’ resort to livestock hunting, increasing the risk of human-tiger conflict.
- Resilience and Colonisation Instinct: Despite setbacks, tigers attempt to colonise new areas, offering hope for species expansion if supported by proper conservation.
| [UPSC 2024] Consider the following statements:
1. Lions do not have a particular breeding season. 2. Unlike most other big cats, cheetahs do not roar. 3. Unlike male lions, male leopards do not proclaim their territory by scent marking. Which of the statements given above are correct? (a) 1 and 2 only* (b) 2 and 3 only (c) 1 and 3 only (d) 1, 2 and 3 |
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