The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has said that the recent deaths of tigers in the Nilgiris of Tamil Nadu were not alarming. The NTCA, in its report released on October 6, took into account the current population size growth, dispersal dynamics and behaviour patterns of the mother tigers in the landscape. It also urged the tiger management team to bolster the prevention measures.
Experts from the NTCA – an apex body under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) – visited Nilgiris to conduct an inquiry on September 25 as ten tiger deaths were recorded in Mudumalai Tiger Reserve’s (MTR) core and buffer zone and Nilgiris Territorial Forest Division Area in just 34 days.
According to a statement released by the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Chief Wildlife Warden of Tamil Nadu, the NTCA report noted that as per “the first All India Tiger estimation in Tamil Nadu in 2006, the number was 76. According to the estimation taken in the year 2022, it has now increased to 306 tigers. At the same time, the number of tigers in Mudumalai Tiger Reserve increased from 51 in 2006 to 114 as per 2022 estimation.”
NTCA observed, “MTR being the high-density tiger area, the first choice of the movement of tigers for dispersal would be to the potentially suitable, but less/unoccupied areas by other tigers to avoid potential conflict. Therefore, the recent spurt in tiger numbers in the Nilgiris forest division, which is relatively less occupied by tigers, is only an expected line and should be placed in the context of normal population dynamics of tigers in such a scenario.”
Read: Ten tiger deaths in 34 days in Nilgiris: Starvation, poisoning suspected
It also noted that the survival rate of tigers is highly dependent on population density. “In general, adult females deliver two to three cubs (sometimes as many as five) in one litter with 50% cub mortality, attributed to several factors, such as disease, starvation, and infanticide. A possible reason for the death of two-week-old cubs in the Segur area could be the weaker health condition of both cubs (at least one), leading to abandonment by the mother to conserve energy to raise fit individuals in the subsequent litter. Additionally, the early age of cub delivery (inexperienced mother) can also be one of the reasons for litter abandonment,” NTCA observed in its report.
NTCA also highlighted two main reasons for the deaths of four cubs in the Chinna Coonoor area. The first was the movement of the mother to make the kills to raise the cubs. “The cubs start to feed on a kill made by the mother. The mother will have to travel a long distance if prey density is low. This leads to unattended cubs for prolonged periods. And if the denning site is deemed unsafe, the mother will shift the cubs (after 2-3 months) to another location. Particularly, this present site is surrounded by significant human disturbance. Therefore, these cubs may have been left unattended by the mother during the transit for a longer duration, and hence, cubs died because of prolonged starvation.”
NTCA also ruled out any suspicion in two tiger deaths at Naduvattam and Karkudi. The report said it was a common event in territorial fights between large carnivores, which depended on population demography such as density, sex ratio, mate availability, and resources. It also attributed the deaths of two male tigers in Avalanche as clear cases of poisoning, a retaliatory killing by an aggrieved farmer who lost his cattle.
Regarding the mothers of the six cubs, the statement noted that the Forest Department took several steps to identify the mothers in Segur and Chinna Coonoor area. More trap cameras were installed around the places where the cubs died to monitor the movement of the tigers. The cameras have been deployed in 40 places in the Chinna Coonoor area, and 18 places in the Segur area, and six teams have been deployed in those areas to intensify the search.
So far, the team has collected images of 15 tigers from the camera trap in the Chinna Connoor area and collected six scat samples. Five tiger images were obtained in the Segur area. All the collected samples have been sent to labs for DNA analysis to match and identify the probable mothers of the cubs.