Bengal Tiger Research Articles

Analysis of Growth data of Physical Characteristics of Indian Tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) at Panna Tiger Reserve

The importance of the presence of the Indian tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) in the Indian forest as an apex predator cannot be understated. The Government of India along with State Governments is running various programs for protecting tigers in the wilderness. This includes the reintroduction of tigers in those forested areas where currently tiger has no presence due to local extinction or in areas where tiger numbers are very low and the threat of their becoming locally extinct looms large. Reintroduction by translocating seven tigers to PTR, six from the other three tiger reserves of MP and one from Bhopal forest division, between the year 2009 and 2014, under 'Species Recovery and Reintroduction Project' has led to establishing a healthy tiger population in PTR within 10 years. The whole process of reintroduction has not only generated immense management experience but in this process, sufficient data has been gathered of tiger physical characteristics like weight, total length, neck, chest and abdomen girth, shoulder height, and canine size at different ages. As data regarding the body growth of a tiger in wild is mostly unavailable, this paper presents analysis of collected data and growth curves for these body parameters of wild tigers, both male and female. It will be very useful not only for those who are looking for physical characteristics in absolute terms and body growth rate of tigers in wild for academic purposes but also for those managers who are looking for tiger reintroduction in their area for taking appropriate decisions. Further as the genetic diversity of PTR tigers structurally represent genetic mixture of tigers of whole of Central India, the data collected of tigers of PTR may be used for all Central Indian tiger populations. Also, we can build on this to have an All India Booklet on Tiger Body Growth Data representing all regions of the country.

Developmental stage variation in the gut microbiome of South China tigers.

South China tigers (Panthera tigris amoyensis, SC) are the most threatened tiger subspecies in the world. All the living SCs are captive in zoos or reserves and depend on artificial feeding. The composition of the gut microbiome plays an important role in sustaining the health of the host. A comprehensive understanding of the composition and development of the microbial community of SC is helpful to improve the feeding of captive SC. In this study, we collected 47 fecal samples, 37 of which were from SC of three developmental stages, 5 from adult Amur tigers (Am), and 5 from adult Bengal tigers (Bg), which were all housed in the same zoo. We investigated the diversity, richness, and composition of the bacterial microbiomes and we found that the gut microbiome of SC is strongly affected by host aging. The composition of the gut microbiome of juvenile SC experienced dramatic changes from 5 months old to 1 year old, and it showed much less difference when compared to the samples of 1 year old and the subadult. No significant differences were observed between the samples of subadult and the adult groups. The predominant phylum of 5-month-old SC is Fusobacteriota (33.99%) when the juvenile tigers were older than 5 months, and Firmicutes, but not Fusobacteriota, became the predominant phylum of bacteria in their gut. The gut microbiome of SC, Am, and Bg is possibly affected by their genetic variation; however, the core microbiome of these three subspecies is the same. Our data suggest that the gut microbiome of SC undergoes a developmental progression: a developmental phase (cub), a transitional phase (subadult), and a stable phase (adult). These results expand our understanding of the role of age in the development of the gut microbiome of SC.

Gross morphometric studies on scapula, humerus, radius, and ulna of the Royal Bengal Tiger (Panthera tigris)

The study was carried out to know the gross anatomy and morphometry of scapula, humerus, radius, and ulnar bones of forelimb of an adult Royal Bengal Tiger. The bones were collected from Bangladesh National Zoo, Dhaka, and processed scientifically in The Veterinary Anatomy Laboratory of Chattogram Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (CVASU). The scapula was somewhat a quadrangular shape having two surfaces, three borders, and three angles. Its lateral surface was unequally divided into supraspinous and infraspinous fossa by a well-developed spine which gradually diminished towards the proximal extremity. The acromion process was subdivided into thick triangular shaped suprahamate process and hamate process which was over hanged the glenoid cavity. The humerus of The Royal Bengal Tiger was a long bone with a spirally twisted shape. The body of the humerus was somewhat compressed laterally. The radius was a slightly twisted bone with an anteroposteriorly flattened shaft and two extremities. The proximal extremity had a concave facet and the distal extremity was expanded and was about twice the size of the proximal extremity. The ulna was longer than the radius and was flattened mediolaterally. The proximal extremity had an olecranon process, anconeus process, and facet for the humerus. The olecranon process possessed three tubercles. Some osteomorphometrical features in the bones of forelimb specified unique discrepancies for this species which were the key factors for interpretation in the field of radiology and forensic studies.

Symmetric Dimethylarginine is a Promising Biomarker for the Early Detection of Age-Related Kidney Dysfunction in Zoo Felids

Abstract Chronic renal failure is one of the leading causes of death in African lions, cheetahs, and tigers. Conventional methods to measure renal dysfunction include measuring serum creatinine and blood urea nitrogen (BUN). Symmetric dimethylarginine (SDMA) measurement is a reliable predictor of renal dysfunction in the domestic cat because SDMA serum levels increase early when the kidneys are damaged. Serum SDMA levels were assessed and correlated with creatinine as well as BUN from healthy captive Bengal tigers and lions at the Everland Zoo in Korea. Serum SDMA concentrations were increasingly associated with increased age in lions. However, SDMA concentrations were higher in some young Bengal tigers than in older ones, which may allow for earlier renal dysfunction detection in these young cats than would be BUN and creatinine alone. In Bengal tigers, the correlation between the SDMA and BUN was slightly higher than that between SDMA and creatinine. In lions, SDMA correlated better with creatinine than with BUN concentration. These results show that serum SDMA concentration can be used as a biomarker for age-associated renal dysfunction. SDMA measurement may be an essential preventive management method in zoos.

The Rise of a New Royal Bengal Tiger under the Leadership of Sheikh Hasina: Diplomacy Perspective (2010-2021)

In 2021, Bangladesh marked the 50th anniversary, the golden jubilee of its independence. Highlighting Bangladesh's tremendous development in the last decade, this study synthesizes the findings from a series of policy analyses on the ground of diplomacy since Sheikh Hasina’s arrival into power in 2009 and her leadership that has helped the country be a role model of development globally. Hence, the article explores and analyses the features of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s prudent diplomacy that emphasizes a moving forward strategy, and thus, it has enabled Bangladesh to develop a positive relationship with all its South Asian neighbors while balancing India-China rivalry in the region to pursue national interests most finely. Following a qualitative narrative approach based on existing literature, the study answered the question of how Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has extended leadership towards deepening various types of external relations and the effectiveness of its efforts to foster its economic development.

Understanding the Importance of Social Media as a Citizen Science Platform by Using Tiger Sighting Photographs from Facebook

Availability of scientific data and public support for conservation actions are necessary tools in mitigating conservation issues (Forrester et al. 2017). According to Falk and Dierking (2010), informal learning may be considered as an important avenue to engage the public with both science and nature. Ballantyne et al. (2007) reported informal learning is a key strategy to maintain support for conservation. Citizen science is considered a useful method for collecting ecological data at large scales involving non-professional volunteers in scientific research (Tulloch et al. 2013). Dickinson et al. (2012) reported it is an effective form of informal education about the natural world. Citizen science is a unique tool that can be used as a vehicle for direct experience of nature as well as offering informal education. Ubiquitous and inexpensive availability of internet-connected devices leads the public to engage in social media platforms at a large scale. People from various age groups from a variety of professions regularly use social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Flickr etc., to share their activities and creativity, as well as engage in fruitful discussions. Facebook alone enjoys more than 2.35 billion monthly active users (Abu Al-Haija et al. 2019). Photo sharing platforms can help in generating occurrence datasets (Barve 2014) as well as understanding the spatial distribution of various organisms (Jiménez‐Valverde et al. 2019). In our current study (Barman et al. 2022) we have selected Facebook as a source to collect data and analyze it from a conservation perspective. On Facebook, common people, travelers, amateur scientists, and corporations, share their photos and observations of nature in a structured or unstructured manner, knowingly or unknowingly. By compiling data from communities on Facebook, we have attempted to co-relate various parameters like time and space, to understand the status and abundance of the Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris), which is one of the largest and charismatic carnivorous megafauna (Kumar 2021), and plays a key role in conservation management plans as an umbrella species (Roberge and Angelstam 2004). Based on the dates that images were posted, we collected the data for a period of eighteen years (2004–2022). Individual tigers can be identified in the field based on their stripe pattern and are individually named by the staff of the forest department and tour naturalists. As the tiger is a critically endangered animal, it is important to have maximum data available for every individual, which can help in understanding, in a robust manner, the species ecology with respect to the landscape. Data compilation involved detailing the metadata recorded by the person posting and the comments on the post, as well as metadata evident from the photograph e.g., sex, life stage and activity. Geotagging was performed based on the place mentioned as the location of the photograph, to understand the extent of their area of mobility in a meaningful way. Data compiled for an individual tiger specimen, on the basis of photographs shared of various individuals over a period of time in social media platforms, has the potential to generate the same result involving radio telemetry, which is invasive and expensive in nature. It will then elevate the importance of photography as scientific documentation for ecological understanding and will generate interest through the participation in citizen science in conservation efforts involving megafauna. The sampled data shows a higher number of photographs available from protected areas that have a clear tourism protocol. We have also compared our distribution map, evolved out of this effort (Fig. 1) with the maps created by the Tiger Monitoring Cell*1 as a result of the Tiger Census activity, which happens in India every four years. This kind of cross referencing has the potential to bring out very interesting patterns in understanding coarse-scale ecological and geographic properties of a species (Peña-Aguilera et al. 2019, Soberón 2007).

Dietary composition and prey preference of Royal Bengal Tiger (Panthera tigris tigris, Linnaeus 1758) of Parsa National Park, Nepal.

Carnivore diet studies insight on the health of the forest. The diet and prey preference of tigers of Parsa National Park (PNP) was studied from Nov-2019 to Feb-2020. The ratio of scat sample analyzed per tiger was 3.5 scats per tiger. The scat analysis identified 10 prey species and 81 prey items in the tiger’s diet. Spotted deer was the frequently killed prey species followed by wild boar and barking deer. In terms of biomass consumption, large-sized sambar was on the top. The average weight of the prey killed was 138 kg. The tiger strongly selected sambar and weakly selected small-sized barking deer. Medium-sized prey species (spotted deer and wild boar) were neglected. The large-sized prey and their density were the keys to increasing the tiger population in PNP. The absence of livestock in PNP’s tiger diet suggests it to be a potential area for tiger conservation.

Assessing Seroprevalence of Major Viral Infections in Big Cats

Background: Big cats are widespread across the globe and India is also the host of this group of animals. Canine distemper virus (CDV), a morbillivirus that causes one of the most contagious and lethal viral diseases known in canids, has an expanding host range, including wild animals and its cases have also been observed in big cats. In such a situation, serological analysis of the biological samples may give significant information on the presence of diseases in a particular area. Sampling in big cats is often challenging hence in the present study, serum samples of big cats available in the laboratory were subjected to detection of antibodies against major viral infections including canine distemper. Methods: Serum samples collected from Royal Bengal tigers and Indian leopards irrespective of age and sex of the animals were subjected to the serological analysis of canine distemper virus (CDV), canine parvovirus (CPV) and canine adenovirus (CAV) infections using commercially available dot-ELISA kit. Result: Seroprevalence of antibodies against CDV and CPV infections in tigers and leopards was observed which indicated an exposure of these species to canine distemper and canine parvovirus infection in the ecosystem. Results also revealed constant seroprevalence of CPV infection throughout the study period whereas CDV seroprevalence was observed variable during this period. These findings also suggested significant presence of the viral pathogens in big cats.

Tribal Migrant Labourers in the Sundarbans: Effects of Migration on prevalent Social, Cultural and Political Life

A closed reading of the mobility of tribal life in West Bengal can take us to the Sundarbans in the southern fringes of Bengal; where the Santhals can be traced, who migrated from their homelands in the Chota Nagpur, to the tide country (Sundarbans) only a few centuries ago, to clear forested lands and to start cultivating the virgin land. Colonization here plays a very important role, since this migration was a direct result of the colonial barbarity on the tribal populations in the Chota Nagpur Plateau during the 18th century. Migrant labour, though is mostly understood in terms of seasonal migration, in this case, the opposite is noticed. Here, whole tribes migrated, who can also be credited as one of the first settlers in a land which was otherwise the realm of the deadly Royal Bengal Tigers (where no humans lived). In this context, the paper will seek to outline the tribal roots of the Santhals, Mundas and Oraons, who migrated from other parts of the country to the Sundarbans. The similarities in their folk traditions and religion though can be a mere coincidence, believing in which can restrict one from engaging in the fantastic possibility of rich research in the field. This paper will also address the functioning of the tribal labour at that point of time, and how it changed the whole paradigm of migration, especially the notion of mobility. The paper will employ information from several government accounts and journals, which recorded data about the migration of the Santhals to the Sundarbans.

The Bengal Tiger

The Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) is one of the big cat species, found in the jungles of India, Nepal, Bhutan, Burma, Bangladesh, and the adjoining countries of Indian subcontinent. These muscular and gorgeous looking mammals are ferocious killers with powerful forequarters, with a length of 2.2 m to 3.0 m when fully grown and weigh more than 300 kg.1 Tigers have a lifespan of 8 to 10 y in the wild; however, the life span increases up to 20 y in captivity. In 2010 there were merely 3200 wild tigers around the world, which was the lowest estimate of the century.

Animal Specie Detection Using Deep Convolution Neural Network

Abstract: India is a diverse country in term of wild life, all kind of wild life animal in north and southern part of India like Bengal Tiger, Rhino, Leopard are some of them and many of them are in stage of extinct, only few of them are remaining so to check their population continuous monitoring and research is important. To monitor in forest one to one is very tedious and time consuming job so technology have evolved which include installing cameras in animal living areas and acquire videos and pictures, hence save time and money. The images received in camera's not recognisable in general as pictures are blurred , without animals, or difficult to detect, resulting in doubt and error. To cater this obstacle, we suggest a database driven network captured images with dataset of different animal species stored from spatiotemporal domain and pictures with animal are captured from forest are compared with the dataset, identify if a graph matches the animal or not. This animal detection model have developed by us based on self training by Deep Neural Network (DCNN). The technology is used for classification using ML and AI algorithms, support vector machine, k-mean nearest neighbour, and ensemble tree. This suggest system can accurately classify pictures up to 91% accuracy. Keywords: Installed Camera, Animal detection ·Camera images·DCNN, ·Deep learning ·SVM ·KNN

Should the Tigers be Protected?: A Survey on Opinions of Local Inhabitants of Bandhavgarh and Related Social Factors in the Conservation of Tigers

Increased human populations and the resulting encroachment of related anthropogenic land uses into natural landscapes which once afforded wildlife habitats is a global conservation concern. Of particular concern, are the human-wildlife conflicts perpetuated because of human populations’ growth in the area where large carnivores occur? These increasing conflicts may further impact the conservation of carnivores because of public concerns for human health and safety and economic impacts on subsistence agriculture. In India, increased population growth has impacted the natural habitats for the Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) and the related conflicts have impacted efforts to conserve the species. To better describe the social factors that may affect large carnivore conservation in India, we surveyed the tiger-affected people, the relatives of the people killed by tigers, and the common villagers in the adjacent villages of Bandhavgarh National Park of Madhya Pradesh in India. All of our questionnaires are related to the protection of tigers and the reasons behind it. This study featured the first assessment and basic data for understanding Bengal tigers in the area of Bandhavgarh Forest.

How methodological changes have influenced our understanding of population structure in threatened species: insights from tiger populations across India.

Unprecedented advances in sequencing technology in the past decade allow a better understanding of genetic variation and its partitioning in natural populations. Such inference is critical to conservation: to understand species biology and identify isolated populations. We review empirical population genetics studies of Endangered Bengal tigers within India, where 60–70% of wild tigers live. We assess how changes in marker type and sampling strategy have impacted inferences by reviewing past studies, and presenting three novel analyses including a single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) panel, genome-wide SNP markers, and a whole-mitochondrial genome network. At a broad spatial scale, less than 100 SNPs revealed the same patterns of population clustering as whole genomes (with the exception of one additional population sampled only in the SNP panel). Mitochondrial DNA indicates a strong structure between the northeast and other regions. Two studies with more populations sampled revealed further substructure within Central India. Overall, the comparison of studies with varied marker types and sample sets allows more rigorous inference of population structure. Yet sampling of some populations is limited across all studies, and these should be the focus of future sampling efforts. We discuss challenges in our understanding of population structure, and how to further address relevant questions in conservation genetics.This article is part of the theme issue ‘Celebrating 50 years since Lewontin's apportionment of human diversity’.

THE IMPACT OF RIVER BED SEDIMENTATION ON THE SUNDARBANS MANGROVE FOREST (BANGLADESH) WITH ITS EXCEPTIONAL ECOLOGICAL VALUE

The present contribution focuses on challenges for conservation efforts of the Sundarbans mangrove forest in Bangladesh, which is a World Heritage Site. Current threats to its ecology may affect the forest's diminishing population of Royal Bengal Tigers. Moreover, the vegetation and wildlife are under threat because of significantly increasing concentrations of salt in the water. The effect of dredging in the Passur River is insignificant in terms of the so-called Outstanding Universal Value of the forest because the measured Environmental Risk Index is relatively low. The toxicity level is to be 29%. The salinity levels of the Sundarbans vary from 54,025 dS/m to 69,152 dS/m for south western rivers, which is some 50% higher than the typical salinity value of 43,320 dS/m. This has a strongly negative effect on the soil, agriculture, fisheries, flora, and wildlife; all this is detrimental for the Outstanding Universal Value of the Sundarbans. Examination of the current physical, chemical, and biological processes that pay a role in the Sundarbans natural setup and ecosystem indicates that it is under significant environmental stress.

A War Lost in Translation: A Translation-Studies Based Approach to Analyzing Rajiv Joseph’s Play Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo

A War Lost in Translation: A Translation-Studies Based Approach to Analyzing Rajiv Joseph’s Play Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo

First record of the Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus) from Sundarban Tiger Reserve, West Bengal, India

This is the first occurrence report of Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus) from Sundarban Tiger Reserve, West Bengal, India. A Great Crested Grebe was observed at a river in the Sajnekhali Wildlife Sanctuary, while conducting the annual biodiversity survey within the Sundarban Tiger Reserve in November 2020. The species is a winter migrant to mostly man-made reservoirs at the northern districts of the state, and compared to the previous records, this is the southernmost occurrence report from West Bengal. The discovery of Podiceps cristatus at an undisturbed and favorable habitat inside a well-protected mangrove ecosystem within the Sundarban Tiger Reserve may prove significantly informative for the possible range extension and future conservation approaches of the species.

​Molecular Evidence of Hepatozoon felis Infection in Wild Captured Royal Bengal Tiger Cub (Panthera tigris tigris)

Background: Tigers are protected under schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. The current report highlights the detection of Hepatoozoon felis in a tiger cub. The infection is transmitted by ingestion of infected tick, infected prey and carrion. It is subclinical in adults; however, the cubs and immunocompromised adults may show clinical symptoms. Concurrent infection with bacterial or viral infections may be fatal to the infected animal. Methods: Hepatozoonosis was detected by blood smear examination using Giemsa staining. A PCR targeting the 18S ribosomal RNA was used to confirm the infection. The amplicon was purified and sequenced using a sanger sequencer. The 18S ribosomal RNA fragment sequence was compared to the available sequences in NCBI database using the nucleotide BLAST Tool. Neighbour joining phylogenetic trees using the bootstrap method were constructed using MEGA X software. Result: The presence of an intermediate gamont stage in neutrophils was seen under high resolution. The 660 bp amplicon was purified, sequenced and analysed for identity using the nucleotide BLAST tool of NCBI. The sequence was found to be 99.32%, similar to Hepatozoon felis. The phylogenetic analysis by neighbour joining phylogenetic tree using the bootstrap method indicated similarity with other reported sequences of H. felis isolated from Asian Lions. The sequence, however, was very dissimilar to the previously reported H. felis isolated from Royal Bengal Tiger. Considering the potential threat Hepatozoonosis can have in the wild, the prevalence must be estimated in prey base, sympatric cat species and arthropod vectors.

Genetic markers to trace biogeography of Indian tigers

Genetic markers to trace biogeography of Indian tigers

Molecular and pathological screening of canine distemper virus in Asiatic lions, tigers, leopards, snow leopards, clouded leopards, leopard cats, jungle cats, civet cats, fishing cat, and jaguar of different states, India.

The present investigation was conducted to rule out canine distemper (CD) diseases in Indian wild felids (Asiatic lions, tigers, leopards, snow leopards, clouded leopards, leopard cats, jungle cats, civet cats, fishing cat, and jaguar). The collected samples were screened for CD virus (CDV) by histopathology (HP), immunohistochemistry (IHC) and reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) targeting H gene and N gene. The HP and IHC of suspected samples portrayed that 22 [11 leopards, 6 lions, 3 tigers, 1 snow leopard and 1 civet cat] out of 129 (17.05%) wild felids were positive for CD. The major pathological consequences were observed in spleen, lung, kidney and brain. The syncytia and intranuclear as well as intracytoplasmic eosinophilic inclusion bodies were seen in CDV infected cells. Although the histopathological lesions in spleen were more specific and consistent, however, the severe demyelinated leukoencephalitis (usually expected in CD infected dog) was not observed in the brain of any Indian wild felids. Conversely, the CDV antigen has been portrayed via IHC in pancreatic islets of Langerhans of tiger species for the first time in this study. Moreover, the concurrent CD and babesiosis has also been observed in a lioness without a usual coffee-coloured urine. The N gene and H gene of CDV isolates were amplified, sequenced and subsequently constructed the phylogenetic tree. The phylogenetic analysis of H gene revealed that the CDV isolates from Indian lion formed separate clade with CDV isolates from Indian dog and Indian palm civet cat. Furthermore, two CDV isolates from Indian tigers formed clade with Onderstepoort vaccine strain and CDV isolates from dogs of Uttar Pradesh, USA and UK. Evidently, CDV is circulating in Indian wild felids and causing diseases in them.

The fragile environment, ever growing tourism and the quest for sustainability: A case study from Duars, Alipurduar, West Bengal

The Duars region of the northern part of West Bengal is picturesque with dense forests, hills, tea gardens, plantations and many rivers and streams. The Buxa Tiger Reserve (BTR), one of the many protected areas in the region, is one of the most biodiverse regions of the country. It boasts of many endemic plants and animals. It is the home for the endangered Indian Tiger. Besides this, the BTR is the source of income and livelihood of many local and ethnic populations residing in an around the reserve. The cultural and historical heritage of the BTR is also noteworthy. Therefore, the reserve is congenial for tourism and many ecodevelopment activities have been planned and executed in the area. However, natural disasters, increasing human population, indiscriminate use of natural resources human wildlife conflict and growing pressure from anthropogenic activities has led to a loss of biodiversity, The reserve faces many management issues and challenges. The current study aims to do a thorough sectional analysis of the problems of biodiversity conservation and management in the BTR and suggest mitigation measures for the same.