Protect India's Tigers And Promote Co-Existence

Habitat Restoration in Tiger Reserves

When conserving big carnivores, the path to protection and peaceful coexistence is often not straightforward. This is why Born Free is dedicated to the Satpuda Landscape Tiger Partnership, where we work with organisations in India who cover a broad range of needs allowing us, as a team, to take a multifaceted approach to tiger conservation and enable local communities to live alongside these magnificent animals.

One of our partners in the Satupuda Landscape Tiger Partnership (SLTP) is The Corbett Foundation. Since 1994, The Corbett Foundation have been dedicated to conserving India’s wildlife.

The Corbett Foundation’s work in Central India takes different approaches but is always focused on the involvement of the local community. Whether this is through their stall-feeding programme, supported by Born Free, which aims to reduce the numbers of free-ranging cattle in natural ecosystems by growing and providing the community high quality fodder to feed their cattle at home , or providing free veterinary checkups to cattle injured by wild carnivore attacks, helping to develop sustainable livelihood initiatives and running nature education camps, The Corbett Foundation are working tirelessly to promote tiger conservation.

One of their latest successes has been the restoration of over 1,700 hectares of buffer area around a number of tiger reserves.

Initially, surveys were carried out around the reserves, to understand what species of plants were present, both native and invasive, and the wildlife which were using the buffer zones. Camera traps were also set up to understand which animals were using the planned restoration plots.

The team then got to work removing invasive plant species, plantings saplings and sowing seeds. Invasive plants can compete with native plants for resources and this can lead to a decline in native species presence in an ecosystem. As ecosystems evolve in a fine balance, inhabited by the plants and animals naturally occurring in an area, the introduction of new plants or animals can cause an imbalance in the ecosystem and lead to declines in biodiversity and ecosystem health. From the Satpura Tiger Reserve alone, 3,000 tonnes of invasive plants were removed.

The team also developed water retention structures in the Satpura Tiger Reserve. Water is one of the most crucial factors determining vegetation and wildlife presence. Often in summer, the Satpura Tiger Reserve has been experiencing water shortages, something that will likely be particularly exacerbated by climate change. To ensure wildlife can survive in the protected area, the development of ponds throughout the reserve has been essential.

In the Bandhavgardh-Sanjay Dubri Corridor, wildlife populations are increasing, particularly tigers, elephants, leopards and gaur. While this is great news for wildlife, it makes eco-restoration efforts even more important. By increasing and improving the state of forested habitats, these populations can continue to flourish.

Conserving tigers is not only about protecting the tigers themselves. It is about protecting their prey, their habitats and ensuring that they all have all they need to thrive, without having to stray into human-dominated areas, where conflict is more likely to occur. The Corbett Foundation’s habitat restoration programme is ensuring wildlife still has a home in Central India.

Born Free are proud to partner with The Corbett Foundation and value their commitment to tiger conservation. Together, with your help, we can conserve India’s tigers.

In February, the Satpuda Landscape Tiger Partnership came together for their annual seminar which allows partners to share, engage and learn about the work each other is doing. This year, the seminar was held in Gir Forest National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary in northwestern India. In the Gir Forest and surrounding area, live the only population of wild Asiatic lions.  

Fewer people might be aware of the presence of lions in Asia. Originally,they were thought to be a sub-species, as Asiatic lions (previously classified as Panthera leo persica, now Panthera leoleo) are slightly smaller, and have a less bushy mane, particularly on the top of the head, compared with African lions. However, further research has found that Asiatic lions are more closely related to Western and Central African lions than these populations are to Eastern and Southern African lions. 

The Asiatic lion used to roam across the Indian subcontinent, as well as parts of Central Asia, such as Iran, Pakistan and parts of Afghanistan. Now they are separated from African lions by 3000km and the Arabian Sea, only living in a corner of northwestern India.  

As a result of intense hunting and rapid habitat loss, lion numbers dramatically reduced and were extirpated from much of their range by the early 19th century. Thankfully, at the end of the 1800s, the Gir forest area, India, was declared a protected area for the lions, and in 1965, it became a national park. In 1968, fewer than 200 lions were living in the wild, however thanks to conservation work and increased protections, the Asiatic lions have made a stunning comeback. Now an estimated 674 live in and around Gir National Park today. 

While the SLTP network’s usual focus is on tigers, and they come together on their annual seminar to share ideas and thrash out solutions to challenges around tiger conservation in India, this year, they embraced spending a few days learning about and observing another Asian big cat species for a change. Though different in many ways – ecology, behaviour, reputation – the conservation of lions and tigers has some similarities and shared challenges that the SLTP partners were keen to learn from those involved in implementing this highly functional operation. 

Gujarat State Forest Department manages Gir National Park, the tourist venture and the conservation of the lions – and represents a very impressive conservation outfit in India with the Asiatic lion being a flagship species for conservation. With 60,000 tourists visiting the park annually, Gir and its lions are hugely valued by the Indian government and receive a healthy annual budget for operations.Despite only having one protected area in the Gujarat State, they received around 20,000,000 rupees (approx. 180,800 GBP) for 2022-2023, a similar amount to that received by states that have eight or more protected areas. 

The lion’s comeback means they’re living at fairly high density in Gir National Park today.Their behaviour combined with the open dry habitat of Gir in February, means that they were easy to spot. During the wildlife drives that the team made as part of the SLTP meet-up in Gir, they were very fortunate to have a few excellent lion sightings. 

As conservationists, the Gir lion’s story gives us hope and provides opportunities to learn. However, this population is far from safe – in relatively low numbers (compared with the 20,000 estimated lions living in Africa) and living in a single isolated population, they remain vulnerable to extinction. Efforts and plans to translocate individuals elsewhere in India to encourage additional populations have been considered in the past but have not taken place. Any flare up in conflict with local people could risk leading to retaliatory attacks on the lions. 

The SLTP partners learnt a lot during their visit to Gir – and one thing that loomed large was the importance of public understanding and acceptance. Asiatic lion conservation appears to be hugely successful – the upcoming census planned for May 2025 will serve to demonstrate the impact of the last 5 years of efforts on the population – but living in increasingly close proximity with a growing human population, such large and potentially dangerous animals will always be vulnerable. With careful and sustained efforts, the Gir lions will persist for many more years, and we can continue to learn from their success. 

Links:

• https://www.bornfree.org.uk/animals/tigers/