Conservation of Asian Tigers

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Conservation of Asian Tigers

• Mike Szymanski
• Sean Bertie
• Neil Kadrmas
• Sandy Hagen

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Introduction

• 5 subspecies of tigers existing today
• Amur or Siberian (Panthera tigris altaica)
• Bengal (Panthera tigris tigris)
• South China (Panthera tigris amoyensis)
• Sumatran (Panthera tigris sumatrae)
• Indochinese (Panthera tigris corbetti)

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Extinct Tigers

• Javan (Panthera tigris sondaica)
• Bali (Panthera tigris balica)
• Caspian (Panthera tigris virgata)

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Extinct Tigers-Javan

• Last seen in 1972
• Prime causes for extinction
• Poisons (poisoned boar)
• Encroachment of plantations
• These coincided w/ a loss of large ungulate prey
  base
• Currently no room for tigers on Java

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Extinct Tigers-Bali

• Believed to have gone extinct in 1937
• The Dutch colonization in 1910 brought
• Plantations
• Hunters
• Similar losses of habitat as the Javan
• Currently no room on Bali for tigers

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Extinct Tigers-Caspian

• Last one reportedly shot in 1959
• Preferred reed beds, but these were reclaimed as
  ag land
• Probably also due to civil unrest

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Amur (Siberian) Tiger

• Largest subspecies of all tigers
• Males
• nearly 11 feet long
• weighing in around 660 pounds
• Females
• up to 8 1/2 feet long
• weighing about 200 to 370 pounds.

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Amur (Siberian) Tiger
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Amur (Siberian) Tiger
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Amur (Siberian) Tiger

• Distinguished from the other subspecies by
• Wider spaced brown stripes
• Paler orange fur
• White belly fur
• Thicker, longer hair with thick neck tuft

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Amur (Siberian) Tiger

• Currently around 400 survive in the wild Russia,
  China and possibly N.Korea
• Numbers and range have shrunk dramatically in the
  past 100 years with a recent increased declines
  since the 1990s
• Important that 400 may not be the actual
  effective population

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Amur (Siberian) Tiger

• Causes of the population declines
• Poaching
• Habitat loss
• Habitat loss arrived in eastern Russia with the
  railroads.

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Amur (Siberian) Tiger

• Habitat requirements of the Siberian tiger
• Not really any for the tigers per se
• BUT, their food does have habitat requirements
• Red Deer (Cervus eluphus xanthropygus)
• Prefer forests with small openings
• Wild Boar (Sus scrofa)
• Prefer forests with mast producing trees
• Primarily Korean Pine (Pinus koraiensis)
• Probably also Mongolian Oak (Quercus mongolica)

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Amur (Siberian) Tiger

• Wild Boar

• Red Deer

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Amur (Siberian) Tiger

• Habitat loss
• Widespread deforestation
• Large scale harvest of Korean Pine
• Primary effects of habitat loss
• Creation of a sink for dispersing tigers
• Loss of habitat for prey
• Why?
• Increased encounters with humans
• Increased depredations increased
  license hunting
• Gives false impression of population size due to
  more visible tigers

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Amur (Siberian) Tiger

• Why? contd.
• Large home ranges
• Female 200-400 km2
• Male 800-1000 km2
• Male home ranges typically overlap 2 or 3 female
  home ranges

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Amur (Siberian) Tiger

• Habitat Protection
• Protect what is left (save what you can now,
  think about improvements later)
• Primary concern areas are those with with
  pristine forest remaining
• No permanent signs of humans should exist

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Amur (Siberian) Tiger

• Secondary areas of emphasis should be those
  forests that are 90 intact, but some logging is
  taking place.
• Only selective logging would be allowed
• This would leave only small gaps
• Logging roads would be closed when not in use

• Tertiary areas of concern are those of mixed land
  uses where 70 forest remains
• Mixed land uses would persist
• Human operations would be closed whenever possible

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Amur (Siberian) Tiger

• Most importantly for all three areas of
  protection concern
• Maintain a large ungulate prey base
• Concentrate on habitat for tiger prey

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Amur (Siberian) Tiger

• Tiger corridors
• May provide cover to allow tigers to disperse
• Could help prevent the sink effect of open
  areas
• Would probably allow enough dispersal for a
  reasonable genetic flow between fragmented
  populations
• Would increase the effective population size
• Do not, however, provide home range habitat (too
  narrow)

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Panthera tigris tigris The Bengal
Tiger
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Distribution, Life History, Population

• Distributions
• -The Bengal tiger occurs primarily throughout
  India, with smaller populations in southern
  Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, and western Myanmar

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Population

• According to Peter Jacksons editorial in May of
  1998 the numbers of Bengal Tigers are as follows
• Bangladesh-362 individuals
• Bhutan-91 adults
• China-35 individuals
• India-3,750 individuals
• Myanmar-231individuals
• Nepal-97 adults

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Life History

• Size
• ?Male Bengal tigers average 2.9 meters (9 1/2
  feet) from head to tail and weigh about 220
  kilograms (480 pounds). Females are smaller,
  measuring about 2.5 meters (8 feet) in length and
  weighing approximately 140 kilograms (300
  pounds).

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Life History
Have you heard of Jenny Craig?

• Color
• Most tigers are redish brown in color with dark
  stripes and white stomachs.
• Records indicate however, that a few wild tigers
  have been seen in unusual colors, including all
  white and all black . 

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White Tigers

• A popular attraction in zoos, white tigers in the
  wild were recorded in India during the Mughal
  Period from 1556 to 1605 AD
• At least 17 instances were recorded in India
  between 1907 and 1933 in Orissa, Bilaspur,
  Sohagpur and Rewa
• But mostly found in zoos today.

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South China Tiger

• An estimated 20-30 individuals South China
  tigers still exist in the wild. Currently 47
  South China tigers live in 18 zoos, all in
  China.The South China tiger is the most
  critically endangered of all tiger subspecies.

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South China Distribution
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South China Tiger

• Chinese specialists believe between 20 and 30
  tigers are still left in the wild. The last time
  a wild tiger was seen in the wild was 10 years
  ago. These facts suggest that the South China
  tiger is the rarest of the five living tiger
  subspecies, the most threatened, and the closest
  to extinction.

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General Information

• The South China tiger is one of the smallest
  tiger subspecies
• Males are 150 kilograms (330 pounds)
• Females are 110 kilograms (240 pounds)
• Because there are so few wild South China tigers,
  and they have rarely been seen, very little is
  know about them at this point in time
• The tiger is a favorite subject of Chinese
  artists, depicted as fierce and powerful

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Biology

• Age The life span the South China and Bengal in
  the wild is about 10 to 15 years. Tigers in zoos
  live to be around 16 and 20 years old.
• Fur Tiger hair length varies geographically. In
  the southern subspecies the hairs are short
  (approximately 7 to 20 mm on the back and 15 to
  35 mm on the stomach).
• Claws The forefeet have five toes and the hind
  feet have four toes. All toes have claws. The
  claws are 3-4 inches.
• Teeth Adult tigers have 30 large teeth. The
  length of the canine teeth can be between 2.5 to
  3 inches.
• Chromosomes Chromosomes are arranged in pairs
  and there are 19 pairs or 38 total.

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Food

• Bengal and South China tigers prey primarily on
  wild deer and bovids.

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Management Implications

• According to the study by James Smith et al.
  Tigers must have the following in order to have a
  viable population
• Very high ratio of good to excellent habitat
• When the good habitat in less that 50 breeding
  tigers will not occur in the area. If it drops to
  less than 30 no tigers will be found
• Little or no metapopulations
• Stop poaching
• Stop or decrease habitat loss
• Increase prey number
• The prey numbers are down because of habitat loss

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Good Habitat

• Tropical evergreen and deciduous forests
• Coniferous, scrub oak, and birch woodlands
• The mangrove swamps, and dry thorn forests of
  northwestern India, and the tall grass jungles at
  the foot of Himalayas
• The tiger's habitat requirements can be
  summarized as some form of dense vegetative
  cover, sufficient large ungulate prey and access
  to water.

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Loss of Habitat

• Much of the forest and almost all of the
  grasslands have gone as a growing human
  population converts them to land for settlement
  and agriculture.
• In Nepal, between 1990 and 1995, 1.1 percent of
  the countrys forest cover was lost each year.
• Habitat loss has resulted in fragmented tiger
  distributions in Nepal. (ultimately decreasing
  the population)
• Many of these populations are currently too small
  to have long term viability

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Poaching

• Tiger parts are used in traditional Chinese
  medicine, in the form of tiger bone wine and
  tiger plasters.
• Primary consumers of tiger products are Chinese
  communities throughout the world.
• Drastic rise in tiger poaching was first noticed
  in 1990.
• If the present worldwide rate of poaching
  continues for three to six more years, many tiger
  populations may be extinct
• They are protected by the Convention in
  International Trade in Endangered Species of
  Fauna and Flora (CITES)
• Nepal has had serious problems at the national
  level with endangered species trade control and
  CITES enforcement, serving as an important
  conduit in the illegal trade of tiger parts.

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Sumatran Tigers

• Panthera tigris sumatrae

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Distribution

• Sumatran tigers are only found on the island of
  Sumatra
• About 400 to 500 Sumatran tigers live in the
  wild, mostly in the island's five national parks.
  Another 235 Sumatran tigers live in zoos around
  the world

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Life History

• What do Sumatran Tigers look like?
• Sumatran tigers are the smallest subspecies of
  tiger. It has the darkest coat of all tigers. Its
  broad, black stripes are closely spaced and often
  doubled. Unlike the Siberian tiger, it has
  striped forelegs

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Life History

• Weight
• Male Sumatran tigers weigh about 264 pounds
• Female Sumatran tigers weigh about 198 pounds
• Length
• Male Sumatran tigers average 8 feet from head to
  tail
• Female Sumatran tigers are smaller, about 7 feet
  in length.

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Food

• The Sumatran tiger eats wild pig, rusa deer,
  muntjak or barking deer which is a smaller deer

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Habitat

• The Sumatran tiger is found in habitat that
  ranges from lowland forest to sub mountain and
  mountain forest with some peat-moss forest
• Population density in these areas are about 4-5
  tigers per 100km²

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Deforestation and Poaching

• Deforestation is depriving tigers of needed
  habitat leading to subpopulations
• Poaching is accelerating leading from
  deforestation Tigers are easier to find in these
  areas of less habitat

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Conservation

• Sumatran Tiger Project
• This is a long-term field study designed to
  develop a cost-effective field census system for
  wild tigers using ground-based census counts,
  remote camera census, and radio-telemetry that
  can be modified and used as a model for long-term
  population monitoring in Way Kambas and other
  protected areas. Researchers will establish a set
  of life history characteristics that will be
  critical in developing effective interactive
  management strategies for wild populations

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Conservation

• Sumatran Tiger Project cont.
• The project is also looking to educate the people
  and allocate forest resources in tiger habitat
• This project has been ongoing for multiple years
  and is keeping track of the number of tigers in
  each area through several methods of observation

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Conservation

• Mark-recapture efforts
• This is a similar grid system that is used in
  estimating the tiger populations in Sumatra
• Study by Karanth and Nichols (1998) in India
  estimated the density for tiger populations (by
  capture-recapture) and their prey base (by line
  transects)

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Tiger Mark-Recapture

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Indochinese Tigers

• Panthera tigris corbetti

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Distribution

• The majority of Indochinese tigers are centered
  in Thailand. They are also found in Myanmar,
  southern China, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, and
  peninsular Malaysia
• About 1,050-1,750 tigers are left in the wild.
  About 60 live in zoos, mostly in Asia, with a few
  in the U.S.A.

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Life History

• What do Indochinese tigers look like?
• Look a lot like Bengal tigers, but are a bit
  smaller and darker, with shorter, narrower
  stripes

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Life History

• Weight
• Male Indochinese tigers weigh about 400 pounds
• Female Indochinese tigers weigh about 250 pounds
• Length
• Male Indochinese tigers average 9 feet from head
  to tail
• Female Indochinese tigers are smaller, about 8
  feet in length

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Food

• The Indochinese tiger eats wild pig, wild deer
  and wild cattle

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Habitat

• Live in remote forests in hilly to mountainous
  terrain, much of which lies along the borders
  between countries
• Population densities in these areas are similar
  to the Sumatran tiger which is 4 to 5 adult
  tigers/100 km2

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Conservation

• Access to tiger habitat is often restricted, and
  biologists have only recently been granted
  limited permits for field surveys.
• As a result, relatively little is know about the
  status of these tigers in the wild.

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Conservation

• At this point, very little has been done in
  Indochinese tiger management. Since the inability
  to access tiger habitat, only talk has started in
  the last years.
• There have been a couple of workshops held to
  plan for conserving the tigers
• Masterplan workshop held at Khao Kheow Open Zoo,
  Thailand, 17-20 July 1995
• Tiger GIS Workshop Royal Forest Department,
  Bangkok, Thailand, 21-31 Jan. 1996

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Conservation

• After the workshops the main concerns right now
  are to maintain a healthy stock of tigers in
  zoos, mostly in Thailand
• Deforestation, educating the people, and
  controlling the poaching is the main management
  implications so far

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Protection in Vietnam

• Laws protecting tigers and tiger concerns
• Decree 39/CP, 1963 on regulation of hunting for
  wildlife. Tiger was one of 4 limited hunting
  species.
• Regulation (1972) on forest protection.
• Decision 276/QD (1989) promulgating ban on
  hunting, trading of tiger and 37 other species.
• Law for forest protection and development (1991).
  
• Decree 18/HDBT (1992) stipulates management and
  protection of rare and precious species of flora
  and fauna. Tiger is one of 49 species and
  subspecies of complete ban on hunting and using.
• Decree 14/CP stipulates system of penalties for
  violation on forest protection.
• In 1994 Vietnam has joint to CITES for more
  effective control of wildlife trade including
  tiger.
• March 1995, subregional tiger workshop held in
  Hanoi to establish Action plan for tiger
  conservation in Vietnam, Laos, Kampuchea

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Status of Captive Tigers

• 20 of the entire tiger population is
  studbook-registered
• 475 Siberian
• 235 Sumatran
• 300 Bengal
• 50 South China
• 35 Indochinese

• These do not include tigers in circuses, private
  facilities, or non-participating zoos throughout
  the world.
• Do not contribute to breeding programs

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Tigers in Zoos
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Captive Management

• Species Survival Plans (SSP)
• Objective Preservation of wildlife both as
  species and as components of ecosystems
• Cooperative management programs for the AZA
  (American Zoo and Aquarium Association)

• Reinforce, not replace, wild populations

Gene pools
are becoming puddles
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AZA Tiger SSP

• Manage 3 of the 5 remaining subspecies
• 102 member institutions with 277 tigers
• 154 Siberian goal175
• 54 Sumatran goal175
• 10 Indochinese goal75
• Bengal goal75
• 59 generic tigers

• Goal 90 genetic diversity for the next 100-200
  years
• Use breeding programs in zoos to produce
  genetically diverse individuals

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SSP Masterplan

• Strength of the plan lies within the biological
  database for each animal Studbook
• Computerized database containing genetic,
  demographic and relevant biological information
  about zoo animals worldwide
• Avoid inbreeding
• Preserve genetic diversity
• International

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Breeding Programs

• Artificial insemination
• Placing sperm into the females vagina
• Not very successful (only 1 cub)
• Tiger ovulation is induced by mating

• In vitro fertilization
• Eggs from female and sperm from male
• Fertilized in lab
• Injected into female
• Has produced a litter of 3 cubs

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More Breeding

• Frozen zoos
• Sperm and eggs preserved in nitrogen
• Not yet successful, but promising
• Reproductive research
• Monitor ovarian cycles
• Improve assisted reproduction technology
• Genetic resource bank

• Naturally
• The recommended method
• SSP recommends when, who will be moved to zoos
  for breeding

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The Ethics of Captive Animals

• Circus tigers and zoo tigers have diverging
  interests

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The Ethics of Captive Animals

• Dallas zoo remodeled
• 4.5 million
• 1 acre of habitat which resembles a rainforest
  that has recently been logged
• Now have enough room to implement captive
  breeding (SSP)

• Private Facilities

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Poaching

• Some statistics from the early 90s
• South Korea imported 9000kg of bone over 24 years
  (1970-1994)
• About 750 skeletons
• Taiwan imported 12,000kg over 10 years
  (1980-1990)
• China is a supplier, processor and consumer

• Trade in tiger bone
• Major factor that threatens survival
• Used for thousands of years in Asian medicine for
  treatment of rheumatism

Tiger bone wine
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Killed for a CureJudy A. Mills and Peter
Jackson

• 1994 TRAFFIC report
• Documented the importance of the tiger trade
• Increased national and international awareness

• November 1994
• CITES passed a resolution to prohibit domestic
  trade of tiger bone
• Also called for a ban on using tiger parts in
  traditional medicine

• All subspecies, except Siberian, of tigers and
  their derivatives were banned from international
  trade under CITES in 1975.
• Siberian in 1987

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Progress in Tiger Trade

• Supply
• More seizures of goods
• Prices are lower
• Major supplying markets disappeared
• Processing
• Manufacture has stopped in many countries
• China now substitutes sailong (mole rat)
• Medicines that are found are old stock

• Demand
• Availability has declined
• Consumers now support wildlife conservation
• International Trade
• More countries join CITES

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Trade Continues

• Illegal supply market still operate (Cambodia,
  Indonesia, Vietnam)
• Processing markets label medicines incorrectly
• Domestic retail trade in Japan, China, Vietnam,
  Thailand, Indonesia
• International trade through an army of ants
  large number of people smuggling small volumes of
  goods

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What to do

• Improved enforcement on trade bans, especially
  international
• Increase penalties for poaching
• Raise conservation awareness
• More research to help distinguish between real
  and fake tiger parts and products

• Adopt a tiger
• 2000
• Eviction of humans from tiger habitat
• Conservation Education

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Decline Over Last 100 Years