Study on kill pattern of re-introduced tigers, demonstrating increased livestock preference in human dominated Sariska tiger reserve, India

Volume 5, Issue 2, April 2020     |     PP. 20-39      |     PDF (692 K)    |     Pub. Date: June 27, 2020
DOI:    222 Downloads     6079 Views  

Author(s)

Gobind Sagar Bhardwaj, Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Aranya Bhawan, Rajasthan, India.
Gogul Selvi, Sariska Tiger Reserve, Alwar, India
Saket Agasti, Sariska Tiger Reserve, Alwar, India
Balaji Kari, Deputy Conservator of Forests, Mt Abu, Rajasthan, India
Hemant Singh, Deputy Conservator of Forests, Jhalawar, Rajasthan, India
Anand Kumar, Assistant Conservator of Forests, Nagour, Rajasthan, India
GV Reddy, Principal Chief Conservator of Forest, Rajasthan, India

Abstract
Based on individual tiger monitoring of all re-introduced tigers in Sariska Tiger Reserve for two years, from 2016 to 2018, tiger kill data was analysed for demonstrating prey preference by the tigers. The observation of maximum number of tiger kills of livestock (77%) followed by Sambar Rusa unicolor (13.6%), chital Axis axis (3.6%), blue bull Boselaphus tragocamelus (2.4%) and wild pig Sus scrofa (0.95%) demonstrates very high livestock to natural prey ratio (L/N=3.3) indicating abundance of livestock population inside the reserve. The substantial increase of prey preference for livestock from 19.4% in 2011 (Mondal et al. 2012) to 77% can be corroborated with high observed increasing trend (y= 23.5x-7.43) of the cases of ex gratia relief for cattle killing by tigers from 2011 to 2017. We viewed this as evidence of increasing livestock pressure inside the reserve.

Keywords
Human tiger conflict kill prey base dietary pattern

Cite this paper
Gobind Sagar Bhardwaj, Gogul Selvi, Saket Agasti, Balaji Kari, Hemant Singh, Anand Kumar, GV Reddy, Study on kill pattern of re-introduced tigers, demonstrating increased livestock preference in human dominated Sariska tiger reserve, India , SCIREA Journal of Biology. Volume 5, Issue 2, April 2020 | PP. 20-39.

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