Riding the Tiger: Tiger Conservation in Human-Dominated Landscapes

by Edited by John Seidensticker , Sarah Christie , Peter Jackson , Foreword by Richard Burge

• ISBN13: 9780521648356
• ISBN10: 0521648351
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-05-28
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

Beauty, grace and power make the tiger one of the world's most loved animals, yet it is precisely these qualities that have contributed to the tiger's peril. Poaching, loss of habitat and prey, and conflicts between people and wild tigers have caused a catastrophic decline in the worldwide tiger population. If wild tigers are to survive through the next century, we must act now. Riding the Tiger is a comprehensive, scientific, and eminently readable account of the problems and possible solutions of securing a future for wild tigers. Lavishly illustrated in full color, the book is written by leading conservationists working throughout Asia. It looks at tiger ecology and biology, examining the tiger in both its natural setting and in our own consciousness. In exploring our efforts at conservation, the book addresses topology and population dynamics. Later sections discuss prey depletion and region-specific studies. Riding the Tiger is a vital information resource for tiger conservationists in the field, as well as necessary reading for serious students of carnivore conservation and conservation biologists in general. For the general reader, it is an accessible and elucidating overview of tiger conservation. John Seidensticker is Curator of Mammals at the National Zoological Park, Smithsonian Institution. With extensive experience in Bangladesh, Nepal, India, China, Russia, Thailand and Indonesia, he has worked on the conservation biology of wild carnivores for more than 25 years, and is currently Chairman of the Save the Tiger Fund of the US National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and Mobil International. Sarah Christie is Conservation Programmes Co-ordinator at the London Zoo. Having overseen the expansion of the Zoological Society of London's tiger conservation programme, she is active in the implementation, management and collaboration of tiger conservation programmes around the world. Peter Jackson is Chairman of the Cat Specialist Group at the World Conservation Union (IUCN). A freelance writer and photographer, Jackson was previously the Chief Correspondent on the Indian subcontinent for Reuters News Agency, and has contributed to Smithsonian Magazine, International Wildlife, and BBC Wildlife. He has traveled widely in Asia, Africa, and the Americas and has published extensively on tiger conservation.

Author Biography

John Seidensticker pioneered the use of radiotelemetry to study the mountain lion in North America. He was co-leader of the team that captured and radio-tracked the first wild tiger in Nepal. He co-authored The Javan Tiger and the Meru-Betiri Reserve: A Plan for Management and Sunderbans Wildlife Management Plan: Conservation in the Bangladesh Coastal Zone. He is a conservation biologist and curator of mammals at the Smithsonian Institution's National Zoological Park, and Affiliate Professor of Biology at George Mason University, Virginia. He is author or editor of more than 120 articles and books including the widely acclaimed Great Cats (1992), Dangerous Animals (1995) and Tigers (1996). Dr Seidensticker also serves as Chairman of the Save the Tiger Fund. Sarah Christie has coordinated the zoo breeding programmes for the Amur and Sumatran tigers in Europe for the last eight years, and maintains a network that links zoos with conservation efforts for wild tigers, She is Conservation Programmes Co-ordinator at London Zoo, Zoological Society of London, and is a member of the IUCN's Cat and Conservation Breeding Specialist Groups. Peter Jackson has been Chairman of the Cat Specialist Group, World Conservation Union (IUCN) since 1983, serves on the Save the Tiger Fund Council, and is a member of the Asian Elephant specialist group. His previous books include Endangered Species: Tigers (1990), Endangered Species: Elephants (1990) and Wild Cats: Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan (1996).

Table of Contents

List of contributors	ix
Picture credits	xii
Foreword	xiii
Richard Burge
Preface	xv
John Seidensticker
Sarah Christie
Peter Jackson
PART I Introducing the tiger	1	(54)
John Seidensticker
Sarah Christie
Peter Jackson
Ecology, behaviour and resilience of the tiger and its conservation needs	5	(14)
Mel Sunquist
K. Ullas Karanth
Fiona Sunquist
Tiger distribution, phenotypic variation and conservation issues	19	(21)
Andrew C. Kitchener
Subspecies of tigers: molecular assessment using `voucher specimens' of geographically traceable individuals	40	(10)
Joelle Wentzel
J. Claiborne Stephens
Warren Johnson
Marilyn Menotti-Raymond
Jill Pecon-Slattery
Naoya Yuhki
Mary Carrington
Howard B. Quigley
Dale G. Miquelle
Ronald Tilson
Jansen Manasang
Gerald Brady
Lu Zhi
Pan Wenshi
Huang Shi-Qiang
Leslie Johnston
Mel Sunquist
K. Ullas Karanth
Stephen J. O'Brien
Box 3.1 Molecular biology in conservation biology	42	(8)
Sriyanie Miththapala
The tiger in human consciousness and its significance in crafting solutions for tiger conservation	50	(5)
Peter Jackson
PART II Tiger ecology: understanding and encouraging landscape patterns and conditions where tigers can persist	55	(138)
John Seidensticker
Sarah Christie
Peter Jackson
Population dynamics of the Amur tiger in Sikhote-Alin Zapovednik, Russia	61	(10)
Evgeny N. Smirnov
Dale G. Miquelle
Hierarchical spatial analysis of Amur tiger relationships to habitat and prey	71	(29)
Dale G. Miquelle
Evgeny N. Smirnov
Troy W. Merrill
Alexander E. Myslenkov
Howard B. Quigley
Maurice G. Hornocker
Bart Schleyer
Prey depletion as a critical determinant of tiger population viability	100	(14)
K. Ullas Karanth
Bradley M. Stith
Box 7.1 Counting the tiger's prey, reliably	104	(10)
K. Ullas Karanth
Long-term monitoring of tigers: lessons from Nagarahole	114	(9)
K. Ullas Karanth
Mel Sunquist
K. M. Chinnappa
Box 8.1 How volunteer naturalists can monitor tigers and prey	118	(5)
K. Ullas Karanth
Tigers in Panna: preliminary results from an Indian tropical dry forest	123	(7)
Raghunandan S. Chundawat
Neel Gogate
A. J. T. Johnsingh
Last of the Indonesian tigers: a cause for optimism	130	(18)
Neil Franklin
Bastoni
Sriyanto
Dwiatmo Siswomartono
Jansen Manansang
Ronald Tilson
Box 10.1 Using tiger stripes to identify individual tigers	138	(6)
Neil Franklin
Bastoni
Sriyanto
Dwiatmo Siswomartono
Jansen Manansang
Ronald Tilson
Box 10.2 The tiger---human dimension in southeast Sumatra	144	(4)
Philip Nyhus
Sumianto
Ronald Tilson
The status of the Indochinese tiger: separating fact from fiction	148	(18)
Alan Rabinowitz
Box 11.1 Moving conservation forward: surveys, training, planning and action must go hand in hand	164	(2)
Alan Rabinowitz
Metapopulation structure of tigers in Thailand	166	(10)
James L. David Smith
Schwann Tunhikorn
Sompon Tanhan
Saksit Simcharoen
Budsabong Kanchanasaka
Metapopulation structure of tigers in Nepal	176	(17)
James L. David Smith
Charles McDougal
Sean C. Ahearn
Anup Joshi
Kathy Conforti
Box 13.1 You can tell some tigers by their tracks with confidence	190	(3)
Charles McDougal
PART IIIA--C Approaches to tiger conservation	193	(6)
John Seidensticker
Sarah Christie
Peter Jackson
PART IIIA Linking in situ and ex situ tiger conservation	199	(16)
Effective tiger conservation requires cooperation: zoos as a support for wild tigers	201	(14)
Ronald Tilson
Sarah Christie
Box 14.1 Is re-introduction of captive-bred tigers a feasible option for the future?	207	(3)
Sarah Christie
John Seidensticker
Box 14.2 The 5 Tigers Website: a tiger information centre	210	(5)
Ronald Tilson
Janet Tilson
Anne-Marie Alden
PART IIIB The trade in tiger parts and what to do about it	215	(38)
The beginning of the end of tigers in trade?	217	(13)
Ginette Hemley
Judy A. Mills
Box 15.1 Tiger bone: a millennium of treating pain	222	(8)
Ginette Hemley
Judy A. Mills
Roaring back: anti-poaching strategies for the Russian Far East and the comeback of the Amur tiger	230	(13)
Steven Russell Galster
Karin Vaud Eliot
Box 16.1 Lessons for the future: key components of Operation Amba	240	(3)
Steven Russell Galster
Combating tiger poaching and illegal wildlife trade in India	243	(10)
Ashok Kumar
Belinda Wright
Box 17.1 Tiger poaching statistics in India	244	(9)
Belinda Wright
PART IIIC People, tiger habitat availability, and likages for the tiger's future	253	(102)
Where can tigers live in the future? A framework for identifying high-priority areas for the conservation of tigers in the wild	255	(18)
Eric D. Wikramanayake
Eric Dinerstein
John G. Robinson
K. Ullas Karanth
Alan Rabinowitz
David Olson
Thomas Mathew
Prashant Hedao
Melissa Connor
Ginette Hemley
Dorene Bolze
A habitat protection plan for the Amur tiger: developing political and ecological criteria for a viable land-use plan	273	(23)
Dale G. Miquelle
Troy W. Merrill
Yuri M. Dunishenko
Evgeny N.Smirnov
Howard B. Quigley
Dimitriy G. Pikunov
Maurice G. Hornocker
Box 19.1 People and tigers in the Russian Far East: searching for the `co-existence recipe'	290	(6)
Dale G. Miquelle
Evgeny N. Smirnov
The tragedy of the Indian tiger: starting from scrath	296	(11)
Valmik Thapar
Box 20.1 A boost for Project Tiger?	304	(3)
Valmik Thapar
Reconciling the needs of conservation and local communities: Global Environment Facility support for tiger conservation in India	307	(9)
Kathy MacKinnon
Hemanta Mishra
Jessica Mott
Tigers as neighbours: efforts to promote local guardianship of endangered species in lowland Nepal	316	(39)
Eric Dinerstein
Arun Rijal
Marnie Bookbinder
Bijaya Kattel
Arup Rajuria
Box 22.1 Pre-requisites for adapting the Chitwan model to other Tiger Conservation Units in Asia	332	(2)
Eric Dinerstein
Epilogue--vision and process in securing a future for wild tigers	334	(5)
John Seidensticker
Sarah Christie
Peter Jackson
Appendix 1 Common and scientific names used in the text	339	(2)
Appendix 2 The fossil tigers	341	(2)
Andrew C. Kitchener
Appendix 3 Key to locations in Figs. 11.1--11.6	343	(4)
Alan Rabinowitz
Appendix 4 Indices for ranking Tiger Conservation Units	347	(3)
Eric D. Wikramanayake
Eric Dinerstein
John G. Robinson
K. Ullas Karanth
Alan Rabinowitz
David Olson
Thomas Mathew
Prashant Hedao
Melissa Connor
Ginette Hemley
Dorene Bolze
Appendix 5 Counting tigers, with confidence	350	(5)
K. Ullas Karanth
Literature cited	355	(23)
Index	378