Urban Tiger Conservation Project

Rainmatter Partner Updates
1

  1. Background
    In India, wild tiger numbers have gone from 1411 (SE range 1,165 to 1,675) in 2006 to 2967 (SE range 2,603 to 3,346) in 2018 (Status of Tigers in India, 2020) to 3682 individuals (Status of Tigers in India, 2023). Tigers are known for their large home ranges and great dispersal distances. Often, they move beyond the boundaries of tiger reserves and protected areas. The National Tiger Conservation Authority estimated that more than 40% of all tigers in India live outside the reserves in unprotected lands. These unprotected lands are mosaics of multiple-use forests and agricultural fields surrounding villages, towns, and cities.
    Once a small town, Bhopal expanded rapidly outwards in the last twenty years, and today the urban municipal area stretches to approximately 300sq km. Today Bhopal has a human population of over 3 million. In 2021-22, we collated all available tiger photograph with forest department of Bhopal Division, Sehore Division and Obedullahganj Division and identified 83 individual tigers (including 13 young cubs). The recent All India Tiger Estimation 2022 Report, Bhopal-Ratapani-Kheoni Landscape reported 96 individual tigers. The presence of such large population of tigers in human-dominated landscape and near urban area of Bhopal poses potential risk of human-tiger conflict in future if ignored or not managed well.
    As long-term monitoring Urban Tiger Conservation Project monitor tigers and other carnivores in city to understand the potential of urban landscapes for the conservation of large carnivores. The recent Tiger numbers monitored with help of local community’s states presence of 3 males, 5 females and 17 cubs in Kerwa to Kolar Forest Area (Bhopal Municipal limits and 10km buffer towards south), which is multiple use area under Territorial forest of Bhopal and Sehore and merely less than 120 sq. km.
    Documentary: https://youtu.be/lxzMPtKtN3A?si=VuGGtAMw4eaTqHXQ (Secret life of Bhopal Tigers)

  2. Progress on the goals listed while on-boarding

  • City Surveys for Carnivore movement
  • School Awareness Program
  • Semi-structured interviews for human-tiger interactions
  1. Any challenges
  • Anthropogenic activies including unplanned city development; damage to camera traps; cattle load on trails
  • local forest department i.e. few officers are interested to monitor wildlife while others not
  • multi-stakeholders such as City planners, municipality, forest etc.
  1. Any new avenues of collaboration (with other Grantees of RCF or other NPO/NGO)
  • WTI small grants for establishing Urban Tiger Volunteer Program (Sept 23- Feb 24)
  • WWF-INDIA supporting Urban Tiger Volunteer Program (March 24- February 25)
  1. Highlights from the initiatives being undertaken as part of your organization

  1. Outcomes you are chasing for the next 6 months (these can remain the same if unchanged since the last update)

  2. KPIs (please use this section to let us know of the impact and reach of your work since the last update)

  • Tigers space use in city
  • Multi-stakeholders meeting for common aim of Space sharing with tigers in urban landscape of Bhopal
  • Align all territorial forest department to monitor wildlife
  1. Can Rainmatter be of help with anything at all
  • Establishing a centralised monitoring center in Bhopal
  • Radio-collaring few tigers to understand detailed movement in urban landscape

  1. Any additional details you would like to provide
    www.urbantigers.org

  2. Please also share any images or videos that you have documented as part of your work