Population Status of Tigers (Panthera Tigris) in a Primary Rainforest of Peninsular Malaysia
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POPULATION STATUS OF TIGERS (PANTHERA TIGRIS) IN A PRIMARY RAINFOREST OF PENINSULAR MALAYSIA By KAE KAWANISHI A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2002 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The success and completion of this 6-year University of Florida-Malaysia Tiger Project are due to support from many individuals and organizations. Foremost, I would like to thank my major professor, Dr. Mel Sunquist, and his partner, Fiona Sunquist, for their tireless guidance and encouragement. His generosity and courage to take on foreign students who always require more attentions and logistics deserve honor. Had it not been for the serendipity to have become acquainted with Fiona, none of this would have been realized. Fiona’s trademark feel-good-talks often helped me lift sunken spirits. I would also like to thank my committee members, Dr. John Eisenberg, Dr. Mike Moulton, Dr. Jim Nichols, and Dr. Scot Smith, for critiques and comments on the dissertation. Dr Nichols trained me on the science of population estimation. His patience with me was much appreciated. Although not as an official committee member, advice and support provided by Dr. Ullas Karanth of the Wildlife Conservation Society-India were vital to the project. My intellectual phenology has been shaped by the works of Dr. Eisenberg and Dr. Larry Harris, under whom I was fortunate to learn during their last years at the University of Florida. My spirit for the carnivore conservation was fueled by the works and characters of Drs. Mel Sunquist, Ullas Karanth, Howard Quigley, Maurice Hornocker, Alan Rabinowitz, and Dale Miquelle, who have provided me with training and opportunities at some point in my life. Lastly in the Department, the additional work by Cynthia Sain, Caprice McRay, and Monica Lindberg was important for me to maintain UF student status during my absence. Financial support for the project was provided by the Save the Tiger Fund, a special project of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation created in partnership with ExxonMobil Corporation, University of Florida, Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund, World Wide Fund for ii Nature (WWF)-Japan, WWF-UK, WWF-Netherlands, and 21st Century Tiger- a partnership between Global Tiger Patrol and London Zoo. Other support from WWF-Malaysia, Wildlife Conservation Society, and Nitto Denko Electronics Sdn. Bhd. was also appreciated. Dr. Isabelle Louis, the former Director of Conservation in WWF-Malaysia, helped conceptualize the project initially and, subsequently, raise funds through WWF International offices. In Malaysia, the permission to conduct this research was granted by the Research Promotion and Coordination Committee of the Economic Planning Unit of the Malaysian Government. Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP) Peninsular Malaysia supported various aspects of the project. From the onset of the project, I have received tremendous support from the Director General, Mr. Musa bin Nordin, and the former Director General, Mr. Mohd. Khan bin Momin Khan. I thank my counterparts, Mr. Sahir bin Othman, Mr. Sivananthan Elagupillay, and Mr. Rahmat bin Topani, for facilitative support and guidance. I also thank Mr. Jasmi bin Abdul, Dr. Lim Boo Liat, and Dr. Zainal Zahari bin Zainuddin for local mentorship and other support. The former superintendent, Mr. Hassan bin Kassim, and the current superintendent, Mr. Hasnan bin Yusop of Taman Negara National Park provided much appreciated logistical support. Malek Sahak solved problems in the jungle and Rahmat Topani solved problems in town. All aspects of the fieldwork were supported and assisted by many DWNP personnel, including semi-permanent assistants Abdul Malek bin Sahak, Kamarezuan bin Kamarudzzaman, Ahmad Zaharuddin bin Abd. Hasim, Zamzuri bin Ishak; temporary assistants Jali bin Loh, Sharum bin Abd. Latiff, and Salehudin bin Awang Long from Temerloh; Rahmat bin Topani, Mohd. Rosli bin Abd. Ghani and Ibrahim bin Kesah from Kuala Lumpur; Mat Zin bin Awang Lah, Sharif bin Abdullah, Abdul Hadi bin Majid, Zulkipli bin Mat Nor, and Ahmad Roshadi bin Che Amat from Merapoh; Zukri bin Zakaria, Sallehuddin bin Deris, Zamri bin Zakaria, Kamarudzzaman bin Abu Samah, Abdullah bin Raffar, Manan bin Yusof, Mohd. Ibrahim bin Ismail from Kuala Tahan; and Zamrie bin Zoo from Lanchang. I also thank their supervisors, Zainuddin bin Abd. Shukor, Rapiah bin Muda, Hassan bin Kassim, Hasnan bin Yusop, Zulkifli iii bin Hj. Mohd. Arop, Zulkifli bin Othman and Mustpha Kamel bin Abdullah, who allowed their staff to leave their normal duties to join this project despite the chronic shortage of manpower in the Department. Thanks are also due to the project staff Song Horng Neo-Liang, Abraham Mathew, Abu Zahrim Ismail, and Hairul Azhar bin Harun. Because of their dedication, interest, diligence, and sense of humor, the project has survived many difficult situations. There were at least 4 dozen more local villagers and aborigines who worked as guides, boat men, and porters. They were all good to me beyond the work required and expected. I am indebted to all the Malaysians mentioned above and acknowledge that this achievement was a result of our team work. While I was in Malaysia, I was detached from my circle of friends. Encouraging words from my friends in various parts of the world, amounting to >1000 emails over the 4 years, kept me afloat during the most difficult times. I also thank my parents who raised me in an environment in which I was free to pursue my dream. Lastly, I would like to dedicate this dissertation to my daughter, Rionna, who has lived her whole life sharing her mother with this project and my obsession. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS...........................................................................................................ii ABSTRACT ..............................................................................................................................vi CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................1 2 STUDY AREA.....................................................................................................................7 3 POPULATION STATUS OF TIGERS IN TAMAN NEGARA NATIONAL PARK, PENINSULAR MALAYSIA Methods .......................................................................................................................14 Results..........................................................................................................................24 Discussion ....................................................................................................................28 4 EFFECTS OF HUMAN ACTIVITIES ON THE TIGER-PREY COMMUNITY Methods .......................................................................................................................57 Results..........................................................................................................................60 Discussion ....................................................................................................................63 5 CONCLUSIONS ................................................................................................................70 6 IMPLICATIONS FOR MANAGEMENT AND CONSERVATION OF TIGERS...............74 APPENDIX A SCIENTIFIC NAMES AND RESULTS OF VERTEBRATE SPECIES DETECTED WITH CAMERA TRAPS OR RECORDED DURING MONTHLY TRACK-COUNT SURVEYS IN 3 STUDY SITES, MERAPOH (MP), KUALA TERENGAN (KT), AND KUALA KOH (KK) IN TAMAN NEGARA NATIONAL PARK, MALAYSIA, 1999 – 2001..................................................................................................................84 B COMPARISON OF TRAILMASTER® AND CAMTRAKKER® REMOTE CAMERA SYSTEMS FOR DETECTING RAINFOREST MAMMALS IN MALAYSIA.................................................................................................................86 REFERENCES ....................................................................................................................... 115 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH................................................................................................... 126 v Abstract of Dissertation Presented to the Graduate School Of the University of Florida in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy POPULATION STATUS OF TIGERS (PANTHERA TIGRIS) IN A PRIMARY RAINFOREST OF PENINSULAR MALAYSIA By Kae Kawanishi December 2002 Chair: Melvin E. Sunquist Major Department: Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Ecology and conservation of tigers (Panthera tigris) are least known from the Indochinese region largely due to the difficulty of studying elusive, forest-dwelling animals that occur naturally at low densities. The paucity of basic information is a major obstacle to developing an effective conservation strategy in this region. Using camera-trapping techniques and capture-recapture population estimation models, this study provided the first statistically valid model-based density estimates of tigers in Taman Negara National Park, the most important conservation area in Peninsular Malaysia. Three study sites of approximately 200 km2 each in the lowland primary rainforest were sampled between 1999 and 2001. It took over 14,000 trap nights to accumulate 35 photographic captures of tigers or 61 tiger photos, which constituted 1.3% of the total wildlife photos. Estimated densities ( X ± SE ) of adult