Feb 2��p I Journal ojChemoand Biosphere, Issue 1: VoL 1, pp. 90-98

Key tiger habitats in the of

Ashish Kumae and Marcot B. G. 2 lAshish Kumar, JalaSRI Watershed Surveiliance and Research Institute, KCE Society's Moolji Jaitha College, Jilha Peth, Jalgaon - 425 001, ,, [email protected] 2Bruce G. Marcot, USDAForest Service, PacificNorthwest Research Station, 620 S. W. Main Street, Portland, OR 97205, U.S.A., [email protected]

Abstract We describe assumed tiger habitat characteristics andattempt to identifY potential tiger habitats in the Garo Hills region of Megha\aya, North . Conserving large forest tracts and protected wildlife habitats provides an opportunity for restoring populations of wide-ranging wildlife such as tigers and elepha.TJts. Basedon limited fieldobservations coupled with focused group discussion with local villagers andsenior staffmembers of the wildlife wing ofthe State Forest Departmentof Megahlaya,we identified 20 localities in South GaroHills, which if protected andmanaged for , could help restore this fast disappearing species. An integrated multidisciplinary landscape scale approach to wildlife management, including designation of intact forest corridors among protected areas and reserved forests, would greatlycontribute to conservation of tigers andoverall of this region.

Keywords: tiger, population viability, landscape approach, conservation, corridors, core habitats

Introduction Although the disappearance of tigers from The first ever scientific census of tiger some parks and reserves may be due, in part, to (Pantheratigris tigris) populations by the National poaching and other anthropogenic stressors, it is Tiger Conservation Authority (New ) and still vital to defineand provide for their basic needs Wildlife Institute ofIndia (Dehradun) during 2007 for habitat and prey. Tigers -- iike many other revealed the presence of only 1,411 tigers in India wide-ranging carnivores and predators -- do not (Anop_ 2009a). Inrecent years, extirpation onocal have any one set of conditions of vegetation type tiger populations from several places including and structure, la.'ld cover, and topography that and is define their "habitat." Tigers in India and south one of the most urgent conservation issues of Asia have occupied a very wide array of national concern in India. Poaching seems to be environments, from Sundarbansto thornwoodland the major reason, but we should not overlook other of Panna National Park to Tropical Moist ecological factors playing key roles in the process Evergreen Forests in GaroHills. Even one Cfu, find ofloca! extirpation, or conservation,of the species. fresh tiger tracks in agricultural fields adjacent to Other factors might include loss of core tiger Corbett National Park, banana crops around Yaval habitats from increasing encroachment, forest Wildlife Sanctuaryin Jalgaon district, andon open fragmentation, and isolation. Many such factors islands in the Brfu1.maputra River of Kaziranga can determine the survival chances of National Park. "Tiger habitat" is highly variable, comparatively smaller populations within the and likely pertains to access to reliable prey (e.g., confmes of isolated habitats.

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Why are small isolated populations at peril? It is well knownin population viabiiity theory population size (related to changes in aliele that, in general, small, isolated a..'1d temporally frequency)is only 33 individuals (using formulae variablepopulations may be subject to fargreater fromWaples 2002). Other measures of effective risk onocal extinction than are larger populations population size of 100 census adults, correcting connected to other populations in a for spatial structure, variable subpopulation metapopulation network (Fraterrigo et at. migration rates, intergenic drift, and 2003).Reasons include demographic variation, subpopulation extinction, vary from 50 to 99 environmental variation (including effects of individuals. Still other estimates can be environmental disturbance), and loss of genetic calculated correcting for variance in family size, I variability due to inbreeding, drift, and other sex ratio, and fluctuation in population size small-population effects. Extinction risk (Frankham et al. 2002). Each estimate of increases nonlinearly with small population size effective population size measures some due to a combination of many of these factors decrement to viability. Research is needed to (Liao andReed 2009). Starldardformulae canbe determine which factorsmost pertain to tigers in I • used to gauge potential degree of drift and MeghalayaandNor illEast India. inbreeding, and to calculate effective population In North EastChina, a combination of forest size which is often far smaller (half or less) than habitat disruption, decline or local extirpation of census or total population size (Waples 2002). native prey species, anddirect killing by hlh'1lans, Some factors affecting this in small populations are likely the main threats to Siberian tigers, include increased variationin birth rate, increased severely reducing or eliminating local variance in family size, decreased number of popUlations in the Wandashan, Laoiing, and subpopulations, loss of genetic variation within Mudanjiang MOlmtains. It remains as important demes with resulting decrease in viability of to briefly list the main unknowns and offspring (decline in fitness),and deviations from uncertainties as to tiger population viability in normal sex ratio. Also, the new fieldof landscape Meghalaya, as it is to list presumptions about prey, genetics is providing a means of evaluating the habitat use, numbers, and life history parameters. degree and cause of population isolation With few to no population, demography, and (Holderegger and Wagner 2006; Manei et al. ecology studies having been done in Maghalaya, 2003). there is likely much uncertainty about population For example,the inbreeding effective size of size, trend, habitat selection and prey selection, anisolated popUlation with a total census number although one could begin to pose assumptions and of 100 adults, 1 female bornper adult female,and hypotheses based on tiger studies conducted a variance of 2 offspringper adult female, is only elsewhere in India in similar environments (e.g., 49 individuals, and the variance effective southIndia). sambar, and other ungulates), water, good quantifynative forests of the region which seem to hiding cover, and at least some area remote from support tigers and that could be delineated as human habitation. The GaroHills areknown for potential core tiger habitats, and we suggest a few elephants, but this area also provides excellent conservation measures to protect this fast habitat for tigers. Until 2000, tigers were sighted in disappearingspecies. the forests of Balpakram and Baghmarain South Garo Hills (personal observation of authors). A StudyArea webpage at the official website of Goverrunent of The study area spanned 2459 km' and Meg,.1-jalaya,which was accessed on December 24, comprised South Garo Hills district and adjoining 2009, alsosuggests the existence of tigers in Garo Nokrek Biosphere Reserve a..'1d National Park· Hills(Anon. 2009b). In this paper, we describe and along with the surrounding community landin East

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and West Garo Hills districts (Fig. 1). This area during last two decades of twentieth century . belongs to biogeographiczone 9B, i.e., North East (Talukdar 2004). Forest fragmentation has - North East Hills, and falls within 90' 07'- 91" E resulted in the conversion of dense evergreen and longitude and 25' 02'- 25" 32' N latitude (Rodgers semi-evergreen forests to open deciduous forests. et at. 2000). These protected areas (PAs) include Conversion occurred mainly due to unplanned land BalpakramNational Park(BNP , 220 km\Nokrek uses, especially jhum (Kumar et at. 2002, 2008). National Park(NNP, 47.48 km', later extended to The remaining, largertracts of intact evergreen and 80 km2 anddeclared as a Biosphere Reserve), Siju semi-evergreen forest likely provide the best Wildlife Sanctuary (SWS, 5.18 km'), and habitat for wide-ranging wildlife species, Baghmara Pitcher PlantSanctuary (BPPS, 2.7 ha). especially tiger and elephant along with other Four reserved forests in the study area include carnivores and ungulates of the region. Our task Baghamara (BRF, 44.29 km\ Rewak (RRF, was to quantifY the degree of remaining forest 6.48km'), Emangiri (ERF, 8.29 km'),andAngratoli cover, fragmentation, and locations of existing intact native forest in Garo Hills for possible (ARF, 30.11 km') Reserved Forests (RFs). The consideration as additional PAs or as habitat PAs and RF s constitute only 15%of the study area, corridors to connect PAs for elephants, tigers, and with the remainder belonging to the local Garo other wildlife. community. In general, major threats to the large, wide­ Methods ranging wildlife of the study area and Meghalaya, We defined potential tiger habitat as tracts of including tigers andelephants, are from prevailing evergreen and semi-evergreen forest that are most land use and habitat-alteration practices, and intact, least fragmented, largest, and that could be increasing human encroachment. Most of the land connected with existing PAs and other such forest of the region has undergone mass scale clear felling tracts. Our assumption was that such conditions of old forest growth for shifting cultivation locally would most likely also provide for ungulate prey, known as jhum, which involves clearing and hiding cover, and remoteness from human burning of a forest patch for raising agricultural disturbance. We defined themost intact tracts that crops for a certain period usually less than5 years. were most remote from villages and human The available records of North East Indian Council disturbance as potential key or core tiger habitat. () suggest that about 19% of Meghalaya We mapped potential tiger habitats by using was brought under jhum up to 1979, which digital satellite (IRS -lD LISS III) data with a included 3.4%under current jhurnJbunagriCUlture! resolution of 23.5 m to develop a landscape cover (DSWC 1995). About 38% of families(100,201 map of major forest types and broad land use people) in Meghalaya were engaged in some form categories (Kumar et at. 2002). We devised the of jhum in most of the accessibleforestlands in the habitat map by reclassifYing land use and land state(DSE 1995). cover categories into dense and open old forest, In Meghalaya, the area under jhum increased young forest growth, bamboo brakes and from15%to 21% between 1981 and1995 withthe grassland. We interpreted the derived maps of subsequent reduction of forest cover from 69% to forest fragmentation and forest corridors prepared 63% during this 15-year period (Roy and Tomar by Kumar et al. (2008) as conditions pertinent to 2001). A study of forest fragmentation in tiger habitat. Meghalaya revealed the reduction of intact forest In South Garo Hills between1997 and2000 we cover from 54% to 38% between 1980 and 1995, conducted direct observations and compiled which had further been reduced to 30% in 2000 indirect evidence of tigers; however, no systematic

92 ======Journal o/Chemo and Biosphere, Issue 1: VoL 1, pp. 90-98 I Feb 2010 recording of direct sightings andindirect evidence these forests within the Garo Hills occurred in the have been conducted in the study area. Therefore, South Garo Hills district (1850 km'), which we have relied on secondary information of tiger comprised only 23% of the entire Garo Hills area occurrences, and associated them with our but held 50% of the Garo Hills' reported tiger vegetation andland use map categories to identif,y population (Fig. 2). Dense old tropical moist potential wildlife habitats and key tiger bearing evergreen forests (TMEF) and tropical semi­ areas, derived from the wildlife wing of the State evergreen forests (TSEF) occupied about 40% of Forest Department in the Garo Hills, published South Garo Hills, whereas open, tropical moist literature, and online information. We also deciduous forests (TMDF) and sal (Shorea conducted focus group discussions with local robusta) plantations comprised about 29% of frontline staff from wildlife wing of the Forest landscape. Bamboo growthand grassland patches Department of Meghalaya, as well as with local along with associated yOll.'1g secondary forest residents, to catalog tiger sightings anddetermine patches and non-forest areasoccupied nearly 10% potential tiger habitat. of landscape area, while the rest of the land was used for various activities by native people (Fig. 3). Results and Discussion Meghalaya's firstofficial tiger census in 1981 Tiger Numbers in Meghalaya and Garo Hills reported 10 tigers from the 120 km' core of BNP The records of the State Forest Departmentof (then Balpakra.rnWildlife Sanctuary) with a crude Meghalaya suggest that a considerable proportion density of one tiger per 12 km'. In the same year of the state's tiger population occurred in the and same area, State surveys of tiger prey species community-owned forestland. As per the State's reported 102 wild pigs (Sus sera/a), 79 sambar tiger censuses of 1972, 1979, 1984, 1989, 1993 and (Cervus unicolor), and 172 barking deer 2002, the recorded number of tigers in Meghalaya (Muntiacus muntijak); however, L'le figures may were 32, 35, 125, 34, 63 and 47 individuals, need to be verified with new censuses. There respectively (previous record of NTCA, New isclearly a need to monitor the population size, Delhi). Census numbers by district (Fig. 2) density, and dynamics of tigers and their prey suggested that tigers have been wideiy distributed species using more precise, accurate, and in the forests of the Garo, Kt'lasi and Jaintia Hills statistically-founded census methods (e.g,. Linkie districts. However, there is no published et at. 2006, Karanthet at. 2006). information on census methods, on selection of census routes and areas, and on the degree of Core Tiger HabitatAreas in Gam Hins uncertainty or error around the tiger count values. The field surveys a.l1d focused group Thus, the counts may be biased and should not be discussion revealed the presence of tigers (direct used to generate population estimates andtrends, sighting or indirect evidence) from more than 20 but canstill be used as general indications of the localities in remote hills of the stady area. It is consistent presence andwide distribution of tigers possible that some individual tigers could account within Meghalaya. for multiple reports andsightings andthus that the The GaroHills (8167 km2)with perhaps 54%of actual abundance might be much lower; however, the state's reported tiger numbers, harboured some overall, evidence of tiger presence was more of the most intact, least fragmented, and best common in South Garo Hills tha.'l elsewhere in the connected tracts of old, native evergreenand semi­ Garo Hills. Locations of tiger sightings and evergreen forests in westernMeghalaya, which we evidence in South Garo Hills corresponded largely interpret as high quality tiger habitat. Most of to larger tracts of less fragmented, old native evergreen and semi-evergreen forests, which we

93 ======I Feb 2010 I Journal ofChemoand Biosphere, Issue 1: VoL 1,pp. 90-98 thus interpreted as core tiger habitat. TSEF, constituting 23% and 54%, respectively, of The Garo Ahking tracts (villages) including old forest growth within the corridors. Most Balpakram, Sinaru, Agal-chongoppa, Pindengru, corridors comprised TSEF and TMDF with least Maogipeng, Penda, Marakabari, Pusul chiring, proportion of TMEF. A corridor connecting BNP, Deoban area, Dogep chiring, Teptepa, Ailatoli, SWS and NNP comprised the maximum area; Maheshkola, Bellibari, Narangbari, Sochet however, its actual importance to the native wide chiring, Rongdi-bisik, Nowa chiring, Ronsu-agal, ranging wildlife needs to be evaluated after Chutmang, Ampangiri, Hatitia, Passgaon, considering topographic features of corridor area Bonbera, Nadankol, Atambing, Rongsu, and within the landscape. Rewak occur within the core tiger habitats in the South Garo Hills district. More such areas could Potential Approaches and Information Needs be identifiedand designated as the tiger monitoring for EffectiveTiger Conservation points, which may be used to conduct further Tiger populations are vulnerable to human demographic studies for adequate conservation disturbancesuch as roads, andto fragmentation of plarming in the region. Systematic monitoring their habitat (Linkie et al. 2006). A new approach with statistically based sampling (MacKenzie et al. for determining the broader scale distribution and 2003) could also include locations of assumed abundance of tigers and associated prey species lower quality tiger habitat; from such data, a needs to be adopted for successful conservation of quantitative tiger resource selection function can this species. The National Tiger Conservation be derived (e.g., Forester et al. 2009), which canbe Authority (erstwhile ) and Wildlife usefulto more precisely map andpredict core tiger Institute of India have developed scientifically­ habitat and habitat corridors (Chetkiewicz and founded guidelines to monitor tigers, co-predators, Boyce 2009). prey, and their habitats (Jhala et al. 2005), which Habitat corridors canplay an importantrole in shall be U:sed in the forthcoming 2010 tiger census the dispersal of some biota as well as facilitating in India. Additional studies of vegetation andland gene flow between populations, thereby use conditions would help determine habitat for maintaining or increasing the heterozygosity tiger prey species including wild pig, sambar,and within taxa and the biodiversity of the region barkingdeer. Research is needed on tiger habitat (Hobbs et al. 1989, Norton and Nix 1991). relations at the landscape leveland specific effects Remotely sensed data are useful in identification on tiger reproduction and survival from human andmapping of forest habitat corridors (Gulinck et disturbance including roads, habitations, jhum, al. 1991). In previous work (Kumar et al. 2002, and poaching. 2008), we have identifiedseven potentialcorridors The tiger crisis in the country could be attributed of TMEF and TSEF (Fig. 4) among existing PAs in part to the absence of connectivity of andRFs. These corridors could help connect BNP populations among isolated habitats (regardlessof with NNP in the northwest, RRF in the west and size), which were designated in all good faith as BRF in the southwest. The corridors also connect Tiger Reserves. The tiger population in the Garo the adjoining SWS with NNP and RRF, Hills has a better chance of survival than in other respectively. NNP was linked with ERF with two parts of Meghalaya due to the existence of corridors, covering an area of 23 km' and 16 km" connectivity among PAs and old forest tracts containing 93% and 96% of forest cover, which, collectively, forming key tiger habitats. respectively. Some of these connectivity routes were identified The total areaof these all corridors was 274 km', as the potential wildlife habitat corridors by with old forest growth in the form of TMEF and Williams & Johnsingh (1996) and further

94 ======Journal ojChemo and Biosphere, Issue 1: VoL 1, pp. 90-98 I Feb 2010 1 examined by Kumar et al. (2008). Such corridors Service, USA; and State Forest Department of likely would facilitate the exchange of breeding Meghaiaya, India. First author gratefully individuals among tiger subpopuiations and their acknowledge the support from Sh. N.G. Bendale, prey throughout the broader landscapes of Garo hon'ble president ofKCE society andSh.A.G. Rao, Hills. principal, M.J. College for providing logistics and support to publish this work. Conclusion Our previous work identified areas containing References native forests andAsian elephants in the GaroHills 1 Anon. Tiger census: four healthy landscapes with high concentrations in South Garo Hills possible. http://www. indiatogether.org (Marcot et aL 2002 and Kumar et al. submitted). 12 009/mar/ env-tcensus.htm (webpage Conservationof the more intact, older native forest accessed onDecember 24, 2009), (2009a). habitats buffering existing protected areas and 2 Anon. West Garo Hills. http://westgarohills. providing habitat corridors to COlL'lect such areas gov.inifiora.htm (webpage accessed on would likely help conserve not just eiepharlts but December 24, 2009),(2009b) also tigers and their prey. In this way, a multi­ 3 Chetkiewicz, c.-L., and M. S. Boyce. Use of species approach to conservation of the wildlife resource selection functions to identify community can be taken. Other species of conservation corridors. Journal of conservation significance in the Garo Hills AppliedEcology46 (5): 1036-1047, (2009). needing immediate management interventions 4 DSE. Statistical Handbook of Meghalaya by may include the. (Neofelis the Directorate of Economics and Statistics, nebulosa), (Bunopithecus Governmentof Meghalaya, Shillong, (1995). hoolock), slow loris (Nycticebus coucang) and 5 DSWC. An unpublished report on the survey of shiftingcultivation in Meghalayaby many others. The old forest growths in the South the Directorate of Soil and Water GaroHills district andadjoining Nokrek Biosphere Conservation (DSWC), Government of Reserve (National Park), along with the Meghalaya, Shillong, (1995). surrounding community land, probably provide 6 Forester, J. D., H. K. 1m, and P. J. Rathouz. one of the best tiger habitatsin . If Accounting for animal movement in estimation of resource selection functions: conservationof tigers -- aswell as of elephantsand sampling and data analysis. Ecologoy overall biodiversity -- is a priority, 1i'1ese areas would need to be protected from undue alteration. 90(12):3554-3565, (2009). 7 Frankham R., Ballou J.D., all.d Briscoe D.A. Under such urgency, the PAs, connecting corridors, Introduction to conservation genetics. and appropriate intact native forest blli'fering PA s Carnbridge University Press, New York. 617 could be protected under the 'Project Tiger' and pp.,(2002). '' progrfu'IlmeS of Ministry of 8 Fraterrigo, J. M., S. M. Pearson, a'ld M. G. Environment andForests (Government ofIndia) to Turner. Joint effects of habitat configuration help ensure the long term survival of this fast and temporal stochasticity on population disappearing species of national pride in dynamics. Landscape Ecoiogy 24(7):863- Meghalaya,N ortl1East India 877,(2009). 9 Gulinck H., Walpot 0., JanssensP. andDrie I. Acknowledgement The visualization of corridors in the landscape We duly acknowledge the support of Wildlife using SPOT data, Pages 9-17. In D.A. Institute of India, Dehradun; USDA Forest Saunders and R.I. Hobbs (Eds.), Nature

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Conservation - 2: The Role of Corridors. Estimating site occupancy, colonization, Surrey Beatty & Sons Pty Limited, NSW andlocalextinction when a species is detected 2170, Australia. 442pp ., (1991). imperfectly. Ecology 84(8):2200-2207, 10 Hobbs R.J., Hussey B.M.J. and D.A. (2009). Saunders. NatureConservation 2: The Role 19 Manel, S., M. K. Schwartz, G. Luikart, and P. of Corridors.lALE Bulletin. Vol. 7 no. 2, Taberlet. Landscape genetics: combining December 1989 .(URL:http://www.crle. uogue landscape ecology and population genetics. 1 ph.ca/iale/),(1989). Trends in Ecology and Evolution 18(4):189- 11 Holderegger, R., and H. H. Wagner. A brief 197,(2009). guide to landscape genetics. Landscape 20 Marcot B.G., KumarA., Roy P.S., Sawarkar Ecology21:793-796, (2006). V.B, Gupta A., andSangama S.N. Towards a 12 Jhala, Y. V., Q Qureshi and R. Gopal. landscape conservation strategy: analysis of Monitoring Tigers, Co-predators, Prey and jhum landscape and proposed corridors for their Habitats. Technical Publication of managing elephants in South Garo Hills Project Tiger Directorate, New Delhi and District and Nokrek area, Meghalaya. Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun. 49 pp., (English with summary). The Indian (2005). Forester, February:207- 216, (2002). 13 Karanth,K. U., J. D. Nichols, N. S. Kumar,and 21 Norton, T.W. and Nix., H.A. Application of J. E. Hines. Assessing tiger population biological modeling and GIS to identifY dynamics using photographic capture regional wildlife corridors, Pages 19-26. In recapture sampling. Ecology 87(11):2925- D.A. Saunders and R.J. Hobbs (Eds.), Nature

2937. (2006). Conservation - 2: The Role of Corridors. 14 KumarA., B.G. Marcot, andP. S. Roy Spatial Surrey Beatty & Sons Pty Limited, NSW patterns and ecology of a shifting cultivation 2170, Australia442 pp., (1991). landscape in GaroHills, India. In:Patterns and 22 Rodgers W.A., Panwar H.S. andMathur v.B. Processes in Forest Landscapes:Multiple Use Wildlife Protected Area Network in India : A and Sustainable Management'(R. Lafortezza, Review (Executive Summary). Wildlife J. Chen, G. Sanesi, and T.R. Crow, Eds.). Institute of India, Dehradun (India). Pp. 44, Springer, The Netherlands.450 Pp., (2008). (2000). 15 KumarA., Gupta A.K., Marcot B.G., Saxena 23 Roy P.S. and Tomar S. Landscape cover A., Singh S.P and Marak T.T.e. Management dynamics in Meghalaya Intertational of Forests in India for BiologicalDiversity and Journal of Remote Sensing, 22 (18): 3813-25, Forests Productivity - A New Perspective, (2001). Volume IV: Garo Hills Conservation Area 24 Talukdar G. Geospatial Modelling of (GCA). WII-USDA Forest Service Shifting Cultivation Induced Landscapes of Collaborative Project Report, Wildlife Meghalaya. Ph.D. thesis submitted to the Institute of India, Dehradun. 206 pp., (2002). University of Pune, Maharashtra, India, 16 Liao, W., and D. H. Reed. Inbreeding (2004). environment interactions increase extinction 25 Waples R. S. Definition and estimation of risk. Animal Conservation 12(1):54-61, effectivepopulation size in the conservationof (2009). endangered species. Pp. 147-168 in: S. R. 17 Linkie, M., G. Chapron, D. J. Martyr, J. Beissinger and D. R. McCullough, eds. Holden, and N. Leader-Williams. (2006). Population viability analysis. The University Assessing the viability of tiger subpopulations of Chicago Press, Chicago & London. 577 in a fragmented landscape. Journal of Applied pp., (2002). Ecology43(3):576-586,(2009). 26 Williams A.C. and Johnsingh A. J. T. 18 MacKenzie; D. I., J. D. Nichols, J. E. Hines, M. Threatened elephant corridors in Garo Hills, G. Knutson, and A. B. Franklin. (2003). NorthEast India. Gajah 16: 61-68, (1996).

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5 0 5 Kilometers

/" �vlR i1Jei _ PA Boundary � n�����%nd �

a A N G LAD E $ K

Fig 1 Study area map with geographical location within India and Meghalaya. (PA Protected Areas; NP National Park; WLS Wildlife Sanctumy; l\1F ManagedForests known as RF

Reserved Forests in Garo Hills; a'1d PPS = Pitcher Plant Sanctuary).

Jaintia Hil!s 11% East and West Garo Hills 27%

Khasi Hil 35%

Fig 2 Tiger census statistics (1992-93) in Meghalaya (Source: The office of Chief Wildlife Warden of Meghalaya during 1996-1997).

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Fig 3 Land use and forest cover in the Garo Hills of western Meghalaya. (map prepared using satellite IRS-l D LIS S-III digital data ofFebruary 1999 at 23.5 m x 23.5 ill resolution and Survey ofIndia toposheets) (Source: reclassified fromland use land cover map published at Kumar et al. 2002).

+ o 5km tV PAs il!\d Mfscm",a;anll :::' CorridorsBoundar\' Lew Fragmentation Medium Fragmentation Hlgh Fragmentation

90"30' 90"45' Fig 4 Potential wildlife habitat corridors connecting adjacent Protected Areas and Reserved Forests(Source: Kumaret al. 2008).

' Thejhum agriculture involves the dearing and subsequent burning of debris of old forest growth to get the site for raising the agricultural crops (paddy, maize, cotton, potato and maI'Y vegetables) for a shorter period, while the bun agriculture involves the clearing and burning of shrub layer and grasses in the absence offorest cover.

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