Tempa-Bhutan-Tigers-2019.Pdf
Biological Conservation 238 (2019) 108192 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Biological Conservation journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/biocon The spatial distribution and population density of tigers in mountainous T terrain of Bhutan ⁎ Tshering Tempaa,b, , Mark Hebblewhitea, Jousha F. Goldbergc, Nawang Norbud,e, Tshewang R. Wangchukf, Wenhong Xiaoa, L. Scott Millsa,g a Wildlife Biology Program, W.A. Franke College of Forestry and Conservation, University of Montana, Missoula, MT-59801, USA b Global Tiger Center, Department of Forests and Park Services, Ministry of Agriculture and Forests, Bhutan c Department of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521, USA d Bhutan Ecological Society, Chubachu, Thimphu, Bhutan e Center for Himalayan Environment and Development Studies, School for Field Studies, Bhutan f Bhutan Foundation, 21 Dupont Circle, NW, Washington DC-20036, USA g Office of Research and Creative Scholarship, University of Montana, Missoula, MT 59801,USA ABSTRACT Habitat loss, prey depletion, and direct poaching for the illegal wildlife trade are endangering large carnivores across the globe. Tigers (Panthera tigris) have lost 93% of their historical range and are experiencing rapid population declines. A dominant paradigm of current tiger conservation focuses on conservation of 6% of the presently occupied tiger habitat deemed to be tiger source sites. In Bhutan, little was known about tiger distribution or abundance during the time of such classi- fication, and no part of the country was included in the so-called 6% solution. Here we evaluate whether Bhutan is a potential tiger source sitebyrigorously estimating tiger density and spatial distribution across the country. We used large scale remote-camera trapping across n = 1129 sites in 2014–2015 to survey all potential tiger range in Bhutan.
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