ISSN (Online) - 2349-8846 Connecting Wildlife Corridors Looking Beyond Ranthambhore JIMMY BORAH, JOSEPH VATTAKAVEN, RAVI SINGH, SITARAM TAIGOR, SUNNY SHAH Vol. 50, Issue No. 36, 05 Sep, 2015 Jimmy Borah ([email protected]), Sunny Shah, Joseph Vattakaven, Sitaram Taigor and Ravi Singh are with World Wildlife Fund India, New Delhi. Tigers from Ranthambhore National Park move through degraded and fragmented forest patches and agricultural fields to reach Kuno Palpur Wildlife Sanctuary and Madhav National Park—two of the most important corridors in the Western India Tiger Landscape. We present the challenges and possible solutions to mitigate threats for these corridors, often overlooked in favour of larger sanctuaries and forest areas. To effectively manage human wildlife conflict in key landscapes, it becomes imperative that the areas and habitats outside the “core tiger reserve” are also provided equal attention and managed properly. Many such areas are present in the 30,000 sq km of Western India Tiger Landscape (WITL), within Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. ISSN (Online) - 2349-8846 Western India Tiger Landscape (Sunny Shah) WITL has a network of Protected Areas (PAs) that includes two tiger reserves, namely Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve (RTR) and Mukandara Hills Tiger Reserve (MHTR). Other national parks (NP) and wildlife sanctuaries (WLS) in the landscape are Kailadevi WLS, Sawai Mansingh WLS, Kwalji WLS, Kuno-Palpur WLS, Madhav NP, National Chambal WLS, Ramgarh-Vishdhari WLS, Ghatigaon WLS, Van Vihar (Dhaulpur) and the Karera Bustard WLS. Some of these are well connected with forested habitat, while some others are disjointed. Ranthambhore’s Tigers The importance of protecting corridors and surrounding landscapes in order to enable animal movement has been extensively studied and highlighted. RTR harbours a healthy population of tigers vital in national strategies for tiger conservation. Adequate protection and better management have so far ensured the survival of tigers in Ranthambhore, which is connected to its neighbouring PAs with forested blocks, ravines, river streams, gorges, crop lands and multiple use land. Ranthambhore Landscape (Sunny Shah) Connectivity to the north and south of RTR is through the gorges, forest blocks, Banas River tributaries and linear forest blocks on hills. Towards the north-western side of Ranthambhore, five rivers and six tributaries of river Chambal provide passages for tigers to ISSN (Online) - 2349-8846 easily move towards the Kuno Palpur WLS. The dispersal of surplus tigers from Ranthambhore, to these adjacent forests through existing habitat corridors is very much desired (Jhala et al 2007) to maintain the gene pool. There have been frequent reports of individual tigers dispersing out into neighbouring forests of Kailadevi WLS, Kuno-Palpur WLS and Madhav NP through the highly fragmented and human populated areas. Kuno-Palpur WLS is about 100 km (8 -10 km arial distance between the nearest boundaries) to the south-east of RTR in Madhya Pradesh (Figure 1). Kuno Wildlife Division, spread over an area of 1280 sq km, has been identified and prepared as a second home of the Asiatic lion, after Gir National Park indicating good prey availability (Johnsingh et al 2007). A further 100 km to the east is the 354 sq km Madhav NP, rich in ungulates and avifauna. At a considerable risk of human conflict and poaching, tigers from RTR move through degraded and fragmented forest patches and agricultural fields to reach either of these two forests. Currently, one male tiger at Kuno and a female tigress with two cubs at Madhav have been reported. We present here a brief on challenges and possible interventions to mitigate threats for these areas with potential to sustain tiger and its prey population for a long term. Fig Map showing location of Ranthambhore NP, Kailadevi WLS, Kuno-Palpur WLS and Madhav NP, along with other protected areas in WITL. Kailadevi Wildlife Sanctuary ISSN (Online) - 2349-8846 Kailadevi WLS is the northern extension of the Ranthambhore National Park and is part core and part buffer zone of the RTR. The sanctuary is located in the Karauli district of Rajasthan and falls within the Karauli and Sapotra blocks. It is spread over a total area of 674 sq km. The WLS is bounded on the west by the river Banas and on the south by the river Chambal. The forest area that comprises the sanctuary is home to several pastoral and agricultural communities who are dependent substantially on its resources for their livelihood. Kailadevi Landscape (Sunny Shah) The vegetation is of the dry deciduous type with a predominance of Anogiesus pendula, locally known as dhok. There are three altitudinal levels of the sanctuary and the vegetation types are distinct in those. In the uppermost tabletop area there is an abundance of dhok. In the lower tabletop there is a predominance of Euphorbia sp. and jharber (Zizyphus numularia). The lowermost level comprises mostly ravines with flat land near the banks of the river Chambal mostly having chakwa (Anogeisus pendula), babul/kikar (Acacia nilotica) and Vilayati babul (Prosopis juliflora). The terrain is characterised by some valleys and river gorges, locally referred to as khos. Apparently due to higher moisture retention and cooler temperatures, these khos are considered very suitable habitats for wildlife and nurture a wide variety of flora and fauna. The fauna commonly reported from this area includes nilgai, sambar, chitals, chinkara, ISSN (Online) - 2349-8846 striped hyena, wolves, sloth bears and Indian porcupine, among a host of other species. Transient tigers have occasionally been reported from Kailadevi who use the area to disperse across the landscape. The most recent tiger was reported during the month of November 2014 when a tiger dispersing from Ranthambhore was traced here. The individual was identified as T-71, cub of tigress T-30 by forest department and World Wildlife Fund (WWF)-India. Forest Grazing and Mines The presence of more than 50 villages in the critical tiger habitat (CTH) is creating tremendous pressure on the natural resources such as fodder, fuel wood, non-timber forest produce and timber for agriculture and house construction within the sanctuary. Most of the villages are multi-caste in their composition compromising predominantly of Meenas and the Gujjar’s. On an average, the number of cattle heads per family varies between four and 15. The cattle are of the local variety. Some communities like Bairva also keep goats and sheep. All the local communities set up cattle camps in the forest areas and are dependent on the fodder resources from the sanctuary. Timber collection, fodder extraction, grazing of livestock and fuel wood collection are therefore major threats. A socio-economic status report of the local communities would be helpful to engage more closely with local communities. Initiating an interim relief programme for the villagers against depredation of livestock by large carnivores could be an entry point activity. Although most of the mining activities are banned inside the sanctuary, there are number of mines operating around and very close to the sanctuary. The area is rich in shale and sandstone, which is extensively mined in this part of Rajasthan. Illegal mining activities are rampant in the forests adjoining the sanctuary. There have been occasional instances and reporting of poisoning of animals from the area. Local communities have reported that there have been occasions when they have heard gunshots at night. The forest department however does not believe that there are any significant threats to wildlife from poachers in the area. Two species in particular are threatened—vultures and the Indian wolf. A regular survey of the vulture population should be carried out by the forest department. The department could also consider compensating the villagers against possible depredation of livestock by wolves, so that they could be taken into confidence. Chambal River Stretch In WITL, riverine ecosystem habitats also support tiger dispersal towards neighbouring protected areas from Ranthambhore. The drainage area created by river Chambal is one of the best examples of such an ecosystem. The National Chambal Sanctuary (NCS) is among ISSN (Online) - 2349-8846 the most important and significant habitats where several globally threatened fauna still survive. National Chambal Sanctuary at Pali where Chambal and Parvati river confluence (Sitaram Taigor) Around 350 km stretch of river Chambal falls in WITL, while other rivers includes Mez, Kali sindh, Parban, Parvati, Banas and Kuno. This river sanctuary forms a vital corridor and link for the movement and dispersal of tiger from the source population at Ranthambhore TR to the PAs of Kuno-Palpur WLS, Madhav NP and Mukandara hills TR. Despite being one of the last remnant rivers in the greater Gangetic Drainage Basin to have retained significant conservation values, the Chambal River faces severe extractive and intrusive pressures for resources. Much of the Chambal basin has been influenced by a long history of human occupation. Anthropogenic influences are chiefly in the form of dams, sand-mining, cultivations along the shore, fishing and other domestic activities. The Chambal River also suffers severe hydrological modifications from water impoundment and extraction (Nair and Krishna 2013). The Gharial (Gavialis gangeticus) and Gangetic River Dolphins (Platanista gangetica) are the flagship species in the region. It contains the most viable breeding populations of the critically endangered gharial and red-crowned roofed turtle (Batagur kachuga). It is also among the most important strongholds of the Deccan Mahaseer (Tor khudree), Putitor Mahaseer (Tor putitora), narrow-headed soft shell Turtle (Chitra indica), three striped roofed Turtle (Batagur dhongoka), Indian Skimmer (Rynchops albicollis), Black-bellied Tern (Sterna acuticauda) and Sarus Crane (Grus antigone) (Taigor and Rao, 2010a; Nair and Krishna 2013). The NCS also serves as among the best over-wintering sites for migratory ISSN (Online) - 2349-8846 birds. Protecting a Riverine Ecosystem Increasing demand for water from the surrounding human habitations is the greatest threat to the Chambal.