India is home to circa 2967 Bengal tigers, which accounts for 70% of the worlds wild tigers population (AITE, 2019). More than 1000 of these tigers live in human-dominated landscapes, outside protected nature reserves.
One such area is Bhopal district in Madhya Pradesh region. The presence of tigers near urban areas such as Bhopal (almost 2 million people) is full of risks for both the tiger and people who live in the area. Livestock of peasants, and sometimes even people, get killed by tigers, while tigers get killed by road accidents, trapped by poachers, or killed out of fear or revenge.
D.P Srivastava
PhD-researcher D.P Srivastava is using a bio-social approach to investigate the prospects of tiger survival in and around Bhopal city. He is using the Sensing Clues Wildlife Intelligence Platform to collect and analyse tiger-signs of presence (such as sightings and paw prints), its prey-base, the presence of co-predators, and human-tiger interactions.
Insights of Srivastava’s project help the State Forestry Department to monitor the landscape and mitigate the risks of negative tiger-human interactions.
Bengal tiger in Bhopal district, caught on camera-trap
Bhopal district
The study is supported by Wildlife Institute of India (Dehradun), MP Forest Department, MP State Biodiversity Board, and Rufford Foundation (UK).
Donations are welcome to support this important work.