Restoring habitats to save tigers
What’s a buffer zone, and why does planting trees and digging ponds help tigers? From cattle food to nature camps, you’ll be surprised how best to make conservation a success in India.
Wild Tiger in India (c) Yashvardhan Dalmia
Have you booked your ticket yet? On 29th July, Born Free is holding a free lunchtime tiger conservation webinar, and you’re invited! Hosted by Born Free Executive President Will Travers OBE, you’ll hear from some of our remarkable colleagues in India, and discover 21 years of challenges and success, plus plans for the future.
Since our conservation work began in India in 2004, tiger numbers have more than doubled. But, as you might imagine, when protecting big carnivores like tigers and lions in the wild, the path to peaceful coexistence with local people isn’t always straightforward.
This is why Born Free is dedicated to the Satpuda Landscape Tiger Partnership in India – a network of organisations with a broad range of initiatives. These allow us, as a team, to take a multifaceted approach to tiger conservation and enable local communities to safely live alongside these magnificent animals.
One of our expert partners is The Corbett Foundation which, since 1994, has been devoted to protecting India’s wildlife.
“The Corbett Foundation’s work in Central India takes many different approaches, but they always involve the local community,” explains our Head of Conservation Dr Nikki Tagg. “For example, their stall-feeding programme, supported by Born Free, aims to reduce numbers of ‘free-ranging cattle’ roaming in natural ecosystems, by growing high quality fodder to feed them with.
“From providing free veterinary clinics, to helping develop sustainable livelihood initiatives and running nature education camps for schools, The Corbett Foundation is working tirelessly to promote tiger conservation. No wonder Born Free is so honoured to work with them!”
Habitat Restoration before after (c) TCF
One of The Corbett Foundation’s latest successes has been the restoration of over 1,700 hectares of ‘buffer land’ – the areas of land which surround a number of protected tiger reserves.
Initially, surveys were carried out around the reserves. These helped the team understand what species of plants were present, both native and invasive, as well as what wildlife were using the buffer zones. Camera traps were also set up to understand which animals made use of these planned restoration plots.
The team then got to work removing invasive plant species, instead planting native saplings and sowing seeds. As you can imagine, ‘alien’ plants can compete with native plants for resources, leading to a decline in native species in an ecosystem.
Ecosystems evolve in a fine balance, inhabited by the plants and animals naturally occurring in an area. The introduction of new plants or animals can cause an imbalance and lead to declines in biodiversity and ‘ecosystem health’. From the Satpura Tiger Reserve alone, 3,000 tonnes of invasive plants were removed.
The team also developed water retention structures in the Satpura Tiger Reserve. Water is one of the most crucial factors determining vegetation and wildlife presence. The Satpura Tiger Reserve has been experiencing water shortages, especially in the summer, something likely to be particularly exacerbated by climate change. To ensure wildlife can survive in the protected area, the development of ponds throughout the reserve has been essential.
In the Bandhavgardh-Sanjay Dubri Corridor, wildlife populations are increasing, particularly tigers, elephants, leopards and gaur. While this is great news for wildlife, it makes eco-restoration efforts even more important. By increasing and improving the state of forested habitats, these populations can continue to flourish.
Tiger conservation is not only about protecting the tigers themselves. It’s about protecting their prey, their habitats and ensuring they all have everything they need to thrive, without having to stray into human-dominated areas, where conflict is more likely to occur. The Corbett Foundation’s habitat restoration programme is ensuring wildlife still has a home in Central India.
Born Free is so proud to partner with The Corbett Foundation and values their commitment to tiger conservation. Together, with your help, we can protect India’s tigers.
Join us on Tuesday 29th of July for our Turn the Tide for Tigers Webinar. Hosted by our Executive President Will Travers, with speakers from the Satpuda Landscape Tiger Partnership. Held on Zoom, in this free webinar you can hear directly from field conservationists about our work to protect tigers.