IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
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| Preliminary report of the National Tiger Survey of Bhutan 2014 (updates from the southern belt) | |
| 2014 Full Book | |
Tigers are our national treasure. Loss of tigers would mean loss of our both cultural and natural heritage. The Royal Government of Bhutan has always prioritized tiger conservation through a strong political commitment demonstrated by devoting more than 50% of the country to protected areas that can ensure long-term survival of tigers. The country also reaffirmed its commitment to conserve tigers during the 2010 Tiger Summit in Russia. Recognizing the immense ecological and cultural significance of tigers, the Department of Forest and Park Services has launched a nation-wide survey of tigers in February 2014 with the aim to estimate tiger abundance, density, and distribution in the country, and also to document local people's perception of the tiger. The survey is being conducted by a team of Bhutanese nationals in various capacities ranging from the national core team to regional coordinators and focal persons at the divisional and range levels. So far, camera trap surveys have been completed in the entire southern belt of the country, covering 43% of the 1,522 grids (5 km x 5 km). From a total of 39,000 trap-nights 543 tiger images were obtained, reflecting a trapping success of 1.39. While the data analysis is still in process, 20 individuals have been identified as of now. Aside from being able to document the presence of many previously unknown mammals and develop a strong database in the respective field divisions and parks, images of 48 species of mammals have been documented so far from the camera-traps. From this preliminary round of survey, the survey team has learned many critical lessons from this preliminary round of survey, which are valuable for the scientific communities and for improvement in the next round of surveys in the northern belt. |
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