IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
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| Smith, J.L.D.; Cutter, P. | |
| Assessing the status of tigers in the Western Forest Complex of Thailand and developing a landscape scale management plan | |
| 2002 Full Book | |
Over a four year period from 1997 to 2000, we surveyed a large portion of the Western Forest Complex--an expansive landscape (~10000 km2) of contiguous, mostly forested protected areas in western Thailand to assess the status of tigers, their prey base, and other factors potentially affecting the tiger population in this area. In particular, we sought to answer the following questions: 1.What proportion of the core area of the Western Forest Complex is occupied by tigers? 2.What are the landscape-scale patterns of tiger prey distribution and quality in this area? 3.What are the landscape-scale patterns of human impact in this area? 4.Are patterns of tiger distribution, tiger prey distribution, and human impacts related? To assess tiger distribution, irregular transect or "recce" style tiger sign surveys were conducted on approximately 1880 km of roads, trails, streams, and ridges.To assess relative prey abundance, pellet/dung count plots were carried out on 57 km of transects at 114 discrete locations. Methods followed those used extensively throughout the Terai area of Nepal allowing for a comparison of relative densities between these two areas During the course of the study, 150 interviews were carried out at 29 villages and 47 Thai Royal Forest Department (RFD) stations in and around the study area These guided discussions provided additional information on the distribution of tigers and other wildlife as well as valuable insights into patterns of human use and impacts Visits to captive facilities during the course of the investigation resulted in a database of track measurements of tigers of known age and sex and the establishment of objective criteria for estimating the age and sex of tigers whose tracks were measured in the field. Applying these criteria to the pooled "unknown" sign collected during the investigation provides a snapshot of tiger demographics during the survey period An evaluation of these data using very conservative assumptions yields an estimated minimum adult tiger population of 6 males and 21 females within the area surveyed which is roughly 30% of the entire Western Forest Complex. A preliminary assessment of tiger distribution, tiger prey distribution, and human impacts indicates that there is a significant relationship between both tiger distribution and tiger prey distribution and between tiger distribution and human impact patterns. The data collected to date are currently being used to create predictive models of tiger and tiger prey distribution beyond the bounds of the study area with the ultimate goal being a predictive map of tiger distribution in western Thailand and eastern Burma. |
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