What’s in the news?

• To revive the population of tigers in Sahyadri Tiger Reserve (STR) Maharashtra state’s forest department will translocate tigers from Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR). According to the experts, the objective of the project can only be achieved if the Sahyadri-Konkan wildlife corridor is secure enough and free from human disturbances.

Tiger Translocation

• Translocation of tigers could be undertaken to address the following two goals:
  • Re-introduction – It means an attempt to establish a tiger population in an area which was once part of its historical range, but from which it has been extirpated or become extinct.
  • Re-inforcement/Supplementation: It is the addition of tigers to an existing population to enhance its long-term viability. 

• Tiger translocation projects have been undertaken in India since 2008. 
• Sariska Tiger Reserve, in 2008, and Panna Tiger Reserve, in 2009, have witnessed successful tiger reintroduction and translocation projects.

What are wildlife corridors?

• Wildlife Corridors are essentially habitats and pathways that connect wildlife populations, which are fragmented by human settlements and infrastructure works.
• In 2014-15, the National Tiger Conservation Authority and Wildlife Institute of India (WII) mapped 32 major tiger corridors in the country across four broad tiger landscapes – Shivalik Hills and Gangetic plains, Central India and Eastern Ghats, Western Ghats, and the North East Hills.

Major Wildlife Corridors in India

• Corbett-Rajaji Corridor – Uttarakhand
• Kanha-Pench Corridor -Madhya Pradesh
• Bandipur-Nagarahole Corridor – Karnataka
• Periyar-Agasthyamalai Corridor – Kerala-Tamil Nadu
• Western Ghats Corridor – Western Ghats
• Eastern Ghats Corridor – Eastern Ghats

Role of wildlife corridors in conservation of tigers

• The corridors are crucial for the long-term survival of the tiger population as they help guard against localised extinctions.
• It ensures the exchange of gene flow, which helps in population diversity. 
• Tigers have large home ranges and often travel long distances in search of mates and food. In doing so, they make use of these wildlife corridors and cross several human-dominated landscapes. 

Sahyadri-Konkan Corridor

• It is nestled in the north central Western Ghats.
• It runs nearly parallel to the Western coast of India and spans across Maharashtra, Goa, and Karnataka.

Importance of the Sahyadri-Konkan corridor

• The Sahyadri-Konkan corridor or the Sahyadri-Radhanagari-Goa-Karnataka corridor is crucial for the long-term survival of tiger populations in northern Western Ghats. 
• This corridor connects the source population area in Kali Tiger Reserve in Karnataka to the forests in Goa’s hinterland, which in turn provides tigers connectivity to Radhanagari Wildlife Sanctuary.

Sahyadri Tiger Reserve

• Location: Sahyadri ranges of Western Ghats. It straddles Kolhapur, Satara, Sangli, and Ratnagiri districts in western Maharashtra.
• Established in:  January 2010. 
• It comprises Chandoli National Park and Koyna Wildlife Sanctuary.
• Habitat attributes: The habitat of Sahyadri is composed of woodlands, grasslands and plateau. The grasslands and plateau is locally referred to as “Sadaa”, which are lateritic in nature.
• Fauna: The Tiger Reserve is the home to Tiger, Wild dog,Leopard, Gaur, Sambar, Four Horned Antelope, Mouse Deer and Giant Squirrel. The habitat also supports Hornbills, and many other endemic Birds. 
• The tiger population in the region has been historically low due to poaching, poor prey base, and changing habitat. Even after the reserve was notified, the number of tigers did not increase as breeding tigers did not colonise the reserve.

Sources

• https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/tiger-translocation-sahyadri-wildlife-corridor-9314268/
• https://ntca.gov.in/assets/uploads/briefnote/sahyadri.pdf
• https://ntca.gov.in/assets/uploads/guidelines/translocation_protocol.pdf