Stripes or spots: Ecological reflections on the state of Palpur-Kuno

31st May, 2012

With recent habitat improvements and rehabilitation of villages from Palpur-Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary, a striped cat from Ranthambore has made Kuno its home. This is the second tiger that has migrated from Ranthambore. The cat was reported from Kuno in February last year and has been there ever since. With a potential riverine corridor between the two Protected areas along the Chambal and Kuno rivers and Ranthambore’s increasing population of tigers, more of these cats may soon migrate to Kuno from Ranthambore. Together with the Asiatic lion and African cheetah introductions stalled by diverse reasons, our national animal may slowly establish a population in the colossal forested landscape of Palpur-Kuno.

Palpur-Kuno wildlife sanctuary is situated in the Sheopur district of Madhya Pradesh about a 100 km from Ranthambore in adjoining Rajasthan. The 345 sq.km sanctuary has a generous buffer, which together forms a relatively large forested landscape of nearly 1300 sq.km. The habitat resembles many central Indian forests, with some patches of grassland which may gradually be overtaken by woodland. Many potential tiger prey species are found here, namely the Cheetal, Sambar and Nilgai. Smaller antelopes such as Chowsingha, Blackbuck and the Indian Gazelle also graze its premises. In addition, large numbers of feral cattle roam in profusion during the daytime. Prima facie prey densities seem adequate to support a small population of tigers and Palpur-Kuno may soon find some trotting on its trails. If at all the lion and cheetah do come, this potential smorgasbord of large carnivores would be a cat biologist’s delight. But, could Palpur-Kuno serve the conservation interests of any of these species? A recent study suggests it may, for the tiger.

A recently published study by Reddy et al. (2012) in the journal PLoS ONE uses genetic evidence and indicates that tigers move from Ranthambore to Palpur-Kuno and adjoining Madhav national Park- also situated in Madhya Pradesh. It states that this movement has largely been unidirectional as there was no evidence for first generation migration from Madhav or Palpur-Kuno to Ranthambore. It also suggests that migrating tigers have bred in newer areas adding to the genetic diversity of these smaller populations. It stresses on the importance of connectivity for tiger movement between these three reserves and managing them as one large landscape. This means inter-state collaborations between Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh to conserve the existing riverine corridors- most of which fall outside any legal protection status. Interestingly, many of these corridors along the Chambal and Kuno rivers are dominated by gullies and ravines and are treated as ‘wastelands’ by the Ministry of Rural development.

Tigers are known to be territorial and aggressive and studies have shown that they have a potentially delimiting effect on leopard populations. So, if at all tigers do set ground in Kuno, the possibility of negative interactions with the ‘mesopredators’ is expected. This includes the controversial African cheetah- alien, exotic and completely naïve to encounters with tigers. If at all introduced in the next couple of years, the presence of tigers may likely dampen any population resurrection efforts for the cheetah. Even if it is soft released, the high chances of interspecific killing cannot be ruled out. Add leopards and possibly Asiatic lions to this frame, and the cheetah has nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. Ecological separation between the larger and the smaller predators, as seen in Africa, may not be emulated in the Indian scenario.

Politically, the cheetah introduction project has given the state of Gujarat another alibi to delay the lion introduction in Kuno. Gujarat has hung onto the argument that the cheetah needs to be introduced before the lion to give it a better chance of survival. One also wonders the wisdom of such massive investments- the cheetah introduction project is budgeted at a whooping 300 crore. With such glaring uncertainties about the cheetah’s survival, deficient attention to other native species and the need to introduce lions into Palpur-Kuno, the cheetah project seems entirely grounded on horseback opinions.

So, where do we go from here? The pros and cons of the cheetah introduction have been much debated. The Supreme Court has, presently, sensibly stayed the Cheetah introduction. If all goes well, tigers may repopulate Palpur-Kuno in their own time, but the Asiatic lions would still need to be introduced once Gujarat accedes. As for now, the lion seems to have a better chance of survival at Kuno than the cheetah, which is plagued by both political and ecological upheavals. However, ecological interactions between the two apex predators need to be monitored closely if the lions do come. Kuno needs charismatic flagships and for once it could be two of the most formidable large predators found in Asia- the lion and the tiger.