Habitat loss can occur from a handful of things from deforestation, building and infrastructure, wildfires, palm oil, and natural disasters (AFW, 2020; Panthera Threats facing the Tiger, 2020; SWT Threats, 2020). The World Wildlife Wildlife Fund states that habitat loss is a main threat to 85% of all species listed as threatened and endangered under the IUCN Red List (WWF Habitat Loss, 2020). Save Wild Tigers says that only 7% of the tigers historical range is still intact today and Panthera states that tigers remain in only 4% of its historic range (Panthera Threats Facing the Tiger, 2020; SWT Threats, 2020). One study found that natural tiger home ranges can be as small as 14.2 km2, and as large as 294 km (McGinnis, 2015). A good habitat for tigers has room for them to carry natural behaviors like swimming, climbing, stalking, and predation (Pitsko, 2003).
The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has created a Monitoring System for Tigers: Intensive Protection and Ecological Status (M-STrIPES) project that uses modern technology to assist in effective patrolling, assess ecological status and mitigate human-wildlife conflict in and around tiger reserves (NTCA Our Work, 2020). They use global positioning systems (GPS), general packet radio services (GPRS) and remote sensing to collect information from the field, create a database and analyze the information using GIS and statistical tools to assist reserve managers in better managing their wildlife resources (NTCA Our Work, 2020). The NTCA in collaboration with the State Forest Departments, the Wildlife Institute of India and conservation partners conduct a national assessment every four years on the ‘status of tigers, co-predators, pey and their habitat’ (NTCA Our Work, 2020).
The African Wildlife Foundation claims that habitat los is the leading threat to Africa’s biodiversity (AFW, 2020). In 2010 in India it was learned that tiger habitat is decreasing in size and this is impacting genetic connectivity between individual tiger populations (NTCA Our Work, 2020). The decreasing habitat size also creates small pockets of habitat that is surrounded by the human population (SWT Threats, 2020). These small pockets make it harder for tigers to roam which can result in inbreeding and a reduction in genetic diversity (SWT Threats, 2020).
Tigers are an apex predator, meaning they are at the top of the food chain. Having tigers in their natural habitat also helps other animal and plant species in the same habitat and promotes biodiversity. When tigers lose their habitat the other animal species in the same area are also displaced which causes a depletion in prey for tigers (Panthera Threats facing the Tiger, 2020). The tigers get pushed out of the area that was their habitat and come into conflict with humans (Panthera Threats facing the Tiger, 2020).
In September and October of 2019 a fire in Indonesia burned 8% of the Sembilang National Park (Standaert, 2019). The fires were caused by illegal logging in conjunction with palm oil plantations (Standaert, 2019). It is believed that 49,400 acres of tiger habitat were burned in this fire (Standaert, 2019).Between August and September around 30% of tiger habitat burned in Sembilang (Standaert, 2019). Climate change created a drier than normal season which played a role in the fire (Standaert, 2019). Wildfires do not only destroy habitat for wildlife, they also impact people. In 2015 in Indonesia over 100,000 people died from a fire caused by slash-and-burn agriculture (Standaert, 2019).
Palm oil has multiple different names and is in almost everything. It is so popular because one ton of palm oil can be produced using only 0.26 ha of land, compared to rapeseed oil that needs 1.25 ha of land to produce one ton (RSPO About, 2020). Palm Oil is destroying tigers habitat and is found in almost everything. The largest growth of palm oil plantations are in Malaysia and Indonesia, both areas where tigers roam (WWF Habitat Loss, 2020). The key is to find sustainable palm oil.
The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) was created in 2001 and unites stakeholders to set environmental and social criteria which companies must comply with in order to produce certified sustainable palm oil (RSPO About, 2020). Only 19% of the global production of palm oil is certified by the RSPO (RSPO About, 2020). The Cheyenne Mountain Zoo created a wonderful app, Palm Oil (its green with a silhouette of an orangutan), that allows you to look up items or scan their barcode to see if they are part of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). This is a great way to see if the items you use, use sustainable palm oil. Download the app and begin checking everything you use to ensure that company uses sustainable palm oil.
The Tiger Trust of India has the saying ‘Save the Forest: Save the Tiger!’ (Tiger Trust, 2017). Together we can protect tiger habitat and save the tiger.
*Tiger in photographer is Berani at the San Diego Zoo, taken by Helene Hoffman. You can visit her Flickr account.
Literature Cited
African Wildlife Foundation. (2020). Land & habitat protection.
Hoffman, H. (2016). Tiger in his den [Photograph]. https://www.flickr.com/photos/helenehoffman/31795247784/in/photolist-QrCXrj-DL4Phb-Gv8kuD-GsS5tQ-GoQfdH-FSCJmc-D2oF8U-Ddohw1-Gi7VwR-GoQdSB-Gixxsv-BBEZsb-AzXiGn-FFr4L4-H3EW3i-RtgNGP-RnRBJW-AeJ2st-EdU3VS-FSwZRo-CGcAKa-CWx6fV-DKMe3L-H3EXnH-DeVpce-Av2Pqq-vqcBnC-Daw6uM-DfGGwB-B5NH5U-FogFPt-DN6JCD-FWS7JA-vnyFPQ-CLCxh8-A75nfa-DVaG8h-wED4ZF-vEFnYT-DVvGgT-AwFubG-wEvWFA-AeA8Rh-vhACEW-zAcxZx-Et1Nnq-sXwyWU-AxDd2S-ueks1c-rE4344
McGinnis, L. (2015). Tigers and territory: The issues we see with home range size and
conservation in these big cats. https://wp.natsci.colostate.edu/finding
porpoise/tigers-and-territory-the-issues-we-see-with-home-range-size-and-conservation-in-these-big-cats/
National Tiger Conservation Authority (2020, September 2). Our work: M-STRIPES.
Panthera. (2020). Threats facing the tiger. https://www.panthera.org/cat/tiger
Pitsko, L. E. (2003, April 25). Wild tigers in captivity: A study of the effects of the captive
environment on tiger behavior. https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/bitstream/
Roundtable Sustainable Palm Oil. (2020). About. https://rspo.org/about
Save Wild Tigers. (2020). Threats. https://www.savewildtigers.org/the-facts/threats-tigers
Standaert, M. (2019, November 15). ‘Timebomb’: Fires devastate tiger and elephant habitat in
Tiger Trust. (2017). Home. http://tigertrustindia.org/Home.aspx
World Wildlife Fund. (2020). Habitat loss.
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