Prey, habitat quality play key role in restoring tiger populations

In 2009, Panna Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh lost all its tigers to poaching. They were reintroduced a few years later and have since re-established populations.

While carnivore reintroduction has been considered as an important strategy to restore ecological balance, a recent study highlights that prey abundance and habitat quality also play an essential role.

“Focusing exclusively on the apex predator (for ecosystem recovery) tells only a fraction of the story. The answer lies in the broader mammalian community that supports them,” says Supratim Dutta, research scholar at the Wildlife Institute of India and one of the authors of the study. “The real question is not whether tigers came back, but what made that recovery possible.”

A landscape built on extremes

Panna Tiger Reserve spans 1,574 square kilometres across Madhya Pradesh, with 542 sq km of core and a larger buffer zone. The terrain is rugged, cut through by the Ken River, the only perennial water source. Summers can touch 45 degrees celsius, and winters drop to around 5 degrees celsius. Vegetation is largely a tropical dry deciduous forest.

The reserve supports a dense mammal community. Tigers and leopards are apex predators. Below them in the chain are wolves, jackals and hyenas. Prey includes chital, sambar, nilgai and wild pig. Around...

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