KATHMANDU: To pinpoint the exact population of wild Bengal tigers and to combat poaching, Nepal will start "fingerprinting" its big cats from this fall, marking a switchover to hi-tech DNA profiling from the current tiger censuses conducted the old-fashioned way by using cameras and assessing pugmarks.
The two-year Nepal Tiger Genome Project, funded by the US Agency for International Development, will be conducted by Kathmandu-based Center for Molecular Dynamics Nepal (CMDN) in collaboration with the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, Virginia Tech University and the University of Idaho.
According to Dibesh Karmacharya, CMDN international director as well as the project’s principal investigator, from September-October, teams will fan out to the four national parks in Parsa, Bardiya, Chitwan and Kailali districts, the habitats of the bulk of Nepal’s big cats, and other areas where strays are found, to collect faeces. These will then be analysed at CMDN’s laboratory to create a DNA data base of Nepal’s tiger population.
As per the last tiger census, there were 155 tigers in Nepal in 2010. However, one of the big cats, Namo Buddha, who was captured, fitted with a collar to keep track of his movements and then translocated in January 2011, went missing soon after that. In June, it was officially acknowledged that he had been killed by poachers.
"The genome data base will be more accurate than pugmark spotting or camera sightings," Karmacharya told TNN. "It will also help identify carcasses found in the border areas."
With wild animals from Nepal, including elephants and rhinos, straying into Indian forests and vice versa, the DNA bank will also help Nepal assess whether tigers found killed in the border areas were from Nepal or India. Furthermore, it could lead to an assessment of favoured habitats as well as areas where poaching gangs are active and help boost security measures. The results of the project will be shared with experts worldwide through scientific publications and presentations.
This is the first time that Nepal will begin the genome-mapping of a wild, semi-extinct species. In India, scientists are already developing DNA data banks of tigers and snow leopards.
http://m.economictimes.com/environment/flora-fauna/nepal-to-fingerprint-tigers-for-conservation/articleshow/9063971.cms
