Bhutan’s High Altitude Tigers

This photo is of historical value for being Bhutan’s first tiger picture in the wild in ThrumsingLa and at the highest elevation (3,000 m) so far reported for the Bengal tiger. Note primula in the foreground. These primrose Primula denticulata occur from temperate forest to an altitude of 4,500 m, suggesting tigers at higher altitudes in Bhutan.

In Bhutan Himalaya, tigers were recorded at 4,110 m during Yonzon’s study (2000). Perhaps, this is the only tiger photo ever taken at such Himalayan heights. Tigers in Bhutan have a wide vertical distribution because forests are contiguous. Dr. Pralad Yonzon, along with a four-member Bhutanese team has been successful in trapping tigers in their cameras in Bhutan on April 11, 2000. The Bhutanese team from ThrumshingLa National Park included Sangay Dorji, Kencho Gyeltshen, Hem Raj Mongar, and Dil Bahadur Gurung.

ThrumshingLa National Park occupies 768 km2 of mountain forest landscapes in the central part of Bhutan, where red pandas, capped langurs and rufous-necked hornbill including 276 species of birds occur. The Park is extremely rich in biodiversity and forms the centerpiece of the contiguous distribution of the tiger population in Bhutan. Therefore, it is an extremely important area for biodiversity conservation. Dr. Yonzon who has conducted wildlife surveys in ThrumshingLa National Park including the preparation of the park management plan, says that “pugmarks at 4,110 meters suggest that tigers use expansively high altitude pass to move into adjoining valleys.”

ThrumshingLa National Park and its neighboring areas are occupied by over 2,000 people who are primarily agrarian. Therefore, it has similar human dimension and conservation issues like elsewhere. Therefore, the park management seeks to reconcile nature conservation and community development through participatory planning and consensus building.

Yonzon, P. 2000. Status of Wildlife Conservation ThrumshingLa National Park, RGOB, Bhutan

http://www.resourceshimalaya.org/?s=trcontent&a=browse&con_id=fd842f036c651770a6c8f2e3f9d2066d&titl

Tigers evolved with snow leopards, gene study reveals (several articles)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8512000/8512455.stm Tigers evolved with snow leopards, gene study reveals By Matt Walker
Editor, Earth NewsAn intimate portraitThe tiger may be more ancient and distinct than we thought. Tigers are less closely related to lions, leopards and jaguars than these other big cats are to each other, according to a new comprehensive study. The genetic analysis also reveals the tiger began evolving 3.2 million years ago, and its closest living relative is the equally endangered snow leopard. The discovery comes as the BBC launches a collection of intimate videos of wild tigers and the threats they face. Despite the popularity and endangered status of tigers, much remains to be discovered about them, including how they evolved. It has long been known that the five species of big cat – the tiger, lion, leopard, jaguar and snow leopard, which belong to the Panthera genus – and the two species of clouded leopard are more closely related to each other than to other smaller cats.

But it has been difficult to pin down the exact relationships between them. So to find out more, scientists Mr Brian Davis, Dr Gang Li and Professor William Murphy conducted an analysis of the DNA of all these species. By looking at similarities in DNA held in mitochondria and within the sex chromosomes among other places, the researchers found that the five big cat species are related to each other in a different way to previously thought. Their data strongly suggests that lions, leopards and jaguars are most closely related to each other. Their ancestor split from other cats around 4.3 to 3.8 million years ago. About 3.6 to 2.5 million years ago, the jaguar began to evolve, while lions and leopards split from one other about 3.1 to 1.95 million years ago. But the tiger had already emerged by this point. The ancestor of tigers and snow leopards also branched off around 3.9 million years ago. The tiger then began to evolve into a unique species toward the end of the Pliocene epoch, about 3.2 million years ago. That makes the tiger and snow leopard “sister species”, the researchers report in the journal Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. Both tigers and snow leopards are among the world’s most endangered big cats. Fewer than 3500 tigers are thought to survive in the wild. One subspecies, the Sumatran tiger, is so enigmatic that the first film of a wild individual was only recorded this year, and Indonesia is considering entrusting them to private individuals for safe-keeping. Last year, a study revealed that the largest sub species, the Amur tiger, may be on the genetic brink, as so few individuals remain. http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=118627&sectionid=3510208 Tigers, snow leopards are sister speciesSun, 14 Feb 2010 19:19:37 GMT A new study shows that tigers evolved about 3 million years ago and their closest living relative is the endangered snow leopard.

According to the study published in the journal Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, the tiger and snow leopard are “sister species.”

DNA studies revealed that tigers are more ancient than other big cats such as lions, leopards and jaguars, which belong to the Panthera genus, BBC reported.

Brian Davis, Gang Li and Professor William Murphy, who studied all these species, came to the conclusion that lions, leopards and jaguars are more closely related to each other than to tigers.

Their findings showed that the jaguar began to evolve about 3.6 to 2.5 million years ago and lions and leopards split from one other about 3.1 to 1.95 million years ago.

The tiger, however, began evolving 3.2 million years ago and therefore emerged by this point. http://news.softpedia.com/news/The-Origins-of-Tigers-Revealed-134874.shtml

The Origins of Tigers Revealed

New genetic study clears the mysteryBy Tudor Vieru, Science EditorFebruary 13th, 2010, 09:47 GMT According to an investigation that surveyed the genetic information in the tiger genome, it would appear that his big cat began evolving more than 3.2 million years ago. The comprehensive analysis also reveals that the feline is more tightly related to lions, leopards and jaguars than all of these cats are to each other. The finding clears some of the mysteries associated with how these wonderful and powerful creatures appeared and developed over the millennia. According to the paper, the closest living relative that the tiger has is the snow leopard, which is also severely endangered, the BBC News reports.

Tigers have a very weird situation right now, in the sense that they are some of the most popular and widely known animals in the world, while at the same time being severely endangered. Although many researchers have devoted years of their lives to studying these magnificent creatures, a lot of data about them still remains obscured. These missing pieces of information also include more details as to how the animals evolved.

Up until now, experts investigating big cats thought that tigers, lions, leopards, jaguars, snow leopards and two species of clouded leopards were more closely linked to each other genetically than to any other species of smaller cats. However, there appear to be intricate relationships between these predators, and experts have had a tough time figuring them out up to this point. The only way out was to conduct a DNA analysis of all these species, and this is precisely what researcher Brian Davis, Dr. Gang Li and professor William Murphy did.

They looked at the differences and similarities that existed between these species in terms of the genetic information stored in their mitochondrial DNA, and the gender chromosomes. This investigation revealed that the big cats are actually related to each other in different patterns than the ones researches had suggested in previous studies. Lions, leopards and jaguars were found to be the most tightly linked, with a common ancestor probably living about 4.3 to 3.8 million years ago. At around the same time, the common ancestor of snow leopards and tigers appeared, the experts write in the latest issue of the respected scientific journal Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution.

Tiger pugmarks seen at 10,000 feet

From The Times of India

2 Apr 2009, 0938 hrs IST, IANS

GANGTOK: Pugmarks of a Royal Bengal Tiger have been found in the snow at an altitude of 10,000 feet in the Himalayas near Jelepla in eastern Sikkim after a gap of nearly 18 years, officials said.

Officials called it a rare discovery, since tigers are usually found in the plains and almost never above 6,000 feet.

The latest pugmarks were photographed March 27 in the Ganek-Lungto area in eastern Sikkim, Divisional Forest Officer (Wildlife) Karma Legshey said.

Tiger pugmarks were last officially recorded at this altitude in Sikkim some 18 years ago, by then divisional forest officer Tshesum Lachungpa.

Legshey said forest officials were on a routine patrol when they found the pugmarks on the snow in the northeastern part of the Pangolakha Wildlife Sanctuary in Sikkim.

The team then recorded the altitude of the pugmark site using the Global Positioning System. They also measured the pugmarks and photographed it, he added.

“The pugmarks measure 19 cm long and 17 cm wide with a stride of around 110 cm,” Legshey said, adding that a subsequent study confirmed the pugmarks as being those of a Royal Bengal Tiger.

He added that the trail of around 70 metres (of the animal’s track) resembled that of a tiger on a “normal walk”. The team then followed the track from Ganek to Devithan from where the terrain became too steep to follow.

“After making necessary arrangements at the site, we came down to Zuluk from where it was possible to catch the mobile telecom network and informed our superiors of our find. Immediately, a team from WWF-India, Sikkim Programme Office, led by Partho Ghosh, a tiger expert, left for the site and conducted necessary studies on the spot,” Legshey said.

“After interviews with local residents and senior officials, it was presumed that the animal is a female,” he added.

The residents in the area heard tiger roars in the past and also came across carcasses

of yaks and goats killed by the animal, Legshey said.

He said the tiger might have crossed into Sikkim from Bhutan through the Pangolakha Wildlife Sanctuary, which is a forest extending into the neighbouring country.

Currently, a team of forest officials is camping at Zuluk to monitor and alert the villagers, police and defence personnel about the probable presence of a tiger in their midst.

Meanwhile, forest officials have urged the local residents not to harm the animal even if it attacks livestock, and assured appropriate compensation in case of an attack.

Tigers have been reported to prowl in the forests of Lachen and Lachung in northern Sikkim at an altitude above 8,000 feet, but sightings have been rare.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Health–Science/Earth/Flora–Fauna/Tiger-pugmarks-seen-at-10000-feet/articleshow/4348208.cms