Cultures and Religions of the Himalayan Region

Lucinda Kanczuzewski
Kettering High School, Detroit, MI
Endangered Species in the Himalayan Region

Mammals

Birds

Reptiles

Amphibians

Maps

Tiger (Indian)

In Nepal, the Chitwan National Park is home to many endangered species, including the Indian tiger. In the park, the tiger inhabits grassy or swampy areas as well as forests. The grassy areas are unlike any grass that grows in North America. Elephants can walk through tall grass and not be seen. These grasses grow at least twelve feet tall, and the flower stalks of the grass can reach twenty-six feet in height.

The Indian tiger is has thick yellow-orange fur with dark stripes. Since its main prey, ungulates, are virtually color-blind, this coloration makes the tiger all but invisible to its prey. The Indian tiger has adapted to hot weather, having shorter and darker hair than the Siberian tiger, which evolved to live in colder climates. It is about ten feet long, and weighs between 400 to 570 pounds. Its tail can measure 100 centimeters. It generally hunts at night, searching for wild pigs, deer, gaur, and buffalo. If it is successful in finding a large animal, it will eat at intervals of seven to eight days. After a kill, the tiger is inactive for several days. To meet its nutritional needs, a tiger has to kill 40 to 50 animals a year, and a female raising cubs may need as many as 70 prey in a year.

Indian female tigers begin breeding when they are three to four years old, giving birth to two to four cubs. After about eight weeks, the cubs join the mother on her kills. Only half of the cubs born make it through the first year of life. The cubs who survive stay with the mother for one and a half years. Tigers can live to be 12 to 15 years of age.

Livestock in tiger habitats are vulnerable to attack. This causes considerable difficulty in areas such as the Chitwan National Park, where farmer/villagers live in close proximity to the park and allow their animals to graze in the park. If game is not available, tigers will attack livestock. This is a serious loss to the farmer. If a tiger kills livestock more than once, the villagers are inclined to set out poison to kill the tiger.

As in the case of many endangered species both in Nepal and in the Himalayan region in general, poachers account for many tiger deaths. Tiger bones are used in traditional Asian medicine. However, strict enforcement of the government edict protecting tigers in Nepal has offered some protection to the Indian tiger in that country.

LINKS

Tiger Conservation