Bengal tiger was found in Tibet and photos of Bengal tiger were taken three times
4hw.com.cn: with the permission and support of the forestry and grassland Bureau of Tibet Autonomous Region and the help of the forestry and grass Bureau of Nyingchi city and Motuo County, the animal ecology and evolution discipline group of Kunming Institute of zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences recently photographed wild Bengal tigers at two infrared camera sites in Motuo County, Tibet Autonomous Region, This is the first time that Chinese researchers have taken live photos of Bengal tigers in the wild.
Since October 2018, the project team has been carrying out the "second comprehensive investigation and Research on the Qinghai Tibet Plateau" and the "Pan third quarter environmental change and green silk road construction sub project - high-throughput and continuous coverage biodiversity monitoring and assessment in key areas" in Southeast Tibet.
Motuo County is the last county with highway in China. Due to the restriction of traffic conditions, the degree of human interference in most areas of the territory is low, and the authenticity of the ecosystem is well preserved. In the middle and late 1990s, researchers estimated that 11 tigers were distributed in the area according to the number of livestock around nangabawa preyed by large predators and the footprint chain of large cats on the survey sample line. In recent years, villagers have reported that tiger footprints have been found in Motuo County, but there is no conclusive evidence that Bengal tigers still live in the natural environment in Southeast Tibet.
In order to master the diversity and distribution of large and medium-sized terrestrial and semi terrestrial rare wild animals in Motuo County, Dr. Li Xueyou, associate researcher of animal ecology and evolution discipline group of Kunming Institute of zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, led a team to carry out mammal investigation and research in Motuo County in October and November 2018, and 48 infrared cameras were placed on the altitude gradient of 1000m to 3400m.
Through the preliminary analysis of the first batch of recovered camera data, the researchers found that Motuo County has extremely rich and diverse rare and endangered wild animals, including 23 kinds of large and medium-sized mammals and 6 kinds of pheasants; Among them, 16 species are threatened species of the World Union for nature (IUCN), 19 species are listed as threatened species by China's red list, and 5 species are listed as extremely endangered species; In addition to Bengal tiger, 14 rare and endangered carnivores such as clouded leopard, clouded cat, golden cat and jackal have been recorded. Muntjac is the most frequently recorded species in the region, with a total of 358 times, and its share in the region (i.e. richness index) is also as high as 0.53, suggesting that large and medium-sized predators in the region are rich in prey resources. It also explains why Motuo County can carry such rich and diverse rare and endangered large and medium-sized predators in terms of food availability.
Tiger is the largest existing feline in Asia. The current population is divided into six subspecies: Bengal tiger, northeast tiger, South China tiger, Indo Chinese tiger, Malay tiger and Sumatran tiger. The World Union for nature (IUCN) estimates that the number of existing wild tigers is 2154 ~ 3159, and the population is endangered.
Tigers are top predators and have high requirements for the authenticity and continuity of the ecosystem. The infrared camera photos of wild Bengal tigers obtained in this survey are direct evidence of the distribution of Bengal tigers in the wild environment in China, indicating that the current ecological environment of Motuo County can carry the survival and reproduction of wild Bengal tiger populations.
However, it can not be ignored that the Bengal tiger and its rare and endangered wild animals in the same region are still facing the threat of habitat fragmentation or loss caused by the rapid growth of the population around the habitat and the intensification of the impact of human activities caused by relocation.
Therefore, the project team suggests: Taking the discovery of Bengal tiger as an opportunity, strengthen the investigation and monitoring of wild Bengal tiger population in Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon National Nature Reserve, use infrared cameras to analyze the distribution range and population number, food availability, potential threat factors and habitat quality of Bengal tiger in the area, and carry out community protection publicity and education, Encourage and promote the people in surrounding communities to actively participate in wildlife protection and monitoring.