Smithsonian Nepal Tiger Ecology Project in Chitwan National Park, under Dr David L Smith and Dr Hemant Raj Misra in late 1970

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Pugmarl(s and Radio-Telemetry:
TIGER RESEARCH iN NEPAL
-ByAR. TULADHAR; Foreign Trainee. 1979-81
intloduction :
Much is said , but. little is known about
,the _."sophisticated"'_ methods of tig_er research
vis-a-vis cOI).veniionai techniques. TI~e sophisli-
. .cated .technology refers to . the use of tran-
' quillisers and radio-telemetry where as ,conven-'
,tional techniques refer 'to the study of pugmarks,
kill data" and , other , circumstantial data.
Needless to say, ' the conventional techniques
'are severely limited in its access to ,fresh,
precise data of the elusive and this is where
'radio-toli:"metry has 3 distinctive advantage.
In India, ;radio-telemetry has been used since
1976 t& study tigers in Chila Forest Block,
U.P.; Bharatpur and RanthaI;nbor Tiger
'Reserve in · Rajasthan. .In Nepal, however, a
major Tiger Research Project has been launched
since 1974 in the Royal Chitwan National Park '
with the assistance and' cooperation of the
World Wildlife Fun<l, the Smithsonion Institute, .
USA, and His Majesty's Government National
Park and Wildlife [ "nservation 6<fice.
. Under this research project, at least three
scientists have earned their doctorale and two
more are in process. In the beginning, Mr.
Kirti Man Tanaang studied the prey-predato~
relationship between the ungu.1atc"s and the tiger.
This was followed by' the 'study of carnivore
niche differentiation with sp~cial reference to
sympatric population"s of tiger and leopard in
the region by Jack Scid ,nsticker in 1976.
Following up Mel SUliq!list invesiigated so,ial
interaction and territoriality of the tigers.,
Currently, Mr. James L. David Smith of
University ,of Minnes'ota is continuing the study
of the socjal dyna'!llics and dispersion of tigers
while :Mr. .Hemanta Raj ~1i5ra, a senior'
Ecologist of the National Parks ' and Wildlife '
office in Nepal is Sludyill'g the ecology of the
Axis deer. vith special reference to lt! role- :1S
'a principal tiger prey species for his Ph.D, to
be: earned froin the University of Edinburgh.
I had the opportunity to work under the two
latter ~cientists eerly this year and my article is
based on this field experience.
' As the title explain;, tiger research at
Chitwan is a happy synthesis of conventional
and sophisticated knowhow. The majorseql!cncC"
of events followed in a 'typical' field exercise
in tiger ,~se:arch are outline:d as follows:
I. Tiger, Tracking
2. "Tiger Baitihg
3. Tiger Push
4. Radio.Coliaring Tiger
"5. Tiger Mo,nitoring: :
(a) Tiger Telemetry
(b) Pugmork Analysis.
For trad~ing. baiting, 'pushing' tigers
and interpretation. of ' pugmarks. conventional ' .
knowhow of hunters are tapp<d. For
tranquillising tigers, radio.collaring L'lem and
then monitoring their "activities by ~:rsf'5antl
plane's, modern ieclmology is- used, My article,
shall di~cuss the fii:Jd exercises of tho five -
major steps out'lined above. The theory shall'
be out of the scope of this discussion.
Tiger Tracking:
Under Tiger Tracking four steps shall be ,
discussed: selection of camp site, reconnaissance
of .tiger terrain, interpr<tatio.n of kill data,

2. 1, 1
1
i PUGMARKS AND RADIO-TELH1ETRY
Vhen a new tiger is
to resort to reports
1 '!lnd analysis of pugmarks.
/ to be collared, we have
i and scattered evidences of tiger activity to set
')' up a camp at a fruitful site. Either the locals
" claim visits of tigers to their cattle shector we
find ' o~~v-"s tiger activity in a new locality,
.In tlus case,. we had seen seYeFaI'uncoJJ~rcd
! tigers a!the bait sites·ofTigerTops.Jungle Lodge.
So we set up a 'camp, a few kilometres west of .
Tiger tops near the .bank ·. of Rapti Narayan i
confluene~. The setting up of a- camp · involves
heavy IO£!$tic5 ; the ' Jl1obi lisation ?f :3 carloads
of equipment, 4 elepha.l!s, 6 ten~s' and Uplo 28
f; 'peopl~ "requjre a minimum · of two days to
complete.
The first step, after tho establishment of
the-camp, is to rc.connoitre the area ' on cars,. I
elephants. or even on fO,ot to determine and
locate all the probable hideouts and frequent
rotlte~ bf the local population of tigers. 'Three
kil0metres to our south,-we had the low ridge
'" of ( huria hills (3000 feet) running east-west
alon; the southern bor'der of the Park and on
~I' the north, the river Rapti bordered us. Between
. tl,e hills and the river, the lninler- guides '
::: .established three typ~s of probable tiger hideouts
.1.and tracks : soggy dense tracts of elephant
~ grass (lypha . efephantina.) Saccharum sps.
.;~ Pizragmifes sps.) at the foothills, the shoreline
J, of inland oxbow lakes full of mugger crocodiles,
'1purple gallinules~ night herons and coots, .and
;~ the sandy river b~~~ The tiger:;. need den·se .·
·1 grass for shelters' privacy of dinner and tiger
:i:~ tracks a;~ always along wal~liines bocause they
f
.~~ drink frequeuTJy. The probable hideouts are
narrowed down by the discovery of recent clues
of tiger" activities. The clues may'range from
I
solid evidence liketiger kills and fresh pugmarh
.: to more tellta~evidences like tigerscats, scratch
" and scent·marks! On ly the first two reveal any
conclusive data like the number of tigers, the
'.j sexes of tigers, and th~ time of the most recent
-~
.1. !
,k
visit to lite of y1c clue; the latter evidences
"are more confirmat'Jry in nature.
An ability to dr~w as much information
as possible from kill data and pug~arJ... anaiysis
is very important for subsequent events like
tiger baiting and tjger pushing. A tiger kill is
llsuaUy the largest and the I)lO"St. valuable ciue,of .-
~ tiger's activity. Kill remains of large ungulate; -.-:-
or adult specimens oJ small ungulates like hog ..
deer a!ld barking deer is :1 positive cvide~ce of
a tiger's activity: the kopard kills only.smaller.
animal5. If the kill is found in dens~ gra~s .
tracts in the 'plains it is further confirm:lticn
. ' of a tiger kill in ,contrast tc the Ieoperd ~hjch
prefers . to kill ·mor. in the ravines of ,the
S.iwaliks. The possibility of a leopard making
a kill may be excluded by noting the size nnd '
area of the grass trampled and cleared by"
prostrate tiger(s) while feeding. Even if the
size, of the clearance approaches the size of the
leopard. a link look around will llsuolly show
that similar small clearing of young tigers _
"
:-,
:::". .
f . I .. "'f,"which have not weaned rom lhelr mot 1er; ' -.:--·,:_fif"!~
adult'leopards do not feed together. Tigers <::';,:
kill' by breaking the neck but they feed from ... :.:'~; .
the bottom up so that the hC'ad is the last to '.,' '._~ ;i"~ _
go. A tiger will not ;eave :m · area until all the
kill is devoured. So the discOvery .of a kill
often enables skippi')g tiger hai ting.
-;.?fS..~
,.f! ' ...
:;'~:t·l ~;
More often than not. however, ' we ' "::~'~::'
are most likly 10 come across fresh pugmarks' :'_:_~'.;,(.~.."~
along rivers and water holes and animal tracks ,_ _ ~j.
between grasses than tiger kills. The most
important: information to be extracted from
pugmarks IS their age.. Ability to distinguish
fresh fo.olp:ints (one to three days old) from c ..
old prints . (over a week old) is an art that
can be learned through experien"O£· The
key observation to make is to note the d('gree
of integrity qf the original footprint " i;;,
reference to th'e substratum (clay ground, wet
sand, dry grounds etc.), probable disturbances
f '
".
",",.

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INDIAN FOREST COLLEGE MAGAZINE
in the immediate ' past (by rain, other animal
tracks etc.). Besides the age of the footprint,
one can also de,termine the sex of the tiger
and the number of tigers, and the pi"JiJ.Jbl~, ,
age. The toes of;a male adult . tiger are' more
round and alm,ost globular, in case of a 'female
8dult lfgress. the' toes ~e more ovate .and
gently pointed at tips. Where 'a female track
is found, smallw tracks of her , cubs may also
be found behind or ' alongsi,de, her,. ' 1 is ,
' usually the rule to measure the.footprillts.of '
the .-hind paws ,when comparing ',I?ugmarks,
. because the' ", forepaws are more spread .out
while walking. The dimensions of the hindpaw
'of the ~dult mid young tigers is illustrated
' as 'follows :- ,
Measure-
ments
rutI' length
Pad width
Paw width
Adult IYoung
Tiger .Tiger
.......-'"
14.3 em 11.0 em
12.5 em' 9,9 em
10.4 cml 7.9 em
.1
Pugmarks of ·
,. young
and Adultliger.
. ' 'PUG MARK iJNALYSIS;f..
We are now rcady to ·decide where we
, bait the tiger.
' Tiger Baiting
The purpose of , barting a tiger is"
reduCe the movements . of the
.'manageable locality until they are
collared. A tig~r _ will ' usually tne
days to finish a young buffalo but:' hUI1gTJt,~
m"alc tiger or a tigress with cubs can
a buffalo within a , day. Nevertheless,
tigers and tigresjes -IVith cubs usually ',stay,.
around for a day or two in the hope of' other
.' ea~y kills. This is 'the time used to capt~r~
the lizers for tagging. ' . . ,- ,
How do you bait a tiger?
involves putting out young huffaloes at
routes in the €:vening and checking for
"early next morning. The crucial part of
'- baiting is the wise selection of the sites-of '
·'1'0'tie 'the .buffaloes. 'Open grassland
be avoided because tigers' do · not like to
:...tJ1e open; when ·open grassland is unav')id'lb~'~" " " ~
.•t.he stab should be tied to the nearst
,:ot. impenetrable elephant grass 'so~
• animal can j dr~g its ,kill there to feed p;',ee.fully;'
·,b.nthe ot.ber hand where dense patches
e1ep'hant grass ,.is . plentiful. some roresight
.. needed; for example; clepliant grass gr'o.wingi., ~ .
on soggy gr;ound will be a surt? deterrant
· the heavy elephants which are to he used
·the tiger push. A hilly terrain should
avoided f~r' the same reason. At the
:dawn the n"ext mOTI,li;lg, . hunters are·seJ.1t
;)0 check for kills. An 'ill planned tiger
'. "~iil fail ta'ct"riw the tig~rs even if pleniy
r~;nning around,. scot free. Howc;t,
A ,
lot of baiis (upto 10 at if time),_are,
extensively, there is usually a result sonoeliiheii'
and IV" arc ready for the next step: Tiger
:~ . . " ! I, i. . .
, With the ,proper knowledge of t he 'sites ,', Tiger Push :
tiger kill~ and ' most recent tiger tracks .and
'routes co"nfirrned where possible', by tiger
. scats, scentmarks and scratch "~arks' 'on ~tre'es,
The preparation for the tiger push
"hnec remirlisces us of the great time big
" 'hiniting Of the Prince of Wales and
~ ' .:: . ' ~ ~ '" ~ .."' . ,
' . The number o(toes. ')n the' diagram 0,1 'pug mark ana;ysis' given in Mr. Tuladhar's
article has been erroneously shown to be live in place of lour.'.The author
mIStake. regrets the

4. PUGMARKS AND RADIO-TELEMETRY ' 55
Sundry Indian princes and mal1arajas:elephants,
beat cloth's; rackateers, the excitement and the
meticulou5 silence observed not to alarm the
secretive .' tiger. Just nverwhlemi'ng! ' Four
elephants are readied,.two 'of ' them are :loaded
with buge,bundles of tiea! doth; tlie·. d.art ' guns
are cl~at:ted, oiled,' and chetk~d;- the .drug is
prepared and loaded 'in the darts, th~ explosives
are given.to the darter, the whole paraphernalia
of radjo ~ ' collaring ' equipm~nls ~ :and ' 'other
scientific irlmuments ~~e Joa~cd . on the' 'other .
two ejeph~mts. Th'e entire camp perSOnDer-' of
ahem'28 i;i mobiIis~J .
:.' There are three main operations involved
in ~ tiger push·; selection of a dart site, laying
out the beat cloth, and the actual tiger ·push.
, TI;e darte; is perched 'ori it tree about iwellty five
feet above the
and explOsives.
grou~'d with · .his gun," darts
The ' tree should be located at ;
in all effort to ··move further away from tho.
mor'; disiu;'bing . soul1d~ of the lead elcphants
." will v~nturc deeper within the funnel slayjng
· meti~ulously away from , patches or alien Vhit~
c~oth.it sees between the grasses. After the
beat cloths are ·Iaid out, lhe rackateers arc· ~.. . . .
; placKU on trees for safety and the fou r elephant.s
·are.lined equidistant from each other at the
mouth of the . funnel in readiness for thc
· Tige~! Pu~,b .
L LeAd
® CD iOle.l~h",ts. .
,.. JV1F
:./,- "
, '
a ~ite· where the d·art·er ~;can· ·commallo a :good
field for ptecision 'dartin~ on the -shou·lde~s·.:on
the hind flanks. The.),rbtind · below " tJ1e 'Iree
sh~'Jld' neither be too' .-open nor : t~oderise,
The darter' should becomfortable'in .his· perch
and is co~eealed by t~e foliage, This becoDles
c.
" ~-::r ;:::-
., 1.
~. ~
u)(-r ·0;:. F t)fvf.lf2L .'
the darti-ng site.
., ',. ~ " .1· ,:.. r::-lD ~ ' r
L.::J '!" f"-" ' .
:;, . The·s.ite is niade the'narrow',.end or duct ,',
of a funner shapcd etitJosure ~ llUide by iaying "Halaah! ' Whbor, · · Whuf! Begin {He
out two 'walls of·beat 'clOth diverging , from. ,jhe <. rac!<~t ,,: I shout . from the lead .elephant
dan site. The beat cloth is a white strip: of .,,. ChailChankaJi, 'The' hunters and rackateero
' cotten cloth four feet :wide a~d a · thousand '~. perc.hod ' on the' tree holler and clap, th"
fect long. The bundles 'are wlfurJed from. two ', elephants on the sices and· the centre, :lumber
. elephants ' on the sides while three to five . ' very slowly through the.sea of elephant grass.
hunters foilow on the grou.nd (;anging ' them 'I, The grass is abou~ twenty-five fect high and
to form' of a verticle white eqclosure, U ndotlbt- completely drowns .the huge ' elephant. There
ably, this process produces sonie~swishing is 110 path and there is no vision. I n order'
and crackling sound which the tig'er may hear, not to miss the tigers the elephants move in a ·
In order to prevent the tiger from runn~ng "zigzag fashion always· keeping within 5ight"
away from t he enclosure, the other two lead of ar least an adjacent elephant. No SO" t,er
elephants 'lunge forward '" before the 'path of are we in the middle than a rumblt peels
the elephanti with the beat cloth, The tiger o ver the elephants' body like some dis.tan t
" -
" "---
• f
.' ..
:
. t :....
"
"--------------------.----~~~~~~~

5. II
~ INDIAN FOREST COLLEOE MltGAZIN B
r"""~er. The' tiger lS ncar. The trunks are the imjpact of the drug expl.oded out of the 1
I raised above the grasses. The s~ent is tilere dart would easily blow up any other anatomy 1
I • and a shiver creeps over the elephants' spine. including the viscera and the hcad bUl the II"Press on, press on, close together '" I muscles .of the thigh and shoulders. Lately.
command to the other elephants and urge the even aimjng at the shoulders has been abolishod
elephants more faster. Then, there is a dull because:of the probability of hitting tbe head
muffled clap of the s"n and the "Wh )of".of if tbe tiger should make an un predictable turn
·the ,hit tiger. The tiger push has been at the last moment. A makeshift st«leher is
j,
, sucressful. After giving my orders to retrieve ' contrived out of layers of. ,beat cloth and th,
the ,darte, and the beat cloth, we· set out to four hundred pound beast is hauled to', a
I:
t.
I
I
find the darted tiger. suitable shady location for scientific sWdy and'
Time is short, the imniqbilised .tige.r Tadioco~ larjng.
Radiocollaring Tiger
must be found fast. The drug is supposed to
take effect within an h6ur or ,so, therefo'e if an
'hour has not elapsed Tram the ti;;'. ' of A sh.-de is fixed, by screening the s~n
darting, this search is carried ,out Ol, elephants with beat clQth 'strotchea between branches of
for safety. However. most ofihe tiTne an , hour- a tree., A pillow of lush gre!!ll leaves is tucked
will have elapsed, so a 'supplement:!,y 'team under the liead of the tiger so th:!t it can
.of hunters are also scnl out on foot. This is not breathel fresh and unencumbered. Water i,
:vithout da~ger for there have been cases , t ,s[,lashed around the ,cars. the ann pits. lh,
III which ,some of our staff have been badlyCfC J:ThtIT, the paws and, tongue and fanned wilil
mauled by semi tranquillized animals, Anyway, bmoches to bring the temperature ("wn. A
the point is to find the tiger as soon as thermometer is inserted into the rectum .oJ
possible because the immediate elfect of the the body temperature is monitored for e"ery
drug is , to raise the temperature so if tho five minutes, lf the ",ctal temperature is:iS
'aniina'l has ~oflapscd in 'an area unprotected high as 105,° Fohreinheit, one to two millilitrrs
from ',the sun, ~he bGdy temperature might '~f ~n antidote is admi;lisiered to be on 'tile
rise to an irretreivable high 'resulting in death. safe side': By an hour or' so. the ~emperatlJ~
One death had occurred under 'these comes down to a comfortable 102° FQhreinheit
circumstances.
The immobilis~d cat is usually dis,overed
within one quarter to three quarter> of an hour,
Panting heavily.. eyes glazed. and forcpuvs
buried under the bolly after an ullcontrc,!lod
fall, the animal watches our app:-oach
warily. Dave (my boss) and I approach from
the back cautiously taking care to avoid eye
contact. Dave n!l;,:he-s out and strokes the
hindflanks, the tigt!r tries to lift its neck bill
fails. Ve arc saft!. The dart is ~en{ovcd from
the shoulder. As it is tho dart can be aimed
only at the shoulder or the hind flanks because
....
and the beast begins 10 paddle its limb~. Ve
ha~e only two hours now to make the scientific
.observations and to radio·collar the tiger.
For scientific records, the following
, observations are made :- '
l. Coi<)ur Photo:
(3) Hoad to Tail side view
(b) Head (Facial) stripe pattern
(c) Tail stripe pattern. . ~,
2, Sex
3. 'Weight
4. TOlal length (from tip of tho nose to tip
.. of tail) > .
7,-·

6. Shoulde/ height
6. Chest girth
Length of canines
" (a) Upper canines
. (b) Lower canines
1!. Intercanine distan" :'
. (a.) Upper lntereanin.'
(b.) Lower lntercanine'
'g. Any wounds or ,injuries
. ,
n ,lV,'K,ect'al temperature of five ininbes
,Tiger code numb" ' "
, 2. 'Tiger's Radio frequency.
interval,
A radio collar is fitted a~ fol.lows. The'
of the neck :is merisu red witil a ta pe such
: it is lo'ose enough to ,dig one's palm '
• •,,",ier If the collar is' too tight" the collar
cause suffocation 'and'discomfort while
.",01 I,m,;""" rr the collet" is too loose, it will not
two days before the tiger snips it olf its neck.
&.l"".n.,·oll" young' tigers whose necks may sti!1
are avoided fo r collaring. The radio
(to be described later) is adjusted to : the
J :IO"ccss,ary girth and slipped onlO" the neck of
tiger. The.collar is bolted and taped with '
1«,19j~(;K ad.hesive plastic so that the ' bl~ck coliar
with its black stripes. The receiver and:
v " u..." nae are ,then set lip at the given fre,quency
the coliar to check if the tra?s'1lission fr,)m
radio collar is I{)ud and clear. The tiger's
number anc! its ..radio . frequency is then
ecol'ded as T 105--283, T I19 -COl, T1 12-
etc. We are now all set for 'Viger
Research. : " '
equipmen~! instru~l~nts' . mer.it
'ption in a discuSSIon of radIOtelemetrIc
They are the radio' coliar; the
antennae and the portable receil'er. ,
collar :
The radio collar consists of an inch wide
plastic fibre about 24 inches long, a
';;";0"'•• radio ~nd a pair ~f powerful lithium '
batteries, the size of two torch light balieri..
are stropped t'ogether" at the middle of ' ,the'
belt, a thin ' pmcil..thick antennao about a
foot long I extrude:; out 'of "this m;ni,Hure radio
when the calia, is bolted onto the tiger's neck;'
. the eotrie co.llar is protected. by roll's 6f' blac~ '
electric adhesive fape. 'The ballery _ uSllally'
..
, I,· ." ,' ..; .:. "
Dircctional . tnteJh1s~. : · .'. .~~ ( .J .; ",' -i.:'
The directiof,al ante~nne consists ' 'of a>
main axis -of hollow aluminium about all " inch ,
in' diJmeter and three foot in length, a .number",
of pencil ' thin : solid ahiminium '. rods are
attached perpendicular to the main' axis, an
antennae c9ra is attached to the mid eros!
bar. The whole an :ennae is 'iight and portable,
the direction o f the main axis pointing to Ihe
directiOn of signal. The 'a'ntennae is ;otated ou
a horizontal plane overhead while n)onitoring.
T he range' on foot is upto 2 km; the range on
air is l>jfkl 5 km.+ • ... '.',
Portable Receiver:
The portable receivers deveJoped by
tedar freek Biological/iqllipmenr, Mimnesota,. • . ' ..I
USA are of two types.': conventional . and
·computerised. The' conventional receiver has '' . y ~ .
few aad"et. and " serves well when tackingo 0 I-
.....
tioers au foot or on el:phants. They consisto . •
of three knobts of f,equenc¥ adjuster (FD);
real frequ~ncy (RF) and' audio (AG)"gain' '+.a;p-k", c.b
ranging f'r;~ 0-10; a battery ;n'/off ·swiich:.
a;batlt l'Y power indicator (BI), and of course
sockets for antenl1a~ (AS) ' and earphone (ES) ', .The computerised form lIs developed to save
time while monitol'i.ng t.~gers from moving' cars '
and planes. Ib addition to the conventic".1
gadgets, the computer;sed models are equirped'
with a channel selector (CD) whoreey ciffo'rent
combiu.tions and sequences of.tirrr frequencies
can ' be.. programmed byaSWitch (P) into the ,
memory" (M) ' and , 1urned.T on' a.utomatjq,
.,

7. control (AC) with a desired time interva~
scanning from 37 sec to 15 min (S). For the
scientist who has to rQncentrate on both -the
vehicle and the portable, the channel in eff<cl.
reads out on coloured lights of the channel.
indicator (eI) and the frequency of the tiger
scanned lights up in :the liquid crystal display
(DO). As a contingency, one·can always switch
, over to manual cO'ntrol (Me). For the, sake "
of portability, two stltpslings are : provided ', '
to ~rry the rec..:"iver ~round. At · one · time,
twenty-nve , transistor batteries of 1.5 V' each
are used.
RADIOTELEM'ETRIC EaUIPMLNT
,. P"T~.L< :"T:".!,~'_
1. RA;:J c"~LAR . J '
x
i M:'::'"
-g~ /1'6....-..,.,. :...r~
~I' ,__. "....,l !,;J PJ....,.
I. PORTA8t.E COMPUT....RI5EQ RECEIVER.
I. £CI ND
r. (, .. C ~''''''"~1. ' '''t''~",,,.... ~ '''MU
& , ~ .. U"'OII01:. ("7~.u - ., __</
",lUll" Jl'lt.Vl'oI"''' "~''' I( >lD'
.,,,·c- AUP 'O ....,.. ",10 1
•.,,_ Pl"",,,,...,,,!.,,,
. . .... - ...1"I' ...."E- . t.O<:"r.T
7. ( , '- '-" .. P ..PM" SOc.k5:1"
. . ... , - 111170.....1 " 'O>lTII"","
'.M' -,.,....",..... ( O "'~OI.. •
'D . PI> - DI"'T.. :.. ·t>'~P..ATO' Hll.Vt ...-v:
.,.$'_ ~T""'''_ ~ ~''; ~$
n .< I> _ < ........ !:L· O, ,,,
').' 1'- r jl1 [atl!..~v 1"..1.
,., ,.. - .-., ..."/1 ,, "
." &/- &.<IT! ",." ,,"0"'[, ~ '.~I <A'" ''
Depending on the range of ' uception,
tiger telemetry can be divided into 3 types :,
'I. Close Reception (less than r km radius)
2. Medium Range Reception
(less Ithan 3 km radius)
3. Far Ra:l,;e Reception
(more than 5 km radius)
Close Reception :-
When radio-telemetry , is
on (oat or on elepnants, only close
possible because of the dense
interfering the transmission . from
conducted
reception is
vegetati~n
the tiger.
The range is usually within one_ kilometre
radius. One can usually follow ,the direction
of the main axis of the antennae to as clOse I
as fifty yards or so. At such proximity, deter_
mination of the direction may be impossible
ever when RF and Ali, knobs are turned to tbe
minimum. However if the radiu~ of probable
location is to be reduced, one ~n . change the
- frequency ±2 units so that the "Tik; Tik. Tik"
of the earphones is finer. The location of the
tiger with reference to the 'nearest 'landmark
is recorded. One can , also distinguish if the
tige'r is moving or not: 'the transmissioi; of
,i moving tiger will be irregul.ar in ampiitude
and_, pitch because of the interference of tr«s.
and grasses it moves through; the transmission
from a stationary tiger is continuo~s and regular
in ,am;>litude,' getting louder and mCir~ distincl
if one &pprqaches .it. Close-range monitoring
is useful ,when,IQcat,ions of tigers ar..!, generally
known,' , ' , '
Medium Range .Reception :,
, Tne majority of the .twenty-five collared
tigers 'are - 'most " 'fruitfully monitored' while
cruising .. along. ~ the '~east west !oad ,traversing
the 'park: Thero .is a medium range reception
tigers along the three kilometre radius jl<1ralkl
to the road. Though it is not possible ' Q
follow the tiger, ' one' can still pifipoint its
location by triangulation. For e:<amplej.JiheTO
is ' reception at point (A) the bearing or th~
an~ennae and lhe nearest landmark is recorded"
One ran Ihen fravel a measurable dist~nce
(AB) and take bearings again from point (8).
Later thes< bearings can be extrapolated 00
a map to determine the approximate locn,ion
of the tiger (T).
far Range Reception:
It is not hard to imagine ' Ihat tigers
will not stay wi,hi n a 3 km. range of the
motorable road. Not a few tigers roam abou' in
the, Siwalik- hills in the SO;lI" and some ,v.n

8. PUGMAJU;.! AND MD10-1ELEMETll.Y 59
~utside the park, to .keep track of
ihese inaccessible animals only far rauge, l'-
'.re,ce'ption by aerial telemetry is,,suitable answer.
-Flying every five days or so, a .~i1atius POTter
be used 10 skim the plains at 9CO foet
tude and the hills at 4500' altitude. The
_ ._..,,_ often exceeds 5 km. or more. .
plane takes. off from' the
airstrip aLBagmara 2 krn. {aSI of the ',
'...;tey·n park headquarters, at Sauraha, antennae;
strapped onto' the wing props with the
main aiis parallel to the fuselage of the plane.
,: Frequencies of the tigers to be ·scannea are '
...~
..-r!J- ----·r
I
A
1/1111111
MCL•• ~uU or A
bJtl"l1.~A C~
into the memory of the
",";,olllnutr"i':ed receiver and the scanning interval
set. Lastly, the reception from the control
collar al the headquarter is checked 0
if the equipment is functioning well.
The plane takcs off and normally follow.
east~west park road. Sometiml!s, the plane
south-' then skims the east-west Siwalik
Even on tIe planc, it is possible to
Cf-
pinpoint a tiber. Say the , maximum amplitude
of a frequency is intercepted at point (A) on
flight. The plane is then tilted to the left and
right alternately to cancel tho interception of
right and left antennae. So if the reception
is loud and clear while the plane, 'is "tilted
to the left, it means the transmission from the
tiger is reaching only the left antennae, the
right one beingbJocked by the fuselage and
:vic~ vers.-. nie tiger is then to the left of the
. plane normal to poirit A so the ' appropriat.-
landmark .is ·noted. The plane then riiakesa
right angle turn and repeats the same process
at point (B). 'Later, the two nonnals are
extraPolated_o'n an ~erial map and 'the tiger
is located. More often,time i's a premium, aDd .
pinpointing is not necessary, ' only the location ,,;
are charted out.,
Pugmark Analysis :
The radio-telemeiric data on tiger
movements is ' supplemeiJ1ed by regular
pugmark analysis along thirty eight sand
straps kept at 500 metres interval in the heart
of 'the jungle. Sandtraps produce valuable
information about the movcment of the most
dominant tiger to date 'Tiger 105 and some
'other Tigeresses with cubs as T 107, T 101 etc.
The pugmark of T 105 is he largest and the
most distinct. When these pugrnark. are found
alongside that tigresses. valuable inferences of
social activity caD be drawn. .
Summary:
The field research of tiger III the Chitwan
National Park calls for an application of both
traditional and sophisticated knowhow. The
advice of hunters and elephant . drivers "is
indispensable when" tracking, baiting . and
pushing it to Ill.! site of the darter. Once the
tiger i, darted, modern scientific knowhow
is utilised to treat the drugged animal, record

9. it
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.tcientific: dafa; -fiFthe collar:an'dCto" in;;nrt~r
ifat C!ose;'mediuin orfai"-'ra~,g-! [ro:11 ekpha·:lt-s·
"
,,,hioh h3'd 'sho,vli's diininisilirlS': trend tiJ11941 ,
is JDow '6ft tl~e::-inciease ' witb;" the currtnt i,
to pladeS. ., c . ' , .
. . , " .... ,
popuW ion ar9ud' 80. . Second, the research
:", f. :.. ..- . ,_> _~' .. ';' :.:
Conclu~ioD .:.". 1: .' .,. .... ,
has y1~ld~d ~I~alile .insights abouithe Ii '.
. eCology. " Btlt 'nioit 'o'r iall the : research hat".
continu~d tci "~ttfaci ; a'nd roctis :the i)Ublie'~
attention and 'sympathy on vanishing wildlife'··
. <;if )yhic/r, the .Royal Bengal Tiger is the '«ga1
:rl
' 'There nas·'·lieea 'twO iffimedia'te-'benetlts:
fr~in iii~ ~gcr r~sea~Ch. · bi!~ tlie area of tile
Park has' tiiod increased on tile pr~Ii~'il;iari
rec'6!,,~ndaii<in~ :of"ariier st~dii:s ' W'- inciude
areas uied bY'~the ·: tiger:· the t rger~ PJPuliltio~
'.~:.:.' ',' ". :J '.: : : t(.· -: -', : ..
qu!ntesse.n~· ! " "" .' . , ..~
~. O'f'::
,;f'...... " ...
'.'~ ' : . ,;.- ' ,,: ,;
Mr.A R: Tlilad.r 01.) J 7S-BI ··,]jttch is 'a,loreig'n t;airie'i ir:)m .NepaL" He has se;ved a; a";
Re~ea;c.h~ssistant in jSmithsonian/WW.F-;-·H.M;'fFNepa.!' Tiger' Ecology ' Project' and John . ! '
!:fo pkins'l;J.niye(sityj Eanh'Vatch. .Rhesus, Research Project. H~ submitted his thesis on avi-
fauna t~cQlogy;¥ Tribhuwan. University .·(Nep.al) in 1.978. ."-"
-,'~' --'-""c",--,-,,-',,-;-(i:,.:;,.-.''-' .:.........--'"-~.. ....:.. ~. ~_~--"-~_ __ _-'-'-"--_ _"""':""'_ .'.'. . ., . , . , .
~'"
~Bullalo (jf6). Takin (d/l0). ~ambhar (1/ 16). Bear (k/12J. Eagle (1/14), .:~
Rabbit' (1119). ,Ci.~(j/5).. puck (a/18). , Wolf (n/ l .1), Crane (1/19). Thamio.....
(e/17),., Vulture (b.'LO). Pastridge (i/2.0), Turtle (ell) . . 'i'
'. :":'GaJi(e/8), Nilgai. (n/ 2J. .... , . ' - " ~{
.,
;' ,
, .,. ,I :t " " . ~ . .' , • •'.10- > •• ' . , • , ....
. ' : ;~Antelope ·,(a '.8},,·; 'l a ng~l . .(b~11 ). . Cheeial ,(m/17), Boar (i/16)•. Python (a/17,) ')
. Li.on (PI ll). "Ja,kal (t/6). Ibex ( / 19). :. Bison (j/6) . .. ' . . ."
;':'::rfgei (1</.11), Gho',&r (,/4) ." ' . _ , : . r'
, ;('H(?p~ani .'(d/3): ; Kih'gllsh~r (lfloi; Mo~goose '(r/l), Hotnbill (p/5). Leopard " i
,. , '(6/1~J:; i.Mrikev;(i/7r; ' Bharal (10/1) . Eagle (p/1'4) . Hyena (i/7). Chinkara (t/2), ,N
-': . Pig~on' is/3).Ma";tja · (c/1"2); 'Hare (b!12). . Kallj. (rIl l). ' :}:
.,.n ' t 'C:aia'cal (~i15), 'triiInoceros(thS): Cobra (e/14), Squirrel (g/13).
. < :"' Porc~plne '(gm , .LarigUr '(0/14).: Owl (1/3). Yak (bI16) . . .
<-Egret (o,li 4)'.' '. '.'
.
ri.
,
A Royal Joke
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"I 'hope 'y6u' iri.farits· are· €njoYi~g .·your iniancy as much ... we a~ults are enjoying our . .:<
edulte.ty.'" ,;' . ~~
r ,_ , _ >t. r;." . :-• .:, '* .. : .,. , . • • 1
Interviewer.Colonel peeping into ' app; ic~tion forms .said,-.,-"Genti.emen, here you say that ,..,j'
coliectinlJ:~uol~lions .JS your h~bby, Tell, mQ an-y 'quo,ta!ion t~al you, remember." f~Ji
~'Sir, .any fciol '.c~n,; as~ .quas!ian" :.t..hat ..t!w .be~~ inform~d man cannot answer." said,r'
.,,'.
Pandit Nehru . . .
.,
..