Bhopal: Level of stress hormone- glucocorticoid- is found to be 20 per cent more than the normal in tigers of Badhavgarh Tiger Reserve in Umaria district of Madhya Pradesh. Tigers are facing performance issues due to stress induced by humans. A study by the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology’s Laboratory for Conservation of Endangered Species (LaCONES) of Hyderabad along with Russian researchers found that Indian tigers are more stressed than Russian tigers.
Higher pressure of human presence- both residents and tourists- has been found responsible for it. It adversely affects their reproductive abilities. The researchers found that the levels of glucocorticoid — a stress hormone — in the faecal matter of the Royal Bengal Tiger in Sariska and Bandhavgarh National Park is one of the popular national parks in India located in the Umaria district Bandhavgarh sanctuaries were found to be 20 per cent higher than that in the Amur tigers in Russia.
Tiger conservation experts have already sounded out a warning that India may be nearing a saturation point in terms of number of tigers it can accommodate — with 25 to 35 per cent of tigers living outside protected reserves. Meanwhile, the much awaited tiger census report of 2018 — which was to be made public this month — has been delayed. It is now likely to be released after the formation of the new government. The last report, which was based on the tiger census in 2014, pegged the tiger population at 2,226.
