'Too much ecotourism hurts tigers in reserves'

HYDERABAD: The Telangana forest department's move to re-start ecotourism in Amrabad Tiger Reserve has put fresh focus on impact of human presence on the endangered species. The city-based CSIR-CCMB Laboratory for Conservation of Endangered Species (LaCONES) has started a nationwide stress study in five tiger reserves following some findings that tourism is leading to stress on wildlife.
The study is being carried out in Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Maharashtra, Kerala and Madhya Pradesh, but tiger reserves in Telangana and AP are not part of it.

Govindaswamy Umapathy of LaCONES said that studies so far conducted in Bandhavgarh and Kanha tiger reserves have shown high levels of stress hormones in tiger scat.
"Tigers continue to face threats due to poaching, habitat loss and anthropogenic disturbances. We examined the physiological stress response of tigers due to anthropogenic activities including wildlife tourism in Bandhavgarh and Kanha using faecal glucocorticoid metabolite (fGCM) measurement. We collected faecal samples during tourism and non-tourism periods. Data on various anthropogenic disturbances including tourism activities such as vehicles and visitors were also collected."
He added, "There was no significant difference in overall mean fGCM concentrations between the two tiger reserves. But within each reserve, concentrations were significantly higher in tigers during tourism period as compared to non-tourism period.
We also found that number of tourist vehicles and disturbance level significantly correlated with fGCM concentrations. This study further supports the assumption that unbridled tourism associated with high anthropogenic disturbance can be related to perceived stress and may have an impact on reproductive fitness of tigers and long-term survival of isolated populations."