Genetic samples help in identifying tigers, mitigating conflict: Study

Hair samples or saliva left on the remains of animals hunted by tigers can be used as a tool to track individual tigers, and this mechanism can further help in managing human-wildlife conflict.

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In a recent study published in Biological Conservation journal, researchers from the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS), Bengaluru, have shown that trace DNA left by large carnivores at livestock kill sites can be used to reliably identify individual predators.

“In communities that live in proximity to large carnivores, livestock depredation might cause conservation challenges. Systematic understanding of individuals involved in conflict is a critical first step towards a solution”, said Prof Uma Ramakrishnan, senior author of the study.

Managing human-wildlife conflict often involves relocating or killing tigers. Typically, forest departments rely on field signs like pugmarks or claw marks to identify predators. However, these signs can be ambiguous. “Removing non-target animals can disturb the carnivore populations and sometimes intensify the man-wildlife conflict,” noted the study.

Researchers at NCBS, in collaboration with the Madhya Pradesh Forest Department, investigated 198 kill sites across Kanha and Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserves. At each site, researchers collected genetic samples such as saliva, scat and shed hair as a potential source of predator DNA.

Using genetic tools, the researchers successfully identified individual tigers at 85% of the kill sites, with species-level identification exceeding 95% across all sample types.

“There is a possibility of misidentification when multiple individuals are present at the kill site. That’s why it’s important to assign confidence levels in identification. Genetic tools will help better represent the level of confidence and further evidence-based conflict management”, said Himanshu Chhattani, lead author of the study.