Tigers in Nepal Becoming Nocturnal to Avoid Humans

Tigers have been shifting toward becoming nocturnal in hopes of avoiding human activity.

A two year study in southern Nepal exemplified how endangered tigers might co-exist with humans. It also disproved the notion that these animals were being driven from their habitats by human activity.

"This has highly important implications," stated Jianguo Liu, a sustainability researcher at Michigan State University who was part of the study. "In the past, people were always thinking we needed to have tigers and people separate across space. This study indicates they can share the same space."

The study was done in the Citwan National Park where 70 motion-activated cameras were placed. Chitwan Nation Park houses the greatest number of Nepal's Tigers. According to a 2010 survey by the Nepalese government and conservation organizations National Trust for Nature Conservation and WWF -Nepal found that 125 tigers live in Chitwan and surrounding locations.

In the study, 80 percent of the tigers in the park caught on film roamed at night. Outside the park, that number increased to 95 percent.

"Sustainability can be achieved if we have a good understanding of the complicated connections between both worlds. We've found something very interesting is happening in Nepal that holds promise for both humans and nature to thrive," added Liu.

The findings were reported Monday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Co-authors of the paper include Neil Carter, an MSU doctoral student, Binoj Shresthaof the Institute for Social and Environmental Research in Nepal, Jhamak Karkiof Nepal's Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation and Narendra Man Babu Pradhan of the World Wildlife Fund in Nepal.
The study was funded by the National Science Foundation, NASA, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Rhinoceros and Tiger Conservation Fund and MSU AgBioReseach. The research was also part of the Partnership for International Research and Education.