Valuable information on the Tiger habitats on the World Science Day i.e 10th November

All of us possibly know the fact that the tiger is the guardian of humanity since they protect the forests and let the process of natural selection flow through all the strata of the forest food chain. Being the top predator in their habitats, as secondary consumers, they govern the population of primary consumers or herbivores who in turn keep a check on the autotrophs structure & function thereby controlling the speciation and the spread of indicator species of plants, which are responsible for the dominance and their associates. Take the example of Corbett landscape where Sal (Shorea robusta) is the dominant tree but grows with different associates on slopes, valleys, plains, along the river beds, plateaus either in Shiwaliks or in lower Himalayas, Bhabar, Terai, etc.  These are the naturally evolved forests, which cannot be planted either by man or by all the technological advances available to man.

Mahabharata says “Do not cut the forests with tigers in it & Do not banish the tigers from the forests. The forest perishes without the tigers and tigers perish without the forests”. This was written some 2000 years ago. You will appreciate the connection here. The oxygen, which we breathe is not manufactured by any machine while the carbon dioxide, which is released by us during our developmental processes amounting to luxuries and necessities of lives is also not sequestered by any machine made by any Govt. or man anywhere in the world. It is the autotrophs who while manufacturing their food through the process of photosynthesis release oxygen and absorb carbon.

The oxygen-producing capacities of naturally evolved bio-diverse forests in multiple habitats are 750 times more than the planted forests such as orchards, plantation to reclaim wastelands, cultivation, plantations along the roads or railway tracks, city forests, etc. Similarly, the oxygen sequestering capacities of naturally evolved forests are 400 times more than the planted forests.  Imagine a situation when the tigers go extinct and the process of natural selection in these bio-diverse forests would stop.  Hunters & poachers would never be able to make up for the loss of tigers to the humankind.

I hope you appreciate all the above. regards Imran Khan