TY - JOUR
T1 - Tiger recovery amid people and poverty
AU - Jhala, Yadvendradev V.
AU - Mungi, Ninad Avinash
AU - Gopal, Rajesh
AU - Qureshi, Qamar
PY - 2025/1
Y1 - 2025/1
N2 - Recovery of large yet ecologically important carnivores poses a formidable global challenge. Tiger (Panthera tigris) recovery in India, the world's most populated region, offers a distinct opportunity to evaluate the socio-ecological drivers of megafauna recovery. Tiger occupancy increased by 30% (at 2929 square kilometers per year) over the past two decades, leading to the largest global population occupying ~138,200 square kilometers. Tigers persistently occupied human-free, prey-rich protected areas (35,255 square kilometers) but also colonized proximal connected habitats that were shared with ~60 million people. Tiger absence and extinction were characterized by armed conflict, poverty, and extensive land-use changes. Sparing land for tigers enabled land sharing, provided that socioeconomic prosperity and political stability prevailed. India's tiger recovery offers cautious optimism for megafauna recovery, particularly in the Global South.
AB - Recovery of large yet ecologically important carnivores poses a formidable global challenge. Tiger (Panthera tigris) recovery in India, the world's most populated region, offers a distinct opportunity to evaluate the socio-ecological drivers of megafauna recovery. Tiger occupancy increased by 30% (at 2929 square kilometers per year) over the past two decades, leading to the largest global population occupying ~138,200 square kilometers. Tigers persistently occupied human-free, prey-rich protected areas (35,255 square kilometers) but also colonized proximal connected habitats that were shared with ~60 million people. Tiger absence and extinction were characterized by armed conflict, poverty, and extensive land-use changes. Sparing land for tigers enabled land sharing, provided that socioeconomic prosperity and political stability prevailed. India's tiger recovery offers cautious optimism for megafauna recovery, particularly in the Global South.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85217623689&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1126/science.adk4827
DO - 10.1126/science.adk4827
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 39883754
AN - SCOPUS:85217623689
SN - 0036-8075
VL - 387
SP - 505
EP - 510
JO - Science (New York, N.Y.)
JF - Science (New York, N.Y.)
IS - 6733
ER -