Use of camera traps to determine dispersal of tigers in semi-arid landscape, western India

Dispersal is a life history trait that plays a key role in population dynamics. We used camera traps to estimate the distance male and female tigers (Panthera tigris) dispersed from Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve (RTR) in semi-arid habitats of western India from 2003 to 2010. We deployed camera traps whenever tiger tracks were found in places adjacent to protected areas where tigers had not been recently reported. We identified tigers by matching strip patterns by using their photographs with the database of camera-trapped tigers of RTR at the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun. We determined the aerial distance (straight line) between the last location of photo-capture in the natal area (in RTR) and the location of the most recent photo-capture. One female and three male tigers that dispersed from RTR were identified from photographs. The longest distance dispersed by a tiger was 148.4 km, and the average dispersed distance was 124.2 ± 23.7 km (n = 3) for male tigers and 78.4 km for the female tiger. The minimum age of the male tigers when they dispersed was 24 months. These data are important for making conservation and management decisions for restoration of potential connectivity between landscapes.