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Introduction
Tiger Panthera tigris populations continue to decline throughout their range (Dinerstein et al., 2006). This decline is because of the illegal trade in their body parts for traditional medicine, authorized removal of problem tigers following tiger-human conflicts (Tilson et al., 1994; Seidensticker et al., 1999), depletion of prey species (Seidensticker, 1986; Karanth & Stith, 1999), and accelerated destruction of their natural habitat (Dinerstein et al., 2006).
Indonesia historically contained three subspecies of tigers but both the Javan subspecies P. t. sondaica and the Bali subspecies P. t. balica went extinct in the early 1980s and 1940s, respectively (Seidensticker, 1986; Seidensticker et al., 1999). Currently, only the Sumatran subspecies P. t. sumatrae persists, in isolated populations throughout Sumatra (Dinerstein et al., 2006). In 1978 the Sumatran tiger population was estimated to be 1,000 (Borner, 1978). In 1985 26 protected areas were found to contain a total of 800 tigers (Santiapillai & Ramono, 1987). In 1992, a Population and Habitat Viability Analysis estimated there were only 400-500 Sumatran tigers in the wild (Tilson et al., 1994). The aims of the present study were to make the first estimate of the density of tigers in the recently gazetted Batang Gadis National Park and to identify the environmental variables that best predict tiger occurrence in the Park.
Study area
Batang Gadis National Park in North Sumatra Province, Indonesia, is one of 12 forest blocks in Sumatra, including national parks, identified as a level 3 Tiger Conservation Landscape. Sanderson et al. (2006) defined level 3 Tiger Conservation Landscapes as those that have habitat to support some tigers but that have moderate to high levels of threat and minimal conservation investment. Under a new legal framework that allows local governments to declare national parks, the governor of North Sumatra and the head of Mandailing Natal district declared 26% of the total forested area in the district as Batang Gadis National Park in December 2004. Covering a total of 1,080 km2 of tropical rainforest, the Park has an altitude range of 300-2,145 m (Sorik Merapi mountain; Fig. 1). Rainfall is seasonal, with an annual range of 1,900-2,800 mm over 2002-2006 (BMG, 2008).
Fig. 1
Batang Gadis National Park, Mandailing Natal District, North Sumatra, with...