Study links tourism in tiger reserves to higher stress in big cats

The Story in Brief

A study across five Indian tiger reserves found that tigers exposed to higher levels of tourism and other human disturbance had elevated stress hormone levels. Female tigers appeared to favour less disturbed areas for breeding. The research, led by Govindhaswamy Umapathy of CSIR-CCMB, analysed 610 tiger scat samples from Corbett, Tadoba, Kanha, Bandhavgarh and Periyar reserves between 2020 and 2023.

Stress levels rose specifically with tourist vehicle numbers and proximity to tourism roads, as well as with year-round pressures like cattle grazing. Tigers in buffer zones showed higher stress than those in core areas. The authors recommend improving wildlife tourism management, including limiting safari vehicles and reducing crowding, while noting that tourism revenue remains important for conservation. They caution that the findings show associations, not cause and effect.