Movement and home range characteristics of reintroduced tiger (Panthera tigris) population in Panna Tiger Reserve, central India

Reintroduction of the tiger (Panthera tigris) has become imperative to address the extinction crisis and, it also provides new knowledge of the species biology as to how these animals explore and utilize new environments. We studied six reintroduced tigers and three of their offsprings in Panna Tiger Reserve, central India, focusing on exploration strategy, movement characteristics and spatio-temporal home range patterns. It was found that the release site had no influence on home range selection by the reintroduced tigers, regardless of the release method (soft or hard release) and origin (wild caught or raised in captivity). Although there was a high rate of initial movement, these animals exhibited strong site fidelity and territoriality subsequently. Mean (+/- SD) annual home ranges of male and female tigers were 132.7 km(2) +/- 9.0 and 73.6 km(2) +/- 9.6, respectively, and did not differ significantly across seasons. The home range sizes of males were among the largest in India and was also marginally larger for females. Comparison with previous telemetry study on historic tiger population in the same site suggests that the reintroduced animals behaved almost exactly the same way as that of native populations, offering support for reintroduction strategies which look to restore not only the species population but also ecosystem functions. The exploratory strategy and subsequent home range establishment by the reintroduced tigers offer novel insights on species behaviour in a new environment, with implication for future conservation strategies that consider translocation-based recovery of tiger populations in the range countries.