Free State tiger rehabilitation project is earning its stripes

Although the tiger evolved in Asia (the ancestor that it shares with lions and leopards did occur in Africa before migrating out of Africa around two million years ago), this highly endangered apex predator is being given hope in Africa through a conservation project in the Free State.

There are 19 wild Bengal tigers in South Africa on a 6 100ha private game reserve in the Free State, called Tiger Canyon. The project started in 2000, when big cat expert and maverick conservationist John Varty obtained two tigers from a Canadian zoo.

His ambitious plan was to preserve the tiger in the heart of South Africa. Along with Canadian wildlife trainer Dave Salmoni, Varty began the process of rewilding two tiger cubs, Ron and Julie, in Africa – something that had never been done before.

Varty successfully taught the tigers to hunt and survive on their own in the reserve. Their wild descendants, as well as new bloodlines, now roam free at Tiger Canyon.

In 2013, Rodney Drew and his wife, Lorna, invested in Tiger Canyon. Drew exited a 30-year career in corporate Johannesburg in 2016, and took over as managing director of Tiger Canyon at the end of 2017. Drew comes from an engineering management background and is tasked with professionalising the business.

Varty is consulted on tiger issues, considering his wide knowledge of big cats, and Salmoni is no longer involved at all. The debate still continues on whether tigers belong in Africa, but conservation has become a global problem.

Says Drew: “Projects such as these indicate how we live in a global village and that some conservation issues need not be resolved solely in the animals’ native range. We have proactively created a population of wild tigers outside of Asia, in case extinction becomes a reality.”

But can these tigers contribute successfully to wild tiger preservation in their native range?

The Karoo tigers are free-roaming and are self-sufficient tigers. An added bonus is they are vehicle habituated, allowing the game viewing vehicles (not the open type from Big Five reserves) to get close up. With the exception of the first generation hand-raised, rewilded tigers, none of the current tigers have had human interaction.

Delegates from Indian Parks have visited the reserve twice in the past, particularly to learn about the re-wilding process. Drew claims Tiger Canyon is in the right place to help the tiger species. “We have extremely capable vets locally available and many prey species suited to tigers.

“Since returning the land to wildlife and providing permanent water using solar powered pumps, we’ve picked up the return of rare indigenous species on our camera traps like serval, caracal, black footed cat, aardwolf, Cape fox, aardvark and porcupine,” says Drew.

“To me the answer to saving tigers from extinction lies in tourism and large areas of protected, fenced land,” says Drew.

The world-quality conservation fences at Tiger Canyon ensure people and tigers do not come into conflict and are protected. Asian tigers adapt to a range of habitats. At Tiger Canyon the tigers, being ambush predators, are found among the reeds, rocky outcrops and riverbeds, unless they are patrolling their territorial boundary.

The grasslands, less suitable for tigers, provide refuge for indigenous species such as springbok, aardvark, blue crane, secretary bird, zebra, wildebeest, blesbok and the tiger’s preferred food source, warthog. Formally barren Karoo farmland has been transformed into a truly magnificent ecosystem, as indigenous wildlife slowly returns.

Over the last three years about 800 springbok have been released onto the reserve. Tiger Canyon is in its infancy and is limited by land size and resources. Currently, second, third and fourth generations of wild-born, wild-raised tigers reside at Tiger Canyon.

A female called Panna was recently killed by another territorial tigress, leaving three orphan one-year-old cubs that are surviving on their own. The bodies of deceased tigers are not removed, as in the wild other tigers interact with the bones – as part of their social behaviour.

Like leopards, tigers are solitary and dominant males fight to the death. The tigers are divided into two camps – Tiger East and Tiger West – to prevent conflict between dominant males. The females maintain territories within the male’s range.

A new area, Tiger South, is currently being fenced to accommodate the 12 cubs when they disperse. The vision for Tiger Canyon is to have a 50 000ha reserve, big enough to sustain a self-regulated, less-intensively managed tiger population.

The success of Tiger Canyon lies with its management and ability to draw tourists to help fund overheads; although other individuals have also expressed interest in investing. Tiger Canyon will have to comply with scientific standards to be taken seriously by conservationists, otherwise run the risk of becoming a pseudo reserve – great for local wildlife and tourism but ineffective for tiger conservation.

On the other hand, the willingness of credible tiger organisations, governments and non-governmental organisations to engage with management of Tiger Canyon is part and parcel of the project’s impending success.

Edited version of an article in Safari News 

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