This technique can help determine age, reproductive status of tigers
What's the story
Scientists from the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) in Bengaluru have developed a non-invasive technique to determine the age, sex, and reproductive status of tigers and leopards. The method relies on analyzing chemical signatures in their urine and scat. The study was conducted in collaboration with Ahmedabad University and supported by the National Geographic Society. Samples were collected from zoos in Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, Vadodara, and Ranthambore Tiger Reserve.
Technique details
Promising approach
The new technique focuses on volatile organic compounds (VOCs), chemicals released through urine and scat that animals use for communication.
By decoding these scent signatures, researchers found they could extract valuable biological information without disturbing the animals.
"Volatile organic compounds are known to carry such information in other species, which makes our approach promising," said BV Aditi Prasad, the first author of the study.
Research findings
Identifying reproductive status
The researchers used silicone sorbent tubes and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry to identify chemical compounds that could consistently distinguish tigers from leopards.
Other combinations accurately predicted the animal's sex and age.
They also detected elevated levels of a compound called 2-nonanol in pregnant and lactating wild tigresses, allowing them to identify reproductive status from scent alone.
The technique also showed promise in assessing the health of an animal.
Conservation tool
Conservation opportunities
"Detecting chemicals in urine and fecal matter has been widely used in nutrition, medicine, and forensics. Applying such techniques to conservation offers researchers the opportunity to directly monitor individual statuses for population health and safety," said supervising author Shannon B Olsson.
Uma Ramakrishnan of NCBS also emphasized how chemical ecology can complement existing conservation tools.
"The novel chemical ecology tools showcased here, when integrated with other approaches, are sure to help us understand, and conserve these animals better," she said.