印度政府为保护老虎迁移整座村庄

An entire village has been relocated in the northern Indian state of Rajasthan to protect tigers, officials say.

More than 350 people from 82 families in Umri village, in the Sariska tiger reserve, moved to a new location.

The number of tigers in Sariska had dwindled to zero before growing to five over the last three years.

Tiger numbers have shrunk alarmingly in India in recent decades. A 2011 census counted about 1,700 tigers in the wild. A century ago there were estimated to be 100,000 tigers in India.

Umri is the second village in Sariska to be relocated to help secure a proper habitat for tigers to increase their numbers. The villagers moved last week.

There are 11 villages with a population of nearly 2,500 people located in the heart of the tiger reserve which need to be relocated to improve the habitat, Rajasthan's chief conservator of forests, PS Somasekhar, told the BBC.

People living in these villages mostly belong to pastoral tribes.

Mr Somasekhar said efforts were being made to relocate four more villages over the next few years.

"It is a long-drawn process because the villagers have to agree to move out. We can't force them to leave. We can only persuade," he said.

The villagers are compensated with land, cash and livestock worth up to 1 million rupees ($20,000) and relocated to the nearest cultivable plots outside the reserve, Rajasthan's chief wildlife warden AC Chaubey told the BBC.

The number of tigers in the 886-sq-km Sariska reserve dropped to zero from a high of 16 in 2002.

"To maintain a reserve of this size, we need a minimum of 20 female tigers to help with the breeding and a viable population of 80 to 100 tigers," Mr Somasekhar said.

India's most recent tiger census, held last year, indicated that numbers had increased to 1,706 from 1,411 at the last count in 2007.

印度政府日前表示，为了保护数目急剧减少的老虎，已将位于该国北部拉贾斯坦邦的一座村庄整体迁移。

整体迁移的乌木里村位于萨瑞斯加老虎保护区内，村里82个家庭的超过350人已经迁移到了其他地区居住。

萨瑞斯加保护区内的老虎数量在过去三年内增加到5只，而在此之前已经濒临灭绝。

近几十年来，印度的老虎数量显著下降。2011年的统计表明，印度的野生老虎数量为1700只。而在一个世纪以前，印度大约有10万只老虎。

乌木里村于上周迁走，是萨瑞斯加老虎保护区内为了给老虎提供合适的栖息地、帮助增加老虎数量而迁走的第二个村庄。

拉贾斯坦邦的森林保护主管PS Somasekhar告诉BBC，有11个村庄、近2500人居住在这个老虎保护区的核心地带，他们都需要迁走，来改善老虎的生存环境。

这些村民大多是牧民。

Somasekhar先生说，将在今后几年内着手搬迁另外4个村庄。

他说：“搬迁是个长期过程，因为需要征得村民同意。我们不能强制搬迁，只能说服大家。”

拉贾斯坦邦的野生动物负责人AC Chaubey告诉BBC，村民会得到土地、现金和牲畜补偿，总价值可达到100万卢比（合两万美元），还可以搬迁到保护区外最近的可耕作土地上。

萨瑞斯加保护区面积886平方公里，2002年老虎数量多达16只，而后几乎濒临灭绝。

Somasekhar先生说：“为了保持种群数量，我们需要至少20只母虎繁殖后代，还需要80至100只能存活的老虎。”

印度去年的老虎数量调查在去年进行，结果显示，老虎数量已经从2007年调查时的1411只增加到1706只。