Thailand Tigers Council (TTC)

Your client is the Thailand Tigers Council (TTC). It is a non-profit organization tasked
with promoting conservation & eco-tourism in Thailand. One of the biggest tourist
draws is local fauna, particularly Tigers. The population has declined significantly from
historical levels.
Tigers populations were historically stable until recently. Only 10,000 coyotes exist
today down from 25,000.
Geographically, only consider the area administered by the TTC
No other fauna or flora have been impacted as much.
 Thailand Tigers Council (TTC) - Framework

Species loss is a not a common framework, and so be prepared to iterate by asking

what else. Quality frameworks should include at least the following buckets or
nodes (for those who use trees):
-Environmental factors (pollution, climate change, species migration)
-Dietary factors (number of predators, number of prey, availability of water)
-Human-generated factors (hunting, poaching, habitat loss)
-Disease and Genetics

Award brownie points for additional creative ideas.

Steer the candidate gradually towards human-generated factors (habitat loss and
hunting). Have the candidate brainstorm for a few minutes how habitat loss would
impact the species, especially given that other factors havent changed significantly
with time (prey availability, water, hunting, etc).
A strong candidate may immediately guess changing birth rates, fertility, and the
availability of finding partners. Regardless of whether the candidate gets to this or not,
steer the candidate by issuing the next prompt (below).
 Thailand Tigers Council (TTC) - Framework

The client is likewise concerned by the impact of development and interactions with
man on the tiger population, and wants to understand the expected impact on the
population this year. A few demographic details they have on the tiger population in
the area (Exhibits A and B).
 Thailand Tigers Council (TTC) Exhibit 1

Population A Population B

Population C
Thailand Tigers Council (TTC) Exhibit 2
 Thailand Tigers Council (TTC) Anlise 1

From the exhibits, the candidates should point out links between groups, unequal
gender sizes, and different numbers of hunting licenses for similarly sized territories.
The candidate should grasp that the overall goal of the analysis is to find out how
populations are changing. The first step is finding out the current number of tigers in
each group by gender.
The total population should have been asked for during the Q&A portion. If the
candidate did not get to it then, provide the number now (10,000).
The first step is to break out the 10k by each group by gender. If the candidate doesnt
think of this, steer them towards it. Some candidates may try to jump towards
calculating births and deaths, in which case they guessed the missing steps (see next
section), but have them work out the calculations by gender and group first.
 Thailand Tigers Council (TTC) Anlise 1

Let the candidate drive the continuation of the analysis. If the candidate is lost, ask them how they would
calculate the changein coyotes every year. The general equation they should arrive at:
Change in coyotes for this year = Number Born in this year Number Died in this year. Focus them on
calculating the change for this year!
Several pieces of information have been deliberately withheld from the candidate. A perceptive candidate will
ask for them:
Litter size: This is the number of coyotes born to each pregnant female. Assume 2 pups/litter.
Gestation period: Assume coyotes breed once per year.
Partner fidelity: Assume that coyotes are monogamous (meaning that once a male coyote has impregnated
one female coyote, he will not impregnate another female coyote).
Availability or % Mate: Not all coyotes will breed each year. Assume that only 40% of potential pairs birth a
litter each year.
The candidate should notice that hunting isnt the only cause of death. Assume that all other deaths are
natural and the death rate is 10% (applies to adults only use beginning population and dont include pups).
Assume that hunting deaths happen at the end of the year, and hence so is cumulative with the natural
deaths.
Other questions that the candidate could ask:
What are the frequency of hunting licenses? Answer: annual
How many coyotes does a license permit to be killed? Answer: one
Can both males and females be hunted? Answer: yes
Do all hunting licenses get used? Answer: assume yes

Lastly, because of the monogamous nature of coyotes, the candidate should pick up on the fact that the lesser
occurring gender in each territory is the limiting factor on births.
Thailand Tigers Council (TTC)
Thailand Tigers Council (TTC)
Thailand Tigers Council (TTC)
Thailand Tigers Council (TTC)