Dr. Suhas Kumar
Managing tigers in and around human-dominated areas With the kind of situation building up in several areas of the country (more tigers are visible outside than within PAs as human development is making inroads into their habitats), the strategy of capturing and/or killing tigers will not succeed. Every now and then a tiger will be either killed or captured, therefore, there has to be a well thought of protocol to deal with tigers in a human-dominated landscape. One has to understand the issue first -what is making these tigers impatient with humans? I fully understand that an aberrant animal must be eliminated for the good of other congenerics as well as humans, but then how one would conclude which animal is totally beyond redemption?
Considering the fact that ‘NOT’ every attack by a wild animal is a sign of aberration, may I suggest applying the same principle of Jurisprudence to them as applied to human beings? Establish the offence through undeniable evidence. Every case of attack and human death by wild animals must be investigated thoroughly to establish the identity, and understand the circumstances and behaviour of the animal as well as of the victim before drawing any conclusions – whether the animal is actually a man-eater or not. In many cases even the identity of the animal is mistaken. Therefore, a thorough investigation is mandatory to avoid losing a large number of innocent animals.
The argument against tigers is that they are dangerous animals because they kill people. I wonder, are they dangerous? I think roads and vehicle drivers are a thousand times more dangerous than the poor tiger. On average 155000 people die on roads in India (425 people per day). While the tigers kill around 100 people in a year largely in self-defence when threatened or disturbed. Only a few become maneaters but that is an aberration, not the rule. Human societies too have serial killers and that does not make all humans monsters. Any tiger that has been proven guilty after a thorough investigation must be punished but others who are not guilty should not be made scapegoats. Unfortunately, despite the protocol, there are no sincere investigations as there is always a hurry to declare innocent tigers guilty of murder.
After more than 16 years of Project Tiger, India achieved the maximum number of tigers in 1989- the estimated population then was 4334. There was no advocacy to permit trophy hunting, then. After that, the tiger population was on a downslide once again, and by 2005, tigers vanished from Sariska and in 2009 from Panna. The all-India tiger estimation done by WII in 2006 reported just 1411 (11651657) tigers in India. What caused the decline is known to all – unbridled poaching all over the country orchestrated by an organized mafia, severe loss and fragmentation of tiger habitats, and ecologically unsound or indifferent development projects took a toll on the wild habitats and corridors and the growing cities began eating up the forests, thus tigers are a common sight in the cities that have a nearby natal area where tigers still breed (e.g. Chandrapur in Maharashtra and Kerwa-Kathotiya, near Bhopal city). The current number of tigers (3167), declared a few weeks ago, does not present us with a great occasion to celebrate and become complacent. Just a little slackness in protection will take the tigers back to square one.
In the current times, the number of tigers has gone up in select tiger reserves in some tiger-bearing states, where zealous efforts have been made to control poaching and secure tiger habitats. There is also a focus on protecting tigers and their habitats beyond the tiger reserve boundaries in territorial forests. Madhya Pradesh has created a separate budget head for protecting and managing wildlife beyond protected areas. Systematic relocation of villages from core critical habitats in tiger reserves to create inviolate spaces where tigers can breed, helped tigresses to litter and raise cubs within the secure reserve’s boundaries undisturbed. The young and old tigers dispersing from the natal areas soon reach human habitations as the cities and villages have expanded eating into the forests and thus the war begins, the tiger does not vote so no one is on its side. If the absurd idea of killing tigers on the first excuse is implemented within six months the government will be forced to set up Tiger Task Force III.
This is the time for us to introspect and find out whether we have been making tigers victims of human greed and apathy, mismanagement, and myopic thinking of our race. We torment and pester the animals, rob them of their habitats; pursue them relentlessly without giving these dispersing tigers a chance to settle down in some suitable habitat. Now is the time to do some solid work instead of hiding behind court orders and finding shortcut solutions.
Where the tigers may be rehabilitated
My Recommendation -As many notified tiger reserves in the country are bereft of tigers or inhabited by an unviable population of tigers there is ample scope for intra and inter-state relocation of tigers. Besides many states still have enough usable tiger habitats, these areas need to be mapped and secured by notifying them as any category of PA acceptable to the local people and translocating adequate prey species from some tiger reserves and farmlands. In M.P. there are total undisturbed huge habitats (645 sq. Km) like the proposed Onkareshwar national park and areas like Lagur in Blaghat, besides several areasthat have been recently identified and mapped using GIS technology.
So, there are adequate habitats where tigers roaming in hostile areas may be rehabilitated. M.P. has also been proactive in making territorial forest officers responsible for wildlife in their respective jurisdictions. From the range officers to the CCFs all are notified wildlife wardens for their respective areas. The state has also created a separate budget head for wildlife management outside protected areas. The state government has made provision for an annual review of all forest circles to assess their contribution to wildlife management. In a proactive state like M.P. vigorously campaigning for killing tigers and other wild animals is totally out of place.
As far as the elimination of problem animals (Crop-raiders and human eaters) is concerned the law already has provision to deal with it, therefore, adding the words –“Sustainable use’ in the Recommendation No. 5 is clearly a veiled attempt to introduce trophy hunting. Section 11 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act ordains upon the CWLW to satisfy himself fully that the animal in question is either a proven danger to human beings/their property (obviously after thorough investigation) or disabled or diseased beyond recovery). Hence, the law is clearly against trigger-happy trophy hunters. Our culture and ethos do not permit unjust hunting, all the scriptures support the killing of animals only for food and not for pleasure. Trophy hunting is unacceptable where an animal is killed just to experience an adrenalin rush.
Possible Strategy that may resolve the issue concerning tigers in Bhopal
1. Plan the expansion of the city rationally to preserve the garland of the extant green belt around Bhopal.
2. Identify all movement paths that a tiger might use to stray into human dwellings, fence these areas off with a combination of mesh-wire and solar power fence; both types of fences would need intensive upkeep and monitoring. Or, if the government is willing to spend money build a ten feet wall topped with 3 feet of mesharound wire fence all along the movement path like the one built Ranthambhore tiger reserve to keep the town of Sawai Madhopur out of bound for tigers.
3. make maximum use of the eeye s urve illance system. Do not let it fall in disuse . Train and pl ace at least six professional teams to monitor and report tiger moment 24X7 outside Ratapani sanctuary, and issue timely alerts.
4. Identify suitable potential tiger habitats outside protected areas national park (in territorial divisions and buffer zones), carry out r like the proposed Onkareshwar equired habitat augmentation work to enhance prey base, build the capacity of the staff and equip them in a way to combat wildlife crime and monitor tigers in their areas. Once this is achieved the wildlife wing may be able to rehabilitate tigers straying out of natal areas into towns in such potential habitats.
5. Improve habitat protection and development of grasslands in Kerwa, Kathotiya Ratapani, Badi and Samradha forests and augment water sources where necessary in these areas. Once the habitat improv es, translocate chital from PAs with surplus chital population.
6. Implementing this plan will entail a huge capital and recurring expenditure, but in a state that is committed to conserving its natural heritage, this is the only logical way to protect th e Bhopal tigers from vanishing into oblivion.
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