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Magazine
Save the tiger
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One way we can save the tiger is to protect the biodiversity of sanctuaries, for that can sustain both man and nature.
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THE widespread worry about the fast dwindling wildlife of the country has been alleviated to some extent by the establishment of wildlife sanctuaries and National parks. However, reports from several of these "protected areas" have said that people living in and around the forests were unhappy as they often had to suffer outright eviction or a total or partial loss of livelihood. Additionally, there were reports of increased attacks by wild animals in the villages bordering parks and sanctuaries. The result was that the incipient wildlife protection movement soon had a conflict on its hands. Realisation dawned within the movement that people who were adversely affected by the creation of National parks and sanctuaries had rights that had to be taken into account if the forests had to be saved.
One such sanctuary that has helped the otherwise would-be displaced people to come and live together is the Mudumalai wildlife sanctuary and national park. Situated at the junction of three States — Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala, Mudumalai is surrounded by the Bandipur national park on the North, Wyanad wildlife sanctuary on the West and the Sigur reserve forest on the East. The total area of the Park is 321 sq.km., of which 103 sq.km. form the core zone and 218 sq.km., the buffer zone (which includes 105 sq.km. of tourism zone).
Here, the Joint Forest Management at Chamanathan, started a year ago, has adopted a novel idea of converting about 70 acres of revenue land adjoining the sanctuary and allotting it to people who were otherwise engaged in wood cutting, cattle grazing, honey collection and minor poaching. Under this scheme, about 40 families consisting of approximately 175 people have each been allotted houses. The entire area has been solar-fenced, each family issued with leased land in which they cultivate ragi, beans and vegetables. A notable feature of this cultivation is that no pesticides are used. The produce is sold in Ooty at the Uzhavar Sandhai. Additionally, each family has been given one milking buffalo and the milk is sold at the co-operative society making each family self-sustainable. The good news is that these people no longer enter the adjoining sanctuary or the Reserve Forest for their livelihood.
Also heartening to see is the setting up of 15 anti-poaching camps along the Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala borders and at other strategic locations. Each camp has four anti-poaching watchers, one regular watcher and a guard. These watchers are selected from the tribals who are well versed with the terrain and the forest track.
After the setting up of these camps, poaching along the border areas have sizeably been reduced. However, the general feedback from the guards and watchers located at the camps is that they have been supplied with outdated weapons (mostly condemned by the State Police Department), which have a limited firing range of only 30 feet. The officials of the State Forest Department should immediately address this issue and supply them with sophisticated firearms; also in as much as the anti poaching camps are located in remote areas of the sanctuary and across the border areas, the State Forest Department should also augment the strength of the watchers to enable them to move out in larger and stronger groups.
To contain forest fire, the State Forest Department has cleared and created a stretch of 35 kms of fire line criss-crossing the sensitive areas of the forest and they engage a little more than 100 anti-fire watchers during the fire season between January and April each year.
The State Forest Department has also formed the position of a Wildlife Biologist who primarily assists the Forest Department for scientific management of the sanctuary, including long term monitoring of the population of wild animals, preparation of seasonal distribution pattern and habitat quality assessment. Recently the map of the Park was prepared, digitised and geo-registered with the help of the Nilgiri Wildlife Environmental Association; also, the demography of elephants was studied and a study conducted on the exotic plant weeds distribution and its mapping.
The use of plastic carry-bags in the sanctuary area has been banned. Roadside caution boards and speed breakers have been erected at strategic points. The forest department should think of providing additional speed breakers at sensitive areas and intensify night patrolling.
There are also reports that there is considerable delay in replenishing the salt-licks, with the result that animals roam around a larger area in search of salt. Recently, a herd of wild elephants raided a forest department godown.
The Park supports a variety of wildlife including mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, invertebrates and butterflies. Due to the abundant presence of prey species, the Park has a healthy population of carnivores including leopards, tigers and wild dogs. Though there have been reports of frequent sightings of tigers by the tourists and Park officials, much remains to be done to protect the tigers.
The reason why tigers are scarce over much of Asia is the loss of their prey base. Every day thousands of villagers enter forests around their home to shoot, snare, trap the tiger's favourite food. Except in a few well-protected sanctuaries (like Mudumalai) such uncontrolled hunting by local people has driven prey population to levels unable to support tigers.
A tiger typically kills once a week taking about 50 animals a year. A female however, has to feed her young, as well and she needs to take down roughly 70 prey animals a year mostly within a short radius of her litter. To allow an annual crop of prey that will support one tiger, the prey base must number about 500 animals. Therefore, for every 50 deer or sambhar killed by villagers per year, there is prey for one less tiger.
The concept of core and buffer zones needs re-thinking. Most of our core zones are not surrounded by buffer areas and areas difficult to reach have been classified as core zones and made out-of-bounds for people other than the park officials with the result that they have gone beyond the public eye and become a paradise for poachers and wood cutters.
Saving tigers requires making difficult decisions — decisions that we have been putting off for more than a century. The government, both at the Centre and at the State, must immediately institute strict protective measures inside wildlife reserves for tigers, their prey and their habitat and crack down on traffickers. It also means re-locating forest-dwelling people and abolishing exploitation of timber and other forest produce from critical tiger habitats. Officials at all levels have to adapt themsel
ves to the ground realities and learn to deal with this crisis. Quick decisions, field action and good information systems are imperative. It is a movement of challenges and risks and unless serving wildlife administrators realise this today, there is very little hope for the future.
We are still short of political leadership but the void has been filled somewhat by judicial directives/judgments and public interest litigation. The turning point will come only when conservation becomes a public issue.
The real change has to happen within mankind. In the short term, we need to establish many more parks and reserves. This is only an interim solution to a more cohesive attempt to protect our wildlife. Mudumalai reminds us that the only way to save our tiger is to save the bio-diversity and the biosphere. We need to create an environment that can sustain both man and nature. Unless all of us join hands, the days are not far off when wild animals will be found only in zoos.
Text and picture by R. VENKATESWAR
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