By B. K. Singh
The protection of tigers — a “flagship” species — in the wild is made all the more vital by the fact that their protection will in turn protect their habitat and by extension all the other wild animals that inhabit it. Mankind has learnt lessons in the repercussions of our actions from natural disasters like floods, landslides, and startling depletion of perennial flow of water in rivers and their tributaries from catchment areas, forcing upon us the realization of the importance of protecting forests. And if the tiger is to be protected, the forests must be too, and vice versa.
Habitat encroachment and human-wildlife conflict are two problems facing India’s wild tiger populations.
The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), instituted by the Indian Ministry of Environment and Forests, has come a long way in supporting tiger conservation in what have been declared Tiger Range states, with each of these states notifying additional Tiger Reserves — forest areas identified as prime tiger habitat and declared protected by Indian law — bringing the number of Tiger Reserves in India up to 48. Officers and policy makers across the states have extended cooperation and made this expansion possible.
To ensure adequate protection of the species and these reserves, India’s Wildlife Act, 1972 (Wildlife Protection Act) has been amended to include a chapter on the NTCA. Along with core areas of the tiger reserve, buffer areas are also notified around them, which are mostly taken from adjoining territorial division, and in many reserves detailed conservation plans are devised and implemented for each: the core, buffer, and critical wildlife corridors. Unfortunately, buffer areas are generally human-dominated, making them prime locations for tiger conflict, putting at risk both man and animal. Alternate livelihood options for the people and proper education and awareness campaigns in favor of conservation are very much required and to an extent carried out in buffer areas.
Wildlife SOS veterinarians perform dental surgery on a tiger.
To further prevent conflict, subsequent amendments in the Wildlife Protection Act also emphasize that tiger reserves are inviolate areas to be kept free from human and cattle population. Relocation of families from the core area of the tiger reserve is the most important program supported by the NTCA in this regard. Many villages across the states are relocated, helping to revive ungulate populations upon which tigers depend for prey, thereby boosting populations of tigers and co-predators.
With all the above-mentioned efforts, the tiger population has been made additionally secure in nearly 20,000 square kilometers (sq km) of forest area in the country. The area under tiger occupancy, which claimed an astounding size of 1,00,000 sq km about hundred years ago, is now restricted to only 20,000 sq km. Due to an explosion of the human and cattle population, the forest areas are diverted for development projects, resulting in loss and fragmentation of habitats and corridors.
The All India Tiger Estimation, conducted once every four years, has already been conducted thrice (i.e., 2006, 2010, and 2014). The mean value of the estimated tiger number as observed in this exercise was 1400, 1700, and 2200, respectively. Although there is an increasing trend with regard to tiger numbers, the actual area occupied by tigers continues to decrease.
A tiger rests at the Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve in central India.
In the few tiger parks where the tiger population has saturated the habitat, and the park areas have not been increased or had additional wildlife corridors built, there will be more tigers per unit area, which would again contribute to human-tiger conflict. Tigers — being territorial animals — in congested situations are either killed or pushed out to the fringes of the reserves. When young males establish their home ranges, older individuals are pushed out closer to human-dominated areas where they can come into conflict. Depending upon the quality of habitat and prey density, a particular tiger reserve can hold at the most 10 to 18 tigers per 100 sq km. The maximum tiger density in the Bandipur and Nagahole tiger reserves of Karnataka is 10 to 12 tigers per 100 sq km, whereas Corbett in Uttarakhand, Kanha in Madhya Pradesh, and Kaziranga in Assam could have 16 to 18 tigers per 100 sq km.
In view of these limitations, the NTCA has laid down several guidelines for mitigating tiger conflict, with well-established protocols for capture of conflict tigers, rescue of orphaned cubs, conducting post mortems, and so on. There are reports from many areas regarding conflicts leading to the death of humans and domestic cattle. Forest officers are under increasing pressure to deal with these cases.
Conflict does not always involve tigers killing human beings or snatching livestock; villagers often target and kill tigers in retaliation. When tigers kill cattle, they occasionally leave a portion of the carcass for a second feeding. This behavior is exploited by the villagers, who poison the carcass to kill cattle-snatching predators.
Poaching of tigers for body parts and skin is also prevalent in many states, especially in the northern and central portions of the country. Often the accused caught on the scene are not kingpins or controllers of the trade, and hence rarely does the interrogation bust the syndicate. It is heartening to note that the courts are more and more sensitive in these cases, and the conviction rate is improving.
Two male tigers at the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh, India.
The management in all parts of the country is conscious of the protection of tigers, co-predators, prey animals, and habitats. There is a constant effort to relocate families residing inside tiger reserves so as to make the area inviolate. Making the area inviolate is the most important component of the management. The data suggest that for the ideal tiger reserve, 800 to 1200 sq km of inviolate forests with adequate prey density are required. Such areas would be occupied by 70 to 75 tigers, including 20 to 25 breeding females. Even if there are one or two losses per year in such areas, the tigers would not vanish.
The 29th of July marked the commemoration of International Tiger Day, and a re-dedication to the cause of conservation of this species that has come to be a proud representative of not just India’s astounding natural wealth and heritage, but of the many problems that plague Indian forests and wildlife — as well as the people trying to protect them.
About the author: B. K. Singh is the retired Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Head of Forests Force) for Karnataka, India, and a Senior Advisor to Wildlife SOS.