In a concerning development, Assam has recorded five tiger deaths in the last four months. In the latest incident on June 1, a male cub, about a year old, was found in the Burhapahar Range of Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve (KNPTR).
Veterinary reports suggest the cub died from injuries sustained during infighting. Authorities reported another tiger death from the Kohora Range of KNPTR a day earlier, and the authorities retrieved the carcass of the adult tiger from a wooded area. Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Arun Vignesh, quoting veterinarians, confirmed the tiger died a natural death, but was unable to determine its sex because of the heavy decomposition of the body.
Ready for a challenge? Click here to take our quiz and show off your knowledge!
On May 22, the authorities recovered a dismembered tiger carcass from the Borbeel, Dusutimukh area of Eastern Assam’s Golaghat district. The forelimbs, paws, teeth, ears, and tail were missing from the carcass. One person was arrested the same day on charges of killing a protected species
and mutilating its carcass, informed the Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Golaghat.
Forest department sources revealed that the tiger had been preying on livestock and creating panic in the area for months. The big cat allegedly killed a man only days ago, and the killing of the tiger was a retaliatory act.
Locals, however, blamed the department’s negligence that led to the tragic incident. “The tiger possibly strayed out of the Eastern Range of Kaziranga National Park, and we informed the forest department about its presence in the area, but they did nothing,” locals complained.
Ready for a challenge? Click here to take our quiz and show off your knowledge!
“This is tragic. The forest department was repeatedly informed about the tiger’s presence in the area, but they did nothing. It is really unfortunate that the protected species had to die because of their negligence,” said a local youth, requesting anonymity.
Earlier, in March, the authorities found the carcass of a tiger at Polokata Tapu, near the Ferengadau anti-poaching camp in Biswanath Wildlife Division, believed to be yet another case of a retaliatory act. In February, the authority also reported the death of an adult tiger from the Orang National Park and Tiger Reserve.
The rising mortality rate of the state’s big cat population has sparked concerns and serious doubts over wildlife management in the state. The Royal Bengal tiger is protected under Schedule I of India’s Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, and listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as an ‘Endangered’ species.
No other country has invested as much in recovering tiger populations as India has over the decades. From just nine tiger reserves under the ambitious Project Tiger, the number of tiger reserves has increased exponentially. The country saw an amazing rebound of the magnificent feline. India is now home to 75 per cent of the global wild tiger population.
Tiger reserves need enhanced protection and habitat restoration, which, experts say, is simply not happening. Unbridled tourism activities inside the core areas often violate the National Tiger Authority’s Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) and severely impacting many tiger reserves in the country.
Assam’s Tiger Reserves–Kaziranga, Manas, Orang, and Nameri–together host some 200 tigers.Data shows there has been a sizeable population of tigers still roaming vulnerable without a home territory and slowly retreating to fragmented habitats. Tiger sightings are often reported from uncharted territories. On June 4, locals rescued a tiger cub from a bamboo grove at Miri Pathar, in Gohpur, on the northern bank of the Brahmaputra.
“Straying incidence throughout the year, unnatural death of juvenile, sub-adult, or individual which are over mature, infighting between breeding males, and even other age groups due to Scarcity of food is one of the primary signs of habitat shrinkage,” says Bhupen Talukdar, author and ex-official of the Assam forest department.
Tiger-people interaction poses a bigger challenge
When it comes to tiger conservation, apart from the threats of habitat destruction and poaching, conflict between tigers and people has posed a bigger challenge.
Experts had warned that human habitations deplete the tiger’s prey base and suggested that we cannot resolve the conflict unless wild animals have sufficient protected space so that they do not have a reason to get too close to human settlements.
Communities, private landowners, or the private sector can own land outside the protected area (PA) regime, but wildlife does not recognize these demarcations, so we find wildlife beyond the PA boundaries.
A wild animal–when it comes nearer to human habitation–is perceived as a threat. The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) provides the basic minimum steps required in dealing with incidents of tiger straying in human-dominated landscapes. The purpose is to ensure authorities handle straying tigers appropriately to avoid injuring human beings, tigers, cattle, and property.
The SOP of NTCA clearly mentions proactively involving the district administration and the Superintendent of Police of the area to maintain law and order, besides avoiding crowding by local mobs.
“In all instances of wild carnivores like tigers/leopards straying into a human-dominated landscape, the district authorities need to ensure law and order by imposing section 144 of the CrPC. This is essential to avoid agitation/excited local people surrounding the animal spot, which hampers the capture operation, leading to serious injuries to people and staff. It is also necessary that police and local administration involve themselves at an early stage. Effective coordination with them is critical to control mobs, which, as we have seen in several instances, worsen the situation and lead to avoidable fatalities/tragedies.”
However, incidents of human-animal interactions largely remain uncoordinated throughout the state and often reveal a lack of training of forest frontline staff in dealing with emergencies.
Community support essential in wildlife management
“The killing of a tiger and its subsequent mutilation is very unfortunate. Threats loom large over straying animals because most people still perceive wildlife as a threat. “The intolerance level of the masses has equally been responsible for what happened in Dusutimukh,” said Mrinal Saikia, a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Assam.
The growing intolerance has created a crisis in wildlife management in the state. Fear and insecurity often lead to fatal outcomes. The lack of collaboration over the years has led to the growing disconnect between local communities and the forest department. For effective wildlife management, community support is essential, and the sooner the Park managers realize this, the better. To ensure the safety of the tiger, it is absolutely necessary that community education and engagement get top priority.