Tiger Deaths India
With the recent spate of tiger deaths, many questions arise.
- Are we becoming complacent in a conservation-focused on the big cat?
- Does the administrative structure need a rethink?
- Are some of the higher echelons too obsessed with tourism in the parks?
- Have we given up?
- Have we stopped seeking new solutions to save the species?
- Do we realize that the big cat is slipping away?
Focus on Tiger Tourism
With obsessive involvement in tourism, is it taking the topmost slot, well it appears to be...the big cat is slowly slipping away from the grasp. Do not look at the recent increase, the survival of each tiger is crucial and the only death acceptable is the one that is natural.
Regulated tourism is a healthy practice, and creates equity for wildlife besides generating crucial monetary resources and jobs for locals. This is one activity that accords a mutual benefit to tigers and humans alike. We need more such activities or recreations that are beneficial without a negative impact on the ecosystem. Hence besides a broad framework, the daily excursions should be under the purview of the FD, but the influence of external bodies is obvious in tourism in parks. The local bodies have little laxity in making on-field changes. Why all this? This will leave greater time for planning conservation initiatives for those at the helm.
Buffer Zone Rethink
We have to rethink what can be allowed in the buffer or outer ring which is a crucial sink for tigers and is as important as the core. I stress again and again that the outer ring should be accorded equal status on par with the core as far as conservation initiatives are concerned. This is the last safe ground for the dominant tiger who has lost ground in the core. The buffer zone is a greater sanctuary for animals who cannot compete in critical tiger habitats.
A large number of man-animal conflicts, poaching, wood logging, livestock intrusion, and illegal land grab are taking place here. Wildlife managers have taken a proactive step by creating buffer tourism. More has to be done including relocation which may sound brazen, but maintaining the population balance of humans and livestock will keep biotic stress in check. Organized livestock rearing along with feed is the answer and the locals will benefit tremendously. Paradoxically with such large herds, not enough milk is produced and resorts depend upon powdered milk.
The buffer zone hitherto neglected is extremely crucial for sink populations as well as the conservation of all species - flora and fauna. It also provides added land diversity in terrestrial terms due to long-term land use near human settlements. But of late it is overflowing!
More Than Buffer
Besides the buffer, alienated patches of nearby forests with good crown cover could be used as a sink but a mini corridor has to be created devoid of excessive human movement. This is already happening in a few of our reserves even though no viable corridor is in existence but then more could be done to create larger space for the big cats and thus sustain greater numbers.
Tiger Deaths a Contemporary Issue
We have to focus on this issue as a large number of tiger deaths have been unnatural and continue to date. This calls for a micro audit of the whole management chain which includes decision-making bodies, planners, and executioners.
As a matter of fact, some experts speak, literarily media and commercial news mongers all are functioning as mere reporting machinery and nothing else. They are not to be blamed since most of them are not involved in the conservation initiatives, and most do not have much idea of socio-economic issues and hordes of related issues that tiger conservation faces. One should note these factors are not akin to those in more urbanized circumstances and need more grassroots-level initiatives.
This spate of tiger deaths accrues from the fact that we have sought solutions solely from a central quasi Government body that seems to be self-opinionated, and its obsession with tourism is quite apparent. This is my personal opinion, and this obsession is distracting from the main objective. There is already a simmering issue in the administrative quarters regarding sidelining of experts who have continuously worked on tiger conservation and have gained much-needed experience in handling conservation-related problems. (Book "Wardens in Shackles" by H.S. Pabla.)
If you work as a field naturalist you are sure to notice this aspect of crucial tiger management in India. It is human to err but rectification should be timely.
The need to save the tiger is not a biological quest at the moment, since no critical health issues are affecting the predator anywhere in India. The need is for macro solutions which take into account the contemporary issues related to the big cat and conservation in general. How we approach human-related issues that are existential threats since humanity tightly engulfs our reserves overwhelming is crucial for species to survive. The big cats cannot breathe or set out of confines without encountering human footsteps, settlements, and livestock, these are nigh friendly nor conducive to their existence. Thus the species is facing a severely constricted environment limited to a small core zone or a critical tiger habitat as experts term it. Tigers' need for space is insatiable but we should have a goal in the plan as an objective and provide all available space.
As tigers continue to die this calls for introspection. The first finger points to check the efficacy, especially of organizations at the helm and right down the line till the last crucial link the foot sentinel.
A National Level consensus is required not of politicians but between those well experienced in tiger conservation. This should lead to rethinking the existing framework and policies being pursued before presenting the plan for execution on the table of the ruling dispensation for acceptance. This after all is democracy.
More on Dying Tigers
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Uday works as a freelance naturalist and loves to write on related issues. He also provides SEO and content writing services. He runs classes on digital marketing in summers in his home town Jabalpur.
He can be contacted :
pateluday90@hotmailcom
9755089323
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