Tiger-human conflict: Why are man-animal conflicts on the rise in India?

Picture a postapocalyptic world with the inhabitants running out of resources As a result they turn on each other and anyone else crossing their path Fights break out over food leading to violence and death As groups start migrating from their depleted neighbourhoods territorial clashes eruptmdashit is survival of the fittestNow apply this scenario to tigersA tiger and its cub captured on a camera trap in a forest in Chandrapur district Camera traps are installed in forests and tiger reserves to track the movements of the big cats and also help with the census every four years In the 2022 census a total of 3080 tigers were captured in 32588 camera traps all over India Pic CourtesyAnish AndheriaAccording to the fifth cycle of the All India Tiger Estimation 2022 released last week the number of tigers in India has risen by 200 in the last four yearsmdashfrom 2967 in 2018 to 3167 in 2022 In contrast the data revealed the Western Ghats which include our state of Maharashtra plus neighbouring Goa Kerala and Tamil Nadu and are said to hold the worldrsquos singlelargest tiger population recorded a significant decline The numbers here fell from 981 tigers in 2018 to 824 unique tigersThe good news Maharashtra specifically saw a decent rise in tiger population from 312 in 2018 to 375 in 2022While on one hand the positive numbers are being hailed as the success of Project Tiger launched in 1973 to ensure a viable big cat population in India experts and activists are a worried lot They are concerned that this could signal an even higher number of HumanWildlife Conflict HWC cases Their reasons are simplemdashtigers today are running out of forest cover prey availability and water and are venturing into humanpopulated areas for survivalA tigress stalks through the TadobaAndhari Tiger Reserve as tourists follow PicGetty ImagesA Right To Information query filed by middayrsquos senior journalist Ranjeet Jadhav in February had revealed that in the last 10 years there have been 624 human fatalities and over 5000 casualties due to HWC Authorities say that over 50 per cent of these cases involve either tigers or leopardsThe third largest state in India Maharashtra has a total recorded forest area of 61952 square kilometres which includes 50865 sq km of Reserved Forest 6433 sq km of Protected Forest and 4654 sq km of Unclassed Forests the latter comprising all forests other than Reserved Forests and Protected Forests The Gugamal National Park in Melghat Tadoba in Chandrapur and Pench in Nagpur on the border of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh are among the main tourist attractions forwildlife enthusiastsVillagers burn the undergrowth in forests twice a year so that the ground remains dark making it easier to spot mohua flowers which are collected and sold or used for processing liquor More often than not the fire spreads to other areas damaging the tigersrsquo natural habitat and giving rise to human wildlife conflict PicGetty ImagesldquoWhile we celebrate the higher numbersmdashand this is important as the people on the ground working for wildlife conservation deserve a pat on the backmdashwe should also be equally concerned that many potential tiger habitats are constantly underperforming in terms of providing for the big cats We have finished 50 years of Project Tiger but what is our strategy for the next 50 yearsrdquo asks Kedar Gore wildlife conservationist and director of the Corbett FoundationAccording to Gore India has declared 53 tiger reserves spread over 75000 sq km in 20 states occupying around 25 per cent of Indiarsquos geographical area ldquoTiger reserves are divided into core and buffer zones The core zones are considered as lsquocritical tiger habitatrsquo and as per the Wild Life Protection Act must be kept inviolate for the purpose of tiger conservation Buffer zones should have habitat connectivity with the core so that the spillover population of tigers can establish themselves in the buffer or use the buffer to move into other forest areas through forest corridorsrdquo he says As part of Project Tiger making a sanctum sanctorum for tigers in tiger reserves Gore says was one of the most challenging tasks for the government ldquoThe villages in core zones had to be voluntarily relocated to create inviolate spaces for tigers It has taken a great deal of efforts by the government and the sacrifice of local communities by giving away their homes to provide a safe home for Indiarsquos tigers even if they were compensated for itrdquo Out of the 750odd villages that were present in the core zones so far around 180 villages with more than 14500 families have been voluntarily rehabilitated to create critical tiger habitats of around 34000 sq km across all tiger reserves in India ldquoBetween 201415 and 202021 around R578 crore has been spent for this work Still around 570 villages are inside the core of our tiger reservesrdquoAnish Andheria Kedar Gore and Bandu DhotreSo when the tiger population sees an uptick in an already crunched reserve it could spell trouble In Maharashtra the increasing number of tigers in locations like the TadobaAndhari Tiger Reserve in Chandrapur of Vidarbha has resulted in the reserves being unable to hold the tigers leading the animals to move to connecting corridors The Chandrapur district has the largest tiger population in the state with around 200 tigers believed to be focused in reserves like Tadoba Experts point out that more often than not they migrate to areas near human settlements to prey on cattle ldquoMost people who end up in conflict with the tigers are legitimate residents of the villages for decades They depend on the nearby forest for livelihood and daily needsrdquo Gore arguesThe survival of tigers in any habitat depends on them getting their needs fulfilled within that space When tiger habitats are formed meadows are created and developed for years together so that grasslands can be created for herbivorous animals to feed on who in turn become the available prey for tigers However the creation of these habitats needs to be well planned in the sense that if all the prey animals feed at the same spot a major chunk of the tigers will converge there creating an imbalance A tiger experts say breeds well in the presence of plenty of food and water and adequate forest cover But too many tigers breeding in one reserve are bound to cause infighting over females and territory pushing them to migrate and bringing them in direct contact with humansAnish Andheria Chief Executive Officer of the Wildlife Conservation Trust says that in the Brahmapuri forest division of Chandrapur around 40 to 50 humans have been killed every year on an average for the last five years The area witnessed 50 deaths in 2021 and around 45 in 2022 The WCT has been conducting research in the Chandrapur district in collaboration with the Maharashtra government and tries to provide solutions to boost wildlife conservation as well as to minimise HWCldquoMore than the population of tigers it is the degradation of forests that has a direct connection to HWC There are certain corridors forested areas intermixed with grasslands and wetlands providing connectivity between protected areas in the same landscape as Brahmapuri where the density of tigers is more and yet the incidence of HWC is lower Because the forest cover is adequate In Chandrapur attacks usually occur when locals enter the forest to collect mohua flowers and tendu leavesrdquo Andheria says Tendu leaves or tendupatta are in high demand since they are used to roll beedis the recreation of choice for lower income groups across India The mohua flower scientifically known as Machuca Longifolia is used by locals for a wide variety of purposes from medicinal and nutritional to sweetening and preparation of liquor The bright yellow flowers bloom during the months of March and April and are collected only after they fall ldquoIn order to make them easier to spot the villagers burn the undergrowth twice a year to keep the forest floor dark More often than not this fire spreads to the tiger reserves or corridors Sometimes locals also send their cattle to graze here The depletion of forests leads to a negative interaction between man and beastrdquoThe basic and crucial criterion for tigers to thrive is that the carrying capacity of the tiger bearing area be maintained This can only be done if the forest is well protected With not enough defence against external elements poachers villagers the prey and water starts dwindling forcing the tigers out of their habitats ldquoWhenever forests are degraded they should be restored immediately One of the first things to happen when a forest starts degrading is the infestation of lantana weeds they can also climb over trees and creepers Today almost 40 per cent of Indiarsquos tigerbearing forests are infested with lantana weeds and the cost of uprooting them is huge Weed infestation reduces the palatable vegetation for herbivores which are prey for carnivoresrdquo says Gore explaining that this is how the entire food chain is disruptedOver the years due to the frequent loss of life or serious injury caused by HWC the outlook of local residents towards the tigers has also changed and not for the better In 2008 a coal mine was announced near Tadoba which was met with stiff opposition from villagers and activists alike who refused to let the rich wildlife in their district be affected by commercial interests After two hunger strikes the project was finally called off Cut to 2023 when the same villagers who poured out on the streets for tigers and their habitats are now picking up arms against them to exact revenge for their fallen comradesIn 2012 when the Tadoba Andhari reserve was declared a buffer zone the authorities created water bodies all across the area Soon grass started growing and animals like sambar and barking deer started grazing at these spots and the tigers followed The tiger population in Tadoba which was at 40 before 2012 now stands at 90 ldquoBut the resources are not proportionate with the tiger population be it in Tadoba or Brahmapurirdquo says Bandu Dhotre who was among the people who sat on a hunger strike in 2008 and is now fighting desperately to save the lives of fellow villagers in Chandrapur under the aegis of his NGO Eco Pro ldquoA tigress unable to find enough prey for herself and her cubs moves to the villages to hunt cattle A cow or a buffalo gives enough meat for the entire family A direct consequence of this is that the young cubs grow up learning that cattle are easier to hunt and only will look out for domestic cattle to attack after thatrdquoHe cites another trend that is giving rise to an imbalance between the big cats and their habitat ldquoIn 2018 a tigress settled at a nullah near the Chandrapur Super Thermal Power Station Her cub who had never entered a forest made its way to the Satpura power station in Madhya Pradesh where it was captured after causing panic among the employeesrdquo Dhotre saysWhere then is the solution for the rapidly increasing disparity between Indiarsquos national animal and what its land has to offer to the majestic beast There does not seem to be a quick fix for this Experts say that a lot of damage has already been done ldquoEvery time there is a human death entire villages go into lockdown to the extent that locals plan what to eat at night so that they donrsquot have to attend naturersquos call before sunrise the next morningrdquo says DhotreThe increase in tiger population then is not good news for them Gore recommends that peoplersquos feelings be assuaged immediately with prompt action ldquoEvery time there is an attack compensation to the victims or their families should be made available immediately The longer you delay it the more scope you are creating for retaliatory feelings It is useless to expect people to stop going into forests Local communities prefer firewood over cooking gas and no matter how many toilets the government builds many will still prefer the woods If the governmentrsquos response to HWC instances is not quick the people will look for revenge worsening the conflict even furtherrdquo says GoreAndheria has a host of other ideas aimed at making the villagers less dependent on the forest to begin with His suggestions stem from a project that the WCT conducted in 2012 in the Brahmapuri region where water heaters were provided to the villagers at a lower cost The heaters worked on onethird of the quantity of firewood required in a normal woodfuelled stove and could also make use of crop residue and dung greatly reducing the number of trips the villagers had to make to the forest for woodldquoWe can look at reducing the number of livestock in villages close to tiger reserves or corridors Currently the villagers are raising dung cattle but those donrsquot produce milk If these are replaced with milch cows they will be able to earn more by selling dairy products it will bring down the number of cattle they currently raise to onefifth There can also be other skill development programmes that can reduce the dependence of villagers on agriculture and help them earn through nonforest related workrdquo Andheria suggestsItrsquos clear then that we must preserve what we have while itrsquos still available to us As Dhotre puts it ldquoItrsquos hardly as if we can create new habitats and point tigers towards them and theyrsquoll happily turn around and go thererdquo55In October 2022 humantiger interface in Chandrapur district reached flashpoint when a human was reported killed in a big cat attack daily over five consecutive days leading to discussion around the need for active population management95No of deaths the Brahmapuri forest division in Chandrapur of Maharashtra alone witnessed between 2021 and 2022 to mananimal conflictStatersquos forest coverThe biennial India State of Forest Report2021 ISFR revealed that while Maharashtrarsquos forest cover increased by 30 sq km it has depleted in forested districts of Chandrapur and Gadchiroli which are home to a majority of tigers The ISFR is arrived at by using walltowall mapping of Indiarsquos forest cover with the help of remote sensing techniques and sample plotbased national forest inventoryForest cover lostGadchiroli 1412 sq kmChandrapur 419 sq kmNagpur 159 sq km