Okay, since it is festive season, I will try keep to the spirit of things and be optimistic when I give you a picture of the year that was—for the tiger.
So, let's begin with the positive—perhaps the best thing that happened at the cusp of 2007-2008 was that we were able to declare 'Critical Tiger Habitats', about 32,000 sq km of our tiger reserves, out of the deadly ambit of the Forest Rights Act—a law that has the power to decimate our tigers, and wildlife completely, as it essentially seeks to transfer forest land to private ownership. Another good move on the part of the government was to enhance the relocation package given to forest dwellers living in tiger reserves to Rs 10 lakh per family, thereby giving a signal that it recognised the basic premise for saving tigers: That tigers need inviolate habitat. And to make this possible, Homo sapiens must be given the best possible deal to make forests inviolate for tigers; and a new life for themselves, away from the hardship that they must face living in the depths of the jungles, away from even basic facilities.
A moment I felt proud to be Indian was when we fought—like a tiger—in the CITES (Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species) Conference of Parities against China's proposal on farming for tigers for their skin and bones. We battled too, against pressures of the highest level, and refused to be part of the World Bank's Tiger Initiative. The Bank has caused immense damage to tiger habitat, and is now indulging in conservation games that smack of green wash, rather than any sincere attempt to save the tiger.
2008 also saw the return of the tiger to Sariska, albeit ones borrowed from neighbour, Ranthambhore. The good news is that nearly six months on—the tigers (a male, and a female) are doing well in their new home-despite myriad of problems that still confront Sariska; the bad news is that even as we wait with baited breath for them to unite and give the reserve its first generation of tigers, cupid is yet to strike this star-crossed couple.
Frankly, though, there is very little to cheer about, 2008 was a landmark year, when it was declared, courtesy a comprehensive, all-India census, that the number of wild tigers in India was 1,411, an all time low, lower even than what we had at the beginning of Project Tiger—finally acknowledging, officially, what conservationists feared all along.
The situation on the ground is abysmal. That Sariska happened is a tragedy. Worse, we did not learn from the mistake, and the echo of Sariska is today resounding in reserves across the country—most notably Panna, where just one tiger remains. Yes, you read that right. One. Even as the government was alerted repeatedly, by an imminent scientist researching in the central India reserve way back as 2004. Fact is, if we had taken measures then, Panna tigers would not have gone extinct; but the officials ignored the dire warnings, claiming fecundity when there was none. Now they seek to 'start afresh' by flying in tigress' from another reserve. This seems to have become the new fad, a glamorous solution to local extinction, problem is—why do we scurry for solutions only after we are at a point of no return, rather than protect our remaining, fragmented populations? Secondly, where are the reserves with a flourishing population to feed our sterile habitats? Bandhavgarh, which is the first choice to give tigers to Panna, has reportedly a mere handful-no more than 20,.
Another very disturbing trend this year was that the tiger's best protected fiefdoms like Kanha, Corbett , Kaziranga have also been invaded by poachers. Traps were found, and poachers arrested in the heart of Corbett, and its periphery, and poachers confessed to killing atleast three tigers in and around the reserve. Kanha has become very vulnerable too, with traps being found, repeatedly, in the reserve, a tiger was poached in November, and those in the know vouch that no more than 60 tigers exist in the reserve that held 127 in 2002. Two tigers were poached, with another skull being recovered in adjoining forests in Kaziranga, which boasts amongst the highest density of tigers in the world. Sundarbans has the single highest population of wild tigers at 274—mainly existing on paper. We would be lucky if 50 survive, given the very low prey base and the high incidence of poaching. There are again worrying reports that about ten tigers have gone missing in Ranthambhore, the western part of Rajaji has lost all its tigers, and in parts of Orissa, tigers, elephants and leopards are being slaughtered for trade, and in part to finance insurgency.
Truth of the matter is—the tiger is at its most vulnerable today-poaching has peaked, killing it is more lucrative than ever. The toll this year has been 19 till November, and that is the recorded cases, a mere fraction of the real numbers.
Another grave worry is the continuing ruthless assault on the tigers habitat. To name just a few instances—there is a six-lane highway proposed through Pench Tiger Reserve (even as tigers are ruthlessly mowed down on roads and railway tracks across the country), an observatory in Madumalai TR, diamond mining within Panna, an irrigation project in Nagarjunasagar, denotification of Valmiki in Bihar...the list is endless. We cannot profess to save tigers, unless we protect their home.
It is especially difficult for me to keep the spirits high for even as I write this (on Christmas Day), hunting parties are combing the forests of the Barabanki in Uttar Pradesh to kill a 'man-eating' tiger. Awards have been announced to the one who gets the bag, but it is a case of being condemned without a trail. The tiger is believed to have injured a man in the forests of Pilibhit but the teenage boy he is supposed to have 'devoured' had been missing for the past four days. It is a dacoit-infested area, and the tiger had had a huge meal-a buffalo just the night before, making it very unlikely that he would have been hungry enough to hunt again. Thankfully, the tiger might yet get a reprieve, thanks to some forest officers—more power to them—who have decided to first try tranquilize the tiger, and also, because the state got a rap from the centre.
It angers me that the chief wildlife warden, on whom rests the responsibility to protect wildlife, would take such a hasty decision without proper investigation, whether under political pressure or otherwise. It angers me that there is no political will to address the issue of conflict which is escalating at a frightening level-with both conflict zones and mortalities on the increase—around Tadoba in Maharashtra, Bandhavgarh and Kanha in MP, Dudhwa in UP. If we continue to destroy, degrade and fragment tiger habitat and subject forests to ill-planned development as has been happening in before, during, and all probability, after 2008, then such conflicts will only accentuate.
In February 2008, Dr Manmohan Singh made a statement that "the government is fully committed to tiger conservation." Pleased to hear that, Mr Prime Minister, but it is time to translate your words into action-else it stinks of political double-speak—as you sign away tiger habitats to super-highways and observatories, and to the vote bank.
We need real political will to save the tiger, a motivated armed force for its protection, a separate service to manage our wildlife, to fill the huge staff shortages (and pay them), to give the tiger inviolate forests with no compromises. Make this the agenda for 2009, else be ready to bid our national animal adieu.
Appeared in The Pioneer on December 31, 2008
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Friday, December 19, 2008
How To Kill A Buffalo
PRERNA SINGH BINDRA details the incompetent and corrupt callousness that has led to the near-extinction of a majestic species
HER NAME IS Asha. Hope. Appropriate, since she's the one on whom rests the last hope of a dying species. Asha is believed to be the only female of the only known population of the critically endangered wild buffalo in India.
She might belie her name, though.
I can see her now, standing somewhat timidly in an enclosure in Udanti in Chhattisgarh, in the heart of India and Naxal country. She is tiny, lacking the sturdy build and wide horns characteristic of the wild bovine. We inch into the enclosure — after all, wild buffaloes are known for their bad temper. But this one inches forward too… and tentatively rests her muzzle on my thigh. Hope dies: her physical characteristics and behaviour bear little resemblance to her wild origins. The last possible female wild buffalo, by all accounts, appears to be a runt; to put it more kindly, the product of a mix between a wild and domestic buffalo.
Perhaps the most serious threat to the wild buffalo is hybridisation with its common domestic cousin. According to experts, the central India population is of pure strain, now concentrated only in Udanti, which, along with Sitanadi, has recently been declared a tiger reserve.
Yet, at last count, there were just seven wild buffalos here. Was this the end of the road for the animal? Have we, in our infinite indifference, caused the extinction of yet another magnificent mammal, the progenitor of the ubiquitous domestic water buffalo?
Massive clearance of habitat and hunting for trophy, meat and retaliation for crop raiding led to its extinction in most of its range. The remaining population in Assam in Kaziranga, and to some extent Manas, is a victim of genetic swamping.
The central India population represented the only hope, albeit a faint one. In 1993, Udanti had a population of 93, 14 in Pamed and 26 in Bhairamgarh sanctuaries, while the Indravati Tiger Reserve held 125. The situation has deteriorated, almost to the point of no return. Pamed might have a buffalo or two. In Indravati, there are reports of two small herds, but who is to know — the reserve is besieged by naxals. Officials fear to tread there. In Bhairamgarh and Sitanadi the buffalo has gone. Forever.
And Udanti is following suit.
It starts before my journey — the scent of extinction. The numbers look hopeless: seven animals, including one female of doubtful origin and her equally dubious calf. How can we hope to retrieve this species? Why wasn't anyone concerned? How did we let it happen?
In my visit I found my answer — it's called the cancer of apathy.
The buffalo was surviving precariously in a few fragmented habitats when Chhattisgarh was formed in 2000. For long, the Chhattisgarh government didn't bother to find out the exact numbers of wild buffaloes it had. And if they did, the numbers were inflated to save face and not be blamed for declining numbers.
In 2000, there were about 60 buffaloes in Udanti — which should have been warning enough, but the state was complacent. The government made the token move of declaring it the state animal, before "consigning it to the bin".
Not my words, but those of a concerned official who spoke anonymously, and admitted that "neither the government nor seniors officers were bothered."
VIRTUALLY UNATTENDED, the reserve fell prey to illegal smuggling of timber, which continued over years with the involvement of local politicians. With 12 villages in Udanti, and over 10,000 cattle within and around the park, the biotic pressure is immense. Besides degrading the habitat and reducing animal densities, they can carry infectious diseases.
Hunting went unchecked. This vital habitat, the last refuge of a near-extinct species, is under the territorial wing of the forest department, whose mandate is commercial forestry. Mismanagement is another malaise. Huge pools were constructed over shallow natural ponds where the bovines wallowed, making the habitat unsuitable, and the buffalo were herded with beats — much like the shikars of yore — to ensure 'sightings', disturbing them immensely.
The Supreme Court stepped in, in response to a PIL against the terminal decline. State officials did not bother to attend the meetings organised by the Central Empowered Committee, constituted by the court. On April 12, 2007, the CEC stated it was imperative "that steps be taken on a war-footing to protect the small and rapidly declining population of wild buffaloes in and around Udanti" — and detailed a plan. This included mapping the genetic profile of the population, round-the-clock monitoring and patrolling, and relocating the 600-odd population of domestic buffaloes in and around the reserve.
One year on: nothing has been done. So what if the Bubalus bubalis stood at extinction's door?
Still, I am assured of my sighting. Why not, with four, or more than half the total population, in the caged custody of the forest department? The buffaloes are enclosed for a captive breeding programme, the necessity of which cannot be stressed enough. Yet, where's the wisdom when the genetic purity of the only female and her calf are in question? Why, though she was brought into captivity a year ago, is her DNA testing yet to be done? How have we let a robust, wild population be reduced to caricatures in a cage?
Nothing, however, breaks my heart more than Jugaadu — so named because he frequents the village of Jugaad, bordering the reserve. He is amidst a domestic herd, not 10 feet away. Ordinarily, we would have kept a distance, the wild buffalo is described in shikarhistory as a "one-and-a-half tonne mass of fighting force". But Jugaadu isn't concerned by our presence, concentrating on the task at hand, ardently pursuing a domestic female. He has no option: there are no wild females in the forest. Is the paucity of numbers changing the very behaviour of this wild bovine, forcing him into close proximity with humans? Was the future of this buffalo: to be no longer wild but bound in captivity, or amongst its servile brethren?
That is, if it has any future at all.
Box:
To Save the wild buffalo
· Genetic analysis of the captive female, and the rest of the population.
· An immediate survey of Indravati and the adjoining Kopela-Kolamarka forests in Maharashtra Pamed, Sunabeda tiger reserve in Orissa, contiguous to Udanti to ascertain the exact status of wild buffaloes in these areas.
· Translocating any possible females from the above areas for a systematic captive breeding programme with the best expertise available
· Simultaneous recovery of habitat, especially Udanti for eventual reintroduction of. Bubalus bubalis in the wild. This will entail rehabilitation of villages from within the core area and replacing the domestic buffaloes around the reserves, better monitoring and protection especially since naxals are a growing concern.
· Declare Kopela-Kolamarka a sanctuary
Tehelka, Vol 5, Issue 50, Dated Dec 20, 2008
HER NAME IS Asha. Hope. Appropriate, since she's the one on whom rests the last hope of a dying species. Asha is believed to be the only female of the only known population of the critically endangered wild buffalo in India.
She might belie her name, though.
I can see her now, standing somewhat timidly in an enclosure in Udanti in Chhattisgarh, in the heart of India and Naxal country. She is tiny, lacking the sturdy build and wide horns characteristic of the wild bovine. We inch into the enclosure — after all, wild buffaloes are known for their bad temper. But this one inches forward too… and tentatively rests her muzzle on my thigh. Hope dies: her physical characteristics and behaviour bear little resemblance to her wild origins. The last possible female wild buffalo, by all accounts, appears to be a runt; to put it more kindly, the product of a mix between a wild and domestic buffalo.
Perhaps the most serious threat to the wild buffalo is hybridisation with its common domestic cousin. According to experts, the central India population is of pure strain, now concentrated only in Udanti, which, along with Sitanadi, has recently been declared a tiger reserve.
Yet, at last count, there were just seven wild buffalos here. Was this the end of the road for the animal? Have we, in our infinite indifference, caused the extinction of yet another magnificent mammal, the progenitor of the ubiquitous domestic water buffalo?
Massive clearance of habitat and hunting for trophy, meat and retaliation for crop raiding led to its extinction in most of its range. The remaining population in Assam in Kaziranga, and to some extent Manas, is a victim of genetic swamping.
The central India population represented the only hope, albeit a faint one. In 1993, Udanti had a population of 93, 14 in Pamed and 26 in Bhairamgarh sanctuaries, while the Indravati Tiger Reserve held 125. The situation has deteriorated, almost to the point of no return. Pamed might have a buffalo or two. In Indravati, there are reports of two small herds, but who is to know — the reserve is besieged by naxals. Officials fear to tread there. In Bhairamgarh and Sitanadi the buffalo has gone. Forever.
And Udanti is following suit.
It starts before my journey — the scent of extinction. The numbers look hopeless: seven animals, including one female of doubtful origin and her equally dubious calf. How can we hope to retrieve this species? Why wasn't anyone concerned? How did we let it happen?
In my visit I found my answer — it's called the cancer of apathy.
The buffalo was surviving precariously in a few fragmented habitats when Chhattisgarh was formed in 2000. For long, the Chhattisgarh government didn't bother to find out the exact numbers of wild buffaloes it had. And if they did, the numbers were inflated to save face and not be blamed for declining numbers.
In 2000, there were about 60 buffaloes in Udanti — which should have been warning enough, but the state was complacent. The government made the token move of declaring it the state animal, before "consigning it to the bin".
Not my words, but those of a concerned official who spoke anonymously, and admitted that "neither the government nor seniors officers were bothered."
VIRTUALLY UNATTENDED, the reserve fell prey to illegal smuggling of timber, which continued over years with the involvement of local politicians. With 12 villages in Udanti, and over 10,000 cattle within and around the park, the biotic pressure is immense. Besides degrading the habitat and reducing animal densities, they can carry infectious diseases.
Hunting went unchecked. This vital habitat, the last refuge of a near-extinct species, is under the territorial wing of the forest department, whose mandate is commercial forestry. Mismanagement is another malaise. Huge pools were constructed over shallow natural ponds where the bovines wallowed, making the habitat unsuitable, and the buffalo were herded with beats — much like the shikars of yore — to ensure 'sightings', disturbing them immensely.
The Supreme Court stepped in, in response to a PIL against the terminal decline. State officials did not bother to attend the meetings organised by the Central Empowered Committee, constituted by the court. On April 12, 2007, the CEC stated it was imperative "that steps be taken on a war-footing to protect the small and rapidly declining population of wild buffaloes in and around Udanti" — and detailed a plan. This included mapping the genetic profile of the population, round-the-clock monitoring and patrolling, and relocating the 600-odd population of domestic buffaloes in and around the reserve.
One year on: nothing has been done. So what if the Bubalus bubalis stood at extinction's door?
Still, I am assured of my sighting. Why not, with four, or more than half the total population, in the caged custody of the forest department? The buffaloes are enclosed for a captive breeding programme, the necessity of which cannot be stressed enough. Yet, where's the wisdom when the genetic purity of the only female and her calf are in question? Why, though she was brought into captivity a year ago, is her DNA testing yet to be done? How have we let a robust, wild population be reduced to caricatures in a cage?
Nothing, however, breaks my heart more than Jugaadu — so named because he frequents the village of Jugaad, bordering the reserve. He is amidst a domestic herd, not 10 feet away. Ordinarily, we would have kept a distance, the wild buffalo is described in shikarhistory as a "one-and-a-half tonne mass of fighting force". But Jugaadu isn't concerned by our presence, concentrating on the task at hand, ardently pursuing a domestic female. He has no option: there are no wild females in the forest. Is the paucity of numbers changing the very behaviour of this wild bovine, forcing him into close proximity with humans? Was the future of this buffalo: to be no longer wild but bound in captivity, or amongst its servile brethren?
That is, if it has any future at all.
Box:
To Save the wild buffalo
· Genetic analysis of the captive female, and the rest of the population.
· An immediate survey of Indravati and the adjoining Kopela-Kolamarka forests in Maharashtra Pamed, Sunabeda tiger reserve in Orissa, contiguous to Udanti to ascertain the exact status of wild buffaloes in these areas.
· Translocating any possible females from the above areas for a systematic captive breeding programme with the best expertise available
· Simultaneous recovery of habitat, especially Udanti for eventual reintroduction of. Bubalus bubalis in the wild. This will entail rehabilitation of villages from within the core area and replacing the domestic buffaloes around the reserves, better monitoring and protection especially since naxals are a growing concern.
· Declare Kopela-Kolamarka a sanctuary
Tehelka, Vol 5, Issue 50, Dated Dec 20, 2008
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