Tadoba burns brightest

There is no doubt that the Tadoba Andhari Riger Reserve (TATR) is a success story. It’s not just about the numbers, but also about the scientific approach undertaken by the officials — from the Conservator of Forests or the Field Director to forest guards, who have collectively set up an example in better administration and management, the adjusting tribal population living around the sanctuary and aware public at large. In fact, the TATR in the Chandrapur district is the only real territory of the Indian tiger, courtesy to all these people.

However, the turnaround has not come in a day’s time, and certainly not come about as easy as it looks today. Initially, when authorities took some harsh decisions, like ban on the entry of two-wheelers inside the protected area, compulsion for tourists to take authorised guide and timing restriction on tourist movement, they faced immense opposition. But eventually the situation came under control when senior forest officials tirelessly created awareness among the general public about the importance of wildlife and forests.

The alarm was raised in early 2003 when few incidents of cattle killings and tiger attacks on humans were reported from a few villages on the outskirts of TATR. The authorities as well as wildlife activists in the area were surprised when the reports established the attacks. Though human killing inside TATR has not been reported yet, a few incidents had indeed taken place outside the protected areas. The major reason being saturation of TATR.

Tigers strayed as they could not establish their own territory inside the protected area. Young tigers who could establish their own area by dislodging the already existing tiger staying inside the protected area while those who failed conveniently chose to move outside and stray into the non-protected zone. Following these reports, the then TATR field director, Nitin Kakodkar, decided to train officers from Territorial Division and Forest Development Corporation of Maharashtra (FDCM) in wildlife protection to ensure that areas where the tigers strayed remained under their control.

Their efforts soon yielded results and the conservation and protection activities began in non-protected areas also. Another major change in situation came about when local tribal youths began getting involved as tourist guides. Those youths who once supported illegal tree felling to earn money, are now earning more by working as tourist guides. Tulsidas Ramteke, who works as one such guide, said, “The decision of making tourist guide compulsory inside TATR has been a real boon for the tribal youths, providing a source of earning for the unemployed, and also an indirect check on the destructive activities inside protected area.”

“It is also a result of sustained efforts and general awareness about importance of wildlife that tigers from TATR are being spotted as far as Gadchiroli district, which is around 100km from Chandrapur. Tiger sighting has remarkably increased in other adjoining districts too,” said Field Director, TATR, Sheshrao Patil, adding that, “The only hurdles in the tiger’s growth in TATR are the six villages — Kolsa, Botezari, Jamni, Rantalodhi, Palasgaon and Ramdegi — which lie inside the protected area. The process of relocating these villages has already begun.” In fact Kolsa and Botezari will be relocated by the February-end.

“Tigers population in TATR will increase manifold once these villages are relocated outside TATR”, Patil added.

The assistant conservator of forests, TATR, and recipient of PATA award for remarkable tiger conservation in Asia, Girish Vashishth says, “Sporadic incidents of cattle killings and human attacks, at times, resulted as people outside were not aware about presence of tiger in their area. But now they have also become aware and started taking extra precautions while moving in non protected area”. Honorary Wildlife Warden, Chandrapur Uday Patel said, “The government should provide additional infrastructure for protection activities to territorial division and FDCM. Proper training in wildlife conservation is also necessary for them to prevent incidents of cattle and human attacks and also to prevent poaching.”

Poachers from Katni in Madhya Pradesh frequent the district and have been nabbed many times. They move in the area in the name of selling ayurvedic medicines and try to fulfill main objective of poaching a tiger, Patel said. According to him, Chandrapur and Chimur divisions of Forest Department should be brought under unified control without affecting local people.