India has some of the toughest and promising wildlife laws in the world that have been the cornerstone of species and habitat preservation. There are historical evidences of wildlife conservation in the country. However several of independent India’s pioneering and new generation wildlife acts and policies were enacted under the patronage of Indira Gandhi during the formative years (70s and 80s) of modern wildlife preservation. The significant of them was The Wildlife Protection Act that primarily provided protection against hunting which was the biggest cause of concern at that time. Even our national animal, the tiger, could be hunted and ‘shikar safaris’ were a main attraction for Europeans to visit India. There were even rewards for ‘eradication’ of tiger, wild dog, Himalayan black bear, jackal and others.
Though direct killing of wildlife was largely for venison and
trophies, the reasons for unnatural deaths of wild species have changed over
time. However hunting remains as one of the primary causes of mortalities. Several
other reasons have emerged as the market and economy progressed threatening
wildlife survival. One could categorize causes of mortality into two broad
themes; direct and indirect. The fatality due to unnatural reasons varies from
region to region, and at times even temporally.
The anatomy of unnatural deaths
Hunting, casualties due to speeding vehicles or trains, and
retaliatory killing by people are perhaps the three main causes of direct
mortality. Hunting is a nationwide phenomenon. WPSI, an organization that works
on wildlife trade related issues, documents 318 seizures and poaching
incidences of leopards during the past two years depicting the scale of
poaching for trade. The country has only about 1200 tuskers of breeding age as
per the 2010 report of the Elephant Task Force (ETF), again illustrating the
severity of commercial poaching.
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| Hunting remains as one of primary causes of unnatural deaths of wildlife |
There are high numbers of elephant deaths due to trains in
Assam, West Bengal and Uttarakhand. While speeding vehicles kill innumerable
mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians on most highways that pass through
protected areas. Dandeli in Karnataka and Waynad in Kerala are classic examples.
In Kaziranga National Park, Assam several animals are killed by vehicles during monsoons when the Bramhaputra floods force animals to higher elevations. During their pursuit of crossing NH-37 high mortalities of wildlife occur. Linked to this is the spurt in rhino poaching when they move out of the safe zones of the national park during the monsoons. Both these examples depict temporal peaks in unnatural deaths.
Another cause of grave concern is the retaliatory killing
due to conflict with farmers and livestock owners. In India annually about 100
elephants are exterminated in retaliatory actions by people as per the ETF
report. Tens of leopards meet catastrophic fate due to conflict. However the
impact caused by conflict on livelihoods is bound to bring in animosity of
affected people.
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| An injured leopard hit by a vehicle lies on the road while onlookers curiously watch |
While the causes of direct mortality may be small, the roots
of indirect threats are numerous and vary in nature. The key ecological reasons
of this cause include total loss of habitat (due to agriculture, river valley
projects, highways, mining) degradation of habitats (due to forest fires,
extraction of forest products, pollution), introduction of invasive species and
diseases. The relationship between mortalities due to indirect threats is
fairly complex. While vulture numbers declined by consuming carcass of
livestock that were injected with the anti-inflammatory drugs Diclofenac and Ketoprofane,
Andaman crake a bird from the Andaman Islands is threatened by introduced
predators such as rats, and sea turtle eggs and hatchlings are devoured by
feral dogs.
The public response
The way public responds to unnatural deaths of wildlife
greatly vary. Images of an elephant family killed in a rail accident in
Jalpaiguri district in September 2010 raised public outcry. I and a senior
forest official were able to convince the court to close vehicular traffic at
night on the highways passing through Bandipur due to some impactful images of
wildlife killed in road accidents.
People interested in wildlife conservation have several
avenues and can significantly contribute to the cause. The starting point is to
understand the underlying causes. Hence interacting and working with experienced
organizations and individuals will be critical. Photographers could document
conservation threats, individuals with computer and GIS skills could be
extremely helpful, some people prefer to help in field research activities, individuals
with writing skills can also provide the vital communication support, graphic
designers can help develop public information campaign material, the
opportunities are endless.
Over the years we have developed a network of volunteers who
now successfully carryout field conservation and outreach activities in and around
several protected areas. Vanya, Aranya Wildlife Trust, Vana Jaagruthi, Wildlife
Matters are all small volunteer groups who significantly contribute to the
cause in various ways. The opportunities are unlimited but one has to
be prepared for some backbreaking work to bring in expected outcomes.
Unnatural deaths due to poaching or vehicle mortalities
brings in public sympathy and support in some instances. However disappearance
of species due to indirect perils is largely unnoticed and building sustained
backing against this is far from easy. The pressure of demographic and economic
expansion is severe than ever before. Despite strong policies lack of
implementation due to interventions, both political and economic, has been a
serious limitation in wildlife conservation.
Nevertheless several conservation victories in the country
have brought in optimism. There is neither one size fits all or a magic wand to
save species. With committed political leadership, dynamic bureaucracy,
importantly civil society organizations and individuals, who care and work rationally
with Governments and social leaders the unnatural deaths and disappearance of
wildlife can be reduced to tolerable limits.
An edited version of this article was published in Deccan Herald on 23-12-2012
