Conservation Battles

A tiger drinks water out of a puddle on a forest road which was once a highway bustling with vehicles in Nagarahole Tiger Reserve. A picture beautifully captured by Arvind Ramamurthy.

Live Mint's review of the book on 30th March 2018

Second Nature: Saving Tiger Landscapes in the Twenty-First Century

A review of the book has been published in the 8th April 2018 edition of Deccan Herald

 

The Spotted Feline

“Have you recovered from the cheetah attack” is a question I often face these days. I wish it was the cheetah. But unfortunately, in the minds of most of us, the leopard is confused as the cheetah, and do not realize that the cheetah has been one of the little-known victims of extinction at a time when we were rejoicing the country’s independence. In 1947, the last of the Indian cheetahs were hunted by Maharaja Ramanuj Pratap Singh Deo of the erstwhile state of Korea (in the current state of Madhya Pradesh) bringing in a sad end to one of the graceful cats which was described by Emperor Akbar as ‘one of God’s wonders’. Thereafter a few patchy, unverified records of cheetah sightings have been registered till 1968.

It is indeed an irony that etymology of the word cheetah comes from the Sanskrit name “chitraka”, meaning the spotted one. Also called the hunting leopard in English, this graceful cat once roamed the grasslands and plains of pre-independent India in the current day states of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Punjab, Haryana, and ranged widely in the Deccan Plateau through Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Bihar, Chattisgarh, and West Bengal.

Cheetah is the animal of the plains and scrubland

Karnataka’s distinction

In Karnataka, cheetahs were recorded from Bellary, Mysore, and Chamarajanagara. Sixteen cheetahs were known to be used by Tipu Sultan, of which three of them were sent to King Geroge III after Tipu fell in the Battle of Srirangapattna. Two skins were seen in the 1860s in the Mysore state by G.P.Sanderson, a British officer who took a keen interest in wildlife.

In 1882 another British officer Russell saw five cheetahs near Beerambadi, which is at the northern edge of what is current day Bandipur Tiger Reserve, of which one was shot dead. A district manual of Coimbatore published in 1887 records the cheetah in Bandhalli in Kollegala taluk, Chamarajanagara district very close to the southern boundaries of the current day Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary. A cheetah was seen by the British coffee planter Morris, between 1890-1895 near Attikalpura about 15 km from Chamarajanagara town.

I learnt my Kannada word for cheetah, ‘Sivangi’, from my father when he explained about it when he took me to a circus in my younger days. Three decades later I read the word again in the acclaimed book on cheetahs ‘The End of a Trail’ by Divyabhanusinh.

Curious relationship

There was a curious relationship between this graceful cat and humans. Cheetahs were domesticated by Egyptians as early as 1700 BC a culture which later spread to Assyria, and finally into India and Central Asia. Sanskrit literature and Muslim records in India depicts the training of cheetahs to course antelopes but at later stages of history.

Its downfall in India is largely attributed to the disappearance of its natural habitat - the grasslands to agriculture and other developmental activities, and of hunting of cheetah for sport by the erstwhile princes, Mughal kings, and later the British rulers.

The cheetahs occupied a unique place in the imperial court life and pastime of many of the Indian rulers. Mughals collected cheetahs for their royal hunts, ironically to hunt the cheetah’s prey species - the antelopes. Emperor Akbar is recorded to have collected 1,000 cheetahs, however in his entire reign he may have collected as many as 9,000 cheetahs. Even the Hindu kings of Rajasthan and Maharashtra used cheetahs to hunt antelope but the impact of the Mughals on cheetahs is of a vast and lavish scale for all times says historical records.

The enterprise of hunting also had a direct consequence on the range contraction of its primary prey the chinkara, and the blackbuck. In 1619 the Mughal King Jahangir, in a space of twelve days, hunted 426 antelopes in Palam. (where the Delhi airport is now located) as per wildlife historian Mahesh Rangarajan. That was the scale of hunting.

Cheetawala pardhis, the hunter/trapper tribals with specialized skills to capture and train cheetahs who originated from Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh were appointed on a monthly salary to catch cheetahs. They caught the animals through various means including pit-fall traps, snaring and sold to the darbars.

The cheetah has also been a victim of conflict. It came into direct conflict with people by preying on domestic sheep and goat resulting in retaliatory killing, one of the possible causes resulting in its decline.

Current and historical distribution

Today the swiftest mammal on earth exists in 23 countries in Africa and is found in only one relict population in Asia, in the Islamic Republic of Iran. This depicts that this unique member of the cat family has perhaps vanished from approximately 91 percent of their historic range with about 7,000 individuals surviving in the wild. In Asia, the cheetah, survives precariously in Iran with about 40-70 individuals surviving in the Miandasht Wildlife Refuge, Touran Biosphere Reserve, Naybandan Wildlife Sanctuary and, possibly in the Darband-e Ravar Wildlife Refuge according to the Iranian Cheetah Society.

In other parts of Asia, it had ranged in Kuwait, Iran, Iraq, Saudi, Israel, Jordan, Oman and a few other countries till the early 1950s with India being its easternmost boundary. They were also found in the former USSR states of Turkmenistan, Georgia, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan regions but none exists in these countries today.

Current day scenario

Over its entire current day distribution the drivers of the decline of this cat, known for its docility, includes loss of prey species, conflict with humans, and habitat loss. It’s classified under the Vulnerable category, by the IUCN, but its subspecies found in Northwest Africa and Iran are classified as Critically Endangered.

The cheetah’s speed is legendary, and nothing in nature can outrun a cheetah. But it has no solutions to high-speed vehicular traffic in Iran. The Iranian Cheetah Society says of the 34 known cheetah deaths since 2001, 15 cheetahs were killed in vehicle collisions. That’s a very high rate considering the tiny population of Asiatic cheetahs.

However, cheetahs in Iran are now a symbol of wildlife conservation, even the national football team has adopted the cheetah as their logo.

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The current and historical distribution of the cheetah in the wild - Source Durant et al. 2017

Did the cheetah exist in India?

Some well-noted naturalists, including Kailash Sankhala, argue that the cheetah is not native to India and that they were brought to the country by princes and potentates for sport. Noted among the critiques includes Valmik Thapar who writes in his book ‘Exotic Aliens’ that “there was never an Asiatic cheetah”, and “cheetahs in India came into this country as gifts or tributes and were imported by land and sea from Africa and Persia”. He bolsters his arguments by the fact that there was a flourishing trade in animals from Africa to India by the Romans. 

It is also argued that the British shikar literature hardly has any mention of the cheetahs. In contrary Divyabhanusinh’s book argues that the cheetah population was already dwindling and had become very rare in India in the 19th and 20th Centuries along with their open grassland habitats. This necessitated the importing of these animals from Africa, for cheetah coursing, by princely states.

But what is notable is that most art history in India depicts cheetah from the 12th Century onwards, while the tiger, leopard and other large wildlife have been depicted in several of our art forms. However, Divyabhanusinh’s book has shown Neolithic paintings from cave shelters at Kharvai near Bhopal, Chatarbhujnath in Chambal valley, and several other locations. In all probabilities, these cave paintings are assumed to be products of the ancestors of today’s tribals of non-Aryan and non-Dravidian origin.  Perhaps this provides a very ancient evidence of the cheetah’s presence in India.

Thapar also says that the cheetahs in Mysore and Bangalore area were all escapees from royal menageries. Nevertheless, the authors of Exotic Aliens agree to the fact that there is no conclusive genetic evidence to prove or disprove their theory. And geneticists have said that African and Asiatic cheetahs had been separated thousands of years ago.

History has to grapple with science chiefly with biogeography if it has to make its point based on species distribution. Bio-geographers could pose serious questions about the theories raised by Valmik Thapar. India is part of the Ethiopian biogeography where similar species including gazelles, antelopes, small and large carnivores are found across continents. Hence, convincing bio-geographers from this perspective would have further enriched the claims made in the Exotic Aliens.

Reintroduction

With the cheetah extinct in India, the issue of reintroduction has been bandied around from time to time. “Thanks to Project Cheetah, the cheetah, may well roam the plains of India again,” declares a Ministry of Environment and Forests document from September 2010. Severe attempts came about to reintroduce them during the period of Jairam Ramesh who was the Minister for Environment and Forests during the NDA regime. When Iran refused to part with its cheetahs for reintroduction, India looked towards Africa and a few cheetahs were planned to be brought from Namibia.

The Nauradehi and Kuno-Palpur Wildlife Sanctuaries in Madhya Pradesh, and the Shahgarh landscape in Rajasthan were identified as potential areas for cheetah reintroduction. But the top court of the country had other ideas and shot down the NDA government’s proposal. With the NDA government losing power in 2014, the issue of cheetah reintroduction has gone silent in the country.

Apart from the cheetah, In India, four other large mammalian wildlife species went extinct in the first fifty years of the twentieth century - the Javan and Sumatran rhinos, the Sikkim stag and the banteng. All of them seem to be wildlife species that are adapted to specialized habitats. These habitat specialists lost ground in India well before the Wildlife Protection Act was enacted in 1972. Despite strict enforcement of the act, we seem to have failed to learn our lessons from the extinction of cheetah and other species, as we continue to lose habitat specialist species such as the great Indian bustard, Bengal florican, Siberian crane, Jerdon’s courser, Indian wolf, wild buffalo, and many others that go unnoticed. Hence a critical question to ask is are we failing to understand and manage the needs of the habitat specialists? 

Fact file

Scientific name: Acinonyx jubatus

Local names: Kannada: Sivangi, Telugu: Chita-puli, Tamil: Sivingi, Marathi: Cheetah, Gondi: Chitra; Hindi: Laggar, Sanskrit: Chitraka

Habitat: Largely open grasslands, plains, scrub forests  

Cheetah or Leopard?

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Though the cheetah may not look different from a leopard to an untrained eye, their external body features are distinctly different.

·      Spots and rosettes: The cheetah has well-rounded and solid spots on the body while the spots on the leopard are irregular and group together to form the rosettes.

·      There are two clear black lines that streak from the inner corner of the cheetah’s eyes and down their cheeks to the outside edges of their mouth called as the tear marks. These markings are missing on the leopard’s face.

·      The cheetah has a smaller head compared to that of a leopard. It’s certainly a slimmer animal compared to the leopard.

·      Most animals of the cat family, including the leopards, have retractable claws but the cheetah’s claws are semi-retractile.  

A cheetah with its rounded spots and tear mark on the face

 A leopard with its rosettes, notice the absence of tear mark on the face

Interesting modern day literature about the Indian cheetah

The End of a Trail: Divyabhanusinh

The Exotic Aliens: Valmik Thapar, Romila Thapar, and Yusuf Ansari

India’s Wildlife History: Mahesh Rangarajan

Reminiscences of India Wildlife: Dharmakumarsinhji

An edited version of this article is published in Deccan Herald on 2nd December 2017

A new Jungle Book?

What Elephants Know

Year: 2016

Publisher: Disney Hyperion

Hard cover: Rs.890/-

It’s been a while since there was a novel based on natural history, wildlife, and life in the jungles. This is perhaps What Elephants Know has tried to accomplish. Authored by Eric Dinerstein who spent time in the Nepalese jungles of Bardia district in the mid 1970s, initially studying tigers as a Peace Corps volunteer. He later returned to study the Indian one-horned rhinoceros for his doctoral work. The book itself is inspired by the elephants, and the game scouts, the author had worked with during his research work. Hence the book shows out the intimate knowledge the author has for this place. The idea of the book itself has taken birth on a star-filled night in one of the wildest spots in Asia.

The story takes place in the low, flat land along the border between Nepal and India at the base of the Himalayas where a young boy Nanda Singh, fondly called Nandu, hits up with a plan with his friend Rita to save their elephant stable being closed. But to succeed, they’ll need a great tusker and the story takes the turn into another adventure. While their struggle to save the elephant stable and his larger community of mahouts is the major plot of the book, there are several other subplots that are interwoven beautifully to make it a very readable novel. The story develops at an even pace and keeps the reader’s attention to the end.

Nandu was found as a toddler by his foster father Subba-Sahib, a head elephant keeper, while on his regular rounds with elephants in the forests. Initially under the protective watch of a pack of dholes, the wild canids of Asia, Nandu grows up under his foster father in a royal elephant stable. He considers Subba-Sahib as his father, and Devi Kali, an old, affectionate female elephant, at the stable as his mother. Perhaps Devi Kali is the best character in the book that brings out human emotions in elephants which is possibly true if one considers the way elephants care for their young ones in the wild. Some sections that detail the relationship between Devi Kali and Nandu are movingly constructed.  

As Nandu grows up destined to become a mahout, he discovers plants, animals, good and bad people, teaching him life’s critical skills. The book grips you and can make Nandu the new Mowgli. The book takes the reader across to the magical world of Nepal’s forests. Every detail of how a mahout commands his elephants, or the description of forest flowers, birds, animals, animal behavior are authentic to the last word, except on a couple of occasions which is perhaps an integral part of any fiction writing.

What Elephants Know is perhaps more than a story of the talented, young boy who is enchanted with elephants, and other wildlife around him. It is told from the perspective of the young boy, hence has everything that interests him. But, it also has very nuanced teachings for life, and I am sure many would benefit from these sagacious words that come out of the mouth of wise men, who are important or supporting characters in the book, neatly woven into different sections of the story. The underlying themes of patience, karma, kindness, and generosity are all stated boldly but without force. Nandu also has to confront issues of cultural identity, political corruption, environmental ethics, and other issues the society faces.

The language is simple but elegant and has an excellent flow. I think few can pen like Eric, where he has combined his field observations into a novel. My favourite line from this book is when Father Autry tells his most avid pupil. “Behold Nandu. For me, the peak of evolution was reached before the age of dinosaurs. That is when the ferns of today began to appear. Many have changed in one hundred and sixty-five million years. I wonder, how can nature improve on such an elegant design?”

Eric is known for his non-fiction natural history books, including award-winning books such as Kingdom of Rarities, and Tigerland and Other Unintended Destinations. But, this is his first fiction novel, and in fact an impressive one. Though the book can be easily classified into the fiction genre, it has authentic information on natural history, which makes it difficult it to be purely classified as a fiction.

                                                                              

Though the book is slightly episodic, there’s enough action that counterbalances to make the readers feel it as a genuine memoir. This is a must read for everyone interested in natural history, outdoors, culture, and or simple writing. Perhaps, it cannot be categorised as a children’s novel, as reviewers have generally rated it. Everyone would enjoy it, especially those who know nature from the field. The book really transports you and makes one feel a deeper appreciation for the natural world! I would surely rate it nine out of ten. 

This book review was published in Deccan Herald on 23-04-2017

The spotted felines of India’s silicon city

There are a few cities in the world that host large wild mammals in their neighborhood. Of these, the well known is the Nairobi National Park adjoining Nairobi one of the busiest cities in Kenya where the city residents have large wildlife as their neighbors. The African big five, giraffes, zebras, cheetahs and several of Africa’s large wild mammals have all survived in the neighborhoods of this city. Pictures of giraffes, zebras, and lions with the cityscape in the background are plentiful on the internet.

Even in India, there are a few large cities that host large mammals on their outskirts – Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru to name a few. Amongst these Bengaluru is perhaps unique as it hosts a variety of large wildlife within a few kilometers from the city center (say Vidhana Soudha). Elephant, gaur, sambar, leopard, sloth bear, wild dog and even a tiger has been reported on the outskirts of Bengaluru. However, a common feature of all the cities that host large mammals is that they hold natural landscapes on their boundaries. This is nothing different in Bengaluru. Patches of rocky outcrops, scrub forests continue to exist in small patches in the outskirts of this ever-growing city.

Reports of livestock lifting by leopards are not uncommon in parts of the city outskirts where rural life continues to linger. Occasionally, the residents of apartment complexes on the southern side of the city, near the NICE highway, report sightings of leopards. When such incidents are reported, the response is a demand to translocate the animal. The forest department has translocated six leopards in the past five years from the city’s outskirts.

Due to our interest in large cats and request of communities and forest department, we initiated camera trapping on the city’s outskirts. Our study provided some wonderful insights into the lives of these spotted cats. Though we had a few leopards walking in front of our automatically triggered photo-documenting devices, at times the sequence of images was more interesting. At one location chitchatting senior citizens walked past the camera traps for their evening walks and a few hours later sub-adult leopards would trigger the same camera traps. A couple of kilometers away young school children walked displaying their playful performances for the cameras, and a few hours later adult leopards would imperceptibly appear as the human activities drew to a close. In some places, leopards revealed their presence in maize fields but disappeared as soon as the crops were harvested. Tall standing crops such as maize perhaps acted as a good cover for the felid.

Few leopards survive in the outskirts of Bangalore city

Our spatial information on the leopard occurrence on the city’s outskirts seems to tell us a trend. Leopards mostly seem to occur within natural habitats, such as rocky outcrops and forest patches, from northwest to the southern side of the city in a semi-circular form but also use agricultural areas such as maize fields. The message seems to be clear. Leopards survive in areas where there is a mosaic of natural forests, rocky outcrops and sub-optimal habitats that provide temporary cover. They are certainly not living amidst a sea of humans, amidst residential and commercial buildings. I wouldn’t call these as urban leopards. Natural habitats seem to be key for leopards’ survival.

However, I wonder how long would these felines survive on the borders of this ever-growing city? Bengaluru’s human population grew by 47% during 2001 and 2011 increasing it from 6.5 to 9.6 million currently matching the population of New York metropolitan area. The size of the city has increased over 300 percent in the last 20 years. Tens of villages and forest patches around the city have now been merged into the city council limits. Areas that meet the definition of forests have mostly made way for industries, housing complexes, and other developmental activities. Most leopard natural habitat on the city’s outskirts may vanish sooner or later if concerted efforts are not made.

As urban areas expand natural habitats of leopards shrink resulting in local extinction of the or survive in natural habitats. For instance, leopards that existed in Thurahalli forests have now blinked off as this small reserved forest (2.5 km²) is now surrounded by housing complexes and its connectivity to the BM Kaaval Reserved Forest and further south to Bannerghatta National Park is severed. Such local extinctions have even been documented well in this country’s history.                                                                                                                                          

Leopards will continue to exist in Bannerghatta National Park that adjoins the southern side of Bengaluru city. However, the land around Bannerghatta is getting highly urbanized. The northern and western edges of the national park are already ensconced in a sea of development. So, leopards that live inside Bannerghatta could venture into urbanized areas due to easy access to domestic food sources including dogs and livestock. Not an ideal situation either for the leopard or for the people. However, take out the forests in Bannerghatta there would perhaps be no leopards in this area.

Leopards seem to survive also in areas where there is a mix of natural habitat and human dwelling

Luckily, Bannerghatta is connected to a few reserved forests in Tamil Nadu and importantly to Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary, through a very narrow corridor, to its south. This will act as insurance for larger wildlife to survive in the long run in Bannerghatta. Going across the globe, the scenario in Nairobi National Park is no different. Part of the national park connects to other larger tracts of the woodland savannahs that continue for hundreds of square kilometers. So these natural habitats support the long-term subsistence of large mammals in this national park, and so would Bannerghatta.

Communities and leopards

For our work, it is also necessary that we interacted with communities who have share space with the spotted cats around Bengaluru. We regularly carry out outreach activities to bring in awareness about leopards and ways to respond if leopards were sighted in the vicinity. Many a times, wrong identification of animal tracks has led to commotion in communities hence developing appropriate outreach material was very critical. The range of people we needed to speak to itself makes an interesting case study. Retired professionals, security personnel, space research scientists, central security force personnel, students, construction workers and the list go longer. Not the typical outreach target audience one would envision in wildlife conservation. But we also had villagers, farmers to talk to.

The responses of communities towards leopards are very varied. On the outskirts of Bengaluru, two distinct communities share space with leopards. Educated, professionals economically not dependent on land or animal husbandry but like to be away from the hustle-bustle of the city hence reside in areas that have a mix of natural leopard habitats and agricultural landscape. Secondly, communities who reside in similar ecological landscapes but whose lifestyles are largely rural in nature, and continue to depend on farming and livestock for livelihoods. There seems to be better acceptability among people whose livelihoods does not depend on farming or livestock. Nonetheless, even these people were always anxious.

Bengaluru is an ideal example where changing ecological, social and economic landscapes of the country demonstrates the altering fate of some of the wildlife species. Urban civilization and industrialization have crouched in the city’s environs and leopards have been losing ground. Many of city’s former leopard habitats - Kengeri, Hebbal, J.P.Nagar, Turhalli are all now bustling residential, industrial or business hubs. Now a Google search for ‘J.P.Nagar’ ‘leopard’ lists out interesting results; Leopard Securities Services, Leopard Investments, Leopard hi-heel Suppliers, and, unfortunately, the former true leopards have made way to these ‘urban leopards’.

An edited version of this article was published in www.jlrexplore.com

ವನ್ಯಜೀವಿ ರಕ್ಷಣೆ: ಕಾಲಾಳುಗಳಿಗೆ ಶಕ್ತಿ ತುಂಬಿ

ದೇಶದಲ್ಲಿ ಹೆಚ್ಚಿನ ಹುಲಿಗಳಿರುವ ಅಂಕಿ-ಅಂಶಗಳನ್ನು ಕೇಂದ್ರ ಸರ್ಕಾರ ಇತ್ತೀಚೆಗಷ್ಟೇ ಘೋಷಿಸಿತು.  ಹುಲಿಗಳಿರುವ ಕೆಲವು ದೇಶಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಈ ಮಾರ್ಜಾಲ ನಶಿಸಿ ಹೋಗುವ ಹಂತದಲ್ಲಿರುವ ಸಮಯದಲ್ಲಿ ಭಾರತದ ಅಂಕಿ-ಅಂಶಗಳು ಬಹು ಸಕಾರಾತ್ಮಕವಾದ ವಿಚಾರವಾಗಿದೆ. ಈ ಹುಲಿ ಸಂರಕ್ಷಣೆಯ ಯಶಸ್ಸಿನ ಒಂದು ಪ್ರಮುಖ ಕಾರಣವೆಂದರೆ ಅರಣ್ಯ ಇಲಾಖೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಹಗಲು-ರಾತ್ರಿ ದುಡಿಯುವ ‘ಮುಂಚೂಣಿ ಸಿಬ್ಬಂದಿ’. ಈ ಬರಿಗಾಲಿನ ಯೋಧರು ವನ್ಯಜೀವಿ ಮತ್ತು ಅವುಗಳ ಆವಾಸಸ್ಥಾನಗಳನ್ನು, ಅವುಗಳ ಸಂಖ್ಯೆ ಕಡಿಮೆಯಾಗಲು ಕಾರಣವಾಗಿರುವ ಅಪಾಯಗಳನ್ನು ತಡೆಯಲು ಶ್ರಮಿಸುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಅಂತರರಾಷ್ಟ್ರೀಯ ಮಟ್ಟದಲ್ಲಿ ನಮ್ಮ ದೇಶದ ವನ್ಯಜೀವಿ ಧ್ವಜವನ್ನು ಎತ್ತರಕ್ಕೇರಲು ಇವರ ಕೊಡುಗೆ ಅಪಾರ. ಆದರೆ ಅಲಕ್ಷಿತರಾಗಿರುವ ಈ ವನ್ಯಜೀವಿ ಸಂರಕ್ಷಕರ ಕ್ಷೇಮ ಮತ್ತು ಒಳಿತಿಗಾಗಿ ಮಾಡಬೇಕಾಗಿರುವುದು ಸಾಕಷ್ಟಿದೆ.

ಭಾರತದಲ್ಲಿ ಎರಡು ವಿಧವಾದ ಮುಂಚೂಣಿ ಸಿಬ್ಬಂದಿ, ಅರಣ್ಯ ಇಲಾಖೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಕಾರ್ಯ ನಿರ್ವಹಿಸುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಮೊದಲನೆಯ ಗುಂಪು ಸರ್ಕಾರದ ಕಾಯಂ ಸಿಬ್ಬಂದಿ. ಸರ್ಕಾರದ  ನೌಕರಿ ಭರ್ತಿಯ ಮಾಮೂಲಿ ನಿಯಮಾವಳಿಗಳ ಮೂಲಕ ಕೆಲಸಕ್ಕೆ ಸೇರಿಕೊಳ್ಳುವವರು. ಇವರು ಸರ್ಕಾರದ ನಿರ್ವಹಣಾ ವ್ಯವಸ್ಥೆಯ ಮತ್ತು ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಸರ್ಕಾರಿ ಸಂಬಳ ಮತ್ತು ಸೌಲಭ್ಯಗಳಿಗೆ ಅರ್ಹರು. ಸರ್ಕಾರದಲ್ಲಿ ಕಾನೂನು ಮತ್ತು ಸುವ್ಯವಸ್ಥೆಯನ್ನು ಕಾಪಾಡುವ ಇತರೆ ಇಲಾಖೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಕಾರ್ಯ ನಿರ್ವಹಿಸುವವರಿಗೆ ಹೋಲಿಸಿದರೆ ಇವರಿಗೆ ಸಾಕಷ್ಟು ಜಟಿಲ ಸಮಸ್ಯೆಗಳಿವೆ. ಆದರೆ ಸರ್ಕಾರಿ ನೌಕರರಂತೆ ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಕೆಲಸಗಳನ್ನು ಮಾಡಿಯೂ ಬಹಳ ಕಡಿಮೆ ಸಂಬಳ ಪಡೆದು, ಯಾವುದೇ ಸೌಲಭ್ಯಗಳಿಲ್ಲದೆ ಎಲ್ಲರ ನಿರ್ಲಕ್ಷ್ಯಕ್ಕೊಳಗಾಗಿ ಅರಣ್ಯ ಇಲಾಖೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ದಿನನಿತ್ಯ ಬೆವರು ಹರಿಸಿ ದುಡಿಯುವ ಇನ್ನೊಂದು ಗುಂಪಿದೆ. ಇವರೇ ನಮ್ಮ ರಕ್ಷಿತಾರಣ್ಯಗಳ ಬೇಟೆ ನಿಗ್ರಹ ಶಿಬಿರಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಕೆಲಸ ಮಾಡುವ ದಿನಗೂಲಿ ನೌಕರರು. ವನ್ಯಜೀವಿಗಳನ್ನು ಎಲ್ಲಾ ತೊಂದರೆಗಳಿಂದ ದೂರವಿಡಲು ಕಾಡಿನ ಮೂಲೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿರುವ ಬೇಟೆ ನಿಗ್ರಹ ಶಿಬಿರಗಳಲ್ಲುಳಿದು ಪ್ರತಿನಿತ್ಯ ಮರಗಳ್ಳರು, ಬೇಟೆಗಾರರಿಂದ ವನ್ಯಜೀವಿಗಳನ್ನು ರಕ್ಷಿಸಲು ಕಾಡಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಗಸ್ತು ತಿರುಗುವವರು ಇವರೇ.

ಇವರು ದೀರ್ಘಕಾಲ ಇದೇ ಇಲಾಖೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಕೆಲಸ ಮಾಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದಾರೆಂದು ಕಾನೂನಿನ ದಾಖಲೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ತೋರಗೊಡದಿರುವುದಕ್ಕೆ ಈ ಹಂಗಾಮಿ ನೌಕರರ (ಕೆಲವರು ಹಲವಾರು ವರ್ಷಗಳು ಅರಣ್ಯ ಇಲಾಖೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಸೇವೆ ಸಲ್ಲಿಸಿದ್ದರೂ) ದಾಖಲೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಆರ್ಥಿಕ ವರ್ಷದ ಕೊನೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಬಿಡುವು ತೋರಿಸಲಾಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಇವರನ್ನು ಯಾವುದೇ ಸರ್ಕಾರಿ ಸಂಪ್ರದಾಯಗಳಿಲ್ಲದೆ ನೇಮಿಸಿ ಕೊಳ್ಳಲಾಗುತ್ತದೆ ಮತ್ತು ಇವರನ್ನು ‘ದಿನಗೂಲಿ ನೌಕರ’ರೆಂದು ಕರೆಯಲಾಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಇವರಿಗೆ ದಿನಗೂಲಿ ಬಿಟ್ಟರೆ ಸರ್ಕಾರಿ ನೌಕರರಿಗೆ ಸಿಗುವ ಯಾವುದೇ ಸೌಲಭ್ಯ, ವೇತನ ಹೆಚ್ಚಳ, ವಿಮೆ, ವೈದ್ಯಕೀಯ ಸೌಲಭ್ಯ ಸಿಗುವುದಿಲ್ಲ. ಅಲ್ಲದೆ, ತಿಂಗಳ ಕೊನೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ನಿಖರವಾಗಿ ಸಂಬಳ, ನಿತ್ಯಭತ್ಯೆ ಯಾವುದಕ್ಕೂ ಇವರು  ಅರ್ಹರಲ್ಲ. ಸಂಬಳವೂ ಕೆಲವೊಮ್ಮೆ ಐದಾರು ತಿಂಗಳಾದರೂ ಕೈಗೆ ಸಿಗುವುದಿಲ್ಲ. ಸಿಕ್ಕರೂ ಕೆಲವರಿಗೆ ಹಲವಾರು ಸಬೂಬುಗಳನ್ನು ಹೇಳಿ, ಅವರಿಗೆ ನಿಗದಿಗೊಳಿಸಿದ ಸಂಬಳದಲ್ಲಿ ಕಡಿತ ಮಾಡಲಾಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಸರ್ಕಾರಿ ಧಾರಣೆಗನುಸಾರವಾಗಿ ಸಂಬಳ ಸಿಕ್ಕರೆ ಅದೇ ಅವರ ಸೌಭಾಗ್ಯ.

ಬೇಸಿಗೆಯ ಧಗೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಕಾಡಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಬೆಂಕಿ ಆರಿಸುವುದು, ಕಾಡುಪ್ರಾಣಿಗಳ ಮಧ್ಯೆ ಪ್ರತಿನಿತ್ಯ ಹತ್ತಾರು ಕಿಲೋಮೀಟರ್ ನಡೆದು, ಕಾನೂನುಬಾಹಿರವಾಗಿ ಕಾಡುಗಳಿಂದ ಲಾಭ ಪಡೆಯಲು ಹವಣಿಸುವವರ ವಿರುದ್ಧ ಹೋರಾಡುವುದು, ಜೀವನವನ್ನೇ ಅಪಾಯಕ್ಕೆ ಒಡ್ಡಿ ಕೆಲಸ ಮಾಡುವುದೇ ಇವರ ದಿನನಿತ್ಯದ ಕರ್ತವ್ಯ. ಇವರಿರುವ ಬೇಟೆ ನಿಗ್ರಹ ಶಿಬಿರಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಸೌಲಭ್ಯಗಳು ಕೂಡ ಹೆಚ್ಚಿಲ್ಲ.  ಆದರೆ ಇವರು ಮಾಡುವ ಕಷ್ಟ ಕೆಲಸದಿಂದ ವನ್ಯಜೀವಿಗಳಲ್ಲದೇ ಹಲವು ವನ್ಯಜೀವಿ ವಿಜ್ಞಾನಿಗಳು, ಅರಣ್ಯಾಧಿಕಾರಿಗಳು, ಸರ್ಕಾರ ಮತ್ತು ಸಮಾಜವೇ ಸೌಲಭ್ಯ ಪಡೆಯುತ್ತದೆ. ಇವರು ವನ್ಯಜೀವಿಗಳನ್ನು ಉಳಿಸದಿದ್ದರೆ ವನ್ಯಜೀವಿ ವಿಜ್ಞಾನಿಗಳು ಏನು ಸಂಶೋಧನೆ ನಡೆಸಲು ಸಾಧ್ಯ? ಪ್ರವಾಸೋದ್ಯಮದವರು ಹುಲಿ, ಆನೆಗಳನ್ನು ತೋರಿಸಿ ತಮ್ಮ ವ್ಯಾಪಾರ ಕುದುರಿಸುವುದಾದರೂ ಹೇಗೆ ಸಾಧ್ಯ?

ಇವರಿಗೆ ಸೌಲಭ್ಯಗಳನ್ನು ಉತ್ತಮಗೊಳಿಸಿದರೆ ಅದನ್ನು ಸರ್ಕಾರದ ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಇಲಾಖೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿರುವ ಹಂಗಾಮಿ ನೌಕರರಿಗೆ ಅನ್ವಯಗೊಳಿಸಬೇಕಾಗಬಹುದೆಂದು ಅರಣ್ಯ ಇಲಾಖೆಯ ದಿನಗೂಲಿ ನೌಕರರ ಸೇವಾ ಭದ್ರತೆಗೆ ಸಂಬಂಧಿಸಿದಂತೆ ಸರ್ಕಾರವೂ ಯಾವುದೇ  ಸಕ್ರಿಯ ಕಾರ್ಯಗಳನ್ನು ಕೈಗೊಂಡಿಲ್ಲ. ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ ರಾಜ್ಯವೊಂದರಲ್ಲೇ ಸರ್ಕಾರದ ವಿವಿಧ ಇಲಾಖೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ 5 ಸಾವಿರದಿಂದ 6 ಸಾವಿರದಷ್ಟು ಹಂಗಾಮಿ ನೌಕರರಿರುವುದರಿಂದ ಅರಣ್ಯ ಇಲಾಖೆ ಯಲ್ಲಿರುವವರಿಗೆ ಹೆಚ್ಚಿನ ವೇತನ ಅಥವಾ ಸೌಲಭ್ಯಗಳನ್ನು ಕೊಟ್ಟರೆ ಅದು ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಇಲಾಖೆಯವರಿಗೆ ಅನ್ವಯವಾಗಲಿ ಎಂಬ ಬೇಡಿಕೆ ಬರಬಹುದೆಂಬುದು ಅವರ ಹೆದರಿಕೆ. ಆದರೆ ಅರಣ್ಯ ಇಲಾಖೆಯ ವನ್ಯಜೀವಿ ವಿಭಾಗದಲ್ಲಿ ಕೆಲಸ ಮಾಡುವ ಸಿಬ್ಬಂದಿಯ ಕೆಲಸದ ಕಾಠಿಣ್ಯ ಮತ್ತು ಅದರ ತೀವ್ರತೆ ಇತರ ಇಲಾಖಾ ನೌಕರರಿಗಿಂತ ಬಹು ಹೆಚ್ಚೆಂಬ ವಿಷಯವನ್ನು ಸರ್ಕಾರ ಗಣನೆಗೆ ತೆಗೆದುಕೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತಿಲ್ಲ.  ಅರಣ್ಯ ಇಲಾಖೆಯ ಕೆಲವು ಅಧಿಕಾರಿಗಳು ತಮ್ಮ ಇತಿಮಿತಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಈ ಮುಂಚೂಣಿ ಸಿಬ್ಬಂದಿಯ ಸವಲತ್ತುಗಳನ್ನು ಉತ್ತಮಗೊಳಿಸಲು ಪ್ರಯತ್ನಿಸಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಆದರೆ ಈ ಅಧಿಕಾರಿಗಳು ಅಲ್ಪಸಂಖ್ಯೆಯಲ್ಲಿದ್ದಾರೆ.

ರಾಜ್ಯದ ವನ್ಯಜೀವಿಧಾಮ ಮತ್ತು ರಾಷ್ಟ್ರೀಯ ಉದ್ಯಾನಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಕೆಲಸ ನಿರ್ವಹಿಸುತ್ತಿರುವ ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಮುಂಚೂಣಿ ಸಿಬ್ಬಂದಿಗೆ ವಿಮೆ ಮಾಡಿಸಬೇಕೆಂಬ ಆದೇಶವಿದೆ.  ಪ್ರವಾಸಿಗರಿಂದ ಸಂಗ್ರಹಿಸಿದ ಶುಲ್ಕದಿಂದ ವಿಮೆಯನ್ನು ಮಾಡಿಸಲು ಆರ್ಥಿಕ ಮಂಜೂರಾತಿ ಕೂಡ ಕೊಡಲಾಗಿದೆ. ಆದರೂ  ಕೆಲವು ವನ್ಯಜೀವಿ ವಿಭಾಗಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಇದನ್ನು ಇಂದಿಗೂ ಕಾರ್ಯಗತಗೊಳಿಸಿಲ್ಲ.  ಕೆಲವೆಡೆ ವಿಮೆಯನ್ನು ಮಾಡಿಸಲಾಗಿದೆಯಾದರೂ ಅದನ್ನು ಸಮಯಕ್ಕೆ ಸರಿಯಾಗಿ ನವೀಕರಿಸಲಾಗುತ್ತಿಲ್ಲ. ವಿಮೆ ಸಕಾಲಕ್ಕೆ ನವೀಕರಿಸದ  ಕಾರಣ,  ಸಾವು–ನೋವಿಗೆ ಈಡಾದ  ಸಿಬ್ಬಂದಿಗೆ ನ್ಯಾಯವಾಗಿ ದೊರಕಬೇಕಾದ ವಿಮೆಯೂ ಸಿಗುತ್ತಿಲ್ಲ.

ಮನುಷ್ಯನ ಜೀವಕ್ಕೆ ಬೆಲೆ ಕಟ್ಟಲಾಗುವುದಿಲ್ಲ. ಆದರೆ ವಿಮೆಯಿಂದ ಬರುತ್ತಿದ್ದ ಅಲ್ಪ ಮಟ್ಟದ ಮೊತ್ತದಿಂದ ಆದರೂ ಮೃತರ ಕುಟುಂಬಕ್ಕೆ ಸಹಾಯವಾಗುತ್ತದೆ.  ಈ ವಿಮಾ ಸೌಲಭ್ಯವನ್ನು ಸಕಾಲಿಕವಾಗಿ ನವೀಕರಿಸುವುದನ್ನು ಶಿಸ್ತಾಗಿ ಪಾಲಿಸಬೇಕಾಗಿದೆ. ಕೆಲ ಸಂಘ-ಸಂಸ್ಥೆಗಳವರು ಮುಂಚೂಣಿ ಸಿಬ್ಬಂದಿಗೆ ವಿಮೆ ಮಾಡಿಸುವಲ್ಲಿ ಆಸಕ್ತಿ ವಹಿಸಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಆದರೆ ಇಂತಹ ಸಹಾಯ ಕೇವಲ ನಾಗರಹೊಳೆ, ಬಂಡೀಪುರದಂತಹ ಖ್ಯಾತ ಹುಲಿಧಾಮಗಳಿಗೆ ಮೀಸಲಾಗಿರುವುದೇ ಹೆಚ್ಚು. ಹಾಗಾಗಿ ಈ ಸೌಲಭ್ಯಗಳನ್ನು ಸರ್ಕಾರವೇ ನೀಡಿದರೆ ಸೂಕ್ತ ಹಾಗೂ ಶಾಶ್ವತವಾದ ವ್ಯವಸ್ಥೆಯಾಗಬಹುದು.

ಈ ದಯನೀಯ ಸ್ಥಿತಿ ಮುಂದುವರಿದರೆ ಮುಂದಿನ ದಿನಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಬೇಟೆ ನಿಗ್ರಹ ಶಿಬಿರಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಮತ್ತು ಬೆಂಕಿ ತಡೆ ಶಿಬಿರಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಕೆಲಸ ಮಾಡಲು ಜನರೇ ಸಿಗುವುದು ಅನುಮಾನ. ದೇಶದ ಆರ್ಥಿಕ ಸ್ಥಿತಿ ಉತ್ತಮಗೊಂಡಂತೆ ಕೂಲಿಯೂ ಹೆಚ್ಚುತ್ತಲಿದೆ. ದೇಶದ ಕೆಲ ಭಾಗಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಕಾಫಿ, ಅಡಿಕೆಯಂತಹ ವಾಣಿಜ್ಯ ಬೆಳೆಗಳ ಕೃಷಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ದಿನಗೂಲಿ ವೇತನವು ಆರುನೂರು ರೂಪಾಯಿಗಳಿಗೆ ತಲುಪಿದೆ. ಇಷ್ಟು ಅಧಿಕ ದಿನಗೂಲಿಯಿದ್ದರೂ ಕೃಷಿ ಕೆಲಸಕ್ಕೆ ಕೆಲಸಗಾರರು ಸಿಗುವುದು ಬಹು ಕಷ್ಟವಾಗಿದೆ. ಇದರೊಡನೆ ಮಹಾತ್ಮ ಗಾಂಧಿ ರಾಷ್ಟ್ರೀಯ ಗ್ರಾಮೀಣ ಉದ್ಯೋಗ ಖಾತ್ರಿ ಯೋಜನೆ, ಪಡಿತರ ಸೌಲಭ್ಯ ಅಂತಹ ಸರ್ಕಾರಿ ಕಾರ್ಯನೀತಿಗಳು ಕೃಷಿ ಕೆಲಸಗಾರರ ಲಭ್ಯತೆಯ ಮೇಲೆ ನಕಾರಾತ್ಮಕ ಪರಿಣಾಮಗಳನ್ನು ಬೀರಿವೆ.

ಇಂತಹ ಪರಿಸ್ಥಿತಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಮುಂಬರುವ ದಿನಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಅರಣ್ಯ ಇಲಾಖೆಯ ವನ್ಯಜೀವಿ ಸಂರಕ್ಷಣಾ ವಿಭಾಗದ ಕೆಲಸಕ್ಕೆ ನೌಕರರು ಸಿಗುವುದು ಬಹು ಕಷ್ಟವಾಗುತ್ತದೆ.  ಕಡಿಮೆ ವೇತನ, ಸಂಬಳ ನೀಡುವಲ್ಲಿ ವಿಳಂಬ, ಬರುವ ವೇತನದಲ್ಲೂ ಕಡಿತ, ದುರ್ಗಮ ಪ್ರದೇಶಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಜೀವನ, ಕುಟುಂಬದಿಂದ ವಾರಗಟ್ಟಲೆ ದೂರವಿರುವುದು, ವೈದ್ಯಕೀಯ ಸೌಲಭ್ಯಗಳ ಕೊರತೆ, ಇವೆಲ್ಲದರಿಂದ ಅರಣ್ಯ ಇಲಾಖೆಯ ವನ್ಯಜೀವಿ ವಿಭಾಗದಲ್ಲಿ ಹಂಗಾಮಿ ಆಧಾರದ ಮೇಲೆ ನೌಕರಿ ಮಾಡುವುದು ಯಾರಿಗೂ ಬೇಡವಾಗುತ್ತಿದೆ. ಈ ವಿಚಾರದಲ್ಲಿ  ಅರಣ್ಯ ಇಲಾಖೆ ಗಮನ ಕೊಡದಿದ್ದರೆ, ಮುಂದಿನ ದಿನಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಸಂರಕ್ಷಣಾ ಕಾರ್ಯ ಮಾಡಬೇಕಾದ ಮುಂಚೂಣಿ ವಲಯಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಸಾಕಷ್ಟು ತೆರಪು ಇರುವುದರಲ್ಲಿ ಅನುಮಾನವೇ ಇಲ್ಲ. ಈ ಸಿಬ್ಬಂದಿಗಿರುವ ಅನನುಕೂಲಗಳ ವಿಚಾರದಲ್ಲಿ ಸರ್ಕಾರವು ತಕ್ಷಣ ಗಮನ ಹರಿಸದಿದ್ದಲ್ಲಿ ವನ್ಯಜೀವಿ ಮತ್ತು ಕಾಡಿನ ಸಂರಕ್ಷಣೆಗೆ ಅತೀ ಅಗತ್ಯವಾದ ಬೇಟೆ ನಿಗ್ರಹ ಶಿಬಿರಗಳು, ಗಸ್ತು ತಿರುಗುವ ವಿಚಾರಗಳು ಗತಕಾಲದ ವಿಚಾರಗಳಾಗುವುದರಲ್ಲಿ ಅಚ್ಚರಿಯೇನಿಲ್ಲ. ವನ್ಯಜೀವಿ ವಿಭಾಗಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಕೆಲಸ ನಿರ್ವಹಿಸುತ್ತಿರುವ ಹಲವಾರು ಮುಂಚೂಣಿ ಸಿಬ್ಬಂದಿ ಸಾಕಷ್ಟು ವಯಸ್ಸಾದವರು. ಇವರಿಗೆ ಕಾಡು ತಿರುಗುವ ಕೆಲಸ ಕಷ್ಟವಾಗುತ್ತಿದೆ. ಆದರೆ ಇವರ ಸ್ಥಾನಗಳನ್ನು ತುಂಬಲು ಯುವಕರು ಮುಂದೆ ಬರುತ್ತಿಲ್ಲ. ಹಾಗಾಗಿ ವನ್ಯಜೀವಿ ಸಂರಕ್ಷಣಾ ದೃಷ್ಟಿಕೋನದಿಂದ ಇವರ ಸಮಸ್ಯೆ ಬಗೆಹರಿಸುವುದು ಎಲ್ಲದಕ್ಕಿಂತ ಬಹು ಮುಖ್ಯವಾಗಿ ಆಗಬೇಕಾಗಿರುವ ಕಾರ್ಯ.

ನಿಗದಿತ ವೇತನವನ್ನು ಸಕಾಲಿಕವಾಗಿ ನೇರವಾಗಿ ಬ್ಯಾಂಕ್ ಖಾತೆಗಳಿಗೆ ರವಾನಿಸುವುದು ಈ ಮುಂಚೂಣಿ ಸಿಬ್ಬಂದಿಯನ್ನು ಉತ್ತೇಜಿಸುವಲ್ಲಿ ಬಹು ಮುಖ್ಯವಾದ ಪಾತ್ರವನ್ನು ವಹಿಸಲಿದೆ. ಅಧಿಕಾರಿಗಳು ಮನಸೋ ಇಚ್ಛೆ ಹಂಗಾಮಿ ನೌಕರರನ್ನು ಕೆಲಸದಿಂದ ಹೊರಹಾಕುವುದನ್ನು ತಡೆಯಬೇಕು. ಈ ಕೆಲಸಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಹೆಚ್ಚಾಗಿ ಇರುವವರು ಕಾಡು ಕುರುಬರು, ಜೇನು ಕುರುಬರು, ಸೋಲಿಗರಂತಹ ಅರಣ್ಯವಾಸಿಗಳು. ಇವರಿಗೆ ರಾಜಕೀಯ ಬೆಂಬಲವೂ ಕಡಿಮೆ ಮತ್ತು ಅನ್ಯಾಯಗಳ ವಿರುದ್ಧ ದನಿಯೆತ್ತುವ ಧೈರ್ಯ ಮತ್ತು ಚಾತುರ್ಯ ಇಲ್ಲದ ಜನರಿವರು. ನಿಯಮಾನುಸಾರ ತಮಗೆ ಸಿಗಬೇಕಾದ  ಸಂಬಳದ ಬಗೆಗೂ ಹಲವರಿಗೆ ಅರಿವು ಇಲ್ಲ.   ಇಂತಹ ಜನರನ್ನು ಎಷ್ಟು ವರ್ಷಗಳವರೆಗೆ ಶೋಷಿಸುವುದು? ಇತ್ತೀಚೆಗೆ, ಹತ್ತು ವರ್ಷಗಳಿಗಿಂತ ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಅವಧಿಗೆ ಕೆಲಸ ಮಾಡಿದ ತಾತ್ಕಾಲಿಕ ಸಿಬ್ಬಂದಿಯನ್ನು ಕಾಯಂಗೊಳಿಸಲು ನಿರ್ಧರಿಸಲಾಯಿತು. ಆದರೆ ಹತ್ತು ವರ್ಷಗಳಿಗಿಂತ ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಅವಧಿಗೆ ಕೆಲಸ ಮಾಡಿದ ಹಲವರ  ಹೆಸರುಗಳನ್ನು ವಿಭಾಗ ಮಟ್ಟದಿಂದ ಇಲಾಖಾ ಮುಖ್ಯಸ್ಥರಿಗೆ ಕಳುಹಿಸಲೇ ಇಲ್ಲ!

ವನ್ಯಜೀವಿ ಸಂರಕ್ಷಣೆಯಲ್ಲಿ  ಜಾಗತಿಕ ಮಟ್ಟದಲ್ಲಿ ಭಾರತಕ್ಕೆ  ವಿಶಿಷ್ಟ ಸ್ಥಾನಮಾನವಿದೆ. ಅಪಾಯಕ್ಕೆ ಒಳಗಾಗಿರುವ ವನ್ಯ ಪ್ರಭೇದಗಳನ್ನು ಸಂರಕ್ಷಿಸುವ ಕಾರ್ಯದಲ್ಲಿ ನಾವು ಮುಂದಾಳತ್ವ ವಹಿಸಿದ್ದೇವೆ. ಸೀತಾಳೆ ಹೂವಿನಿಂದ ಆನೆಯಂತಹ ವನ್ಯಜೀವಿಗಳನ್ನು ಉಳಿಸಲು ಹೋರಾಡುವ ಈ ವನ್ಯಜೀವಿ ಸಂರಕ್ಷಕರ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಕೂಡ ನಿಗಾ ವಹಿಸುವುದು ಬಹು ಮುಖ್ಯ. ಇಲ್ಲವಾದಲ್ಲಿ ವನ್ಯಜೀವಿ ಸಂರಕ್ಷಣೆಗೆ ಕಟ್ಟಿರುವ ಬುನಾದಿ ಚೂರುಚೂರಾಗುವುದರಲ್ಲಿ ಅನುಮಾನವೇ ಇಲ್ಲ.

Camera trapping in bandit land

I walked back disappointed from the meeting room. It was February 2012, and my proposal to notify the Malai-Mahadeshwara Hills Wildlife Sanctuary (then called the Kollegal territorial division) did not find much support at the government meeting. As in any applied conservation work, it’s always a long-haul to success, sometimes even taking years. We needed to be patient.  

A tiger captured in our camera traps in Malai Mahadeshwara Wildlife Sanctuary 

The forests of Malai-Mahadeshwara Hills (MM Hills) at the confluence of the Western and Eastern Ghats are bone dry during summer. Water is extremely scarce, and unlike the lush forests of the Western Ghats, the vegetation here does not enchant visitors. Sandwiched as it is between the Biligiri-Rangaswamy Temple (BRT) Tiger Reserve on the western end and Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary on the eastern side, I was convinced of the potential of this landscape to host tigers and other large mammals. Though the connectivity to BRT on its western edge is through a very fragile corridor, the link could act as a path for dispersing tigers from BRT to bolster the possible resident tiger population of MM Hills.

A little-known corridor

This region supports one of the last and perhaps the finest tracts of dry tropical forests, including woodland savanna and extensive riparian forests. In these riparian forests survive one of the last remaining populations of the grizzled giant squirrel.  As per the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), this rodent has been recorded in only five fragmented sites, and fewer than 500 mature individuals are supposed to survive within the country.

Also part of this dry landscape are the Satyamangalam Tiger Reserve, North Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary and a few reserved forests including North Baragur, Guttiyalattur and others in Tamil Nadu that connect MM Hills to Mudumalai and further to other tiger reserves such as Bandipur and Nagarahole. This entire chunk is perhaps one of the largest productive landscapes for tigers anywhere in the world, with over 9,000 sq km. of dry deciduous forests that can support healthy densities of large carnivores and their prey. Currently this is perhaps the only landscape other than the Terai Arc in Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh that is contiguous, ecologically productive and fairly well protected from a large mammal perspective.

Success!

In 2013, there was a more favourable government setup, and we renewed our efforts to have the MM Hills declared as a Protected Area. It worked. Thanks to farsighted government officials including R. Sreedharan, Dipak Sarmah, B. K. Singh and Javed Mumtaz, an area of 906 sq. km. was finally notified as the Malai-Mahadeshwara Wildlife Sanctuary in May 2013. It was nothing short of a miracle that the entire process was completed within a span of two weeks (it helped that all the relevant data was already in the files since our homework had been done over the years)! Quick responses from Javed Mumtaz, the Deputy Conservator of Forests of the area, ensured all legal procedures and reorganisation of the area from a wildlife perspective were smoothly executed. Our earlier efforts in 2011 saw the adjoining Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary expanded from 526 to 1,027 sq. km. The entire landscape now receives higher protection, and the area is managed for the singular purpose of wildlife conservation.

Hidden treasures of the landscape

Very little research work has been done in this landscape, primarily because the infamous bandit and poacher Veerappan lorded over the area for the better part of two decades and was prone to kidnapping people for ransom. His death, coupled with the area’s notification, now offer new opportunities for wildlife research.

My interest was in trying to understand leopard occupancy over a gradient of habitats within and outside Protected Areas. MM Hills and Cauvery were part of my study area. Initial occupancy surveys strengthened my intuitive feeling that the landscape had great potential. We undertook the first-ever camera trapping exercise here and it threw up very encouraging results for both leopards and tigers. Though we are still shuffling through thousands of camera trap images, it does look like tiger densities are going to prove higher than originally anticipated.

MM Hills turned out to be one of the toughest landscapes we have worked in. While an extensive network of forest roads and easy terrain make camera trapping very straightforward in some Protected Areas, here there is almost no road network and most of the camera trapping had to be carried out on foot in highly rugged, undulating terrain. It was a physical and logistical challenge for everyone involved, but we gained enormous insights into the potential and the constraints of conservation in the landscape.

The rugged terrain of Malai Mahadeshwara Wildlife Sanctuary ©Sanjay Gubbi

Veerappan was continually the subject of discussion whenever we met people. The forest staff that guided us would narrate interesting stories, pointing to his hideouts and sites where he had carried out his signature, gruesome acts. The forest was open, but I am still amazed at the bandit’s ability to keep himself and his gang alive in this austere land for over two decades.

Our digital camera traps worked 24x7 in the same locations where Veerappan once ruled. The cameras revealed so many exquisite secrets of the MM Hills. Apart from leopards and tigers, we documented ratels the ever-elusive pangolin, the Madras tree shrew, and a bushy-tailed Indian fox, perhaps the first documentation of the species from this area.

While we camera trapped, Javed Mumtaz, the experienced officer who came up the ranks, and Vasanth Reddy, a short, steely-eyed, young forest officer managing the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary, ensured that the landscape was provided with the essential infrastructure required for wildlife protection. Working closely, they ushered in several important conservation gains that I am confident will enhance the landscape in the years ahead.

From a tiger conservation perspective, it might take a while to stabilise the terrain, but provided dedicated officers continue to be put in positions of control, the area will turn into one of India’s finest tiger habitats.

Current constraints

I hasten to add that protection is going to be a Herculean task because both PAs share an interstate boundary of nearly 170 km. and are additionally separated by the Paalar and Cauvery rivers. Poaching of sambar, chital, barking deer, four-horned antelope has been tough to detect, leave alone control. Prosecution, even more so. This poses a huge threat to the wildlife of the region and the problem is compounded by the fact that granite quarries that were closed during Veerappan’s reign of terror are now likely to be opened up. On top of this we have the possibility of ‘religious tourism’ being promoted on a massive scale. As if these were not hurdles enough for a biodiversity come back, a colossal beef industry thrives in this area, based on livestock brought in from Tamil Nadu that is grazed freely in these PAs and finally taken to Kerala. The resultant plant biomass loss and poor regeneration can be imagined. This is almost exactly the same thing that continues to be inflicted on South America, where large tracts of the Amazon are converted to pasture for cows, to cater to the global beef industry.

Many of us do not have the luxury of merely wringing our hands. We must work with the cards dealt to us. The MM Hills area is connected to BRT through a very narrow corridor, possibly less than one kilometre wide, through the Doddasampige-Ediyarahalli Reserve Forests. This corridor is where the Wildlife Trust of India purchased land (from private owners) and donated it to the Forest Department of Tamil Nadu, to strengthen connectivity for wildlife.

Clearly we need more such efforts. The Hasanur Ghat road, for instance, passes right through this critical corridor and we need to ensure that the road is not widened and that alternatives, which are available, are the option of choice. Additionally, implementing mitigation and speed-checking structures on the current road are desperately needed. Our research reveals that tiger numbers are showing positive trends in the MM Hills-BRT landscape, possibly because animals dispersing from BRT are finding tentative space in the overlap between the two Protected Areas. We have already documented individuals that are common to both these PAs. There are tigers that are also common to MM Hills and Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary. Given this reality, the criticality of protecting and enhancing the viability of this narrow corridor cannot possibly be over-estimated.

Sustaining the landscape

MM Hills and Cauvery also act as important watersheds for Cauvery and Paalar Rivers. Several streams that flow seasonally benefit from these forests. Hoogyam, Udthorehalla and other dams that sustain small and marginal farmers of the area are drained through these forests. In addition, the Stanley Reservoir at Mettur in Tamil Nadu is also dependent on these forests for its catchment. The ecosystem services these forests provide from a fresh water perspective is invaluable.

Cauvery and MM Hills are one of the last remaining contiguous chunks of dry forests that sustain endangered species in good densities. If tiger conservation is a landscape approach, as the animal is wide-ranging and younger animals need to disperse over larger areas to establish their own turfs, forests like MM Hills and Cauvery are very critical for cushioning source populations like BRT, and possibly Satyamangalam. There can be no compromise in further loosing forest cover in these areas in the interest of both wildlife and people.  

An edited version of the article was published in Sanctuary Asia in August 2015.