The numbers game

Threats to tigers need to be reduced if there numbers has to increase. Pic:Kalyan Varma

Have the tiger numbers increased since the last Government figures were put out in 2008? Answer to which was out under full media glare two weeks ago. ‘Tigers bounce back’ cried a news paper on the cover page the next day. There were many responses to this. Many jumped to claim credit to the positive results including a few media houses. Sadly few saw the results in a pragmatic, scientific manner. Do we really have higher numbers now? A closer scrutiny reveals that the results may not be big as hyped by the media.

Results of wildlife studies are not as simple and straight forward to interpret. In fact small changes, 16 per cent in this case, do not make big differences. All wildlife including tigers will have minor fluctuations in numbers when compared over years. These variations depend upon various factors including the season of data collection, mortalities and so on.

To give an exponential increase it is important to note that during the last published estimate results areas such as Sunderbans, North East India were left out. Additionally new areas such as Sahyadri Tiger Reserve have been added to the estimation results. Hence adding numbers from these areas will only depict an expansion of the sites studied rather than real increase in numbers.

Some, including renowned tiger biologist Dr.K.Ullas Karanth have raised basic questions. He has outlined the deficiencies in the methodology including lack of scientific rigour and importantly he has questioned the lack of published results in peer-reviewed journals from the previous exercise. Only one publication has been published from the previously carried out estimates. Karanth advocates more intensive, annual, source site population estimations rather than a country-wide four year estimates.

Priority for conservation

Union minister Salman Khurshid rightly said at the tiger estimate release that “we came late on industrial revolution and need to ensure that a balance is maintained between development and environment”. He is so right. We need not commit blunders which western countries committed during their industrial revolution. Most industrialised countries lost their large, habitat specialist mammalian species in their zeal for economic growth. We need to follow their best practices and not mimic their mistakes.

The threat to tigers, especially fragmentation and loss of habitat has been increasing and continue to be the most serious of the problems in a country which constantly aims at nine per cent economic growth. Everyone is interested in biting a chunk of the tiger’s habitat; there is no distinction between urban or rural dwellers, rich or poor. Miners, road builders, even ‘green’ energy proponents are all in the race to snatch the tigers’ home.

Cats do not have nine lives to survive these irreversible damages. Tigers are crouching to survive despite this onslaught. Focusing to reverse these threats is important to ensure its long-term survival.

A recent publication by Joe Walston of Wildlife Conservation Society and others identified 18 important source sites for tigers in India. Of the identified 42 source sites across the world, India holds 43% of these sites. These areas need to be protected with the highest commitment if we are serious about saving the striped cat.

We lost tigers in Sariska and Panna Tiger Reserves and they precariously hold on in some. We need not construe that reintroduction of tigers to sites from where they have gone locally extinct is a solution to the problem. Emphasis on protection and enforcement are key to tiger’s survival and to develop tiger-permeable landscapes.

Encouraging signs

The other part of the celebrations during the release event was that Karnataka holds the highest tiger numbers tipping Madhya Pradesh from the top place. Do we need to celebrate that Karnataka holds the highest tiger numbers? Yes, we ought to be proud that we hold one of the largest tiger populations in the world. However in the larger perspective of tiger conservation, it is not encouraging that the other state has lost their tigers. If we had a sharp increase of tiger numbers in Karnataka it could have been a reason to celebrate.

The state has always had a distinction of prioritising and advocating protection to save its wildlife. We need to continue this strategy to ensure that the curtains on one of the magnificent species human kind has ever seen are not brought down.

What’s a source site?

Biologists have described source sites with a few indicators.

• Sites that have higher densities of tigers in the landscape and have the potential to maintain demographically viable cluster of over 25 reproducing tigresses embedded in a larger terrain that could hold over 50 breeding females.

• The landscapes that also have political, social and bureaucratic commitment to the area for long-term protection of tigers.

• A legal framework that will support protection of tigers and their prey from hunting.

Source: Walston et al. 2010


An edited version of this article was published in Deccan Herald on 12-04-2011
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/152841/numbers-game.html

Who owns the land?

3:20 pm We watched this herd of five elephants struggling to cross a farm to reach a waterhole which was about 600 meters away (note the three elephants near to the mango orchard).

4.39 pm: Elephants arrive up the valley to cross the orchard. They took over an hour to cross about 300 metres.

4.59 pm: The elephants quietly sneak past the resort to go to a nearby waterhole constantly hounded by dogs and resort guards.

5.23 pm: The pachyderms cautiously arrive at the water hole taking about 25 minutes to cover a short distance of 150 meters.

5.26 pm: On this hot afternoon the elephants enter the waterhole to quench their thirst.

5.27 pm: Within a minute one of the females is alarmed as domestic dogs appear at the water hole barking at the elephants.

5.27 pm: Panicked by the pack of four dogs the elephants run away from the water hole fearing for the security of their calves. Normally they spend elaborate amount of time at waterholes during summer days.

5.29: One of the adult elephants takes the calves away to safety and other the two take guard against the dogs before chasing them. Once the dogs leave the elephants vanish into the forests and no one knows how long further they need to travel before they get another waterhole. All images: Sanjay Gubbi

“This is my land” assertively said the man in his mid 40s with dark sunglasses and a red hat. He was getting his land surveyed that was recently bought to set up a resort and spa centre. The man continued “I am doing this for conservation”. Little did he realise that his planned resort was completely on the other banks of wildlife conservation. The land was in the middle of one of the last remaining wildlife corridors in Bandipur. Pugmarks of tiger and wild dogs crisscrossed the piece of land. Elephant dung was strewn across the land parcel. A nullah flowing at the edge of the land created a sheltered place for animals to move from the tiger reserve to Satyamangalam and Mudumalai through these swathes of scrub forests.

As part of the Governmental efforts to bring investment into tourism industry, a single window system had been set up to clear projects; a laudable approach. However using these three words the Government gave away this wildlife corridor. I wish the project clearing agencies realised that this was also one of the last windows for elephants to move from Bandipur to Lokkere, Upkarabetta and further to forests in Tamilnadu.

With increased disposable incomes wildlife reserves have become favoured weekend and holiday getaways. To cater to this urban demand, several resorts have mushroomed around some of our important protected areas. Though it is important to develop infrastructure for tourism, strict codes are indispensable. Some tourism resorts are becoming a challenge for wildlife conservation with some of the projects cutting off wildlife migratory corridors.

For instance Bandipur has about 5000 acres of forests on land that belongs to revenue department. These lands are prime corridors for wildlife to move from eastern parts of Bandipur to Satyamangalam and Mudhumalai in Tamilnadu. Though for a layman this can look like patches of scrub, they hold all the large vertebrates that Bandipur has in its core.

Mega herbivores such as elephants move vast areas to meet their food requirements. Hence conserving these forests is critical for protecting the corridors. Breakage of these corridors will affect movement and also increase human-wildlife conflict. Apart from total loss of habitats, wildlife faces restriction on their movement due to the electric fences and physical barriers installed by the resorts. Sometimes the only sources of water for wildlife will be cut off leaving the animals to move to agricultural fields to find water.

Before the nine percent growth mantra these forests had little or no value with villagers showing little interest in these properties. Now with these lands being high worth real estate, it has pushed people to even encroach land en mass to be further sold to construct resorts. Villagers make a pecuniary fortune frittering for a few days, city dwellers get their holiday resorts and the entrepreneurs will fill their kitty. I wonder what wildlife gets. Whose land is it anyway?

Forest and revenue department have now taken keen interest in conserving these land parcels. These areas form part of the buffer zone of Bandipur Tiger Reserve and recently notified as eco-sensitive area. Hopefully wildlife will soon have a right over these lands.

An edited version of this article was published in Deccan Herald on 29-03-2011

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/149522/who-owns-land.html