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BI-MONTHLY OUTREACH JOURNAL OF NATIONAL TIGER CONSERVATION AUTHORITY

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

Volume 5 Issue 1 Nov-Dec 2013

Assam 5 1 0 6 2 0 0 2 8

Karnataka 10 1 0 11 2 2 0 4 15

Kerala 0 0 0 0 4 1 1 6 6

MP 6 1 2 9 0 1 0 1 10

Maharashtra 0 3 0 3 4 1 3 8 11

Odisha 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1

Tamil Nadu 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 2 2

Uttarakhand 1 0 0 1 7 1 0 8 9

UP 1 2 0 3 0 1 0 1 4

West Bengal 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1

Rajasthan 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1

TOTAL 25 8 3 36 20 7 5 32 68

STATEINSIDE TIGER RESERVE

TOTAL TOTALGRANDTOTAL

OUTSIDE TIGER RESERVECasesunder

scrutiny

PoachingIncludingseizure

Natural& Othercauses

Casesunder

scrutiny

PoachingIncludingseizure

Natural& Othercauses

DETAILS OF TIGER MORTALITY, AS REPORTEDBY STATES, DURING THE YEAR 2013 (AS ON 31.12.2013)

Note: 18kg tiger bones were seized in Delhi (07.09.2013) by a team of Forest Department officials of Maharashtra, WildlifeCrime Control Bureau and Delhi Police

Photo: S P Yadav

PANNA is an important tiger source areain the North Central Indian region ofMadhya Pradesh. After facing local extinction of tiger due to targeted/non-targeted killings, the reserve has success-fully fostered the reintroduced tigers.

The protection has been stepped up with 24X7 monitoring. Several important initiatives, including voluntary relocation of villages within the core havebeen rewarding. The peripheral areas of buffer urgentlyrequire active management to address resource dependency, while actively monitoring dispersing tigersto ensure their protection. This calls for close coordination with linking forest divisions within theState and in the adjoining State of Uttar Pradesh. A profile of this reserve highlights its attributes.

Valmiki is the only tiger reserve in Bihar which alsomakes border with the neighbouring tiger range country of Nepal. There are inherent corridor linkageswith protected areas of Nepal and Uttar Pradesh.These require ongoing monitoring and protection.

Forest resource dependency in the southern portion of the reserve also requires an ongoing co-occurrenceagenda to elicit local public support. An independentappraisal of this reserve by the NTCA has been presented.

Tiger conservation requires the active support oflocal people as they co-occur with the tiger. This callsfor an ‘inclusiveness’ in management. Under ProjectTiger, the States are supported to innovatively evolvea co-occurrence model to benefit tiger and people.Highlights of such initiatives in the Tadoba TigerReserve of Maharashtra are encouraging.

There are several best practices ongoing in tigerreserves. The e-learning institutionalized for tribalchildren in the residential school at the AnamalaiTiger Reserve is praiseworthy, which needs to be emulated by other reserves.

Dr Rajesh Gopal Member-Secretary, NTCA

EDITOR Dr Rajesh Gopal

EDITORIALCOORDINATORS P YADAV

CONTENTCOORDINATORInder MS Kathuria

FEEDBACK Annexe No 5 Bikaner HouseShahjahan Road New Delhi

[email protected]

Cover photo N S Dungariyal

n o t e f r o m t h e e d i t o r

Volume 5Issue 1

Nov-Dec2013

Resourcemobilization

TadobaAndhariReservePg 8

BestPractices A uniqueway of learning P 9

ProfilePanna TigerReservePg 4

AppraisalValmiki

TigerReserve

P 10

BI-MONTHLY OUTREACH JOURNAL OF NATIONAL TIGER CONSERVATION AUTHORITY

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

4 | Nov-Dec 2013 | STRIPES

PROFILE

Panna Tiger Reserve,Madhya PradeshP

anna Tiger Reserve is locat-ed in the Vindhya rangesthat extend from south west

to north east in the civil districtsof Panna, Chhattarpur andDamoh.

Landscape of the PTR is char-acterized with 'Table Top' topog-raphy. Two plateaus run parallelto each other from south-west tonorth-easterly direction. The Kenriver enters the TR from thesouthern end and passes throughfor 55km and exits the reserve atvillage Madla. Ken is the lifelineof the tiger reserve. This river ispart of Ganga-Yamuna basin.Panna Tiger Reserve is the 22ndTiger Reserve to be declared in1994. Nestled in the northernmost areas of Vindhya range ofCentral India, this is the onlyTiger Reserve in the entireBundhelkhand region. The totalarea of Panna Tiger Reserve is576 (Core)+1002.42 (Buffer)sq.kms = 1578.56 sqkm. Thetiger reserve is under the admin-istrative control of the fielddirector with his headquarters atPanna. The tiger reserve consistsof the three conservation entities,namely, Panna National Park,Gangau WLS and Buffer.

CLIMATEThe climate in Panna is charac-terised by severe winters andvery hot summers with meanannual rainfall of 1100mm, with5-6 drought cycles in a decade.

HABITAT ATTRIBUTES: The park

with its north-central location inMadhya Pradesh forms part ofthe Indo-Malayan Realm floristi-cally. Zoo-geographically, it is amember of the Oriental regionand lies in Zone 6 E-‘DeccanPeninsula — Central Highlands’.Plateau topography with underly-ing slopes, cliffs with talus andsehas offer excellent juxtaposi-tion of outstanding habitats forthe faunal components. DhunduaSeha offers one such glimpse andis known as ‘Tiger and VultureHeaven’ by wildlife lovers.

The Ken river and savannahforests, along with mixed dense

forests on the slopes offer a vari-ety of habitats which enhance thehabitat value of the park, besidesoffering one of the best land-scapes of dry deciduous tigerhabitat of the country.

FLORAL ATTRIBUTES The following forest types are

met with in the National Park :Southern Tropical DryDeciduous Dry Teak ForestNorthern Tropical DryDeciduous Mixed ForestDry Deciduous Scrub ForestBoswellia ForestDry Bamboo Brakes

Vikram Parihar

R Sreenivasa Murthy, Field Director, Panna

STRIPES | Nov-Dec 2013 | 5

Anogeissus pendula Forest

The plateaus are characterisedwith savannah forests with verythin vegetation and continuousgrass cover where dry deciduousscrub forests are seen. Theslopes are filled with denseforests of various types asdescribed above. Bamboo associ-ations are seen only on theslopes. Anogeissus pendula forestis an edaphic sub-type (on specif-ic rock type i.e. conglomerate)which occurs mainly in a longstrip of small width( 0.5-1.0 km)in the foothills from Pipartola toGangau dam on both banks ofthe Ken river. Sterculia urens(Kullu) is in abundance in PTRwith good regeneration whichotherwise is getting extinct frommost parts of the State.

FAUNAL ATTRIBUTESPTR is among the importantProtected Area in the CentralIndian Highlands complex, for itsstructural diversity and widearray of fauna, including 'the keyspecies' Tiger. It is listed amongthe Regional Priority TigerConservation Landscape, which isdefined as a low tiger densityhabitat with moderate-high levelsof threats. PTR supports a size-able population of Sloth Bear(Melursus ursinus), Leopard(Panthera pardus) and StripedHyena (Hyaena hyaena). Otherprominent carnivores are Jackal(Canis aureus), Wolf (Canislupus), Wild Dog (Cuon alpinus),Jungle Cat (Felis chaus) and RustySpotted Cat (Prionailurus rubigi-nosa). The major ungulates thatform prey for these carnivoresare Sambar (Cervus unicolor),Chital (Axis axis), Nilgai(Boselaphus tragocamelus),Chinkara (Gazella bennetti), Four-Horned Antelope (Tetracerosquadricornis) and Wild Pig (Susscrofa). The Common Langur(Presbytis entellus) is widespread,while Rhesus Macaque (Macacamullata) is found only along the

forest peripheries closer tohuman habitations. There areover 150 birds species in PTR,and the important breeding birdsinclude Marshall's Iora (Aegithinanigrolutea), White-bellied Minivet(Pericrocotus erythropygius) andStriated Grassbird (Megaluruspalustris), besides a variety ofGalliformes including Peafowl(Pavo cristatus), Painted Spurfowl(Galloperdix lunulata) andPainted Francolin (Francolinuspictus). The area is known for itsgood vulture population whichotherwise wiped out from mostparts of the country. The rockcliffs with ledges provide goodhabitat for the rock nesting vul-tures.The park represents 7 outof 7 vultures of the region.Egyptian vulture, Long billed vul-ture, White backed vulture andRed headed vultures are residentvultures of the park and all fourbreed here. Eurasian andHimalayan griffon vultures andCinereous vultures are the migra-tory vultures of the tiger reserve.The area also supports over 10species of Reptiles, and over 50species of fishes including twoglobally threatened Masheerspecies (Tortor, Tor putitora),popularly known as 'King ofFreshwater Fishes of India'.

TIGER STATUSPTR is known for its eventful

conservation history over the lasttwo decades. Panna has a contro-versial conservation history as itlost all its tigers in 2009 butimmediately regained its statusin 2012 when tigers were suc-cessfully translocated and rein-troduced along with twoorphaned cubs which were re-wilded. Panna TigerReintroduction Program has facil-itated recovery of tigers and theglory of the reserve. The breed-ing of re-introduced tigers in theshortest possible time in Panna isan unparalleled success. At pres-ent the total tiger number atPanna is 23 (5 founder tigers and

18 adult/sub-adult/cubs). ThePanna Tiger Reintroduction proj-ect, a collaborative venture ofMPFD and WII, has just complet-ed its Phase I and entered its IIphase and is credited as one ofthe best 'Adaptive ActiveManagement Practice Model' andhas received an ‘Award ofExcellence’ in the ActiveManagement Category for theyear 2012 from NTCA.

During the formative years ofPTR, tiger density was less than 3tigers/100 sqkm and appeared tohave increased to 7 tigers/100sqkm during early 2000. Tigerpopulation in PTR was initiallyestimated based on pugmarktechnique which was followed bycamera trapping method includ-ed by the NTCA-WII All IndianTiger Monitoring Project in 2006.Based on the pattern, the tigerpopulation in PTR showed a dras-tic decline. The results fromthese estimates indicated a meanpopulation size of 25 tiger in PTRduring 2006. Due to various rea-sons including poaching, thetiger population dwindled toalmost none in 2009. In order torestore the prior status, tigerpopulation was reinforced initial-ly with two female tigers fromBandhavgarh and Kanha TigerReserves during March 2009.However, once it became clearthat there was no resident malein PTR and the population wasfunctionally extinct, a full-fledged reintroduction programwas conceived and is beingimplemented with credible suc-cess (MPFD and WII 2009). Thetiger reintroduction programmestarted in November 2009 but byApril 2012 the reintroduced/re-wilded tigers met with an out-standing breeding success byproducing 22 cubs in their fivelitters. By the end of 2013 theTiger Reserve was filled with 11adults (including 5 foundertigers) and 18 cubs to sub-adulttigers, totalling 23 tigers in ashort span of four years.


TIGER RESERVE LANDSCAPEDETAILS Core: The critical TigerHabitat/Core of the Panna TigerReserve, encompassing the wholearea of Panna National Park andpart of Gangau WLS, wasdeclared in 2007. This is part ofthe larger Vindhyan landscapewhich is more than 5000 sqkmand comprises the forest dis-tricts of Satna, Panna,Chhattarpur, Damoh and Sagar.As on date Tiger Reserve part ofPanna district is totally devoid ofany human habitation and onlythree villages are left in theChhattarpur district. In all 13 outof 16 villages have been relocat-ed out of the CTH of Panna TRoffering more inviolate space totigers.

Buffer: An adjoining area of1002 sqkm surrounding the corefrom three districts (Panna,Chhattarpur and Damoh) andfour Forest Divisions (North andSouth Panna, Chhattarpur and

Damoh Forest Divisions) wasdeclared as Buffer in 2012 withthe area being transferred to theTiger Reserve unit recently. Ason date working plan prescrip-tions are getting implemented inthese areas. TCP is under prepa-ration. Once it is finalized andgets the required approvals, thenthe buffer will be managed as perthe prescriptions of TCP. Thereare 49 villages in the bufferwhich require special packageunder the Eco-development pro-gramme to bring in the co-exis-tence concept into action.

Corridor: The location of PannaTR in the entire Vindhyan land-scape is critical. It is the onlytiger source population that canconnect the tiger population ofthe Aravallis and VindhyanRanges. A known tiger ofRanthambore was cameratrapped in Datia forests in April2012 proving this point beyonddoubt. Within Madhya Pradesh,Panna TR reserve has corridor

connections with BandhavgarhTR, Nauradehi WLS besides somemeta populations of tigers atChitrakoot forests of Satna dis-trict on the north-eastern endand Sagar district. Radio-collaredtigers of Panna are moving in alldirections and are establishingthe corridor value of the entirelandscape.

At present, there is a gap ofaround 30km between the Pannaand Bandhavgarh TRs whichneeds to be filled in by afforesta-tion on the banks of the watercourses (rivers Ken andMidhassan). This will restore thecorridor links of these twoimportant and closest sourcepopulations for the long-termsurvival of both source popula-tions and ensure gene flow.

MANAGERIAL ISSUESStabilizing the present gainsof Panna Tiger ReintroductionProgramme by establishing aviable source population inPanna landscape by 2019.

Murthy


Habitat restoration measuresin the core to increase the preybase to support the increasingnumber of tigers. Creation of more inviolatespaces by relocating the rest ofthe three villages in CTH andother willing villages inSanctuary and adjoining few vil-lages.Assess the adjoining bufferareas for suitable tiger habitatsand restore them.Restoring and establishingthe connections between Pannaand Bandhavgarh TRs on prioritybasis. Attending to the securityaspects of Panna on continuousbasis. Institutionalization ofSecurity Cell concept to realizethe Preventive Strategy on perpe-tuity. Integration of technologicalsolutions to help security andmanagement of PA.Opportunity to standardizethe photo capture-recapturemethod tiger estimation withknown number of tigers at Panna. Developing Panna TR as Tiger

Learning and Capacity BuildingCentre.Reducing man-animal conflict.Continuous consultationprocess with locals to gain theirgood will. Continuation of Panna NatureCamps needs to bridge the gapwith the locals.Creation of ownership sensein the locals about the TigerReserve by offering them a spe-cial package with proper Eco-development interventions torealize the co-existenceapproach.

GOOD PRACTICESSuccessful TigerReintroduction/Re-wilding modelin the shortest possible time. Best response of crisis man-agement after local extinction ofTigers.Role model ofAdaptive/Active Management oftiger conservation.Standardization of Tiger Re-introduction/Re-wilding prac-tices/protocols, includingTranquillization, Transportation,

Release, 24x7 radio telemetrymonitoring etc.Best combination of'Management and Science' atwork.Intelligence and Legal CellPanna Nature Camps and PPPAnnual Vulture Estimation Phase IV

APPROACH & ACCESSApproach wise Panna Tiger

Reserve is one of the best posi-tioned protected areas of thecountry. The nearest rail headand airport are located atKhajuraho which is just 25 kmsfrom the nearest park entry point(Madla gate) a mere half-hourdrive. Thus, this is a rare combi-nation of a cultural tourist placeof prominence (UNESCO recog-nized world heritage site) alongwith a wilderness area beingalmost together offering touristsa treat of both the worlds.Another positive aspect in thisregard is Bandhavgarh TigerReserve is just a three-a-half-hour drive from Panna.

Ashwin Rai

Resource mobilizationby Tadoba Andharitiger reserveT

he Tadoba-Andhari TigerReserve in Maharashtra hasbeen successful in support-

ing people in the fringe areas foreliciting their valuable reciprocalcommitment for tiger conserva-tion. A few initiatives taken bythe Reserve management are asbelow:

Tiger ConservationFoundation (TCF): As per NTCA’snew rules, every tiger reserve hasa TCF and gate money fromtourism is deposited in it.Donations to save tigers are alsoaccepted. The Tadoba TCF wasset up on November 25, 2008,but after rules were notified itwas activated in 2010.

Buffer Zone: Notifying bufferzones around tiger reserves ismandatory under the tiger con-servation plan (TCP) after amend-ments in Wildlife (Protection) Act,1972 in 2006. The Tadoba bufferzone was notified in 2010. It aimsat protection of tigers and provid-ing site specific habitat inputs fora viable population of tigers, co-predators and prey animals

Villages in buffer: There are79 villages in Tadoba buffer zonespread over 1100 sq km area inChandrapur and Brahmapuri

Villages with Eco-DevelopmentCommittees(EDCs): Of the 79 vil-lages, 66 have eco-development

committees that look after com-munity development

EDC & its members: EDC isrun by villagers with a forester asits secretary. Every EDC has amicro plan and grants arereleased according to plan andpriorities

Money generated: The moneyfrom gate fee earlier used to bedeposited with treasury but nowgoes to TCF. Tadoba Foundationgenerates over a crore every year

Money distributed: More thanRs1.5 crore has been distributed

to EDCs in the last three yearssince the TCF got activated Villages getting money: Apartfrom TCF funds, other sourcesinclude CAMPA, 13th FinanceCommission, SC/ST and tribaldevelopment heads. From TCF,priority is given to EDC villages.In 2011-12, Rs 26.52 lakh, Rs 26lakh in 2012-13 and over Rs 1crore in 2013-14 were distributedfrom the TCF.

TCF money in A/C: Funds arenot distributed in cash butdeposited in joint bank accountsof EDCs to ensure transparencyand prevent misuse.


PEOPLE AGENDA

N S Dungariyal


A unique way of learningTribal Residential School at Topslip,

Anamalai Tiger Reserve, TN

The Tribal Residential Schoolat Topslip under the con-trol of Anamalai Tiger

Reserve administration is func-tioning since 1959 to cater to theneeds of children of tribals. Theschool was approved as a pri-mary school in 1963. The schoolhas upgraded to the level of mid-dle school in 2005. The schoolhas a strength of 89 (42 boys +47 girls) from Class I to VIII.

Anamalai Tiger reserve hastaken a new initiative to intro-duce e-learning in one of its trib-al schools at Topslip, Pollachi,with the help of an NGO (WildWing Trust) and eVidyaloka.

In this collaborative pro-gramme, a digital class room facil-ity has been set up in TopslipTribal School with Skype connec-tivity and video conferencing facil-ity. The children are being tutoredin English, mathematics and sci-ence subjects. This had been initi-ated for a continued quality edu-cation for the Tribal Children ofAnamalai Tiger Reserve.

The methodology throughwhich maximum benefits arederived by tribal students fromthis programme are:Increase in the quality of edu-cation by engaging highly quali-fied teachers who are trained tohandle children.Exposure to the externalworld through various means ofactivity-based classes and aware-ness sessions.Focused attention towardseach child with a very healthyteacher-children ratio.

Understanding and analysingthe strength of each child andproviding necessary counsellingand direction for their careerdevelopment.Get motivated to attend class-es regularly.

The necessity for spearheadingthis education initiative in otherpossible tribal areas?To increase the quality of thisbasic need and building confi-dence among the parents to sup-port conservation efforts by pro-tected area managers.To arrest the dropout ratiowhich is very high after 8thStandard which makes themreturn to their settlement andmakes them dependent onForests for survival.Higher secondary and collegedropout kids get involved andact as mediators in many illegalactivities inside protected areasas they have the exposure toexternal world and knowledge ofthe natural resource availableinside protected areas.Challenge for the administra-tion to retain qualified teachersin the schools on a long termbecause of commutation issues.

Teachers involved in impartinge-learning

Hari Narayanan, 25 yrs, PhD |Stockholm | MathsRenganayaki N, 55 yrs, |Neyveli| ScienceRaamanujan S, 24 yrs, PhD |Brussels | Maths

Gomathi N, 50 yrs | Kalpakkam | ScienceKavitha A, 30 yrs, B-Tech |Sydney | MathsKeerthana, 24 yrs, B-Tech |Palani (TN) | ScienceIndu, 24 yrs, B-Tech |Portland (USA) | ScienceKrithika, 24 yrs, B-Tech | Bangalore | MathsMeena Hari, 27 yrs | Bangalore | MathsKumaran V, 24 yrs, B-Tech |Hyderabad | Maths

No. of children benefited so far | 42

Abstract of some feedbackreceived from students, teachersand partners are —

From ChildrenAspirational: “Want to becomecollector, police, teacher...”Participative: “Able to retainwhat is taught”Enthusiastic: “Would like to havemore classes”

From Teachers“Exciting”, “Challenging to coverbasis”, “Will teach a classbeneath Eiffel Tower”, “Deservingchildren, “Great model”

From eVidyaloka“Fantastic partnership”“Great teacher participation”, “Need to customize curriculum to be tribal childrenspecific”.

BEST PRACTICES


An Appraisal: ValmikiTiger ReserveT

he Valmiki Tiger Reserve(VTR) forms the easternmost limit of Shivalik-

Gangetic flood plains in India,and also a part of the Terai-Arclandscape. The Reserve was con-stituted as the 18th TigerReserve in India by Project Tiger,Government of India in 1994.

The Reserve was earlier man-aged by the Bihar State ForestDevelopmental Corporationwhich was dissolved later on.The Reserve is in contiguity withChitwan National Park and ParsaWildlife Reserve in Nepal on thenorthern boundary. This land-scape is part of the Valmiki-Chitwan-Parsa Tiger ConservationUnit (TCU), which has been clas-sified as a Level-1 TCU. Thesetrans-boundary forests coveringmore than 3500 sqkm of wilder-ness track have viability andpotential for the long-term sur-vival of tigers. The Reserve islocated in the north-west cornerof the state of Bihar in the dis-trict of West Champaran. This isthe only tiger reserve in Bihar.

Valmiki Tiger reserve is undergreat impact for its resources offirewood from human popula-tions living in two locations. Oneis an enclave and another one allalong the southern boundary ofthe tiger reserve. A majority ofthe population, which exertspressure in the form of cattlegrazing, firewood and timberremoval, come from SC/ST andOBC category. Most of them livebelow the poverty line and inci-dents of conflict between themanagement and sections of thepopulation occur occasionallywhile protecting the resources.

FactsTotal area of Tiger Reserve |840 sqkm; 505 sqkm as bufferarea (also known as ValmikiWildlife Sanctuary) and 335.64sqkm as core area (also known asValmiki National Park) Vegetation: Moist-mixeddeciduous forest,sub-mountain-ous semi-evergreen forest, drysal forest, khair-sissoo forest,cane brakes, alluvial grasslands,wetlands and swamps.Fauna: Mammals - 53 species,Birds - 145 species, Reptiles - 26species, Amphibia - 13 species(ZSI Report, 1998)

APPRAISAL METHODSAn NTCA team visited Valmiki

Tiger Reserve from 17thDecember to 22nd December

2012 and followed differentmethods to understand theground situation and accomplishthe objectives. a. Interactions with Reserve man-agementb. Field visit c. Questionnairesd. Scanning previous monitoringreports and review reports ofGovernment of India

Thus, the Committee hasbrought out a report based onobservations made through theabove methods.

OBSERVATIONSThe Committee has observed

that under the leadership of Fielddirector the Reserve is doingwell. The Field Director is moti-vated and has done extremely

N S Dungariyal


well during his short tenure sofar. However, it will take time forthe Reserve to regain its glory ifwhole or part of the anthro-pogenic pressure is eliminated.However, certain steps need tobe initiated soon in the villagesto go along with the administra-tion for effective management ofthe Reserve. Protection and moni-toring are well placed and aproper mechanism exists to eval-uate and monitor the manage-ment system.

Committee is satisfied withall initiatives taken by theauthority and believes theReserve is in the process ofrevival. The constructions of var-ious buildings, amount and sanc-tion orders are well inscribedwith GPS readings such as wire-less stations, anti-poachingcamps, watch towers, buildingsetc. The committee also felt theneed for a park entry gate withproper ticketing system whichdoes not exist at present. At present, the camera trap-ping process is under way by theWWF India. The management willinstall 114 camera traps in theentire reserve to come out withthe population status. We observed that there isgood coordination and dynamismbetween top forest officials andfield level officers of the TigerReserve.The construction of boundarypillars along the boundary of thenotified area needs appreciation. Patrolling work by the protec-tion forces for the purpose ofWildlife monitoring in Gautelarange needs worth mentioning.Information gathered duringpatrolling is recorded in a well-illustrated register. Furthermore,the data on the register is con-veyed to the Division level. At present, the population oftiger and prey species could notbe mentioned because of unavail-ability of information. However,the team is convinced that there

is a healthy tiger and herbivorepopulation in the Reserve. Breeding of tigers has beenreported recently by the fieldmanagement and in one instance;one of the tiger cubs was killedand said to have been eaten bythe mother for some unknownreason.There was report of wildlifemortalities in the last five years.Two tigers (one male and onefemale) were reportedly poachedduring 2006-2009. The commit-tee suspects that opportunistic

hunting does occur at certainlocalities although there exists aproper monitoring protocol. Advisories of NTCA / Projecttiger issued for protection meas-ures are followed up to a satis-factory level.Sasashtra Seema Bal (SSB)forces are deployed in the inter-national border area. We noticeda well maintained register ofwildlife sighting by the SSBjawans, which is necessary toknow the movement of wild ani-mals. The field inspections fol-lowed for monitoring and techni-cal guidance by senior officersare well placed. Valmiki Tiger reserve, being

the only Tiger reserve in Bihar,receives greater attention fromthe highest level of the govern-ment.The Government of Bihar hasissued one single governmentorder for funds received in twoinstallments from the Govt. ofIndia with a rider that the fundsmeant for second installmentcould be spent after the receiptof the second installment fundsfrom Government of India. Thispioneer step will overcome thedelay of 3 to 4 months for pro-cessing the second installment atthe state government level torelease the funds. This procedurecould be followed in other statesalso.Funds are well placed beforethe field officers in time and dur-ing our visit, the authorityreceived the second installmentof the last APO sanctioned by theNTCA. Such timely receipt offund is lacking in certain otherReserves.Coordination of the reservemanagement with line depart-ments does exist.The Eco DevelopmentCommittee has been formed butnot functioning for want ofrequired funds and otherapproved micro plans etc. whichis being discussed separately.The committee was informedby the field director that "a web-site for Valmiki Tiger Reserve hasbeen launched recently for pub-licity purposes and governmentinitiatives taken by the forestdepartment.The management of Valmikitiger reserve has taken an initia-tive for promoting ecotourismafter taking over infra structuresfrom tourism department.Very few research activitiesare being taken up in the tigerreserves due to lack of awarenessamong research institutions inthe universities in Bihar. At pres-ent research studies are beingundertaken by Wildlife Instituteof India, Dehradun and Indian

Murthy


Institute of Science, Bangalore.

MONITORING OF PLAN SCHEMESOn perusal of the schemes

sanctioned for five years, mostof the components for whichfunds were released were forlabour-oriented activities forwhich verification would be diffi-cult now. However, works sanc-tioned in 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 which includes construc-tion of buildings and develop-ment of infrastructure such asanti-poaching camps, checkposts, deep freezer were inspect-ed by the committee during ourvisits.

Water holes created in threeplaces were inspected by thecommittee. Some of the waterholes created in Division I arenot well designed as shownbelow. These are steep and nar-row and acting as a death trapfor herbivores against predatorsto escape and young ones (Fawn,piglets, calf) which may slipdown in water holes with nochance to come out. Therefore, ithas been advised not to opensuch water holes in future andthe present ones have to beimproved by widening the water-holes all around for easy accessi-bility. The Committee monitoredwork of removal of invasiveweeds such as Phoenix sp.,Michania sp. mikania,Eupatorium & Ipomea sp. under-taken at different places in bothdivisions. The qualities of thework executed are satisfactory togood.Construction of anti-poachingshed, check post, barrack andwireless rooms have been carriedout at several places with fundsdrawn from NTCA. The qualitiesof the work executed are verygood. Many of them are put in touse. In order to consolidate theboundary of the tiger reserveaction is being taken by the man-

agement to construct boundarypillars all along the boundary ofthe tiger reserve with fundsreleased from NTCA. Some of thepillars erected on the boundarywas inspected and found to begood. The demonstration of grassdevelopment plot was launchedon an experimental basis at twoplaces after removing the tall ele-phantine and Typha grass. Thisexperiment has to be watched forfew more months to know theresults. The management has engagedhuge labour force for patrolling,anti-poaching and tracking ofanimals. Fire line work has also been

maintained by undertaking firetracing work during the pre-sum-mer season to prevent fire. The wireless networks main-tained under these funds are putin to use effectively.

The officials claim that apartfrom the above works, the fundssanctioned in the earlier yearsbefore 2007-08 to 2009-10 weregenerally for protection workssuch as engaging labour force forpatrolling, anti-poaching, fire line

formation etc. Therefore thiscould not be verified by the com-mittee. The Valmiki Tiger Reservealso receives funds from otherschemes operated by state forestdepartment for which specificpermission was not obtained.However, the proposals areprocessed through Chief WildlifeWarden.

The qualities of work whatso-ever inspected by the committeewere really good. The tigerreserve employs 98 plot watchersincluding ex-service men drawnfrom downtrodden communitiesand most backward communitiesfor patrolling tiger reserve dur-ing day time and 90 trackersemployed during dawn and duskevery day for tracking the animalmovement especially Tiger andother animals.

STATUS OF TIGER, CO-PREDA-TOR AND PREY

Tiger and leopards were earliermonitored and population esti-mation done using indirect signssuch as pugmarks, scats calls, etcby the protection force. Since theearlier methods are unrealisticand unscientific, scientific meth-ods of capture and recapturemethods using Camera traps andDNA finger printing analysis ofscat sample are being attemptedby the management. Newly pro-cured camera traps — 114 in all— will be installed to assess tigerdensity and its spatial distribu-tion along with prey species. Toaccomplish the task of popula-tion estimation through cameratrapping, a scientist from WII,Dehradun arrived during ourvisit. It has been suggested toFD, to go for scat analysis col-lected from different grid lines.The authority will have a clearpicture about population statusafter completing the presentassignment.

Sources of information on tiger In 2010, NTCA reported 8

tigers in the Reserve, however,

The tiger reserveemploys 98 plot watchers, including ex-servicemen drawnfrom downtroddencommunities andmost backward communities, forpatrolling during daytime and 90 trackers during dawnand dusk every dayfor tracking animalmovement, especiallythat of the tiger


authority mentioned that duringthat period no camera traps wereinstalled in Madanpur range, andhence, the possibility of getting atrue estimate of tiger numberswas limited. The managementteam along with the field staffsuggested that the tiger reservemay support about 15 adulttigers at present. Proper popula-tion estimation alone will throwlight about the actual status.

Field monitoring of tiger usingdevice: The staff of protectionand patrolling party monitors themovement of Tiger on daily basisusing latest gadgets namely wire-less network and cell phone serv-ices .And whenever animals aresighted or indirect evidencesnoticed, message sent to Rangehead office and Divisional officeimmediately. A monitoringRegister has been maintained atevery Range Office with detailedinformation on tiger sightings/evidences tiger presence andtheir locations. However geo-ref-erenced data has not beenentered in the register due toinadequate GPS sets and lack oftraining for application of thistechnology. A total of 114 newcamera traps have been procuredby the reserve management sofar. A team of WWF-India headedby Dr. Jimmy Borah has alreadyreached Bettiah to implement thecamera-trapping protocol.Continuous monitoring would berequired to determine the popu-lation, their territory, density ofherbivores and their distribu-tions and spatial occupancy inthe Tiger Reserve.

Abundance of prey speciesThe abundance of prey base

generally depends upon theavailability of fodder and grassspecies in the tiger reserve. Thedensity of herbivore populationper 100 sq km depends on theabundance of availability of fod-der especially nutritious C4 grassplants. The grass land patches

which are supposed to harborabundance of prey species arenot performing the same for thereason that this area is infestedwith impenetrable thickets ofunpalatable, coarse tall grassesover 6 to 8 feet height. Typhaelephantine and Saccharummunja are in abundance whichhinders the growth of othergrasses.

Consequently, the movementof herbivore population isrestricted in such an area. Inaddition infestation of invasivespecies both exotic and native isa major threat that this tigerreserve will face in the long run.Among the invasive weeds,Phoenix sp has invaded large areafollowed by other species namelyMikanea micarantha, Eupatoriumsp and Lantana camara, havespread in the descending orderover an area of 15000 ha offorests due to their aggressive-ness and spread by seed disper-sal through various agencies.These species have occupied for-est areas where there is highpotential for increasing the preybase. The area of distribution ofinvasive species in the tigerreserve needs to be earmarked ina map and an action plan drawnto remove the two most destruc-tive invasive species, namelyPhoenix sp and Mikanea sp in aphased manner over 10 years.

At present the Field manage-ment lacks any system of moni-toring prey abundance of theReserve. This committee stronglyrecommended to carry out peri-odic herbivore population esti-mation using line transectmethod following distance sam-pling. The NTCA could providethe required technical support toimplement the field methods forsuch an exercise which costsvery little.

The committee members how-ever sighted few individuals offollowing species of animalsnamely — Sambar ,Chital, Nilgai,Hog deer and Rhesus macaque

Causes for low prey base density The Valmiki Tiger Reserve was

managed by the ForestDevelopmental Corporation till1992. The following year, theReserve was handed over to thestate forest department.Grassland patches were plantedwith Teak (Tectona grandis) inmany areas in order to generaterevenue for the corporation with-out understanding the ecology ofthe grassland. In the process ofconversion of grasslands, vacantsites were invaded by alien andnative invasive species, thusreducing the space for nativefodder species to grow. Realizingthe potential value of the grass-land, remedial measures havebeen undertaken recently byremoving the weeds in certainplaces. However, the manage-ment has to go a long way torealize the goal of restoring allsuch grasslands to its pristinestatus.

PROTECTION OF THE RESERVE The protection of the reserve is

handled mainly by frontline staffnamely forest guard and forester.However, due to a large numberof vacancies in the total numberof sanctioned strength they wereunable to deliver. It is obviousthat due to many vacancies, thejurisdiction of the forest guard formanning more than one beat willbe larger than 2000 hectares offorest. It is very difficult to moveand to protect natural resourceswithin a time frame given the factthat the mean age of the protec-tion staff is over 50 years.

On enquiry for filling up ofvacant posts, it was reported thataction is being taken at govern-mental level to form a selectioncommittee to select forest per-sonnel. Deficiency in protectionfrom the field staff is compensat-ed by engaging 14 patrolling par-ties consisting of home guard,ex-service men and local youthdrawn from the weaker section ofthe society, to patrol the area to


protect the tiger reserve. Excepttwo patrolling camps, otherpatrolling parties stay at night inremote forest areas. One of theremote anti-poaching sites wasvisited by the committee andenquired upon about the work ofanti-poaching staff. While thepatrolling party performs theduty during day time, the track-ers are engaged to track themovement of tiger and other ani-mals during dawn and dusk andreport the animals/sighting tothe management daily. Specialpatrolling is also done in mon-soon season and festival season;additional vehicles are deployedfor this purpose on hire duringemergency period. Occasionallyelephant patrolling has also beendone with the help of two depart-mental elephants maintainedinside the reserve.

The patrolling register is main-tained by RO office and recordsthe sighting of animal movement,indirect signs and anti-poachingactivities. The register producedhad information except the GPSreading for a place of sighting.The GPS reading could havegiven in case of sightings of ani-mals and movement pattern ofpatrolling parties. The recordingsmade in the register andpatrolling work is said to havebeen reviewed by District offi-cers monthly. The protectionstaff, including the patrollingparty who are not exposed tohandle the electronic gadgets likeGPS, range finders and communi-cation equipment, need to begiven training to handle the sameafter the procurement of suchequipment and supply to thefield staff.

The wireless and walky talkysets deployed for monitoring areput into best use. These werewitnessed by the committee dur-ing the visit. The cell phones pro-vided up to the level of foresterprovides an additional strengthto protect the tiger reserves.

The Field Director, Valmiki

Tiger Reserve has made specialefforts on his own in securing asum of Rs 20 lakhs towards pro-tection of wildlife from conserva-tion trust run by KothariFoundation in Mumbai. However,cattle grazing menace and fuelwood removal in the tiger reserveon the southern side of the forestbordering 152 villages (bufferzone) is a serious protectionproblem.

The field director and twoDFO's are acting as one team gal-vanizing their whole energytowards conservation of the tigerreserve. Occasional incidence ofconflict between the officials andthe villages resulting in manhan-dling of the officer has also beenwitnessed while enforcing protec-tion. Overall the security provid-ed to the core zone of the tigerreserve seems to be good as perthe observations of the commit-tee during their brief visit.However, the security threat inthe buffer zone forest fringe vil-lages still remains a major con-cern to the management and tothe Government. This calls fordifferent approach all together tosecure the forest. This requirespersonal attention from the FieldDirector and Chief WildlifeWarden, Bihar.

However, the prosecution sta-tus of pending forest and wildlifecases was unsatisfactory. At pres-ent, no successful prosecutionhas been made. It is not knownwhether the wildlife and forestcases have been taken on file fortrial by the concerned judicialcourts. Periodic monthly reviewby Field director and ChiefWildlife Warden may help inframing charge sheets and con-ducting trials successfully.

HABITAT IMPROVEMENTThe Valmiki tiger reserve man-

agement has been undertakinghabitat improvement such as fireprotection, cutting of fire lines,transect lines, improvement toexisting waterholes, construction

of check dams and waterholes,providing salt lick for herbivores,management of grasslands andremoval of invasive species. Themonitoring committee visitedsome of the fire lines maintainedand grassland developed andremoval of invasive species. Thecommittee members were reallydisturbed to see the vast areas offorest being invaded by bothalien and native invasive speciesin the tiger reserve. According tothe management, around 15,000hectares of forest is under theoccupation of invasive weedscausing serious degradation tothe existing tiger reserve. Suchinvasive species will eventuallyeliminate the occurrence ofnative species in this area. Seriesof small water holes created inDivision no.1 requires modifica-tion immediately so as to focuson proper management of waterholes which would not in anyway hamper the consumption ofwater by animals.

ADMINISTRATIVE/ECOLOGICAL PROBLEM AND MANAGERIALISSUESCurrent administrative set up:The Valmiki Tiger Reserve isheaded by a Field Director in therank of Conservator of Forests.The two Divisional ForestOfficers are managing two divi-sions known as division 1 anddivision 2 comprising eight for-est ranges. The Field Directorheadquarter is located at Bettiahalong with the Division 1 head-quarter. However, the Division 2headquarter is located atValmikinagar and Bettiah as well.The forest range offices arelocated close to the reserveboundary.

At present, 33 Forest guardand 7 positions of forester arelying vacant, which needs to befilled urgently. Apart from this,there are 100 trackers (dailywagers) and 110 patrolling partymembers (including ex-servicemen/Home guard) support the


department to carry out the pro-tection mechanism. The meanage of the protected staff is over50 years as in the case of moststates in the country. ThePrincipal Chief Conservator ofForests has informed during discussions at Patna that actionis being taken to recruit themshortly.

INFRASTRUCTUREAt present, vehicles are avail-

able at forester level. The wire-less network is also working verywell. The network numbering 01is operated at head quarterBettiah, 08 at range office and atstrategic beat levels. Apart fromthis, the vehicle of officers arealso equipped with wireless sets.At present, the management hasordered 40 GPS units, 10 rangefinders, 2 binoculars and 3 nightvision devices. The overall infrastructure available to man-age the tiger reserve is adequateand could be effectively used forefficient delivery.

ECOLOGICAL CONCERNS Grassland management: Nograssland management was donein the Valmiki Tiger Reserve untilrecently. The ecosystem of thegrassland was not understood byofficials who were managing thegrasslands for the purpose ofraising timber plantation byCorporation. An extent of 44sq.km of grasslands interspersedwith the forest area is highlydegraded and occupied by eitherinvasive species or covered byimpenetrable thickets of tall,coarse and unpalatable elephan-tine and typha grasses. The man-agement has taken serious effortto remove the weeds from suchgrasslands and also the removalof coarse grasses on experimen-tal basis. The well being of herbi-vores and its population revolvesaround the effective managementof grasslands in Tiger reserve forwhich there shall not be a dearthof flow of funds from

NTCA/State Government.

Water scarcity: Although wateris not the limiting factor inrespect of IInd Division of theTiger Reserve, the scarcity ofwater is being felt in summerdays in some pockets of DivisionI of the Tiger Reserve.

Forest fire: Forest fires areoccurring off and on in thereserve during summer season.Fire lines are being maintainedby the management every year toprevent spreading of fire byundertaking fire tracking work onthe boundaries of the forest.During the last 5 years forestfires occurred in 1319 sites cov-ering an extent 6945 hectare. Theextent of fire occurrence in thelast 2 years is less compared tothe previous years. But moreintensive monitoring from themanagement is called for toreduce the fire incidence and theextent of area. However, there isno fire control action plan inplace to prevent the occurrenceof fire ie to identify the source offire, anti-social elementsinvolved, to procure firefightingequipment, to get informationfrom the villages, to get supportfrom the villages to extinguishthe fire, to reduce the reactiontime by mobilizing the resourcesin command to reach the spot tominimize the damage and finallytaken action against the culprit.This type of plan is absolutelyessential to prevent extensivedamage from fire.

Biotic pressure: As mentionedearlier, the forest in the southernboundary of the tiger reserveabutting 152 villages with morethan 2 lakh people and over60000 cattle population bringinggreat pressure to the forest byway of felling of trees, collectionof firewood, kendu leaves andcattle grazing causing degrada-tion of forests. The demand ontimber, firewood, fodder is so

acute for these people forcingthem to enter into illegal activi-ties as there is no alternativeavailable to them at a cheapercost.

Epidemic: Due to large numberof livestock grazing in the Tigerreserve there is every possibilityof wild animals contracting dis-eases due to human -herbivore-cattle interaction in the forest.To overcome this, and preventspread of epidemic disease it issuggested to undertake ring-vac-cination for all cattle maintainedupto 5 kms from the boundary ofthe Tiger Reserve. It is also sug-gested to sterilize the water bodylocated on the fringes of theboundary used by wild animals,humans and cattle to preventwater-borne diseases and para-sitic infections.

ECO-DEVELOPMENTAL ACTIVITIESCommunication betweenReserve management and tribals: There is hardly anymeaningful communicationbetween reserve managementand tribals and local non-tribalpeople living outside the tigerreserve. Tiger reserve authoritycarry out a pure policing rolewith little or no participation oflocls in management.

While the Tiger Reserve,endowed with rich biodiversityhas no tribal or forest dwellersinside, the reserve faces seriousthreat from a large human popu-lation of 2,35,000 from 152 vil-lages abutting the forests andgrazing by over 60,000 heads ofcattle. Influence of cattle grazingfollowed by removal of firewood,fodder and Kendu depletes theresources meant for sustenanceof wildlife. Mere policing work insuch an area may not improvethe situation. Populations drawnfrom the weaker sections of soci-ety still live below the povertyline in that area. There arereports of conflict resulting inmanhandling of officials by vil-


lagers while discharging theirofficial duty. Such incidencesshall continue till a sustainablelivelihood is secured.

The management hence,requires an entirely differentapproach with dedicated staffdeployed with funds made avail-able to implement eco develop-ment plan prepared in a holisticmanner, with strong focustowards conservation of floraand fauna.

While ecodevelopment commit-tees have been formed, they arenot functioning due to lack ofproper micro-planning and con-sequent non-availability of funds.The Director has assumed thatmicro-plans shall be prepared foreach village which will help inidentifying the resources avail-able, constraints and recommen-dations for providing alternatelivelihood options for the peoplebesides implementing communi-ty development work.

There is no effort made toensure convergence of allschemes implemented by differ-ent departments to the eco-devel-

opment committees till date.The management can promote

alternate sources of fuel likegobar gas and establish plants atthe community/family/grouplevel and provide milch cattlewhose waste can be used to feedthese plants.

Human-Wildlife conflict: This isregular happening in the tigerreserve with wild animals stray-ing into private fields and damag-ing property and crops. The poli-cy of the Government is to com-pensate the loss sustained by thevictims outside forest area. At thesame time, owners who lose theircattle due to lifting by tiger andother co-predators while grazinginside the tiger reserve are notcompensated. Although the standof the government is correct inthe interest of conservation oftigers and co-predators legally, itis necessary to compensate theloss of cattle liberally so as toprevent poisoning of predatorsby people.

In addition the committeefound that the compensation

amount approved by theGovernment is very low whichdoes not meet the actual losssustained by the farmer whodoes not have any other meansof livelihood. For this, the com-pensation policy needs revisionon par with the policy of otherstate governments.

Habitat ImprovementThe Valmiki Tiger Reserve

Management needs to concen-trate on improvement of habitaton two aspects Priority should be given toremove invasive species namelyPhoenix humilis, Mikaniamicarantha, Eupatorium, Lantanacamara and Ipomea which havespread over 15000 hectares in aphased manner over 10 years uti-lizing the funds derived from thesale of teak timber stacked intimber depots at Madanpur andfrom other areas.Large water holes and waterturfs should be created in such away that animals have easyaccess to water from wider waterholes and it should not become a

Shomi


death trap for herbivores andtheir young ones.

Estimation of tiger and co-pred-ator and their preyIt is critical for the managementof the tiger reserve to assess thestatus of tiger and its density,co-predators and their preyspecies in the reserve. As oftoday the status of the tiger, co-predators and the prey base isnot known. Therefore, populationestimation through reliable meth-ods of camera trap-photographic-capture-recapture method andgenetic capture-recapture methodthrough DNA finger printingfrom scat analysis systematicallyby laying out gridlines through-out the tiger reserve need to bedone simultaneously, withinvolvement of some reputedInstitutions and individualexpertise from the field.

The population estimation forprey species especially ungulatesand primates should be donethrough distance sampling usingline transect to provide densityfor whole tiger reserve.

At the same time an exerciseto know the number of cattlegrazing inside the tiger reservefor each beat / range should bedone to create a data base formanagerial intervention throughcommunities subsequently.Development of alternative liveli-hoods and alternative energysources can then be achieved asdata can be utilized to calculatebiomass consumed by cattle andthe potential waste generated.

Eliciting support of local peopleEstablishing communicationwith tribal and local people: Itis desired that proper communica-tion at all levels of staff includingthe managers is established withlocal communities who are exert-ing enormous biotic pressure onthe tiger reserve. Maintainingtransparency in implementation

of developmental projects is cru-cial to gain the confidence of vil-lagers. To facilitate interactionwith communities, committeesmay be constituted at ForestRange and Division levels involv-ing people's representatives, intel-lectuals and NGOs. Public at largeliving in that area is generallyunaware of the critical issues ofthe tiger reserve, so that fineraspects of Wildlife conservationand co-existence percolate downto every strata of society.

Eco-developmental activities:Under the present scenario ofbiotic pressure, protection oftiger and its habitat cannot beensured without actual participa-tion and co-operation of the trib-als and local villagers. The situa-tion would improve with partici-pation of villagers under Ecodevelopmental activities such asmonitoring of Wildlife, introduc-tion of community developmentwork and by creation of alternatelivelihood activities, alternateenergy development, income gen-eration activities such as intro-duction of stall feeding etc.These measures would weanthem away from forest-baseddependency and elicit coopera-tion for protection and conserva-tion of tiger and its habitat.

The management should haveproactive policies in identifyingunemployed educated youth,especially girls, and provide vari-ous capacity building training onvocational courses depending onthe qualifications and attitude ofthe individual, so that they canget gainful employment either athome or outside. The manage-ment can even identify indus-tries, institutions for training andgainful employment of deservingcandidates from the unemployededucated youths.

Adequate funds of at least Rs 5lakh for each EDC of this tigerreserve need to be released toprovide basic amenities andalternative livelihood options

over the years. The Tiger reserve management

should establish cattle stall feed-ing for production of milk for thevillagers who depend on the forestto generate income. In thisprocess, the cow dung generatedcould be put to better use forgobar gas production as an alter-native energy to firewood collect-ed from the forest illegally. Thiswould help in elimination of bioticpressure of cattle grazing and col-lection of firewood at one stroke.

The committee strongly recom-mends conveyance of schemesfrom other departments by pur-suing with district authorities toensure flow of funds on a regularbasis.

Establishment of TigerConservation Foundation:Although orders have beenissued officially for the forma-tion of a tiger conservation foun-dation, it’s not functioning as perthe guidelines of Government ofIndia. The formation of Trustunder the Tiger ConservationFoundation to receive funds fromall sources including generationof income from the TigerReserves such as gate collection,tourism money, fines, forefeitureetc. is yet to take off for want ofspecific orders from Bihar gov-ernment. The formation and effi-cient functioning of the TigerConservation Foundation isessential for managing the tiger reserve by ploughing backfunds received towards conservation.

Strengthening protectionAll the front line staff vacan-cies should be filled up withyoung motivated youth from trib-al and local villages by a specialrecruitment drive in order toreplace the old guards. Wildlife monitoring systemby patrolling with front line staffand local people using GPSshould be followed throughoutthe reserve and reviewed on

weekly/fortnightly/monthly basisby Range Forest Officers/Divisional Forest Officers / FieldDirector respectively for efficientmanagement.Wildlife and forest offencesdetected by the front line staffneeds special attention at thelevel of Forester, Range forestofficer (RFO) and Divisional offi-cer for launching successfulprosecution. Higher percentageof conviction against the accusedwould deter others from commit-ting wildlife and forest crime.This requires periodical reviewand follow up action on the pen-dency of cases at the judicialcourt level.Intelligence network to gatherinformation on all poaching andwildlife crimes needs to be devel-oped with involvement of vil-lagers/tribal community/front-line staff/NGO etc. This should be followed byrewarding the informant and

staff suitably. Mitigation measures forhuman-wildlife conflict: The com-pensation amount paid at presentfor human depredation, cropdepredation and property depre-dation is comparatively low, forwhich the compensation policyfor wildlife damage should becomprehensively reviewed by theState Government.

Compensation amount shouldbe made realistic based onassessment of experts and villagepanchayats. The compensationamount also needs to be paidimmediately for cattle lifting orcrop damage through the TigerConservation Foundation withoutwaiting for sanction of fundsfrom the state government orGovernment of India.

Awareness amongst the peopleespecially children and youngergeneration: The children andyoung generation often fall victim

to brain washing by vested inter-ests due to unemployment andunderemployment.

To achieve long-term conserva-tion goals, it is important toundertake awareness programmeson wildlife conservation, preser-vation of biodiversity, importanceof preservation of tiger and itshabitats and activities of thereserve along with rules and regu-lations applicable to tigerreserves.

A separate office could be setup to implement such awarenessprogrammes or the exercise can be dovetailed with eco-development activities byeco-development officers andtheir subordinate staff. A well-designed education and aware-ness programme could be devel-oped by a reputed institution andimplemented by the managementwith the help of eco-developmentcommittees and ForestDepartment.


Rupak De

STATE Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Total

Assam 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 8

Karnataka 2 4 4 1 2 2 15

Kerala 1 1 1 1 1 1 6

MP 2 1 3 1 1 2 10

Maharashtra 3 1 3 2 1 1 11

Odisha 1 1

Rajasthan 1 1

Tamil Nadu 1 1 2

UP 1 1 2 4

Uttarakhand 1 2 1 2 1 1 1 9

West Bengal 1 1

TOTAL 8 11 11 6 8 4 3 1 2 4 4 6 68

Note: 18kg tiger bones were seized in Delhi (07.09.2013) by a team of Forest Department officials of Maharashtra,Wildlife Crime Control Bureau and Delhi Police

MONTH-WISE TIGER MORTALITY FOR THE YEAR 2013(AS REPORTED BY STATES, AS ON 31.12.2013)

Rupak De

Shubranjan Sen

DELENG/2009/30636

STRIPES | BI-MONTHLY OUTREACH JOURNAL OF NATIONAL TIGER CONSERVATION AUTHORITY,A STATUTORY BODY UNDER MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT AND FORESTS, GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

VOLUME FIVE FOR FREE DISTRIBUTION ISSUE ONE

Published and printed by Inder Mohan Singh Kathuria on behalf of National Tiger Conservation Authority. Published at Annexe No 5, Bikaner House, Shahjahan Road, New Delhi - 110011 and

printed at Astha Packaging, 122 DSISC Sheds, Okhla Phase I, New Delhi - 110020

stripes: issue nov. - dec. 2013

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