Rhino-Tiger’s Losing Battle In Kaziranga Reserve

Rhino-Tiger’s Losing Battle In Kaziranga Reserve

Mar 6th, 2009

By Nava Thakuria

ASSAM’S wildlife reserve with international fame is presently in the media headline, but again for wrong reasons. Kaziranga National Park, which is more popularly known as a safe heaven for the endangered one horn rhinos and also Indian tigers grabbed media attention with the poaching of over 20 rhinos in last two years and the death of ten tigers in the last 100 days. The fate of rhino and tigers in Kaziranga brings serious concern for the wildlife lovers and environment activists of Northeast India.

The death of big cats, which is India’s national animal, in the park brought the realisation for the wildlife lovers that not only the rhinoceros unicornis, but the other inmates are also facing an increasing threat in Kaziranga, which was declared a national park by the Indian government in 1974 (and a World Heritage Site in 1985).

That the population of tigers in the region has come down drastically, the voice was heard at the parliament as well. The Union Minister of State (MoS) for Environment and Forest, S. Reghupathy had recently informed the Rajya Sabha that the tiger population in Northeast has reduced to nearly 84. Regarding rhino poaching, Reghupathy informed Lok Sabha that 18 rhinos were killed by poachers in 2007 and six during 2008 in Kaziranga national park and adjacent areas.

The oldest wildlife reserve in Assam, which is around 200 km east of Northeast India’s prime city, Guwahati, covers an area of 430 sq km (with an additional area of over 400 sq km) on the southern bank of the mighty river Brahmaputra and Kaziranga is understandably home to nearly 60 Indian Tigers (scientific name Panthera Tigris). On the other hand, the picturesque reserve gives shelter to almost two-thirds of the total population of one-horned rhinos on Earth. A 1984 census showed Kaziranga having 1,080 rhinos. The census in 1999 showed the number of rhinos soared up to 1,552. The last census in 2006 revealed the number of rhinos in the park at 1,855.

The landscape of Kaziranga comprises the sheer forest, tall elephant grass, rugged reeds, marshes & shallow pools etc. The wild inmates, besides rhinoceros, tiger and leopard, include wild buffalo, elephant, wild boar, Indian gaur, hoolock gibbon, bison, swamp deer, sambar, hog deer, jackal, monkey, hornbill, goose, varieties of snakes, reptiles etc, said in an official account of the Assam forest department.

The civil societies and advocacy groups of the region rigorously raised voices against the slaughtering of rhinos in the last few years in Kaziranga. Several public meetings, rallies and demonstrations by the pressure groups demanded a high level enquiry in to the matter of poaching in all wildlife reserves of the region. The concern for the rhinos remained visible in media through the editorials and the letters to the editor columns. Finally, the Assam government led by Tarun Gogoi bowed down to the public outcry and declared on May 2 that his government favoured for a Central Bureau of Investigation (of India) probe into the matter.

The authority, while responding to the concern of the wildlife activists at the unprecedented rise of tiger’s death in Kaziranga insisted that those deaths were not related to poaching. MC Malakar, chief conservator of forest (wildlife) of Assam insisted that three of the tigers died due to old age, one each died in cases of infighting, poisoning by local villagers, fights with buffaloes. Three other decomposed bodies, which were recovered from inside the reserve, might too indicate cases of poisoning.

Nature’s Beckon, an active environmental organisation of the region has however alleged that it was because of the inefficiency and corruption of the forest department. Its director Soumyadeep Datta argued that the sole reason for the inmates’ deaths may not be the poaching, however the deaths related to poisoning is also a serious issue, which the state forest department cannot overlook.

“The tigers are suspected to be targeted by the villagers in the fringe localities of the park. The poor villagers get irritated with the loss of cattle and even the human injury because of the big cats’ entry to the villages in search of food, which finally tempts them to take revenges,” Datta reasoned.

The Kaziranga park director S N Buragohain also admitted that the number of incidents of man-tiger conflicts increased in the recent past because of shrinking habitats. An adult tiger needs about five kg of meat every day. The tigers of the park are often reported as moving towards the nearby villages in search of prey, which creates enmity among the residents to the mammals.

Understanding the importance of timely payment of sufficient ex-gratia for human deaths (or injury) and compensation for loss of property in pacifying the affected families, New Delhi has recently raised the compensation against loss of human life to Rs 100,000. Under the Project Tiger and Project Elephant, the government has enhanced the sum for compensation for loss of life and property up to Rs 33.2 million.

If the people living in the fringe localities of any national park or wildlife sanctuary are not taken with trust and they feel neglected and cheated by the forest officials, it will be simply impossible to reduce the incidents of poaching as well as poisoning of wild animals. The wildlife lovers are with firm views that the forest department and the government must understand it and function with ‘no or little’ corrupt means at the earliest.

The author Nava Thakuria is a Guwahati, India, based independent journalist. Email: navathakuria@yahoo.com
[Burma Digest]

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