MYSURU: PM Narendra Modi, who launched a three-day mega event to mark 50 years of Project Tiger, is likely to declare Karnataka the ‘Tiger State of India’. As per a recent assessment by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and Wildlife Institute of India, it is expected that Karnataka has overtaken Madhya Pradesh in tiger population.
As per the 2018 tiger estimation, Karnataka came second with 524 tigers, while Madhya Pradesh with 526 tigers took first place. The country has 2,967 tigers, and efforts of forest officials in protecting wildlife and forests are expected to have increased the tiger population in the state and country.
The rapid increase in human population over the centuries led to a decline in wildlife in the country. There was large-scale hunting of wildlife, especially tigers, for pleasure during the period of the Mughals, Maharajas and Nawabs, as well as to save people from attacks of wild animals. During British rule between 1895 and 1925, it is reported that over 80,000 tigers, more than 1.50 lakh leopards and 2 lakh wolves were hunted in the country.
According to the Kanara District Gazetteer 1883, the British government gave incentives for killing tigers -- Rs 24 for hunting an adult tiger, Rs 12 for a sub-adult tiger and Rs 6 for a tiger cub. As a result, in the 27 years between 1856 and 1882, 640 tigers were shot dead in Kanara, 158 tigers from 1856 to 1866, 350 tigers between 1867 and 1877, and 130 tigers between 1878 and 1882.
As per the 1954-55 Administrative Report of the forest department of the Government of Mysore, Kakanakote State Forest, Begur State Forest, Berambadi State Forest, Bandipur State Forest and Chamarajanagar State Forest in Mysore District, Lakkavalli State Forest in Chikkamagaluru District, Shankar State Forest in Shivamogga district and Hessaraghatta Grass Farm in Bengaluru district were declared game preserves, and Puduvakote Forest Block, Manche Gowdanahalli forest block and Bale Gowdananakatte forest block in Mysuru District, Gurupura forest block in Chikkamagaluru, Kadathikere and Devabu blocks in Shivamogga district were declared tiger preserves.
The first comprehensive legislation regarding wildlife protection was passed by Parliament and the President on September 9, 1972, called Wildlife Protection Act 1972. Then PM Indira Gandhi launched Project Tiger, providing assistance to states for tiger conservation.
However, before the WPL 1992, a number of wildlife sanctuaries -- Venugopala Wildlife Park (1931), Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary (1940), Bandipur Wildlife Sanctuary (1941) and Jagger Valley Wildlife Park (1951) in Mysore state, Nagarahole Wildlife Sanctuary (1955) in Coorg state and Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary (1956) in Bombay Presidency -- established by princely states were merged into Karnataka in 1956.
As per the Karnataka State Gazetteer, 1982, when Project Tiger was launched, Bandipur National Park was brought under it in 1973. Nagarahole National Park and Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary were made tiger reserves in 1999. However, Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary and Anshi National Park were brought under Project Tiger in 2007 under the name Dandeli-Anshi Tiger Reserve.
It was later renamed Kali Tiger Reserve. Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple (BRT) Wildlife Sanctuary was declared a tiger reserve in 2011. The forest department has sent a proposal to the central government to include Kudremukh National Park, Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary and Male Mahadeshwara Hills Wildlife Sanctuary and Bhimgad Wildlife Sanctuary in Belagavi district in Project Tiger. Bhimgad Sanctuary is a critically important tiger corridor between Karnataka and Goa.
ACCURATE NUMBERS
Former Mysuru honorary wildlife warden and Wildlife Conservation Foundation founder Rajkumar Devaraje Urs told TNIE that as tiger estimation was done based on pug marks in the past, there was no accuracy in counting tigers. “After camera traps were introduced, foresters achieved accuracy. The major threat to tigers is forest fires and poaching. If reserve foresters and island pockets are included in the tiger reserve, India has a chance to have a tiger population of 10,000 in future. If there is a good tiger population, forests will be healthy which increases rain, resulting in an increase in groundwater table and rivers.
90% of rivers originate in tiger reserves
As I conclude a memorable visit to the Bandipur and Mudumalai Tiger Reserves, I want to acknowledge the hard work of all forest officials, guards, tiger reserve frontline staff and everyone else working on tiger conservation. Words can’t do justice to their passion and effort. What a delight to meet the wonderful Bomman and Belli, along with Bommi and Raghu.
— Prime Minister Narendra Modi
‘No conflict of economy, ecology’
Mysuru: Wildlife protection is a universal issue, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday at the Karnataka State Open University convocation hall in Mysuru. Stating that India contributes to around eight per cent of the known global biodiversity, he said that India has not only saved the tiger population from declining but also provided an ecosystem where they can flourish, and was delighted that the tiger population has increased by 75 per cent. “India does not believe in a conflict between ecology and economy, and gives importance to their coexistence,” Modi said, adding, “India is a country where protecting nature is a part of our culture”. “India has the largest tiger range in the world, the largest Asiatic elephant range with around 30,000 elephants, and also the largest number of single-horn rhinos with a population of roughly 3,000,” he said. India’s Asiatic lion numbers have increased from around 525 in 2015 to around 675 in 2020, he said, adding that the leopard population has jumped by more than 60 per cent over 4 years.