BENGALURU: With the increasing reports of tiger migration being noted by experts and forest staffers and captured by camera traps, state forest department officials are now working with the locals, asking them to stay away from wandering tigers.
The department has also taken up a study of wandering tigers and is creating awareness among people to reduce conflict and deaths of humans and wildlife.
As per Project Tiger, there are four tiger landscape complex units in the state - Bandipur-Nagarhole, BRT-Cauvery-MM Hills, Bhadra-Kudremukh-Shivamogga-Chikkamagaluru and Kali-Belagavi-Sharavathi. Of these, 75% of the population is housed in the Bandipur-Nagarhole landscape.
“While we are capturing tigers in forest fringes as soon as they come in conflict when a cattle kill is reported, we have also started creating awareness among people staying around forest areas to stay away from the animals. We are tracking the movement and wandering pattern of tigers. All tigers outside forests need not and cannot be captured. Tigers are territorial and have started moving to different spaces and it needs to be encouraged,” said an official from Project Tiger.
This is the first such initiative in the state and even in the country. The official said there is an ongoing debate as to how many more tigers the Bandipur-Nagarhole landscape can host. A study on that too has been taken up.
“Conflicts are not new. They were there 10 years ago too. But now the frequency has increased, as the animals have started to wander out and even travel long distances. Enroute, they are coming in close proximity to human habitations and leading to conflicts. This now needs to be tackled in a different way and the priority of the government needs to change,” the official said.
“During the study, the teams have found a pattern in cattle kills and human deaths. Cases of poisoning of tigers and beating leopards to death are also being reported. If a tiger is repeatedly coming in conflict with humans and there is a human death, it has to be captured. But people should also realise that all animals cannot be captured and caged,” the official said.