BENGALURU: Two tiger attacks on farmers on the periphery of Bandipur Tiger Reserve (BTR) have again pointed to lack of coordination between departments in mitigating man-animal conflicts.
Experts and forest officials pointed to laxities within the department and suggested that power should be supplied to pumpsets of farmers on the forest fringes during the day to ensure that they do not venture out at night. “An analysis of past incidents shows that attacks by leopards, tigers or other animals occur during early morning or late night hours. We request electricity supply companies to provide power to farmers during the day as it will help reduce conflicts,” said Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Wildlife, PC Rai.
“Farmers should also be made aware that they should walk around in groups at night. They should immediately alert foresters if they sight wild animals or find pugmarks. The department is thinking of radio-collaring or inserting microchips in captured tigers. The irrigation, public works and energy departments too should help reduce such conflicts by clearing weeds and ensuring proper lighting outside the forest boundary,” he said.
Additional Chief Secretary, energy department, Gaurav Gupta said work is progressing to decentralise power supply and encourage farmers to set up solar panels under the PM’s Kusum-C scheme. Changing the timings of power supply has been flagged and the policy is being modified, he added.
Experts pointed out that the latest tiger census showed BTR as housing 154 tigers. Though the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change noted a decline in its numbers compared to 2023 and 2024, experts pointed out that it is beyond the carrying capacity of the forest spread across 874.20 sq km. “The problem is poor management. There is a lot of unwarranted human presence for civil work inside the forest. There is no independent scrutiny of work, and how much human intervention should be allowed,” said an expert, who works closely with the department.
Former PCCF BK Singh said there is an urgent need for controlling human presence on forest boundaries and strengthening patrolling. Former PCCF BJ Hosmath said tigers are spilling over not just because old and weak ones are making border areas their habitat, but young ones too are exploring new areas. Despite areas around BTR having a good prey density, such incidents are happening, which is concerning, he said.
