Protected Areas Not Always Harbour Crop Raiding Animals, Says Study on Indian Tiger Reserves

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Indian Leopard (Panthera pardus fusca)
Image Credit: Kalyan Varma

Crop raiding by wild animals is a major issue that triggers human animal conflict and retaliatory killing in many parts of the country. But a new study about the human animal conflict around Protected Areas (PAs) in the country shows that protected areas not necessarily act as a source of crop raiders always. The finding is significant at a time when the establishment of new protected areas are opposed by sections of public and politicians saying that it will intensify the menace of crop raiding.

A survey conducted among 398 households which are situated within 10 kilometers of three major tiger reserves in the country – Ranthambhore, Kanha and Nagarhole – found that the rate of crop loss from crop raiders did not vary with the proximity to the PAs, showing that protected areas are not always sources for crop raiders.

“This (the results) may suggest crop raiders may not be limited to animals coming out from the PA, and perhaps some raiders may naturally reside outside the PAs”, says the study. Instead of the proximity, it is the forage availability that has increased the chances of crop loss in all these PAs, shows that results of the study, which is published in the Environmental Management Journal. “Factors related to forage availability for wildlife- the number of harvests per year, share cropping (growing crops on someone else’s land), number of crops per year and cropping months in a year all increased risk”, it says.

Analyzing the effectiveness of the mitigation efforts, the study found that two mitigation efforts – fencing and the use of guarding animals were most effective in decreasing risk of crop loss from crop-raiding animals.

Livestock Loss near Tiger Reserves

Loss of livestock is another major cause for human animal conflict near protected areas in India.  During the study, 13 percent of the households reported cattle loss from wild animals. Though tiger, Hyena, dhole (Cuon alpinus), Jackal, wild pig and even macaques were blamed fro livestock loss, leopard was identified as the most damaging. 

However, statistically examining the reasons, the study found that complaints of carnivores attacking livestock or human were more associated with people grazing animals and collecting forest produces from inside the protected areas. “Respondents reported that livestock losses occurred inside the PAs during the day, and fewer incidents occurred at night when the livestock were corralled near their homes or villages”, finds the study.

According to the findings of the study, simply stopping animal grazing inside the protected areas under study may decrease the rate of livestock loss. However, it heavily depends on the availability of grazing area outside the PAs.

Hostility towards animals

Contrary to the wide belief that people are hostile towards carnivores that attack the livestock, the study found that people are more hostile towards herbivores like wild pig which cause damage to crops.  “Households reported greater inclination to kill herbivores destroying crops or carnivores harming people, but not carnivores preying on livestock”, says the study.

Wild Boar (Sus scrofa)
Image Credit: Kalayan Varma

However, the hostility towards animals was different in the three tiger Reserves in which the study was carried out. According to the researchers, residents near Kanha National Park showed more inclination towards killing the problem animals as a solution to the hypothetical situations put in front of them, despite the lowest reported livestock deaths from this area. 

Residents near Ranthambhore National Park and Nagarhole National Park preferred to frighten or deter the animals.

Flawed Compensation Policies

Monetary compensation from wildlife officials is one of the major ways to suppress possible retaliatory killing of animals by people in areas of human animal conflict. However, the study found that 99 percent of the households which participated in the study received no compensation from authorities for losses. “There is an urgent need to corroborate losses reported by local residents to official records to identify gaps and improve compensation distribution to households reporting losses”, says the study.

Krithi K. Karanth and Ruth DeFries from Columbia University, Lisa Naughton-Treves from University of Wisconsin and  Arjun M. Gopalaswamy from University of Oxford co-authored the study.

Texting facility to warn about elephant raids in forest-fringe villages developed

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Unexpected elephant raids are the worst nightmare of a forest-fringe village in India. But what if there is somebody to text you in advance that the jumbos are on the way? Researchers in Tamil Nadu claimed to have developed an intrusion detection system which can text forest officials an early warning if an elephant heard is moving towards a village. 

An Indian elephant in the wild: from Nagarhole National Park in Karnataka

Texting an elephant raid warning

According to S. J. Sugumar of Coimbatore Institute of Technology and R. Jayaparvathy of SSN College of Engineering Chennai, who developed the system, it functions by tracking the movement of the elephants electronically with the help of the vibrations on the ground created by the footfall of the animal. The system, according to the researchers, has to be implemented in “specific pockets identified based on the analytical results along the forest border areas where the elephants can intrude from the forest into human habitation.” It consists of a geophone string, threshold comparator with amplification module, embedded micro controller, GSM, and the power supply.

A research article published in Current Science journal about the system says that the footfall of the elephant produces a vibration in the ground which is sensed by the geophones that are buried underground. After sensing the vibration, the geophone will generate an electrical signal which will be amplified and compared with a set threshold value which is based on that generated by the footfall of a single elephant. If it exceeds the threshold, the system is designed to trigger the embedded controller to send a warning SMS with the help of the GSM transceiver to the forest officials. The geophones with a range of 120 square meters can cover a large area when used as a string of five geophones, claim the researchers.

Impact on human-elephant conflicts

Geo-phone as part of the elephant intrusion detection system
(Image Courtesy: Current Science)

The study was carried out in Coimbatore forest division which has recorded a number of cases of human-elephant conflict. According to official figures, there were 680 incidents of elephant intrusion into human habitat in 2011 while it was 844 in 2010 and 560 in 2009. In 2011, 14 people were killed in elephant attack while the figure was 16 in 2010 and 11 in 2009. In the conflict, there was a reported death of 10 elephants in 2011, 11 in 2010 and 12 in 2009. The implementation of the system is expected to help bring down the number of incidents of unexpected elephant raids and resulting causalities on both sides.

However, there are chances that other heavy animals walking over the buried geophones trigger false alarms. To avoid this confusion, the researchers have identified four different types of possible responses and have designed the system in such a way that false alarms are not triggered. According to the researchers, on field trials, the performance of the system to differentiate the vibrations generated by different species of animals was 91.25 percent. Analyzing the migration data of elephants in an area can be well used to predict the possibilities of intrusion almost precisely, say the researchers.

No more ‘official’ hunting of straying tigers, NTCA comes out with standard protocol

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The martyrdom of the Wayanad tiger and a similar incident of officials shooting a strayed tiger in Maharashtra, has urged the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) to come out with a Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) to handle conflict situations in which a strayed carnivore like tiger of leopard are involved.

Image Courtesy: WWF

While clearly forbidding the shooting of strayed carnivores, the SOP addresses many critical issues like mob control, the need to distinguish a man eater from a straying carnivore and standard procedures for capturing and transferring the animal in detail.

To make sure the situation is handled properly, the SOP suggests constituting a committee with nominees of the Chief Wildlife Warden, NTCA along with a veterinarian, local NGO representative, local panchayat representative and field director to carry out the decision making process. The SOP also suggests that a wildlife expert should be involved in the ongoing monitoring operations in such conflict situations.

Distinguish man eaters from a mere cattle lifter, before shooting it

A straying carnivore should not be shot, if it is not a man-eater, directs the SOP.  “Under no circumstances, a tiger should be eliminated by invoking the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, if it is not habituated for causing human death.” it says. It also urges to stick to traps and chemical immobilization to capture the animal.

“Elimination of a tiger / leopard as a ‘man-eater’ should be the last option, after exhausting the option of capturing the animal live. The Chief Wildlife Warden of the State after the due diligence should record in writing the reasons for declaring the tiger / leopard as a ‘man-eater’” says the guideline.

Often, carnivores straying into human inhabited area are mistaken for a man eater, even without enough evidence. To avoid such cases, the SOP annexure directs officials to distinguish attacks from a habitual man-eater from incidents of accidental lethal encounters with a straying carnivore.

“As most of our forests outside protected areas are right burdened, the probability of chance encounters is very high.  Further, tigers often use agriculture / sugar cane field, ….. ...which may also cause lethal encounters with human beings.  Such animals should not be declared as ‘man-eaters’.  However, confirmed habituated tiger / leopard which ‘stalk’ human beings and feed on the dead body are likely to be ‘man-eaters’”, says the SOP annexure.

In the Wayanad incident, a cattle lifting tiger was shot down by officials, by invoking section 11 of the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972 which allows killing habitual man eating tigers. To curb such instances, the SOP annexure clearly directs that in no circumstances, a mere cattle lifting carnivore be declared a man eater, just because it has ventured into human inhabited places.  

The new guidelines also stress on confirming the identity of the animal as early as possible. The guidelines direct the authorities to compare camera trap pictures, pug mark information to identify the animal. Camera traps can be set up near the kills and pressure impression pads (PIPs) can be put up in the area to confirm the identity of the animal and to track down its pattern of movement, says the guidelines.

Use Section 144 for mob control

Uncontrollable mobs are often the biggest challenge in rescuing a straying animal in India. In the Wayanad incident, officials were forced to shoot the tiger due to the presence of an agitated mob. The same factor has killed many straying leopards in parts of India.

To avoid such instances, the new guidelines suggest wildlife officials to proactively seek the help of district law and order authorities right from the beginning of the conflict situation and to clamp down Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code which bans the grouping of more than five people in public places. “In all instances of wild carnivores like tiger  / leopard straying into a human dominated landscape, the district authorities need to ensure law and order by imposing section 144 of the Cr.Pc.”, says the guideline.

Front Page of NTCA SOP

Usually, tigers keep their kill in hide outs to eat later, which often helps to track down the animal and even to capture them. But often this is interrupted in conflict areas. In Wayanad incident, outraged public snatched the carcass of the killed live stock to put up road block protests. This has caused the hungry animal to lift more cattle in the run. Interestingly, the NTCA guidelines also suggest guarding the kill in cattle lifting incidents, in such a way that it won’t distract or disturb the carnivore. The suggestion also aims to avoid revenge poisoning, which is a usual incident in human-animal conflict areas. In a recent incident, a tiger died when villagers poisoned the kill in Nagarhole Tiger Reserve.

Stop rumour mills

Rumour mills have played a major role in worsening the situation in Wayanad as in similar cases by causing unnecessary panic among the people. To check such instances, the guideline directs the authorities to deploy an official spokesperson to regularly update the media regarding the progress of the rescue operation. 

“An authorized spokesperson of the Forest Department, should periodically update the media (if required) to prevent dissemination of distorted information relating to the operation / incidents,” says the guideline.  On a similar line, the guideline also discourages giving unnecessary publicity to blown up tiger population figures. “The minimum tiger numbers based on Individual tiger captures (in areas where camera trap monitoring is going on), should not be given undue publicity without due cross checking with the NTCA”, says the guideline.

Use traps and chemical immobilization

Once repeated instances of cattle lifting or attack on humans are confirmed, automatic closure traps should be set up in strategic areas after collecting enough information on the movement of the animal, suggests NTCA. If repeated attempts of trapping the animal fail, the guidelines suggest immobilizing it chemically using sedation darts with the help of experts and vets.

A Bengal Tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) under captivity

According to the guideline, recommended drugs can be injected to the animal by projecting 3 to 5 ml capacity lightweight plastic darts of 38 to 40 mm length and a needle with 1.5 mm to 2 mm diameter, using compressed gas or CO2 propelling device. The animal can be approached in vehicles or on trained elephants or can be darted from raised platforms. It is always preferable to target the hindquarters of the animal for darting. The guideline also suggests that the animal should bee kept in close observation with minimal disturbance during the induction phase (the period between injecting the drug and the animal turning immobile.)

Transferring the captured carnivore

If the captured tiger is healthy or young, with no serious incapacitation, it should be released to a suitable habitat with enough prey base after radio collaring it, suggest thee guideline. A captured tiger should not be released to the territory of another tiger. If the tiger is incapacitated, it should be sent to a recognized zoo, says the guidelines. It also says that a confirmed man-eating carnivore, once captured, should not be released back to the forest.

The Chief Wildlife Warder of the state will be responsible for making the decision of releasing the animal back to the wild or of transferring it to a zoo.

Do we need a tiger reserve in Wayanad ? Loud thoughts as the straying tiger gunned down

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So the tiger in Wayanad  is dead. 

But beware; more than 60 of them are still lurching inside the forest.
Now, some recap.

The curious case of the cruel tiger

Usually wounds or similar issues which make a tiger incapable of finding food on its own force it to look for easier preys like cattle . In the case of Wayanad tiger, the postmortem report is still to come out to understand if it had any such wounds which forced it to hunt down the cattle. (Usually poaching is a major reason which causes such wounds. The instances are not very rare in Wayanad and adjoining forest areas in nearby states.). 

Image Courtesy: WWF

However, it was 12 years of age, which makes it less capable of hunting on the forest folk on its own.A possible case of a old cat looking for cattle for food.

 The standard procedure of trapping man-eating of cattle hunting tigers of leopards, right from the time of Corbett, is to leave the carcass of the cattle intact, to trap or shoot the killer when it comes back to it.

However, in Wayanad case, the tiger was rarely allowed to get its kill which was furiously taken away by the people to stage up blockades the National Highway. It was terrifically starved, so it killed more. Despite its frustration, it never attacked people, even if many (including school children) were trapped in its front, while it was starved for days. (Not out of respect or sympathy, but out of fear. Wild cats fear human a lot. They attack only when left with no other option.)

The classical cases of crisis management by Kerala forest authorities

Lack of crisis management from the state and forest authorities made the case worst.

The unruly mob was the single cause of death of the tiger which was getting sedated due to the tranquilizer shots. According to experts, the tiger, after shot with a tranquilizer dart of enough ketamine dosage, should be left free for at least 30 minutes, to sedate down. It will show violent behavior during the period but will sedate gradually. But instead of leaving the animal free, the, mob surrounded it in Wayanad incident, exposing themselves to danger and forcing the officials to shoot the animal. 

 

Majority of the leopards or similar animals straying into the human inhabited areas in Kerala have their fate sealed, since the mob has its own way of stoning them to death even if the forest officials manage to get the animals trapped. Desperately, the department has issued stricter circulars on the need to stick to scientific methods while rescuing wild animals straying into human inhabited areas.  But the crisis management plan of Kerala forest department (if they have any) still lacks the basic procedure of mob control. 

Here too, the authorities should not have let the people go loose just like that in such a situation, not only for the safety of the people and officials, but also for the poor animal.

What happens if the tiger reserve comes up in Wayanad ?

One Tiger = several cattle
One Tiger Reserve = More tigers 

More Tigers = More cattle and other issues

This is the popular mathematics used by the politicians in Kerala time and again to instill fear in the public. A tiger reserve will surely bring up more tigers, so more menace. That’s it.

But, Wayanad is not going to have the first tiger reserve in the state, if it is proposed to be. Kerala already have two tiger reserves, Parambikulam and Periyar. How many reports have popped about the horrid menace done by tigers to the people living around these forests in recent years?

Mass eviction   

Scaremongers sing that the reserve will bring eviction of hundreds of families, a clamp down on commercial, construction activities, a carpet ban on agriculture and what not. In short, human settlements will be razed down for the useless tigers. 

There are hundreds of families still living inside the buffer zone of other tiger reserves in the state. Let alone that, four villages with hundreds of inhabitants are there in Sariska Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan.

According to a forest official, who would like not to be named, the inhabitants who happen to be inside the buffer area of a tiger reserve may decide to leave the place with ample compensation from NTCA or can decide to stay with all chances of getting compensated for the crop loss or similar damages caused in the human animal conflict. Similarly, there are no such carpet ban on agriculture or other activities, except certain minimal regulations on construction of dams, linear structures etc.

Now, what if a tiger reserve does not come up in Wayanad?

The latest data on the population of the big cat in the state which is yet to be released shows that Wayanad has at least 70 mature tigers and 10 cubs in its forests. That is pretty good numbers than many of the so called ‘tiger reserves’ in the country and possibly, better than other protected forest areas in the world. 

Presently, the forest department in Kerala is in pretty bad shape when it comes to allocation of funds for conservation purpose, let alone the efforts to bring down human animal conflict. Sources at the forest department in the state itself, on condition of anonymity, admits that the lack of funds really affect the activities of the department. 

According to an answer tabled by MoEF at the Rajyasabha on November ^27th, Kerala has got more than 14 crore rupees (1476.518 Lakhs) since 2010 for conservation of big cats in the state. But not a single paisa from that money which was sanctioned by National Tiger Conservation Authority has reached Wayanad since it is not a tiger reserve yet, despite the higher population of tigers. 

Funds released to Kerala under Project Tiger Since 2010 ( amount in Lakhs)
Source: MoEF

Instead, if the area is turned into a tiger reserve, the department will have enough central funds, to implement scientifically approved measures to bring down the human animal conflict like fencing and other measures. 

The case of the people around the reserve will not be as pathetic as today where they get a nominal amount of compensation or just statements from politicians on possible compensation, since the compensation procedure is standardized and better with NTCA.

If the sanctuary is not turned into a tiger reserve, the forest department will find it difficult to implement enough mitigation measures to avoid any conflict between the high populations of tigers in the area.

Above all, tigers are costly

India spends crores of rupees from the tax payer money every year to conserve the striped big cats of the country since it is among the rare places in the world with favorable habitats and a viable population of this endangered animal. According to WWF, we have lost 97 percent of world’s tiger population in 100 years.

Obviously, a tiger costs very much, in nature. If you don’t care about that, you should understand that, a tiger costs crores of tax payers money. Whomever responsible for shooting and killing a tiger when there is enough chances of rescuing it, is thus answerable to the tax payer.

Kerala Forest Department issues new set of guidelines to rescue wild animals straying into populated areas

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Finding no respite for the ill- fate of the wild animals straying into populated areas, Kerala forest department has issued a renewed set of guidelines to its officials, expressing concern over the unscientific way in which wild animals are handled and treated in the state.

The circular urges the officials to make sure that the animals are captured in scientific ways. It also urges the officials to make sure that it is not infected with any diseases and to make sure that they are released to the exact natural habitat.

Increasing animal deaths

The new circular was issued in the back drop of increasing incidents in which mobs kill wild animals that have straying into populated areas. According to unofficial estimates, at least four leopards succumbed to their wounds inflicted by the mob during the last three months in different parts of Kerala when the animals were spotted in human populated areas. 

The new guidelines points out that, experts can be deployed to catch certain types of animals, but in all instances a veterinary expert should be present and it should be certified that the animal is healthy before setting it free to its natural habitat. Though such instances are less reported from the state, the circular also urges the officials to stick to National Tiger Conservation Authority guidelines, if the straying animal is a tiger.

 

The real issues still untouched

It is the recent animal deaths that made the department to emphasis the existing guidelines by polishing it up. However, the guidelines largely ignores many of the recurring issues which causes mammals straying into populated areas die before or soon after they are rescued, in some cases after attacking at least some local people.

Such incidents often involve a lot of fear -on both sides – among the public and in the animal. In this scenario, large scale conflict occur, often the mob pelting stones at the animal, using sharpened objects to injure it than trying to catch it in a cage. The scared animal also attacks onlookers who are closer. In short, by the time the forest authorities capture the animal, it will be half dead and it has become a routine that such animals succumb to their wounds in hours.

New guidelines issued by Kerala Forest Department
 for handling and rescuing wild animals 

Though the new guidelines emphasis on the need to stick to scientific method, it does not carry any instruction on how to avoid the injuries inflicted on the animal. In fact, there is an urgent need to systematize the mob control in case of animal wandering into human inhabited areas. It will considerably reduce the chances of animal death by mob attack and the animal attacking the public.

Faster response time and timely availability of efficient equipment like tranquilizers or cages are other factors which affect the successful implementation of these guidelines. Apart from that, there is a need to create more awareness to the public about not attacking the animals to cause injuries on both sides. Forest staff should also be trained to handle such incidents of emergency.

Unless such changes are made, wild animals accidently reaching inhabited areas in the state will have the same fate. 

Aadi Amavasai festival threatens wildlife and ecology of Kalakkad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve

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Central government has recently taken a stand in the court that it is to control the pilgrim related activities in theprotected areas in the country considering the damage to the undisturbed forest patches. However the time coincides with the Aadi Amavasai fest celebrated at Sorimuthaiyan Temple in the banks of Tamiraparani River in the core area of Kalakkad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve in Tamil Nadu.

The festival which attracts around 5 lakh devotees from the southern districts of the state and the resulting pressure and pollution of KMTR has become a growing concern among environmentalists and forest officials.

“It is a matter of great concern for us. Some five lakh people throng to this area during these days and they camp in the forest during the fest, it is strenuous to prevent hazards like forest fire, stampedes and the degrading hygiene of the place due to the heaping up waste during this time, said a forest official.
Ailing Forest Department

Despite facing acute human power shortage, forest officials are keen to check up all vehicles at least in the beginning days of the festival when the number of vehicles are just hundreds and are allowed only during the day time.  However, once it reaches the two peak days, there is virtually no traffic curb on the road and it is difficult to carry out a carpet check on the thousands of vehicles that move in and out of the sanctuary, admits forest officials.

The Indian Made foreign Liquor bottles seized from ‘pilgrims’ 

to the Sorimuthaiyan Temple at the first check post of KMTR. 

Photo: Indian Biodiversity Talks

 “ it is difficult to carry out the routine check-up for the vehicles moving into the forest during the festivities when the usual 6pm to 6 am traffic ban in the area is lifted, however we are doing our duty to the best possible level”, says Assistant Conservator of Forests, KMTR. The fact can be understood easily with the heaped up alcoholic bottles which have been seized from the devotees at the first check post.

So the whole staff from the neighboring ranges is drawn to the Mundanthruai range for crowd management operations and to be part of the vehicle checking operation in the three check posts which are put up in the route. Though some hundreds of state police personnel are usually pressed into the service, it is restricted to the peak days only.

“Most often during the peak days, we will be in such a state that we cannot sit for a moment. The continuous standing and checking will leave our backs paining for rest”, said a woman forest guard who was deputed on special duty since the smuggled in alcohol bottles are easier to find if women staff question the women members of the pilgrim group, as per Forest department intelligence. 
Festive time for Poachers too

The festival is causing major concern for many reasons. During the days of the festival, the whole anti-poaching patrolling which is a crucial routine in the tiger reserve is virtually stopped since all the anti-poaching watchers in the Mundanthurai and neighboring ranges of KMTR are deployed at the check posts to make sure that excessive alcohol is not adding to the spirit of the festivities and that no arms and plastic are taken into the forest areas.
It was recently reported that the tiger poaching rackets are alive around the tiger reserves and other protected areas in South India when a six member gang from Haryana was nabbed by forest officials near BRT Tiger reserve in the neighboring state of Karnataka.

At least five lakhs people throng to this core area of KMTR 

during the festival, says forest authorities

The group had very clear knowledge about the anti-poaching operations in Tiger reserves and was camped near BRT reserve on specific instruction from the top of the network. The group had an interesting modus operandi which made use of the vulnerabilities of the patrolling system. 

Since the whole anti- poaching patrolling takes place during the day, the poachers used to go to the forest areas in the evening to spread their traps and then kept hiding all through the day to avoid being detected by patrolling party. The move makes it clear that tiger poaching networks are still active in the country and are dangerously organized in when they are on the prowl.

When asked about the chances of poachers making use of the situation, officials told that the chances cannot be completely written off. “There are no anti-poaching patrols taking place these days since all anti-poaching patrol staff have come back there to carry out special duties related to the festival crowd. Though we have not noticed any such poaching taking place in connection with the festival period, the chances cannot be completely set aside”, said a forest official at the rank of forester at KMTR.

“We have a very efficient network of intelligence around the villages neighboring the reserve which will help us get an alert whenever such things happen”, said the Forest Range Officer at KMTR. “We have successfully built up a cordial relationship between the villagers in the surrounding area so that they notice the arrival of strangers and their activities to inform us anytime”, says he. That would be enough prevention towards poaching during this festival period, he said. 

Disturbance to wild life

During this whole festive season, wild life keeps draws itself back into the deep forest, annoyed by the huge human movement and continuous honking of vehicle horns, says a forest official whom we talked to at the tiger reserve. However, no issues of animal –devotee conflict have been reported from this area where leopards and tigers are occasionally spotted while wild boars are usual visitors.

A  baby spotted deer crossing the road inside KMTR

The chances of forest fire also keep the forest staff on the top vigil to avert an accident. The situation is very prone to trigger a massive fire considering the way at which individual cooking ovens are set up to cook food burning firewood. The presence of dry forest and strong wind add to the chances of such a mishap.

Such a fire will not only destruct the semi deciduous and deciduous areas of the sanctuary, it may also trigger mayhem and stampede among the crowded devotees.

Less is studied about the disturbance caused by the continuous traffic through the roads inside the reserve during the festival season. At an unofficial estimate, more than 500 vehicles pass through the road every day during the festival. Research studies on the impact of roads through protected areas have shown that the roads seriously restrict large mammal’s movements and usual tracks.

Though reports on road kills from KMTR are not available in the form of records, the chances cannot be completely written off. 


Now watch pilgrims/tourists  shooting spotted deer in KMTR

The remaining part of the article can be read here.

Read more on Aadi Amavasai 2012 coverage

Roads affect large mammal movement in Nagarhole Tiger Reserve, says a study

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An Indian Elephant (Elephas maximus indicus), crossing a  patrolling path at Nagarhole Tiger Reserve, Karnataka, India

 Constructing roads through protected areas will severely affect the wild life, reveals a recent study conducted on the Mysore- Mananthavady Highway which passes through Nagarhole Tiger Reserve, a major home for the big striped cat in South India.  According to the study, the road has caused certain large mammals to desert the adjoining areas while making some others more prone to be victims of road kill.

Comparing an abandoned segment with another one regularly used by the vehicles within a 20 KM distance, it was found that large mammals like Elephant (Elephas maximus indicus), Gaur(Bos garus) , Chital (Axis axis), Wild pig (Sus scrofa) and Tiger tend to avoid the road edges restricting themselves to other forest areas.

This does not mean that animals don’t usually use that place, but just avoid it. The study has found that 681 animal trails have intersected the portion of the road under study. However, the mean density of animal trails on the unused segment was 40 percent more than that in the used segment, indicating that the road is restricting natural wild life movement.

  

Swelling vehicle traffic

The study observed a startling 22 fold increase in vehicular traffic on this road which connects Wayanad district of Kerala with Mysore district of Karnataka, in seven years despite a traffic ban in the night.

According to Sanjay Gubbi, H. C. Poornesha and M. D. Madhusudan from Nature Conservation Foundation and Wild life Conservation Society who conducted the study, vehicle density was 50 per day in 2003, when traffic was allowed all the 24 hours. Now it has reached a massive 553 a day despite a 12 hour traffic ban.

Roads thrills but kills

Roads passing through Nagarhole Tiger Reserve in Karnataka

However, it was also found that large mammals like Sambar deer (Rusa unicolor) are not repelled by roads. This is due to the presence of grass and tender leaves in the road edges due to the routine clearance by the forest department, says the study.

The routine clearance along road edges creates micro habitats which attracts many herbivores, making them more prone to road kills. According to experts, this is the major reason why herbivores like Sambar deer, chital, mouse deer (Moschiola meminna), black naped hare (Lepus

nigricollis) and small Indian civet (Viverricula indica) becomes the top names in road kills near protected areas.

Better EIAs and measures

The findings of the study call for immediate measures to check over speeding on such roads which is a major reason for animal death from vehicle collision. It also demands effective implementation of scientifically designed animal crossing structures across such roads.

But above all, the need of the hour is to conduct long-term environment impact assessments even after completion of developmental initiatives to find out unforeseen impacts. If we hurry again under the false notion of development to become a global power, we may commit irreversible mistakes to the future generations by swiping away the remaining biodiversity of our nation.

Indian leopard (Panthera pardus fusca) at Nagarhole Tiger Reserve (Video)