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.

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.