A Question of Survival for Kanha's Tigers

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Lalit Shastri
(The Hindu (New Delhi), 30 Dec. 2006)
Poachers continue to pose a serious threat to the survival of tigers in Madhya Pradesh.
Two of them were arrested on December 19 and tiger skins were seized from them. A
gun was also recovered. They were active in the Hoshangbad forests and used Jabalpur as
a transit point.
Earlier this month, a tiger was rescued after tourists informed the staff of the Kanha
National Park that they spotted the animal in Mukki range with one of its claws caught in
a crude clamp. The forest personnel tranquillised the tiger and rescued it. Tribals from the
villages falling in the buffer zone along the Balaghat-Mandla border could have laid the
trap, officials said.
Besides the problem of poaching, the Park also faces immense biotic pressure. K. Nayak,
field director, Kanha Tiger Reserve, told The Hindu that there were 18 forest villages
inside the Park. Three villages were part of the habitat of the endangered Barasingha, a
rare species of deer found only in Kanha. The villages need to be relocated to reduce
biotic pressure on the habitats of the tiger and its prey.
Buffer zone
The Tiger Reserve is surrounded by a buffer zone of over 1,000 sq km. Comprising 150
villages, it stretches over two revenue districts, Mandla and Balaghat, and is not a
Protected Area.
Asked about the level of biotic pressure inside the Park, Mr. Nayak said villagers
continued to enter the core area for grazing their cattle and collecting fuel wood.
Staff sensitised
Admitting that a tiger had recently been caught in a poacher's trap inside the Park, he said
the forest staff had been sensitised and all efforts were being made to check the poachers.
The 2005 habitat assessment showed that the tiger population in the national parks and
sanctuaries in Madhya Pradesh was 394 against the Census figure of 416 in 2004. There
are nine national parks in the State — Kanha, Bandhavgarh, Panna, Pench, Satpura,
Sanjay, Madhav, Vanvihar, and Fossil. Besides, there are 25 sanctuaries. The 2004
Census put the number of tigers at six in Rani Durgawati sanctuary (Damoh) and seven at
Palpur Kuno. However, last year's assessment showed there was not a single tiger in the
sanctuaries. The areas falling under them are contiguous with Ranthambore in Rajasthan.
Similarly, the boundaries of three districts of Chattisgarh Kavardha, and Rajnandgaon
also touch the forests of Madhya Pradesh. Hence, the tiger census projections have been questioned by experts.

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