`Tiger census figures wrong'

The Hindu

28/03/2005

By Lalit Shastri

BHOPAL, MARCH 27. Wildlife experts have questioned the official claim — based on a census conducted in the protected area (PA) from March 18 to 24 — that there are 34 tigers and a cub in the Panna Tiger Reserve of Madhya Pradesh. A spokesman of the wildlife wing of the State Forest Department told The Hindu that a large team, including officials from the Kanha, Pench and Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserves, joined the census operation. On analysing the pugmarks and other evidence, the team confirmed the presence of 20 female tigers, 14 male tigers and a cub in the Panna Tiger Reserve.

Raghunandan Singh Chundawat, who has done extensive field research in the Panna Reserve, has reacted sharply to the latest census projection. He says the authorities claim to have counted 13 tigresses within the territory of a single, monitored tigress. The "absurd claim" flies in the face of everything that is known about the natural history of tigers, he said. "As if this was not enough, they have even claimed to have counted nine adult male tigers within the territory of a radio-collared male tiger." The two overlapping territories constituted only 25 per cent of the Park area. Since most of the pugmarks were recorded from this territory, one would be forced to conclude that actually there would not be more than eight to 10 tigers in the entire Reserve.

This year, he further said, the park management had prepared over 2,200 PIPs (pugmark impression pads), that means for every 300-350 metres there was one PIP to record any movement of tiger. Despite the huge number of PIPs, they were able to capture only 31 impressions of tigers on the PIPs, he pointed out.

The latest tiger census acquires significance since the Central Empowered Committee, set up by the Supreme Court, had recently issued a firm warning that the Panna tigers would vanish if quick action was not taken for their protection. Mr. Chundawat said he had circulated a report among the authorities recently, saying that in the last two-and-half years about 30 tigers had died or were missing from the Reserve. Of the six radiocollared tigers that were being covered by him in his field study, four were missing in the last two-and-half years and the Park authorities had no clue about them.

Some senior department officials said it would be futile to continue with the tiger census ritual and turn a blind eye when it came to addressing the question of tracing the missing tigers. The authorities are aware of the problem of poaching, a forester pointed out and said: "We are all aware of the bleak track record when it comes to prosecution or conviction of those involved in the poaching racket." A State Chief Conservator of Forest, on condition of anonymity, said: "It is an irony that the Park managers and Project Tiger authorities try to issue themselves certificates of satisfactory performance by allowing the tiger census figures to be fabricated to prove that the tigers are safe".

"The tigers will be safe if these areas are properly protected, otherwise we should be prepared to hear about the last of them", he said.