Project Tiger Saving The Big Cat

The hunting menace started with the arrival of the British in India, besides erstwhile Maharajahs & Nawabs, and continued with greater menace post-independence. Many hunting companies had taken a foothold in the country by then. They became revenue earners, for a paltry sum one could hunt the beast, while the companies organized the trips.  

The elites and the Maharajahs continued to hunt, sometimes the numbers were horrendous. Killing thirty tigers in a month or over a hundred of them was not a matter of surprise. Without realizing the sharp decline the enterprise continued. Whence the realization dawned that very few were left in the wild the Project Tiger came into the picture. Earlier the Wildlife Protection Act 1972 had put a full stop to the killing of wild animals in India much to the chagrin of hunters ad poachers. 

The Project Tiger Program began to assimilate bits and pieces of shards in order to recoup the big cat numbers. The picture was dismal, and in order to provide the animal with protection and suitable habitats the tiger reserves part of the protected area, concept were established. This was one of the major steps that proved hugely successful after initial hiccups. 

With more and more reserves being established the future of big cats began to appear bright. The upswing had begun, and the country's wildlife managers and conservation enthusiasts were euphoric. After continued conservation efforts the number was presumed to have increased to 4000 plus. This was a fallacy as the census was not in a scientific manner. The pug mark counting method had its flaws. 

Anyway, complacency proved disastrous. Without any realization, the nascent program was being smitten by poachers eager to fulfill the demand for bones in TCM or the Chinese System of Medicine. These countries had decimated all their big cats and looked towards India as a supply source.        

As mentioned earlier illegal wildlife trade had a network of promoters in India, and the poverty-stricken traditional hunting tribes could easily be bought with a paltry sum for the heinous acts. This happened with the connivance of some forest officials and guards.  

In the year 2008, the complete absence of the predators in the Panna Tiger Reserve in MP came to notice. But it was too late, all the tigers had been wiped out by the nexus between poachers and smugglers involved in the illegal wildlife trade. A report published in 2011 stated precisely the same, and the crime was being carried out since the year 1989. The cases against the perpetrators were closed with absurd explanations, and no major investigation agency like CBI was called in.     

The story was the same as in Sariska Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan as well. Probably the same modus operandi had lead to the complete wipeout of big cats from Sariska in 2005. At the helm of both tragic instances was a smuggler called Sansar Chand who during forty years of wildlife trafficking was never arrested. This fact came to notice much later. 

A sudden jolt struck those behind the conservation of tiger, and the awakening lead to a grand recovery post-2014, and it continues till this day. Though the threat looms large from local poachers, wildlife parts traffickers, and man-animal conflict near the reserves the mitigation has resulted in successful breeding. But nevertheless, extra vigilance tightening of the security apparatus, and numerous conservation initiatives has brought the animal back from the brink but the struggle remains. 

Tiger Census 

The census is conducted scientifically after every five years the numbers are encouraging, and the population in fifty tiger reserves and outside together stand at 2967 constituting seventy-five percent of the global population. The census is near accurate using camera traps, historical evidence, reports, and much more.   

Protection Mechanism   

All viable habitats are being reclaimed/developed and turned into tiger reserves. The mechanism of protection is the strongest in the core areas, and weak in the outer rings or buffer where fewer cats exist...

In core areas, human habitation is not allowed only the workforce lives there. No commercial activities are permitted except controlled tourism in twenty percent of the core. In recent times tourism is also organized in forests with good crown cover in the outer ring.   

Sentinels of Wild

All through the tiger reserves pan India, fire watchers huts and anti-poaching camps have been established to protect the animals and  the forests. Subject to intense patrolling and alacrity the poaching incidence has been successfully mitigated to a great extent. Overall attention paid towards wildlife conservation is paying rich dividends. The forest staff and wildlife managers are committed and dedicated to their tasks with sincerity, hence the population is recovering in most of the reserves.

Conservation Initiatives

Tiger conservation in the country is all-encompassing and holistic thanks to scientific institutions, able wildlife managers, and the foot soldiers the sentinels of the wild.   

Tourism has empowered local communities through skills and finances. They have become part of additional support systems proudly aiding the conservation of their heritage. A tide has been turned for saving the tiger in India.  

Role of NGOs 

NGOs like the WPSI have fought tooth and nail against the poachers. Funds from WWF for nature and other institutions have been extremely helpful. Local NGOs and village-level societies too contribute towards habitat and wildlife protection by being part of the system.  

Tourism is an appreciable source of revenue generation. This revenue is plowed back into conservation, and park maintenance. Funds are also contributed by the Central and State Governments besides many NGOs.

The tourism activities in the parks are well regulated and constantly monitored by quasi-government bodies like NTCA  hence no harm is being done. On the contrary, the tiger reserves provide ample employment to the locals ,and so do the tourism and the local hospitality businesses. Ecosystem revival is a mind-boggling success.

The reserves have proven to be the shining stars of tiger protection and wildlife conservation in India. The future for the big cats seems bright but in spite, the battle seems to have been half won. The animals on brink of extinction are slowly making a comeback. 

"Do nothing And do not let anyone do anything" .(Let Nature Prevail and Heal Itself)

Kailash Sankhala First Director of Project Tiger Program

To this day human interventions are minimized in the reserves.