Impact of human wildlife conflict on wildlife in gibbon wildlife sanctuary
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HWC = human–wildlife conflict. Overall, 69% of conflict incidences were reported from nonprotected forest areas, although less than onethird were reported from forests with some level of government protection (such as National Parks, wildlife sanctuary, elephant and tiger reserves, and reserved forests).
The Indian subcontinent is home to five majestic cat species, namely the lion, tiger, leopard, snow leopard and the clouded leopard. The cheetah became extinct in 1951-52; else India would have been the only country that was home to six majestic big cat species. In addition several small cat species like leopard cat, jungle cat, fishing cat, rusty-spotted cat, Asiatic wild cat, Pallas cat, marbled cat, caracal, Eurasian lynx and Asian golden cat live and thrive in different ecosystems across the country.
However, I am quite worried regarding the conservation of felines in India. This is because all of them suffer from the risks of endangerment due to habitat loss and habitat fragmentation, poaching and wildlife trafficking, illegal encroachments into forested areas, overgrazing, forest fires and lack of suitable prey base for their survival. In 2018, the World Wide Fund for Nature released a special poster commemorating the sorry state of big cat species across the planet.
Let me give examples to back my statement. Recently, a female leopard was dubbed as a “potential man eater” in remote Uttarakhand by professional hunters. The poster had clearly stated leopards across the globe have a “Vulnerable” status and that the animal has become extinct in six countries across Africa and Asia. The Indian or South Asian leopard is the most abundant of all the leopard subspecies across the continent of Asia and is severely impacted by habitat loss and human-leopard conflict across Asia.
I would like to raise the question as how it was ascertained that the leopard in question was a man eater? Has any wildlife trap camera snap and/or CCTV footage identified it, based on spot patterns or provided any credible evidence for being a man eater? Has any direct coprology analysis of the leopard scat been made in the laboratory to identify human remains or any credible advanced DNA test done on the leopard scat to make sure there is human DNA in its scat? Why couldn’t the animal be tranquilised with powerful and prescribed sedatives and retained in a wildlife rehabilitation centre or a zoo for further inspection and observation? Why couldn’t this animal be captured and transferred to a secured zoo where it could spend its last days; instead why killing it is considered the only option when numerous other alternatives are available? What kind of wildlife management practices do the state and central governments have when they cannot even protect an endangered species?
Another recent incident that caught the attention of global media and wildlife enthusiasts and conservationists was the hunt for a Bengal tigress Avni, technically named as “T1” in the Yavatmal area close to of Tipeshwar Wildlife Sanctuary in south eastern Maharashtra in western India.
A massive tiger hunt employing 200+ personnel, five elephants, two specialised search dogs, drones and a paraglider had been pressed into service to either tranquilise her; and if not possible, put her down based on a court order released by the Supreme Court of India. T1 had been charged guilty of being a man eater and tentatively connected to the death of 13 locals. The tigress had two young cubs accompanying her and the order directed the Forest Department to collect the two cubs in case the tigress was killed.
Again, there were claims and counter claims suggesting that the tigress was a true man eater or that it was being wrongly implicated in the crime. Unfortunately, the Forest Department went against public sentiment and got the unfortunate tigress shot and mercilessly killed under dubious circumstances.