Disappearing cats

The report of the latest tiger census, which shows the existence of no more than 1,411 wild cats, justifies the fear that tiger conservation efforts are not paying off. Indeed, the current tiger count is lower than the tiger population of 1,827 in 1972, when the Wildlife Protection Act was enacted to pave the way for the launch of Project Tiger, designed to conserve and propagate what was seen 36 years ago as a threatened species. Undeniably, Project Tiger did show good results initially, with the tiger head count rising to a handsome 3,000 by 1979, but it began flagging subsequently, leading to not only the negation of the initial gains but to the re-emergence of fears about the continued existence of tigers in the country's wild areas.

The latest census is based on the globally adopted method of supplementing the pug-mark count with evidence collected through camera traps, remote sensing and various robust statistical tools. It has, consequently, made several revelations which are dismaying. For one, it has confirmed that the 2002 tiger count, which had put the number at a high of around 3,500, was a bogus exercise, meant chiefly to cover up lapses on the tiger conservation front and counter reports of widespread poaching activity. The bulk of the remaining tiger population is now confined to a few reserved sanctuaries, the notable among them being the Corbett Park in Uttaranchal, Nagarhole in Karnataka, Kanha and Bandhavgarh in Madhya Pradesh, and Kaziranga in Assam. Most other tiger reserves have reported a sharp drop in tiger numbers. Some of the key ones among them are Ranthambore and Sariska in Rajasthan, Palamau in Jharkhand, Nagarjun Srisailam in Andhra Pradesh and Indravati in Chhattisgarh. But this needs to be viewed against the backdrop of the fact that, barring Ranthambore and Sariska, the other three poorly-performing habitats are hotspots of Naxal activity and the decline in the tiger population there could, therefore, be for reasons different from those prevailing in other wildlife habitats that have witnessed a slide.

The lack of success in tiger conservation is attributable largely to complacency. This is reflected in the large number of posts of forest guards and rangers which have been lying vacant for years on end, as also in the paucity of the resources required for protecting reserve forests. Most of the forest officers who are in place do not have fast-moving vehicles, modern communication tools and weapons, all of which are required to counter the better-equipped poachers. That the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau, set up last year to supervise the forests, has not yet become effectively operational is another indication of the apathy towards this task. Commonplace issues like re-location of human habitations from the wildlife sanctuaries and curbing other non-forestry activities there have also not been suitably addressed. In the absence of a suitable policy framework, even the fringe areas around the forests have not been able to serve as effective buffer zones. Under the given circumstances, it seems far better to concentrate resources and efforts on selected habitats that have tiger populations large enough for quicker breeding and propagation than spreading them thinly over wider tracts, as is being done today. Besides, the trade and, more importantly, the exporters of tiger parts need to be curbed effectively to take away the incentive for poaching on tigers.