Forest officials triumphantly pose with the carcass of the tiger shot dead in Gudalur.
CHENNAI:
The shooting of an adult male tiger, which was declared a man-eater by
the chief wildlife warden, in Gudalur seems to have been done in haste,
conceded senior forest officials.
The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has issued a standard operating procedure to deal with man-eaters and carnivores straying into human habitation. "Whether the protocol was followed in this case is a question that remains unanswered," a senior officer said.
NTCA procedure says a committee has to be formed with nominees of the state chief wildlife warden and NTCA, a vet, representatives of a local NGO and panchayat, and the district forest officer. The committee should make all efforts to identify the man-eater using camera traps, pug impression pads and DNA analysis of scats and hair, it says.
A senior forest officer confirmed such a committee had not been formed before the tiger was declared a man-eater, but a committee had been formed to look into the postmortem of the tiger, which was conducted on Wednesday evening.
Forest officers said when villagers torched their vehicles, attacked forest staff and ransacked forest department offices after a woman was killed, police and revenue officials did not control the mob. "Instead, they forced forest authorities to succumb to the pressure of locals and declare the animal a man-eater," a senior officer said.
NTCA protocol says trapping and tranquilising the man-eater should be the first options, after determining whether the human was killed in a chance encounter. Only big cats that stalk humans or feed on dead bodies can be declared man-eaters. Only after exhausting all these options, should the chief wildlife warden declare the animal a man-eater and order its killing, it states.
M Santhanaraman, a conservationist and advocate in the Madras high court, said , said man-animal conflict is bound to increase due to improved conservation measures that have led to an increase in the tiger population. Tiger habitat has not increased to match the jump in population, he said.
in Gudalur forest division friction between villagers and foresters had been simmering for years. The region has about 82,000 acres of pristine rainforest called 'janmam' land.
A special legislation, Gudalur Janmam Abolition Act, was enacted by the government in 1969 to take over the land and declare it a reserve forest after providing alternative locations for eligible persons. Since then, occupants and encroachers and others with vested interests have been filing cases against the act, he said, which was included in the sixth schedule of the Constitution and has been upheld by the apex court. "The state should take steps to clear all litigation and declare the janmam lands as forest, which will create a contiguous habitat for wildlife and bring down man-animal conflicts," said Santhanaraman.
A forest officer agreed and said the department's conservation measures were bearing fruit, resulting in an increase in the tiger population. "On the other hand, however, a big cat has been killed for mauling one person in the state. By acting in haste, we are setting the clock backwards," he said. source
The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has issued a standard operating procedure to deal with man-eaters and carnivores straying into human habitation. "Whether the protocol was followed in this case is a question that remains unanswered," a senior officer said.
NTCA procedure says a committee has to be formed with nominees of the state chief wildlife warden and NTCA, a vet, representatives of a local NGO and panchayat, and the district forest officer. The committee should make all efforts to identify the man-eater using camera traps, pug impression pads and DNA analysis of scats and hair, it says.
A senior forest officer confirmed such a committee had not been formed before the tiger was declared a man-eater, but a committee had been formed to look into the postmortem of the tiger, which was conducted on Wednesday evening.
Forest officers said when villagers torched their vehicles, attacked forest staff and ransacked forest department offices after a woman was killed, police and revenue officials did not control the mob. "Instead, they forced forest authorities to succumb to the pressure of locals and declare the animal a man-eater," a senior officer said.
NTCA protocol says trapping and tranquilising the man-eater should be the first options, after determining whether the human was killed in a chance encounter. Only big cats that stalk humans or feed on dead bodies can be declared man-eaters. Only after exhausting all these options, should the chief wildlife warden declare the animal a man-eater and order its killing, it states.
M Santhanaraman, a conservationist and advocate in the Madras high court, said , said man-animal conflict is bound to increase due to improved conservation measures that have led to an increase in the tiger population. Tiger habitat has not increased to match the jump in population, he said.
in Gudalur forest division friction between villagers and foresters had been simmering for years. The region has about 82,000 acres of pristine rainforest called 'janmam' land.
A special legislation, Gudalur Janmam Abolition Act, was enacted by the government in 1969 to take over the land and declare it a reserve forest after providing alternative locations for eligible persons. Since then, occupants and encroachers and others with vested interests have been filing cases against the act, he said, which was included in the sixth schedule of the Constitution and has been upheld by the apex court. "The state should take steps to clear all litigation and declare the janmam lands as forest, which will create a contiguous habitat for wildlife and bring down man-animal conflicts," said Santhanaraman.
A forest officer agreed and said the department's conservation measures were bearing fruit, resulting in an increase in the tiger population. "On the other hand, however, a big cat has been killed for mauling one person in the state. By acting in haste, we are setting the clock backwards," he said. source
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