Tiger experts want focus on curation, not just cat count

The number of tigers in Maharashtra has soared from 103 in 2006 to 312 in 2018 according to results of the latest 2018 Tiger Census, which were released on Tuesday. However, the finer details reveal that policymakers and forest managers must focus on management of habitats, wildlife corridors and curate tiger populations, rather than be drawn into a numbers game.

Maharashtra had 190 tigers in 2014 and 168 in 2010. The highest number of tigers (106) utilize the Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR), followed by Pench (82), Melghat (49), and Navegaon Nagzira (6) tiger reserves. However, the Sahyadri and Bor tiger projects have no tigers utilizing the reserve (resident tigers), though they have three and six tigers respectively, inside them.

The ‘Status of Tigers, Co-predators and Prey in India-2018’ report states that tiger occupancy was also observed outside tiger reserves across India, including the SatpuraMelghat corridor, Kanha-Pench corridor, Chandrapur and Gadchiroli districts of Maharashtra. Since these may not be protected areas (PA), tiger conservation in these habitats is crucial.

Forest managers urge that with the rising number of tigers in the wild, the focus must be on preventing man-animal conflict with a holistic mix of policies like strengthening wildlife corridors, management of tiger populations outside protected areas, habitat development, and deployment of protection and anti-poaching measures. They also warn that the tiger-centric vision of wildlife management often ignores the threat to other species.

“Around 150 years ago, we had around 1 lakh tigers. But we have to be realistic and realise that these numbers cannot be restored due to shrinking tiger habitats. So, we have 50 tiger projects, which have the highest level of protection… but what after these areas get saturated? Like at the TATR, tigers will move out leading to man-animal conflict and poaching,” noted Jaydeep Das, wildlife expert and honorary wildlife warden, Nagpur.

Maharashtra also faces a problem of plenty, with a majority of its tiger population being concentrated in the TATR and the neighboring Bramhapuri forest division (40-45). The forest department has suggested translocation of 50 tigers to sparser landscapes and sterilising 20 males.