Vision of Life; by Sanjay: Tigers, Poaching, Media & Tourism!

“When a man wants to murder a tiger, he calls it sport; when a tiger wants to murder him, he calls it ferocity” …. George Bernard Shaw

Shaw was no doubt one of the greatest authors in any generation & indeed he may not be authority on the tigers but he was definitely an authority as a writer on human behaviour & he has exactly put that in his above quotes. As the sharing is about tigers (read as deaths of tigers) I will modify great Shaw’s words a bit i.e. “When a man wants to kill a tiger that is self-protection or necessity or an accident but when a tiger kills a man then he is a Man Eater!” The modification has come from the recent incidents where a tiger got killed (rather many of them) news about which most people read & forget as well there is another big article about the poaching threat of the tigers run by a popular Marathi daily! First of all, I congratulate the media which has consistently taken up the issue of wildlife(tigers), under threat but the problem is like a random firing of these journalist writings eventually causing damage to people which are not the culprit, though awareness is ok but effectiveness of such news is my point of sharing. We know wildlife at large is in danger but for that one forest dept can’t be held alone responsible rather they are like a toothless & clawless tiger when protecting wildlife is the aspect outside of the forests. But of late it’s the fashion among media (read as news reporters) & self-proclaimed wildlife experts (lovers) to target forest dept & wildlife tourism for any bad thing happening to wildlife tourism. And with due respect our Hon Courts (judicial system) also jumps in & lashes at these two fronts of wildlife. Mai Baap govt i.e. Ministers & top bosses of respective depts take action, & usually the sufferers are root level people related to wildlife such as guides, gypsy drivers, RFO’s & ground forest staff. Joke is, if you see the deaths of tigers then hardly 1% (yes, one percent) of these deaths are in protected forest areas where tourism is controlled while all other deaths have happened where there is no tourism in existence, is my subject of sharing!

And then there was another news of ministers of State, conducting a meeting of forest dept & locals to improve wildlife in which the forest officers only got scolding for their inefficiency in controlling tiger deaths as well man-animal conflicts! Best part was, in that meeting the villagers around forests were in for increasing wildlife tourism & ok with some humans getting killed by tigers as they know some causalities are & will be there but yet they are happy with the tigers around them because it’s the way to prosperity together & that’s coexistence, about which we are not doing anything! I also don't consider myself wildlife expert but I have travelled enough in & around the forests & I am a wildlife life lover but my love is not blind, is the difference! Let’s come to the threat or say threats aspect to the wild life (read as tigers) & reasons of tiger deaths which were nearly above ten in the first two months of 2025. First is, out of ten or twelve deaths just one can be surely said as poaching, & other deaths were due to fighting with each other & accident due to being hit by vehicles & fallen in well or electrocuted. Another aspect is, all such deaths were outside of project tiger or protected forest. Let’s understand what is difference in these terminologies as then you will understand the problems or challenges in the job of tiger protection. Project tiger or sanctuary or reserved forest is the forest where entry of any outsider is only with permission of forest dept & on record. As well this forest has got dedicated staff for patrolling as well tourism operations & every entry exit from the roads is under check of forest dept so private vehicles are not allowed & those which enters for tourism has to follow speed norms as well their numbers also are fixed & with guide along. Forests which come under Project Tiger also get additional funding for their needs from Central Govt as well the forest officers have special powers here which are not there for areas other than Project Tiger. At the same time any encroachment is legal crime in these forests as well works such as even diffing a well or making a road through these forests needs special permission from NTCA a body governing Project Tiger. All such provisions make conservation of tigers as well wildlife much easier in these forests but scene is entirely different outside the boundary of protected forests.

The major problem of tiger conservation is not within protected forests but outside of them which we must accept as then only we can make right policies to save the tigers. Because in the protected forests as tourism is allowed & in controlled manner so it works in two ways, first it brings prosperity (money) to the villagers thus they join hands with forest dept in protection of tigers & second, these tourist vehicles are like eyes & ear of forest keeping wildlife in their sight which forest dept alone won’t be ever able to do. Now, once we are out in the open unprotected forest this tourism factor also is missing & the tigers are on their own to survive! At the same time compensation for damage by wildlife may it be of human or cattle life or of crop also is less & delayed making people enemy of wildlife or say cause of conflicts means deaths of wild animals because of electric fencing or traps which are actually for protection of human’s property & not to kill wild animals! Here, from these unprotected forests roads, railway tracks run through on which vehicles travel with no speed limits causing maximum deaths of wild animals, we do nothing about it. In these unprotected forests exist open wells, canals, excavated quarries which are death traps for wild animals & we do nothing about them. And as there is no tourism so wild life is no means of earning, making jobless youths of these forests falling prey for easy & fast money from the poachers & we do nothing about it. As well speaking about tigers, their problem is, for them the bigger threat is inside of protected forests in the form of existing dominant tigers which drive the newborn tigers out of the protected forests over territory fights & these tigers are easiest pickings for the poachers if they survive other death reason as mentioned above & we do nothing about it! And certainly, forest dept with its limited authority & funding alone cant be held responsible for their inability to protect these tigers though agreed it's forest depts job. But when you expect someone to win a war then you are supposed to give that someone enough ammunition to fight the war in the first place, is we are forgetting!

Now if you (read as media & judicially & our rulers) have understood the basic problem & accept it then we can come to the point of what can be done to reduce the death of tigers! First is, identify the exact death spots of tiger deaths & start working on solutions at these spots. For e.g. Ballarsha Chandrapur railway track is responsible for nearly 20% of deaths of tigers, sloth bears & leopards so first start barricading this track if we can’t stop or change its course! Next is to plan & make provision in the budget for making underpasses on this track so wild animals can safely cross this railway track. Identify & then start building secured boundary walls to all the water-bodies in & around forests which are deep & makes it impossible for tigers to come out of them if they have fallen in them! At the same time increase patrolling on all such roads & increase fines for death of wild animals because of speeding vehicles & all year long awareness drive for the drivers in cities as well towns for caring wildlife while your drive is a must.

Make enough water holes with the right water supply inside the forests so in the summer a tiger need not have to come out of the forest in search of water or its prey doing the same. Make laws for speedy & right compensation for damage of life or property by wildlife & see that they are same anywhere in the country so there won’t be disputes over whether the farm is inside or adjoining to project tiger or not. Because if a tiger kills a human then it doesn’t matter whether it happened in a sanctuary of right outside of town or city. Just the way a murder is a murder wherever it happens in the country but sections applicable are the same! This will make people assure about loss of their property or life of their close ones being compensated & they won’t go after killing the animal involved in such incidence. As well think of insuring the residents around forest areas & their farms against damage by wildlife. And start tourism everywhere wherever it is possible as that’s proven way of protecting wildlife & needless to say in controlled manner, come out of age-old thinking that tourism disturbs wildlife! Well, it may disturb a bit but surely it won't kill the tiger which is happening right now because of the absence of tourism! At the same time, run awareness campaign with the help of NGOs in all the areas around the forests to accommodate wildlife & learn to use it for our living in the right way. We can target schools & nurture coexistence right from this age in the kids.

Last, poachers were there & will be there always, just the way crime exists right in the cities like Pune even with numbers of police in place but what we can do is amend the laws so more numbers of poachers get acquitted & give enough firepower to forest dept to catch the poachers before they commit poaching! Network of informers & money for them is one sure way to tackle poaching as well jobs for youngsters around forests is one main aspect which forest dept can achieve with increased funding & power. There has to be wildlife awareness workshops for media reports as well as for judiciary also, so they too will know the facts about it & can contribute for the cause in the right way with their powers! Friends, just the way we need space for our living wildlife (read as tigers) also need the space & they can’t build their homes but can only accommodate whatever nature provides to them. We can’t increase the forest cover with increasing numbers of tigers & they too need space. The only way is, to accommodate the tigers in our life & live in coexistence & for that we have to change our approach towards wildlife & that’s possible only by opening our minds as then only there is hope for the tigers & for us also, adios with this warning!

Sanjay Deshpande

smd156812@gmail.com

Sanjeevani Dev.

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