| How on earth do these
cats manage to survive such high temperatures? (We were watching
three tiger cubs and their mother on one of the hottest afternoons
ever recorded in TATR.)
This heat is stressful for them, particularly the cubs, but
tigers are well adapted to such conditions. Together with
other species of this dry deciduous forest, they have survived
such conditions for millions of years. They conserve their
energy. They can sit for hours panting in the shade, cooling
off frequently in the pools of water available in forests
like Tadoba. But humans must leave them in peace so that they
can cope without extra disturbance.
And what does the future hold for this cat (the Jamni tigress,
which had killed a young sambar fawn the night before and
whose drag marks we followed for over 1.5 km.)?
In the short term, our forest staff can help ensure her
survival and that of her family, but in the long term, it
depends on policy makers, senior forest officers and people
like you, Valmik Thapar and others, because the pressures
on tiger reserves are many and it is up to you to ensure that
protection remains the first wildlife priority and that all
threats to the survival of the tiger are countered.
Tell me about yourself. How did you come to be involved
in wildlife?
There is not so much to tell. I was born in Gondia, Maharashtra
in 1959 where my grandfather came as a young man to help build
an airstrip for Bedi and Co. I studied in the Gondia Municipal
School and graduated from Gondia’s Dhote Bandhu Science College
in 1980, where I studied chemistry, botany and zoology.
How did wildlife become a part of your life?
I joined the Forest Department immediately after college and
found myself posted to Melghat, Chandrapur, Warora and Gadchiroli,
all wildlife areas. Wonderful colleagues like Kishor Mishrikotkar
and Ajay Pillari Seth shared their love for wildlife with
me. I was also deeply impressed by Uday Patel who is now surveying
the caves of the TATR. In 1995, I applied for a wildlife certification
course with the Wildlife Institute of India. Suddenly all
my field experience came into focus and my orientation changed.
I actually understood the rationale behind wildlife management
and that we had to protect habitats to protect animals. Also
that India’s water security depends on the health of our forests.
It must be a tough job...
Yes, but I would choose no other.
Why is that?
Because I think I was born to protect wildlife. I remember
an incident when Uday Patel and I were walking along a trail
in the Kala Pani area on a hot day in May 1997. We came upon
a tiger in a small jungle pool, but on seeing us it got up
and walked away. We continued a short distance along the nullah
when we heard the guttural sound of the tiger quite close.
I scanned the area with my binoculars and barely managed to
see its perfectly-camouflaged head when it jumped away from
us and vanished. It was not one of those dangerous sightings
that shikaris love to boast about, but it affected me deeply.
If it had wanted to attack us, we would be dead. But despite
its power, the tiger is indeed a ‘large-hearted gentleman’
as Jim Corbett wrote. I will defend it forever.
But how many problems can you defend Tadoba from? It seems
to have so many. Which would you solve first if you could?
I would like to see tensions between humans and wildlife
reduced. I would like to see threats from coal mines eliminated.
I wish we had additional manpower and facilities to counter
the potential threat from poachers.
That was a quick response! What steps are you taking to
solve these problems?
Six villages from inside the reserve have actually petitioned
to be shifted to alternative sites closer to the highway and
rail lines. When they move, many conflicts inside the park
will be reduced. But we must still work to improve conditions
for the 53 villages on our fringes by ensuring that they become
the first beneficiaries of wildlife protection. They need
assured fuel and fodder and 100 per cent employment guarantee.
We also need to compensate them promptly when their livestock
is killed. I can do nothing about the coal mines, but if we
equip our forest guards and foresters – the real foot soldiers
in our battle to save our wildlife – we could be more than
a match for poachers.
What about the tiger killed in Moharli?
In November 2002, a tiger killed a cow just inside the park
boundary near the Mudholi village. The owner took the loss
in his stride, knowing that we would compensate him, but a
known troublemaker from the Mudholi village poisoned the carcass
using pesticide. It was a great shock to us when we inspected
the dead cat. We arrested seven offenders who were jailed
for two months. We still await forensic results and the case
is on, but I doubt the villagers will do this again.
How can you be so sure?
Well, first of all, they too have to live with us. We held
a series of meetings and involved our tourist guides, who
come from the same villages and whose livelihood depends on
the fact that tigers should thrive. In fact, the village elders
here and in the other villages where we held meetings themselves
said that the forest helps them to get enough water, which
is why they manage to get 10 quintals of paddy against the
eight quintals that farmers living away from the forest get.
They said that the tigers keep the population of deer and
wild boar down and if the cats killed a domestic animal once
in a while, that was their right. Villagers who are not caught
up in politics are good and peace loving.
Do you have regular meetings with villagers, even when
there are no specific problems?
Yes, during the last Wildlife Week celebrations, the Kids
for Tigers vehicle, the Tiger Express, helped us organise
a series of meetings where we showed films, held discussions,
songs and skits. Children are fast becoming a medium of communication
between their villages and us. What was very popular was a
mock discussion (Mee Vagh Bolto = I am the tiger speaking)
between the ‘Head of the Tigers’ (me) and the ‘Head of the
People’ (the Gram Panchayat headman). He said that tigers
kill people and livestock. I responded saying that if ‘we’
wanted to really kill people, it would be so easy that each
of ‘us’ could kill 25 humans every month. It went on like
this and everyone really had a good laugh. It helped reduce
tensions and also improve communication.
What is the long-term future of the TATR? Do you see it
flourishing 100 years from now?
I wonder if anyone thinks so far ahead in India today,
but if we are able to protect the connecting corridors between
the northeastern forests of Brahmapuri and the southern forests
of Chandrapur all the way to the Andhra Pradesh border, I
think this Central Indian belt is the one where tigers have
the greatest chance of survival. But this is provided we do
not gamble with the forests. People cannot be allowed to say:
“let’s try this or let’s try that and maybe it will not harm
tigers.” We have to enable private and public lands to be
regenerated, new corridors to be established and ensure that
encroachments are removed. If we take these steps, nature
will do the rest. And, in time, the whole world will understand
that protecting forests like this is a key part of the solution
to climate change because these are the world’s finest land-based
carbon sinks.
But how will you get people to understand and support all
this?
The water from these forests will fill lakhs of wells.
Agriculture will flourish. Vidarbha will prosper. Human-animal
conflicts will also be reduced and the pure water from the
tiger’s forests will improve the health of millions of humans.
But these are dreams. I am not powerful enough to make them
come true. For that we need good politicians and good NGOs
who can work with forest officers without ego clashes. But
it can be done and tigers could survive here for the next
500 years and more.
Hemendra Kothari of the Wildlife Conservation Trust insists
that the TATR will soon be one of India’s finest tiger reserves.
Do you agree?
How can I say this? Tadoba is my child. Kothari saheb,
Debi Goenka and you must tell us what you think! After
all, you all saw six different tigers including three cubs,
a leopard with two cubs and wild dogs with pups… all within
two days. But still people from Nagpur think they have to
go to Kanha to see tigers!
This is dramatically different from the Tadoba of five
years ago.
In 1998, Valmik Thapar came here. He gave us some suggestions
and emphasised how everything could improve if we were strict
and dedicated. Our Field Director Shree Bhagwan and our DCF
Nitin Kakodkar took his advice to heart and so did all of
us Rangers. At first there were complaints, particularly from
influential people, but our seniors supported us. Slowly,
even visitors began to express happiness with the new rules.
Guides were compulsory with every vehicle and locals thus
got employment. Best of all, water regimes improved because
there were fewer fires. Prey numbers have risen because the
forest is less disturbed and as Thapar saheb predicted,
tiger numbers have increased almost by magic. The test now
is to see if we can sustain such efforts so that the park
keeps improving with every season.
According to the Maharashtra Forest Secretary, B.B. Sharma
and Chief Wildlife Warden, M.G. Gogate, no efforts will be
spared to make Tadoba, the pride of Maharashtra.
See, this is what I mean. When good people come here and
speak to our seniors, they too feel motivated. Everyone works
together. This is all the tiger needs. But we must remember
that the staff that patrols the tigers’ forests must be looked
after and respected. Today they are each responsible for around
20 sq. km. – too large an area. If the posts were increased,
each guard would be able to look after 10 sq. km. properly.
If we want dedication, forest guards need more security and
better conditions and the same goes for Rangers, some of whom
may never be promoted as Assistant Conservators of Forests
for their entire careers. Besides, we are inadequately armed,
compared to the poachers. Many staff have lost their lives.
To motivate our people, we must change this situation.
Does Project Tiger, which is in its 30th year of existence,
help?
Yes, we are all proud to belong to Project Tiger. Apart
from the extra funding, TATR has actually benefited from its
‘VIP’ status. What Tadoba, Pench, Nagzira, Melghat and other
such well-known wildlife areas need now is to get ‘Z Plus’
level security!
What do the people of Chandrapur town feel about all this?
Many of them do come to the reserve, though it is largely
the youngsters who understand Tadoba’s worth. Frankly, not
much help comes from local visitors, with the exception of
a few dedicated individuals and NGOs. But more than helping
tigers, I wish they would help themselves by insisting that
the nearby thermal plant reduces pollution. This will help
us indirectly as the wind surely carries toxic pollution towards
the tigers’ home. I think not even 1,000 adults in Chandrapur
are aware of the fact that the tiger’s forest is their water
source.
But can wildlife tourism change the way the citizens of
Chandrapur or Mumbai think about tigers? Or are they merely
an additional burden on the park management?
If tourism is well managed, it can be a very powerful
tool for conservation. It can help us explain our rationale
to the public. It can help us convince the public not to buy
wildlife products and not to support those who harm wildlife,
whether poachers or destroyers of forests.
You are finally due for a promotion after 22 years of dedicated
work as a Ranger. What kind of posting would you like after
Tadoba?
Anywhere where wildlife needs protection. My own needs
are simple. My wife, Deepika supports me fully and as a father,
my wish for my two children Vibhor (seven years) and Geetika
(five) is that they grow up to respect nature and are able
to live close to nature in a world that is free from pollution.
By protecting the tiger, I think I am working towards giving
them this world. |
