Royal Bengal Tigers in Danger of Extinction
By Seema Sengupta
KOLKATA ― The royal Bengal tigers might be on the verge of extinction. According to the latest official figure, 528 tigers still inhabit the Sunderban Tiger Reserve and greater Sunderban forest area, a designated UNESCO heritage site.
However, an independent survey conducted by Indian Statistical Institute researchers based on the pugmark study of tigers in the region reveals that only 75 of them are left in the wild.
Adding to such nauseating data is the spurt in incidents of the big cats coming out of the forest and invading human settlements. At least four cases of tigers straying from the forests have been reported in the past six months, even as a vast number of tiger attacks go unreported.
Wildlife experts in the meantime are offering various explanations for such abnormal behavior. While some believe, old and unfit predators intruding into adjacent human habitats in search of easy prey is natural, others blame the local populace for disturbing the balance by sneaking into tiger territory illegally.
The big cat also strays into paddy fields, mistaking it for the particular type of vegetation found in the wilderness of the archipelago. Then there is an alarming rise in illegal construction activities and uncontrolled movement of tourists into the core area resulting in alteration of the behavioral pattern in tigers.
But the most worrying aspect is the possibility of tigers being enticed out of their habitat by poachers. There is evidence of organized gangs working overtime in this un-demarcated border area using the scarcely patrolled river estuary.
These groups, equipped with trawlers, country boats, sophisticated gadgets and firearms, are financed by international moneylenders as profits from the illegal wildlife trade are diverted to fund other criminal activities.
Unfortunately, the Indian intelligence agencies and Wildlife Crime Control Bureau remain oblivious to a movement that may be the cover for terror activities. Moreover, lackadaisicalness of the forest department in properly investigating the nature and cause of tiger attacks in the area actually benefits the criminals.
The casual approach of the authorities even resulted in the custodial death of a stray tiger from a tranquilizer overdose recently. That India's national animal has almost been reduced to fugitive status can be attributed to a blend of factors such as the lack of professionalism and perfunctory approach in wildlife conservation along with rampant corruption prevailing in the government apparatus.
Apart from unrestrained poaching that resulted in the death of 48 tigers in the last six years, a rapid decline of India's forest area is also responsible for the number of tigers dwindling to 1,411 from 3,642 within a short space of time.
The Forest Survey of India's recent report reveals a loss of approximately 728-square-kilometer area of forest cover between 2003 and 2005. When only 1.7 percent out of India's 20.6 percent geographical area of forest cover is categorized officially as very dense, it is natural that tigers and several other wildlife species, crucial for a balanced and thriving ecosystem will gradually become extinct.
Moreover, illegal bounties for killing tigers, and ``grow more food'' campaigns, encourage the honeycombing of tiger habitats. The setting up of agricultural enclaves also paved the way for an endless confrontation between tigers and people.
Unfortunately, the grand plan to reduce biomass exploitative pressures on tiger habitats by curbing cattle grazing and preventing forest fires, timber and non-timber forest products removal went astray.
Relocating villages away from prime tiger habitats did reduce human population densities within tiger reserves, resulting in a dramatic recovery of habitats followed by a strong rebound of prey and tiger population.
However, nobody analyzed the fact that these few hot spots of high tiger density represented a minuscule fraction of the total tiger habitat.
Over the rest of its range the decline of tigers continued unabated. India somehow ignored that the tiger is not just a symbol but a species of great ecological significance in a habitat that harbors millions of plant and animal life forms, while remaining at the end of a complex ecological relationship.
Thus protecting the tiger automatically ensures the preservation of all species that share its habitat. In addition, one can also easily protect the source of many endangered streams that originate in the forest.
With the number of tigers shrinking day by day, a genuine fear has gripped environmental activists that a thriving black market for tiger body parts used in traditional Chinese and Asian medicine will be the catalyst for a dramatic rise in poaching.
Since a dead tiger at retail markets in Southeast Asia is worth up to $160,000, there is no dearth of available incentive in the region for killing the big cats indiscriminately.
Under these circumstances, the Indian government seems to be quite apathetic in countering poaching with the conviction rate in such cases being abysmally low. Adding to the woe is China's contribution in furthering the illegal trade, with Chinese law enforcers turning a blind eye to the sale of tiger parts smuggled across its border with India.
Seema Sengupta is a journalist based in Kolkata, India. Her articles have been published by The Tribune, The Telegraph, The Pioneer, The Asian Age and other newspapers. She can be reached at seemasengupta@vsnl.net