CONTROL OF HUMAN TIGER CONFLICT IN SUNDARBAN TIGER RESERVE NILANJAN MALLICK, CONSERVATOR OF FORESTS MONITORING CIRCLE, WEST BENGAL P-16, INDIA EXCHANGE PLACE, NEW CIT BUILDING, KOLKATA. [email protected] Abstract:

Sundarban is the largest mangrove forest in the world with high biodiversity value. This

is the only mangrove forest in the world where tigers are found. Tigers of Sundarban forests are known for their ferocity, man eating behavior and peculiar habit of straying into human habitations. This particular behavior of the sundarban tiger is the main reason of conflict with the local inhabitants. People living in the vicinity of forest are heavily dependent on forest for livelihood. This is a major problem in Sundarban tiger reserve and specific measures are taken to control this. The present article describes the causes, types, nature of human tiger conflict in Sundarbans and measures taken to control it. Key words:

Sundarban tiger reserve, mangrove, tiger straying, conflict, rescue, capture, nylon net

fence. Introduction: Sundarban, the largest delta in the world, consists of 10,200 sq km of Mangrove Forest, spread over India (4200 sq km of Reserved Forest) and Bangladesh (6000 sq km approx of Reserved Forest) and is also the largest Mangrove Forest in the world. Another 5400 sq km of non-forest, inhabited region in India, along the north and north-western fringe of mangrove forest, is also known as Sundarban region in India. Indian Sundarban is bound on the west by river Muriganga and on the east by rivers Harinbhahga and Raimangal. Other major rivers flowing through this eco-system are Saptamukhi, Thakuran, Matla and Goasaba. (Source: Annual Report of Sundarban Tiger Reserve, 2005) Sundarban Tiger Reserve was constituted by GOI under Project Tiger scheme, in 1973 with a total area of 2585 sq. km. STR is home one of the largest population of tiger in our country. Historically the tigers of Sundarbans have the habit of straying into human habitations which are very close to the forest. It has also been reported as notorious for its human killing propensity in the early literatures related to Sundarbans especially the fishermen, wood cutters and honey collectors. This particular problem has always been at the centre point in the management of Sundarban Tiger Reserve. The present study will deal with the problem and some of its solution. 1

Background Information: Sundarban is the largest river delta of India crisscrossed by tidal rivers and has extremely rich diversity of aquatic and terrestrial flora and fauna. Sundarban's highly productive ecosystem acts as a natural fish nursery. Millions of people living in the vicinity of forest depend on Sundarban Ecosystem for their livelihood and sustenance through fishing, collection of honey and fuel wood/timber. Average annual maximum temperature is around 35 C . Average annual rainfall is 1920 mm. Average humidity is about 82% which is more or less uniform throughout the year. Flora: According to Champion & Seth classification, the Sundarban forest falls under the sub group 4B tidal swamp forest, with sub-divisions namely, Mangrove type 4B/TS1, 4B/TS2, Salt water type mixed forests 4B/TS3, Brackish type 4B/TS4 and Palm type 4B/E1.

Major species found in the forests of Sundarban are: Baen ( Avicennia marina , A. alba, A. officinalis ), , Genwa ( Excoecaria agallocha ), Goran ( Ceriops spp .), Garjan ( Rhizophora spp .), Kankra ( Bruguiera spp .), Sundari ( Heritiera fomes ). Hental ( Phoenix spp .) Dhundul ( Xylocarpus granatum ), Passur ( Xylocarpus mekongensis ) and Nipa fruticans (Golpata) palm swamps are extremely limited. Oryza coarctata (Dhani grass) are found all over the area. • True Mangrove species = 26 • Mangrove associates = 29 • Back mangrove species= 29 • Family = 40 Genera = 60 Fauna: Mollusc species = 177

Fish species = 364

Mammals species= 47

Insect species= 114

Birds species = 234

Reptiles species = 71

(Source: Tiger conservation plan of Sundarban tiger reserve, 2012)

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Demography: During post-independence period, this region witnessed sudden influx of population mainly due to migration. The displaced persons occupied vested lands and cleared forests for habitation. It exerted negative impact on the economy of fringe population. In Sundarban, 36.5% of the population belongs to SC/ST as compared to the State average of 25.61%. Nearly 95% of the population primarily depends on agriculture, which is mostly rain-fed mono-cropping, and about fifty percent of agriculturists are landless laborers. During agricultural lean season, due to extreme poverty people resort to fishing and collection of prawn seeds, even risking their lives from tigers and crocodiles. Study Area: Total area: 2585 sq. km. Critical Tiger Habitat: 1699.62 sq. km. Buffer Zone: 885.27 sq. km. (Source: Annual report of Sundarban Tiger Reserve 2005)

Materials and Methods:

The present study is based on the observations made during field visit and interaction with the frontline staffs of Sundarban Tiger Reserve along with already available data and literature. The Tiger of Sundarban is known as Royal Bengal Tiger (Panthera tigris tigris). Its claws are adapted to strike & hold prey while canines are designed for biting & killing, its short strong jaws are controlled by powerful muscles and soft pads for stealthy approach make tiger capable of sudden speed & burst of power. It is combined with highly developed sense of hearing & vision. However its power of smell has been reported to be not as powerful as the hearing ability. Its unique striped colour of deep yellow, orange and black are variable. Sundarban Tiger is different because of its adaptability to the unique mangrove habitat. Their behaviour is highly individual specific. (Tiger conservation plan of Sundarban tiger reserve, 2012)

Tiger in Sundarban employs individual hunting techniques for its broad range of prey including regular & occasional (cattle & human being) prey. This is based on different hunting tactics like concealment, stalking, sudden rush and then dispatch of prey. Predatory behaviour will also differ according to the prey species, prey size & hunting environment. 3

Territoriality of Sundarban Tiger:-The idea that Tiger is a territorial animal came from the study made by Seidensticker when he tranquilized a tiger for the first time in Sundarbans which had strayed into a village & subsequently released the tiger into the forest. The tiger was found dead & the cause of death was attributed to a territorial dispute between the released tiger & the resident tiger in whose domain, the tiger was released. But in recent times, a number of strayed tigers have been successfully relocated in good habitat types far away from straying zone. Intensive monitoring of the released tiger was done for all of those relocations. In none of the cases, evidence of territorial conflicts was found. To add with, in Sundarban, because of different physical factors tiger wanders a lot but the range requirement of tiger is not known actually. (Tiger conservation plan of Sundarban tiger reserve, 2012)

Man eating propensity of Sundarban Tiger: --Within the memory of man, Sundarban tigers have been ill-famed as man eaters. The earliest known written document is found in the letters of Portuguese Jesuit missionaries, among them Francis Fernandez and Melchoir Fronseca, who travelled to Bengal in 1598 and 1599. For the first time they reported that tigers of gangetic delta are fond of human flesh. (Holsten, 1925)

Man eating behaviour of Sundarban Tigers has been historically authenticated but since how long is not known. The data provided below, gives an idea of casualties in the undivided Sundarban during last century (Gupta, 1964):–

Year

No. of man carried away

No. of tiger killed or trapped

1881-82

161

3

1883-84

168

8

1907-08

120

9

1911-12

112

61

1914-15

79

36

1915-16

60

33

This behaviour of tiger does not have any intra-specific or intra-generic similarity with any of the Panthera species from anywhere in the world. The various groups of human being fall victim of

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tiger include honey collectors, fishermen including crab collectors, tiger prawn seed collectors & even Forest Department staff.

5

Map of Sundarban Tiger Reserve

Trap cage for capture of strayed tiger

6

Members of TSCF being trained

Nylon net fencing in Sundarban Tiger Reserve

Tiger being released after capture

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The reasons attributed for man eating propensity of Sundarban Tigers are as follows:--

A) Salinity :--Hendrics (1975) was the first to notice an increased percentage of human death by tiger in high salinity zone. Siddiqi & chowdhury (1987) also found human killing by tiger in high salinity zone is significantly higher than those in medium & low salinity zone. There are opinions from other authors too, claiming that the physiology of Sundarban Tigers is affected by high salinity which causes irritation resulting in human killing by tiger. But there is no scientific proof of this. It is to be kept in mind that inner organs like liver, kidney etc can be investigated histologically & Management Authority presently decides to do that in case of any tiger death.

B) Vegetation :--Chakrabarty (1978) identified that habitat of pure Ceriops & Phoenix does stand for highest human killing by tiger. It can be attributed that dense vegetation of Ceriops & Phoneix may influence the tiger to explore different preying strategy which may be successful for killing of human being after following them & assessing the chance of stalking by getting closest to them.

C) Prey density & Biotic interference :--Salter (1984) opined that the frequency of human killing is highest in areas at times of heaviest concentration of people. Hendricks (1975) also concluded that increased utilization of forest by human being resulted in higher casualties. Deodatus & Ahmed (2002) were of opinion that less prey density might also trigger up high human death if the biotic interference is maximum. However, in brief, Tiger density, prey density, kind & frequency of human activities & human casualties can’t be co-related as long as sufficient data are not available.

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D) Tiger straying: ---

The major issue in managing Human- Tiger conflict in STR is the straying of tiger into fringe villages & the rescue of the same without causing any harm on either side. It is worth mentioning here that STR’s only north – western boundary has an interface with 25 fringe villages which are densely populated with human & cattle. Many times it becomes possible for the staff and local villagers to drive the tiger back to the forest by using drums, crackers, fire etc. Sometimes tiger also goes back to the forest on its own. These straying incidents are termed as Temporary Straying, where in case of any repeated phenomenon, trap cage with live bait is being used to trap the tiger & then relocate the same. In Permanent Straying, the tiger takes refuge in a cattle shed or inside any village hut, when tranquilization is used to rescue the animal. Tigers in Sundarban stray into the neighboring villages because they are situated in the reclaimed forest land and in same places the boundary between the forest & agricultural land is even not distinct. Some villages have small patches of mangrove forests so the tiger gets into these forests by losing direction. Sometimes tiger easily cross the small creek in search of easy prey like cow & goat. Tigress sometimes litters inside the paddy field as she wants to avoid the danger of male tiger. Old aged & diseased tigers like the ones with broken canine also stray because it is difficult to hunt the prey in forest & finds easy to prey on domestic cattle. However, the process of rescuing a strayed tiger often offers following constraints:-A) The entire north western boundary of STR is surrounded by the villages which form clusters of islands and the area is criscrossed by small & big rivers /creeks & communication is very difficult, compounded by tides, which makes the transportation of animal after trapping or rescue very difficult. B) The population density is very high in the fringe villages & they have a single crop in the field mostly. As the tiger commonly attack their cattle & attack them during honey/ fish collection, so, they become revengeful & attack the strayed tiger & kill it, sometime, even by poisoning. C) The people also attack the animal because of their general strained relation with STR authority, because staffs penalize them for theft/ illegal activities like collection of fish, 9

timber, and firewood. So the people take opportunity by killing the strayed tiger in the village itself & assaulting the staff. D) The success of capture & release also depend on the area where the strayed tiger ultimately move into. If the strayed tiger is far from the rivers etc then the transportation of the animal as well as the staff becomes very difficult. E) Chemical immobilization requires high technical expertise, precision, courage, patience & decision making ability. Although regular trainings are organized for selected staff for tranquilization, still performing in a crowded area often poses difficulties.

Mitigation strategies with respect to tiger straying :---A) Protocol for reduced reaction time in case of permanent tiger straying :--To reduce the reaction time in any permanent tiger straying situation, following action protocol is followed: --i)

v)

Displaying of contact numbers of local Police, other concerned Administrative Officials, local public representative, Panchayet Pradhan/ member at Range & Beat office so that they can be contacted properly for mob controlling & other necessary actions. At the same time the contact numbers of Officers of Sundarban Tiger Reserve are also given to the members of Forest protection Committee and Eco Development committee so that they can inform immediately in case of any straying incident. ii) A speed boat to be kept always in ready condition so that the Quick Response Team (QRT) may act immediately. iii) Tranquilization equipment, translocation cages etc to be kept ready along with tiger guard & other necessary tools like nylon net, crackers, flame torch, search light etc for the Tiger Straying Combat Force (TSCF). iv) The Veterinary Surgeon and at least one staff who is trained in tranquilization & the speed boat driver should be always ready to act impromptu. In case of allowing leave, this issue has to be taken care of. Training classes are regularly organized for the front line staffs. Time to time group meeting in the villages creating public awareness, ecodevelopment works etc help a lot in getting information & co- operation from the villagers during tiger straying & rescuing of the animal.

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B) Protocol to be followed in Tiger rescue operation :--i) ii)

iii)

iv) v)

vi)

vii) viii)

The TSCF must be well equipped; should be accompanied by a Veterinary Surgeon & one trained staff for tranquilization. In case of acting in dark, proper search light, flame torch etc along with proper arms & ammunition to cover up the man who is darting is necessary. Use of tiger guard is a must. Before tranquilization, necessary instructions for mob clearance should be pronounced by hand – mike & police may be requested for securing the area. After tranquilization, the animal may be caged by using stretcher immediately under supervision of the Veterinary Surgeon. The caged animal should be boarded urgently & the boat must move to an open space, preferably in a nearby forest for post- tranquilization care, to be executed by Veterinary Surgeon. The animal should be kept under minimum of 24 hrs observation or any other accordant instruction from Chief Wild Life Warden has to be followed. The animal may be released after obtaining “Fit for release” certificate from Veterinary Surgeon. All such strayed out animal should be properly photographed and an IDCatalogue should be maintained for checking of repeated straying behavior.

C) Precautionary measures to be adopted to reduce tiger straying incidences :--Fencing the boundaries of the vulnerable forest areas by vegetative cover i.e. Ceriops- Excoecaria combination & mechanical methods by nylon net fencing using Avicennia posts along the forest fringe have been found to be very effective for last ten years. Both these fencings last about three years. Ceriops –Excoecaria fencing is not encouraged presently because it requires heavy toll of vegetation cutting. Now, nylon net fencing with Avicennia posts is mostly practiced which is planned to be further improvised with RCC posts & Bamboo to reduce even the Avicennia cutting and recurring expenditure. To add with, recent observations reveal that tiger starts negotiating the 8ft high fence by jumping over the same. Use of RCC posts & Bamboo pole can also help to erect the fencing at a height of 10 – 12 ft. the normal mesh size remains 4” X 4” to avoid any strangulation of wild animal like deer. Presently 54km of forest fringes out of total 70km has

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already been fenced & the further action has also highlighted in budget phase wise, including maintenance. To restrict entry inside the forest patrolling activities are strengthened. No unauthorized persons are allowed inside the protected area. This reduces chances of possible conflicts and tiger attacks. CREATION AND MAINTENANCE OF NYLON NET FENCING: A protocol for maintenance of the nylon net fencing has been designed with an aim of carrying out thorough checking and proper maintenance. The Protocol includes involvement of local Stakeholders in FPC/ EDC members also along with forest staff. A Fencing Register will be kept in each station and records will be kept in accordance to the parameters given below: S no. 1

Rank

Frequency

Remarks

Concerned Forest

Daily

He will take at least one concerned

Guard

FPC/EDC Member & both will jointly sign in Fencing checking Register.

2

Concerned

Beat

He will take the Joint Convenor of concerned

Weekly once

FPC/EDC Member & both will jointly sign in

Officer

Fencing checking Register.

3

Concerned Range

Once in 15 days

He will take the Concerned Forest Guard

Officer

or Beat Officer along with and will report to DFD/STR in detail as well as will mention in fencing checking Register.

4

Asstt.

Field

Once in a month

Director/STR

They will check the fencing in the field to verify that the same has been maintained properly.

5

Dy. Director/STR

Field

Once in six

He will check the fencing in the field to

weeks

verify properly.

(Source: Annual report of Sundarban Tiger Reserve, 2012)

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Parameters for fence checking: The total length of Nylon Net fencing has to be checked as proposed on following parameters: 

Height of Nylon Net fencing maintained (The height should be of 8 ft minimum; (in case of new fencing) and 6.0 ft ( in case of old fencing)



Height of Khal guard to be maintained at least 5 ft above from the highest tidal level estimated for ‘Kotal’ period.



Condition of nylon rope of the net (if the net found brittle, immediately it should be changed after bringing it to due notice to the concerned authority)



Condition of the posts of the fencing (if found rotting at the base, to be changed immediately after bringing it to due notice to the concerned authority)



Condition of the runner (the tensile strength to be checked) GI runners to be used nylon runners to be replaced immediately.



Condition of khal guard (if sagging noticed, to be repaired immediately)



Monitoring frequency (as proposed)

D) Compensation & Awareness campaign :--i)

To minimize the revengeful attitude of the local people, if any, regular awareness campaign is already in practice which needs further intensification payment of compensation on spot for human & cattle death & treatment of injured negates the chance of revenge killing of tiger. Presently, the compensation for the human death is Rs. 1.00 lakh & that of cattle death is Rs. 750/- which requires further consideration. Payment of actual market price on spot in cattle death can minimise the apathy of local villagers. Regular meeting with JFMCs is also the need of the hour. To ensure cooperation from the villagers entry point activities under Joint Forest Management are taken up.

A lot of eco-development works which include entry point activities and creation of alternative livelihood options have already been done to win the people’s confidence in STR, still, further action is also proposed in budget in a comprehensive manner to strengthen the relation with JFMCs.

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Results and Discussions: A careful analysis of the observations and data collected by the field workers of Sundarban Tiger Reserve shows a trend of reduction in tiger straying as well as human death caused by tiger. This trend has become conspicuous after 2001, when the Sundarban Tiger Reserve has started making the nylon net fencing along with the other initiatives to control the conflicts. The following table shows the extent of total nylon net fencing created till date.

Table 1: Range wise location of the existing Nylon-Net fence and it maintenance is given below: Range

Total length of nylon net fencing

Location

9 km. N.P.(W)

(inclusive khal guards)

• From Belegudam khal to Pirkhali Khal • Belegudam khal to Pakhirkhal: 5 km approx

S.W.L.S.

25 km. approx.

• Pakhirkhal to Lalitkhali: 9 km. approx

(inclusive of khal guards)

• Lalitkhali to Ranjit’s khal: 5 km.approx. • Ranjit’s khal to Duttar Beat: 6 km.approx. • Shamsernagar (Kalindi River side) to

BHT

Jhingakhali

20km. approx.

Beat: 13km. approx.

•Jhilla Compound to opposite of Budhbarer

( inclusive of khal guards)

Bazar :7 km. approx.

(Source: Annual report of Sundarban Tiger Reserve, 2012)

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Table –2. Data of Human Killing by Tiger in STR from Different Sources Person killed / Injured by Tiger (Report based on STR) (Report based on other sources) RCHP, Gosaba; BPHC Death Registar Office, Gosaba and NGO’s

Financial Year 1985-86 1986-87 1987-88 1988-89 1989-90 1990-91 1991-92 1992-93 1993-94 1994-95 1995-96 1996-97 1997-98 1998-99 1999-2000 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10

Died 32 25 21 14 12 43 38 34 31 5 4 2 5 2 13 15 12 14 8 2 6 9 8

Injured 6 6 7 3 10 8 7 5 4 0 2 2 2 4 1

Calendar Year 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Died 31 26 19 21 6 53 41 40 47 16 15 6 12 21 35 40 2 1 1 3 1 4

Injured 4 7 7 3 4 10 6 5 2 2 2 3 3 2 0 3 1 2

(Source: Tiger conservation plan of Sundarban tiger reserve, 2012)

The available data clearly shows that the conflict has reduced considerably after 2000. Before 2000 every year the human death used to touch double figure. After that the condition has drastically changed. This has also helped the management of Sundarban Tiger Reserve to create a better understanding with the local people.

At the same time it is seen that cases of tiger straying into the fringe villages has reduced considerably after 2001-02. This trend is continuing till now. 15

Table 3: ABSTRACT OF TIGER STRAYING IN SUNDARBAN TIGER RESERVE (As per data availability)

Year

Frequency

1998-99

37

1999-2000

32

2000-01

27

2001-02

21

2002-03

15

2003-04

13

2004-05

14

2005-06

2

2006-07

11

2007-08

11

2008-09

12

2009-10

14

(Source: Annual report of Sundarban Tiger Reserve 2012)

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Inferences from recent tiger straying incidences: ---

Eco developmental works done by the forest dept. in villages on the background of JFM plays an important role because this helps in strengthening the relationship of the forest dept. with the villagers. Awareness building is very important in fringe villages because instigation by some people may change the course of the entire incidence. Help from NGOs & local people is very important to tackle tiger straying problems right from collection of initial information to successful relocation. Sheltered place of strayed tiger in the village is important because the shelter place decides partly the success of darting. It is difficult to tranquilize a tiger in an open paddy field because of its vastness. Forest dept. thus needs better information & communication network along with infrastructure. More staff should be trained in tranquilization of wildlife & trained competent staff should be posted in vulnerable areas so that they can reach place of occurrence in time for action. Every tranquilization team should be covered by a supporting team to avoid failures which may lead to accidents. Conclusion: Sundarban is one of the most vulnerable and unique ecosystem with immense biodiversity value. Conservation of the world’s largest mangrove forest in totality is the precondition of survival of the royal Bengal tiger, the flagship species. For achieving this objective the management of Sundarban Tiger Reserve has to resolve the age old human tiger conflict. The high level of disturbance by forest resource users seems to provoke man-eating behavior among the tigers despite all other aspects mentioned before. Therefore, the number of tiger victims can only be reduced if less people enter forest. (G.Neumann-denzau and H. Denzau, 2010) Poverty is the most dominant factor for which all types of resource extractors are involved in the present jobs of fishing, wood cutting or honey collection. Enforcement of law, creation of alternative livelihood options for the fringe dwellers are other factors that can contribute to reduction of human death. All other steps already discussed earlier that have been effective especially the creation of nylon net fencing should also continue in future for minimizing tiger straying. The key factor is that, keeping people out of the tiger habitat can be achieved by human resource management in addition to forest resource and wildlife management in the forest of Sundarban.

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References: 1. Anon 2005, 2012, Annual Report of Sundarabn Tiger Reserve, (2005, 2012). 2. Anon 2012, Tiger conservation plan of Sundarban Tiger Reserve for 2013-14 to 2017-18)

3. Chakraborty, K. 1978. Ecology of Sundarban tiger with particular reference to range of habitats and adaptability to changes. Cheetal, Vol–20, 3-15. 4. Deodatus,F .,Ahmed, Z.U,2002, Survey to determine the relative abundance of tiger, wild boar and spotted deer in the Bangladesh Sundarban Forest, Dec 2001 to March 2002, SBCP, technical report no 17, 36 pp + 19 pp Appendix. 5. Gupta, A.C. 1964, West Bengal Forest, Centenary commemoration vol. 6. G. Neumann-Denzau, H. Denzau, 2010,Examining certain aspects of human-tiger conflict in the sundarban Forest, Bangladesh. Tiger paper, Vol-3, July-Sept.P-10.

7. Hendricks, H. 1975. The status of the tiger Panthera tigris (Linue; 1758) in the Sundarbans mangrove forest. Saeugetier Kundliche Mitteilungen, 23: 161-199.

8. Holsten, H. 1925, Jesuit letters from Bengal’s Arakan and Burma(1999-1600), Bengal Past and present 30, 52-76.

9. Seidensticker, J., R.K. Lahiri, K.C. Das and A. Wright, 1976. Problem tiger in the Sunderbans. Oryx, 267-273. 10. Siddiqi, N.A., J.H. Chowdhury, 1987. Man-eating behavior of tigers of the Sundarbans – twenty eight years’ record analysis. Tiger Paper, 14(3): 26

11. Salter, R.C., 1984, Status and Utilization of Wildlife, integrated development of the Sundarbans, Bangladesh. FO: TCP/BGD/2309(MF), FAO, Rome, 59 PP.

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