Human Animal Conflict - Pilibhit Tiger Reserve

What is the issue?

Traditional elements of man-animal conflict along with some site-specific triggers in Pilibhit have made this young tiger reserve one of the worst conflict zones.

How prevalent is the conflict?

• In Pilibhit tiger reserve in Uttar Pradesh, tigers have killed 6 people over the last 3 months.
• This is a new high even for this notorious conflict zone.
• Tadoba (Maharashtra) and Pilibhit are the two reserves that saw the bulk of the recent deadly attacks.
• Sunderbans (West Bengal) and Corbett(Uttarkhand) are other notable conflict zones.

What are the reasons?

• Visibility - Unlike elephants that occupy huge space and resources and are easy to spot, the big cats are good at avoiding people and often go invisible.
• Land Use Pattern - A drastic change in land use is evident in most of the conflict zones. e.g –
  1. Huge influx of settlers in Sunderbans due to various historical reasons.
  2. Fisherfolk ventured deep into the channels of the Sunderbans, while honey-collectors delved into the mangrove clusters.
  3. Large scale deforestation in Pilibhit for firewood and fodder added to the causes.
• Local reasons - In Pilibhit, the conflict was further exacerbated by the reckless farming choices made by the local community.
• Farmland at the immediate edge of a forest creates an illusion of extended habitat for the wildlife.
• Pilibhit’s widespread sugarcane fields and the choice of sugarcane and rice as prime crops have brought tigers and people dangerously close due to the absence of a functional buffer area.
• Riverbed (boulder) miners set up colonies for migrant labourers who start intruding into the tiger reserve in Corbett.
• Frequent human activities for long time inside the tiger forests greatly increase the chances of accidental encounters with the big cats.

What could be done?

• The bulk of human casualties occur in just a few pockets of acute conflict.
• Setting up of Wildlife corridors to absorb surplus cats from crowded reserves to tiger-deficient forests could be an option.
• A safer land use model and practical crop selection can avoid tigers getting confused with standing crops for their extended habitat.
• Instead of fencing, strategic and limited physical restrictions in the reserves in terms of human habitation could help avoid points of conflict more efficiently.

Source: The Indian Express