Tiger roaming in Dudhwa National Park...file photo
Jagran Team, Lucknow: The rapid increase in the number of tigers and leopards in the entire Terai belt, including the Dudhwa Tiger Reserve, in an area of about 1230 square kilometers, has become a major threat to humans. Their clans grew rapidly in the forests, but instead of growing, the forests shrank. Due to this, wild animals started coming towards the population and the wildlife-human conflict is continuously increasing.
Human interference in the natural habitats of tigers and leopards and their critical zones gave rise to this conflict. In such a situation, tigers and leopards started considering sugarcane cultivation very close to the forest as grass. The tigress and female leopard considered this to be their natural habitat and started giving birth to babies here and raising them. On the other hand, when the villagers went to cut sugarcane adjacent to the forest, they had an encounter with tigers and leopards. These incidents started increasing rapidly day by day.
Generally, a tiger considers an area of 16 to 20 square kilometers as its territory and does not accept any interference in it. Their decreasing territory is also a factor in the increasing number of tigers. Experts have almost the same opinion on the increasing incidents of human-wildlife conflict.
Illegal occupation of 9300 hectares of forest land
There is illegal occupation of about 9300 hectares of forest land in the buffer zone of Dudhwa Tiger Reserve, efforts are underway to free it. As far as the cultivation of urad instead of sugarcane is concerned, due to abundance of Nilgai and flood affected areas, urad cultivation is less here. The area where tigers and leopards are present is a low lying and flood prone area.
Significant increase in the number of tigers and leopards
Dr. H. Rajamohan, Field Director of Dudhwa Tiger Reserve, says that the number of tigers and leopards has increased significantly, but the area of the forest has not increased. Now if humans come into the forest, tigers, tigresses and leopards will act like that. Their shrinking empire in the forest and increasing human interference in the forest are the main factors of such incidents.
Reduction in wildlife habitat
In the opinion of retired Forest Range Officer Ashok Kashyap, these incidents are increasing rapidly due to reduction in the natural habitat of wildlife inside the forest and problem of food items. After refusing, the villagers do not shy away from letting the animals go to the alarm zone, critical zone and even the accidental zone. For this reason tigers and leopards attack them. Kashyap says that to stop such incidents, the forest department will have to be friendly with the villagers. We have to stop considering or treating them as criminals. He says that there is too much human interference in the forest due to various reasons which is leading to conflict.
The coined term is human-wildlife conflict.
KK Mishra, editor of the international magazine Dudhwa Live and wildlife expert, says that a new term has been coined - human-wildlife conflict. The situation was created by man himself; man has been living in forests for centuries. Rural life also did not remain untouched by this, there were forests, fields, barns, rivers and ponds all around the villages where wild animals used to live. The meaning of symbiosis changed, humans destroyed forests and polluted rivers and ponds. As a result, there was discomfort among the wild animals. If we talk about Tiger Reserve or other protected areas, a study is needed.
Conflict between animals and humans due to increase in numbers
Sitapur: After the implementation of the Wildlife Protection Act, the number of wild animals in the forests is increasing. World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) coordinator Mudit Gupta said that due to increasing numbers, there is conflict among wildlife. Because of this, weak wild animals are leaving the forest and making their home around the population. Here they get the essential resources of life. For this, humans will have to adopt co-existence with caution.
Affected habitat of animals
Balrampur: There is abundance of leopards in Sohelwa Wildlife Division spread over 452 square kilometers. There are more than 200 leopards here, while three tigers have been confirmed. The main reason for the increasing human-wildlife conflict in the forest villages adjacent to Sohelwa is the impact of their natural habitat. The reason is that there is lack of other wildlife in the forest like food for leopards and tigers. Divisional Forest Officer Gaurav Garg says that villagers should not enter the area that has been determined around the forest. The number of waterholes in the forest has been increased. The conflict can be put to an end by not disturbing the natural habitat of wildlife.
wolf aggressive when harmed
Bahraich: Wildlife expert and GP Singh said that the reason behind wolves being attackers is that wolves live in packs. They have a tendency to take revenge. If any member of the herd is harmed, they become aggressive. He told that the reason behind wolves coming towards the village is that they easily get chicken, goat and other prey in the village. The area of Katarniaghat Wildlife Division is 551 square kilometers while Bahraich Forest Division is spread over 1043 square kilometers. This area is sufficient for wild animals. Sugarcane cultivation in areas adjacent to forests is also giving rise to wildlife conflict. Tigers and leopards often consider sugarcane fields as forests and start living there. When the villagers come forward, a situation of conflict arises.
Awareness is the mantra to avoid conflict
Dr. H. Rajamohan, Field Director of Dudhwa Tiger Reserve, says that the main means to prevent conflicts in the forest is awareness. He said that more than a hundred elephants, which arrived here amidst huge noise in Nepal, have not gone back yet. Tusker has become a problem. Information about the movement of the tiger is also available in advance. Loudspeakers are tied to the vehicles of all their jurisdictional officers, through which publicity is given in the respective villages and alerts are given. In most places, villagers become cautious by agreeing, but where they don't, conflict occurs. Bagh Mitras are also going to every area of the forest and continuously making people aware.
New forest is included in the working plan
DFO Sanjay Viswal said that huge trees are continuously falling in the forest. The plan to re-enrich the forest is included in the ten-year working plan of the Forest Department but it has not yet been implemented in the Tiger Reserve. There is a plan to grow a new forest and it will be implemented soon.