India's government estimates that there are 3,000 Bengal tigers in the wild, a 33% increase from 2014. Good news from a country whose human population continues to increase, threatening to overrun the magnificent feline. Human conflicts are also increasing in a country that contains 1.3 billion people. India has created two dozen new tiger reserves in the last decade, but most are surrounded by villages. Tigers are spilling out of reserves into inhabited areas looking for territory and food. T-1 is a leading example of the problem of lack of space. The female stalked the hills of central India for two years evading pursuers. She was blamed for 13 deaths. Officials tried to capture her using elephants and tranquilizers last fall, but failed. She was shot dead in November of last year despite a legal appeal to India's supreme court to spare her life. There are only about 4000 tigers left in the wild.
Just last week, villagers near Philibit Tiger Reserve 200 miles east of New Delhi beat a tiger to death. The disturbing video of the incident outraged India; the
New York Times liked it to a lynching. The dying tiger, first speared, can be seen groaning on the ground try to block blows with its paws as humans repeatedly hit it in the face with bamboo poles. The tiger died hours later, suffering multiple wounds and broken bones. The villagers said the cat attacked several people. Trouble started when a the 5 to 6 year old female attacked a man who entered the reserve to fish in her territory. Villagers attempted to chase the tiger away; in the ensuing battle eight more people were injured, one of whom died latter. A posse was quickly formed to seek revenge on the animal. They roughed up a few rangers who arrived on scene to intervene and snatched their mobile phone when they called for backup. The rangers were armed only with sticks. When senior forest officials tried to reach the scene, villagers blocked them, while the hunt proceeded. Thirty people have been identified as involved in the killing and at least four have been arrested.
Madhya Pradesh state has the most tigers with 500, according to the survey prepared for India's National Tiger Conservation Authority. Some parts of eastern India are still loosing tigers. Several premier reserves have no tigers at all, according to a leading tiger conservationist, Valmik Thapar. Mr. Thapar thinks the numbers pronounced by the government are generally correct. Some experts think the population increase could be due to improved counting techniques. Mr. Thaper hopes that India tiger population can return to the 1980s level of about 4,000, but there is a long way to go. “We need to focus on doing something about these problems,” he said. “We must look after these national treasures.” Prosecuting tiger killers, and connecting fragmented forest habitat are ways to make it clear India is serious about protecting its remaining natural treasures.
[young tigers in Maharashtra state; photo credits, NYT]
