Stealthily, tigers roar into Gadchiroli. Their survival depends on protection

In April 2016, a six-day preliminary survey by Wildlife Trust of India for tigers in Gadchiroli, which has 76% of dense forests, turned out to be a wild goose chase. However, five years later, the big cats are regaining lost ground in this tribal district of Maharashtra.
“Camera trap images show the presence of at least 20 tigers — including 10 cubs with four sub-adults — mostly concentrated in Wadsa, Gadchiroli and Allapalli divisions.It’s a big challenge to protect them,” says Kishor Mankar, conservator of forest (CF), Gadchiroli.
Chandrapur CCF NR Praveen, who held additional charge of Gadchiroli for seven months, adds that the number could be “around 25”. “Tigers are thriving as there is no competition in the mixed forest areas of these divisions. The rich forest is 3 times the size of Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR),” he says.
Gadchiroli, before its bifurcation from north & south Chandrapur, had the presence of 115 tigers in 1989. In the last three decades, barring sporadic presence in Wadsa, they had disappeared. It was a result of a combination of two things — poaching and poor protection by forest staff wary of Naxal presence.
As per the All India Tiger Estimation (AITE)-2018, there are 312 tigers in Maharashtra but an independent estimation (Phase-IV exercise) conducted last year by the forest department with Wildlife Institute of India (WII) pegs the number at 331. However, this doesn’t include the tigers of Gadchiroli.
“There were no two opinions about tigers going extinct in Gadchiroli. But the sighting of a young pair of tiger on Armori-Wadsa road on July 17, 2017, was a silver lining. A young male and female (perhaps a mating pair) were sighted on the roadside by bus passengers. This family is growing now,” says ex-DFO Deepak Chondekar, who was posted in Wadsa division then.
Dispersing tigers from Tadoba reach Bramhapuri from where they cross Wainganga river to reach Wadsa, which has become a source area now. The surplus population has spread and is settling down in Gadchiroli.
“Our first survey in 2011 found indirect tiger evidence in Wadsa and Porla. By 2016-end, tigers had already reached there,” says wildlife conservationist Prafulla Bhamburkar.
The increase in numbers after 2016 has been remarkable resulting in man-animal conflict, especially in the last three years. “In 2019, six human deaths were recorded followed by four in 2020 and three in the current year. During the same period, 110 people were injured in attacks. In 2020, a couple of tiger deaths also surprised many who believed there were no tigers in Gadchiroli,” says Mankar.
To ensure the presence of tigers in Gadchiroli, the forest department will to have enhance the prey base. “We need to develop meadows and grasslands to enhance the herbivore population. Currently, tigers are dependent on cattle, nilgai and wild boar. Cattle kills increased from 390 in 2019 to 511 in 2020, and it is 56 this year,” says Mankar.
“As a first small step, Rs 1 crore has been allocated for implementing the Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Jan Van scheme in four Gadchiroli villages. Of this, 40% will be spent on alternative livelihood and 60% on habitat development. Our proposal was for 25 villages but the sanction was for only four,” says Mankar.
Experts called for a long-term master plan for Gadchiroli if both tigers and people need to co-exist. Gadchiroli honorary warden Milind Umre says, “The biggest hurdle is lack of political will. On May 18, when a tendu collector died in a tiger attack in Dibhna, woman Shiv Sena leader Chhaya Kumbhare threatened to blacken the face of forest officials if tigers are not reined in.”
There is a need to educate locals and train forest staff on animal calls, scat, pug marks etc. “Former Wadsa deputy conservator Niranjan Vivrekar had evolved a strategy to monitor tigers by displaying yellow flags where its evidence was noticed. This was to stop people from venturing in that area. Locals were also involved in monitoring the tigers. This strategy had worked well,” said Umre.
Ex-honorary wildlife warden Uday Patel called for ensuring a safe passage for tigers by strengthening the corridor towards Navegaon-Nagzira Tiger Reserve (NNTR) in Bhandara-Gondia and Indravati (Chhattisgarh) through Pranhita wildlife sanctuary and Kolamarka conservation reserve (both in Gadchiroli).
“Kolamarka and Pranhita have not yet been handed over to wildlife. As monitoring of tigers is difficult in Gadchiroli due to its vastness and and fragmented forest patches, collaring of tigers also needs to be taken up to curb conflict,” added Patel.
Bhamburkar also wants a “conducive atmosphere created in Gadchiroli” where people are heavily dependent on the forest for a livelihood. “The priority should be to help tribals reduce dependence on the forests which have the potential to accommodate 40% of the state’s tiger population,” he says.
The wildlife expert was also disappointed that the “finest mixed-miscellaneous forest patches in Central India” were being handed over to FDCM. “It only converts dense forests into open forests and plants teak. This practice should stop as even local forest-dwellers are suffering by losing mega diversified forest,” says Bhamburkar.
Patel has sought an extensive survey on tigers in Gadchiroli. “No estimation has been done here for the last 20 years. Teak-dominated Chaprala sanctuary is dying a natural death and there are no tigers there since 1997, but still areas like Ghot, Lakhamenda, Kolamarka, Patanil, Kunjemarka, Ambezara, Kurmal, Balladam, Parsewada, Modewahi, Loha, enliven high hopes as tigers invariably use them,” he says.
WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE
* Creation of mini core rounds near perennial streams, waterholes to conserve them from encroachments
* Making staff and local villagers more aware
* Start jungle safaris in areas which will bring income for locals through tourism
* Increasing number of herbivores like sambar and deer
* Creation of mama talaos with miscellaneous and fruit trees to provide shade and food for ungulates
* Development of meadows and grasslands
* Setting up of protection huts in sensitive areas
* Stop forest produce collection and grazing in tiger-bearing areas
* Stop giving high-quality forest to FDCM