Poachers' arrest shows tigers still under threat.

[Guest guest]

Poachers' arrest shows tigers still under threat.

By R. Krishna Kumar.

 

06/12/2002

The Hindu

© 2002 Katsuri & Sons Ltd

 

Mysore June 11. The intricate network of poachers and the scale and range of

their operations has been exposed by the crackdown on a gang hailing from

Madhya Pradesh which was preparing to poach animals in the Nagarahole

National

Park.

 

The shocking incident also underlines the urgency to fill the vacancies in

the

Forest Department and recruit watchers, forest guards, and those performing

the core duty of protection and conservation. Currently, the wildlife wing

is

facing a 50 per cent staff shortage with the existing being deputed for

non-core duties.

Sources said it was imperative to recruit young foresters and guards. The

average age of serving personnel was more than 45 years. Foot patrols should

be enhanced and the personnel provided with arms and wireless equipment.

 

More than 40 persons hailing from Katni near Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh were

arrested near Nagarahole National Park on Monday. A series of raids that

followed led to the recovery of traps and other equipment used by the

poachers

to maim and slaughter animals.

 

What is intriguing is the arrival of the poachers from distant Jabalpur in

Central India and the ease with which they entered the protected national

park

and snared a tiger near Mastigudi by using a " jaw trap " .

 

The jaw trap was sighted for the first time in South India and immediately

sent alarm signals pointing to a link between local small-time poachers and

those operating from Central and North India. The incident also reinforces

the

pessimistic view that tigers continue to be in trouble and the crisis facing

this endangered animal is far from over. Though the official Census figures

continue to project a rosy picture, the ground reality is frightening. The

official figures show that nearly 3,750 tigers survive in the wild, whereas

experts and NGOs working in conservation circles point out that there are

less

than 3,000 tigers remaining in the wild in the country. There were nearly

1,00,000 tigers in the country at the beginning of the 20th Century.

 

The crisis stems from degraded forests, habitat destruction, human

interference in forest areas, and depleting prey base. Poaching, which

constitutes the single greatest threat to wildlife conservation in India,

has

compounded this crisis. According to sources, the global trade in wildlife

derivatives is said to be approximately U.S. $6 billion and is next only to

the trade in drugs and narcotics.

 

Indian tigers are highly susceptible to poachers because its organs and

parts

are used in traditional Chinese medicine. Wildlife conservation experts told

The Hindu that one tiger could fetch nearly Rs. 1.5 lakh to Rs. 2 lakh in

the

international market. Poaching and trade in wildlife derivatives is fostered

by the prevailing myth that tiger bones have aphrodisiac properties. A kilo

of

tiger bones fetches nearly $350, according to sources.

 

With tigers almost non-existent elsewhere, the international network of

poachers has turned its attention on India which harbours more than 60 per

cent of the tiger population in the wild. According to wildlife activists,

the

trade route for wildlife derivatives passes through the border areas of

north-east India from where they are either smuggled to Nepal, Bhutan, or

Burma and, thence, to China and the Far East, via Vietnam or Taiwan.

 

Though official figures are not available on the number of tigers poached in

the country every year, the former Field Director of Project Tiger, P.K.

Sen,

had admitted that at least one tiger was poached everyday.

 

The Nagarahole incident could prove to be the tip of the iceberg and should

send alarm bells ringing. The Principal Chief Conservator of Forests

(Wildlife), S.K. Chakraborthy, told The Hindu that the process to fill

vacancies in the department was being expedited.

 

 

 

Folder Name: Asia Conservation Tiger

Relevance Score on Scale of 100: 96

 

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