Tiger translocation | Shifting stripes

Tiger numbers in Maharashtra represent a roaring success of conservation efforts. The estimated number of big cats in the state in 2022 is 444—up from 312 in 2018 and 190 in 2014. The state has the fourth largest population of tigers after Madhya Pradesh (785), Karnataka (563) and Uttarakhand (560). The rise is due to better habitat management and enhanced protection measures. However, the spread of tigers in Maharashtra is lopsided—they are concentrated in the Vidarbha region, especially eastern Vidarbha, which is part of the central Indian landscape. The Brahmapuri and Chandrapur forest divisions in Chandrapur district are estimated to have around 120 tigers, outnumbering several tiger projects. Growth in the tiger population here has led to a rise in man-animal conflict. Since 2017, around 250 people have been killed by tigers in the state, with 76 deaths, the highest in recent years, occurring in 2022.While Vidarbha bristles with tigers, western Maharashtra offers a stark contrast. The Sahyadri Tiger Reserve in the Western Ghats, which spans an area of 1,165 sq. km, has no breeding/ resident tigers. The reserve covers 600 sq. km of core forest land and 565 sq. km of buffer area in the Satara, Sangli, Kolhapur and Ratnagiri districts.This has led to the Maharashtra forest department considering a proposal to translocate tigers from areas experiencing increasing human-tiger conflict, particularly the Brahmapuri forest division in Chandrapur district in Vidarbha, to the Sahyadri Reserve at the other end of Maharashtra. The ‘scientific population management’, it is believed, will reduce man-animal conflict in areas where tiger numbers are deemed to have reached saturation levels and help recover the population in parts where it has been flagging. The idea comes on the back of a similar translocation project this year that saw two tigers from Brahmapuri’s forests being moved to the Nawegaon Nagzira Tiger Reserve in Vidarbha’s Gondia and Bhandara districts. In September 2022, the Maharashtra forest department secured permission from the Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change to translocate five tigers. In May, two tigresses were released in Nawegaon Nagzira. It was Maharashtra’s first tiger translocation project. A forest department official says that of the two tigresses, one had settled in the core area of the reserve, while the other had migrated to South Balaghat in Madhya Pradesh. “These tigresses have not been involved in any conflict, which is a positive sign,” he notes. Three other tigresses may be released into the Nawegaon Nagzira forests after the monsoons, when it is easy to monitor their movements.The Brahmapuri forest division—which has around 65 adult tigers and 25 sub-adults and is spread over around 2,900 sq. km, including 1,200 sq. km of forests—caters to the spillover tiger population from the nearby Tadoba Andhari Forest Reserve, also in Chandrapur district. However, Brahmapuri has around 610 villages, of which around 350 lie close to forested areas. This has led to tiger attacks on humans. Last year, around 20 people were killed here.Maheep Gupta, principal chief conservator of forests (wildlife), says the proposal to translocate tigers to the Sahyadri reserve would be sent to the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA). “Around 10 to 12 tigers can stay in the Sahyadri Tiger Reserve with the existing prey base,” he explains. Herbivores were being shifted to Sahyadri to augment the prey base, adds Gupta. A senior official says that they have released over 70 mammals like chitals and sambar to the Chandoli National Park, which is part of the tiger reserve, as part of the plan.“We are taking permission from the Centre and the NTCA... to shift tigers from congested areas to the Sahyadri reserve and other conducive habitats,” Sudhir Mungantiwar, Maharashtra minister for forests, tells India Today. He adds that the plan is to translocate eight tigers to the Sahyadri Reserve.The NTCA’s ‘Status of Tigers 2022’ report notes that the Sahyadri Tiger Reserve did not record any tiger presence during the sampling for the countrywide estimation in 2022. Sahyadri’s tigers were once linked to the tiger population in Goa and the Kali Tiger Reserve in Karnataka. However, the jungle corridor has been fragmented due to mining and road construction projects. The last direct sighting of a tiger in Sahyadri was in 2019. “The Sahyadri Tiger Reserve does not have a known stable tiger population. However, signs of tiger presence have been recorded within it and in the surrounding forests,” the report states.A former forest service official says translocation of tigers from Vidarbha to the Western Ghats will help in their genetic dispersal and prevent inbreeding. Other forest officials add that the future of tiger conservation in Maharashtra may lie in the Sahyadri, as other tiger-bearing areas in Maharashtra have reached their carrying capacities. The establishment of a breeding tiger population in the Sahyadri reserve will help it serve as a source population for areas in Goa and Karnataka too.Edited By: Aditya Mohan WigPublished On: Sep 7, 2023Must Watch

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