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Male tiger ustaad T-24 killed forest gaurd in Ranthambore
Male tiger ustaad T-24 killed forest gaurd in Ranthambore
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Male tiger ustaad T-24 killed forest gaurd in Ranthambore
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Thanks, Peter. I would love to contact Dicky and get him to start posting here. However, I don't know how to contact him. I had sent him a friend request on facebook earlier. Still waiting.
The article is amazing in details and covers every topic that was debated during that time. I personally witnessed the amount of filth that was being posted on social media against the poor guard that lost his life, the whole forest department and Dicky and other hotel owners, by the so called 'tiger activists'. In all this it was the conservationists like Ulhas Karanth, Valmik Thapar on one side and these facebook activists on the other. These are people who have seen and studied more tigers than anyone on earth, yet they were being called names and insulted repeatedly and their opinions dismissed. Not only this, their character was also maligned. I couldn't believe the amount of conspiracy theories that were being thrown around. The arguments being put forward were ridiculous and kept changing every minute. And for what? A proven man eater. These same people were silent when a far larger tragedy was occuring amidst all this, the NH7 expansion that would cut off Kanha & Pench. Plenty of tigers are being hunted even today and their habitat destroyed, yet these people are silent. These people were acting not like tiger lovers but like people whose pet dog had been taken away. And were bashing the same people who are working day and night to save the tigers. The forest guards of Ranthambhore had actually provided a written petition that if T24 wasn't taken away, they would stop all patrolling. The petition also mentioned the amount of social media abuse they were getting. All this was so sad to see. Most tiger attacks happen on the edge of the reserve. So it's not like people are illegally entering the forests and are being killed. No one is stupid enough to venture deep in a forest filled with tigers. The attacks will continue to happen due to the presence of people around the reserves and their cattle which is too much of an attraction for tigers to pass.  (10-18-2015, 10:17 PM)Shardul Wrote: Thanks, Peter. I would love to contact Dicky and get him to start posting here. However, I don't know how to contact him. I had sent him a friend request on facebook earlier. Still waiting. You're a little harsh with these words I think. There are no such thing as "fb activists" They are just people, same as you and me. Their opinions are just as valid as any others. It wasn't just amateurs with no idea what was going on, it was people from all over india, different reserves, forest departments, biologists and so forth. There will always be bad apples in any group uprising but the many outweigh the few. And I truly think the many are acting in what they think is best for wildlife and Tigers in general. I definitely don't agree with the forest dep't being threatened but that comes with the territory, it unfortunately is a part of the profession they are in now a days. Not by their choice obviously but whether between locals or tourists, they cannot please all. Maybe if the gov'ts took a more active role with protecting them and financing them, it would be better, but it would never stop. Any time you try and "police" something, there will always be a controversy from something or someone. "Plenty of tigers are being hunted even today and their habitat destroyed, yet these people are silent." Remember, this topic goes hand and hand with what you stated here, these people having an uprising over Ustaad or Cecil is a good thing, not bad. It has brought mass attention from more than just that country, but the world. I think more and more people have become aware to the damage we have been doing for 100s of years and the trend is changing. I don't think we are silent bystanders anymore, people come together for many issues, the world has lots, so its hard to address every single one. But I truly believe the tables are shifting, whether its too little too late, may be another issue. Its a shame that Ustad is gone, whether you agree or not, you have a valid point for either. Like Peter wrote "A detailed, very informing, well-written and interesting report on why male tiger T-24 was arrested, tried and sentenced. The charges were four counts of first degree murder and he was found guilty on all. No question whatsoever. The judge had no other choice." and the flip side is .... The law of Man holds no barring in nature. We can put our moral code in a book but nature will never read it. You don't live in California and not understand the risk of Earthquakes, you don't move to Oklahoma and expect tornadoes to stop spinning. Wild animals are simply a part of nature, to expect them to follow our made up laws would be a foolish and dangerous road to trek. I certainly am not saying that these people and guards don't understand the risk about where they live, but that doesn't mean they are more or less right than others.
Ustaad is very sick, he hasn't been eating and has actually been sick since he was brought to the zoo. Obviously the amount of stress he went through is too much.
http://indianexpress.com/article/india/i...npur-park/  *This image is copyright of its original author You know what the worst thing is, they say that he weighed over 215kg but they don't give an exact number, correct? We know he weighed 240kg when 3.5 and said to be 250kg when originally captured, so it really could be quite a bit of weight lost, and the 15kg estimate could be used to make it seem not as bad, but its obviously very drastic. Not to mention how they tried to claim he was healthy initially and obviously that has never been the case. (see below)  *This image is copyright of its original author This picture made me soo sad!  *This image is copyright of its original author
I have not seen this thread before and I enjoyed reading the heated debate.
First I would like to pay my respect to the fallen forest guard and his loved ones left behind, despite my love for tigers and all other animals human life remains more precious and humans are above all. Sentencing a tiger to a life of captivity is better than to euthanize it, we put dogs down every day for attacking humans, so removing a known man killer or man-eater from an area is not out of the ordinary but maybe translocating the animal to an area with less tourism is an option, a lioness that killed a forest guard in Tarangire NP in Tanzania was translocated to another park versus keeping her in a zoo. It is a sad end to Ustaad there are less than 1000 adult male tigers in the world now and they are all precious but human life should remain a red line. 
The red line of human life may have to be shifted soon, and actually already has in favor of the tiger due to the density of humans. This past semester I was assigned to researching tiger-human conflict. Most conflict in India and Nepal is with livestock, but a lot of the occasional maneaters are left free as I wasn't able to find news reports of the amount of tigers being removed that matched the amount of maneating. For PR reasons most likely, it seems big name tigers (T24, Bamera) are the ones locked up to give the people a false sense of security.
Also to say a dog who is living in an urban setting and is only there because man abandondened it, or it belongs to man etc. compared to a wild animal living in what little habitat it has left attacking a foreign thing is not a correct analogy.
Dogs are "mans pet" in urban life, tigers are apex predators and the furthest thing from a domestic pet. 
@ Pckts
Proof of that is my local feral dog population near Winchester in the state of Virginia. Turns out that a Barnum Circus tour in the 90s accidentally released their grown domestic dogs instead of the adult wolves they owned for a week during their tour. And from there the dogs simply thrived around my area. These dogs were full blown hypercarnivores, about 6 got injured around my area by them. The dark side of circuses, you know? 
Maneater tiger who killed 4 humans sentenced life in zoo
By Dr. Anuj Pahal - Updated: March 30, 2016 SHARE  *This image is copyright of its original author Th Supreme Court has jailed a Ranthambore Tiger named ‘Ustad’ or T-24 for killing four humans in five years. The verdict of life sentence came as a surprise to many as they believe that extending such hard punishments to the animal world is unfair and against the India’s ‘Save Tiger’ campaign. The verdict was given by a bench of three justice including Chief Justice TS Thakur and Justices R Banumathi and UU Lalit. Challenging the decision, Tiger conservationist Ajay Dubey, through senior advocate Indira Jaising said that claiming Ustad to be a maneater is extremely hard decision as no proofs are present to prove it. There have been four human killings associated with the Ustad in past five years, but no one has ever seen T-24 killing a human. Everytime, Ustad was found roaming around the body when officials figured out the dead body. In addition, Jaising opposed the court’s decision to shift the T-24 from Ranthambore to hundreds of kilometers away in Sajjangarh Zoological Park in Udaipur, Rajasthan. While appealing she explained the judges that there is a huge difference between a maneater where a tiger hunts human habitually and tigers who are forced to kill humans due to an encounter by chance. In all the four occasions, Ustad killed humans by chance. “There is a difference between a man-eater tiger which habitually hunts humans, and tigers who may have had a chance encounter with humans primarily due to provocation by humans. Tigers involved in chance encounters are not to be removed from their natural habitat and evidence against T-24 can be at best attribute his involvement in chance encounters,” she said. On the lack of evidence remark made by Jaising, the bench of court said that we don’t need evidence whether the tiger killed humans or not as it will not roam around to body to guard, killing humans is his natural instinct. Judges further added that Ustad will keep on killing humans if not barred. Thus, T-24 will keep on entertaining the crowd in Sajjangarh Zoological Park. (01-01-2016, 04:46 AM)Polar Wrote: @ Pckts Indeed, in fact, packs of dogs are now reeking havoc in many areas. They are becoming unnatural carnivores to many animals as well as the animals who prey on them now run the high risk of contracting Canine Distemper "A recent survey by Humane Society International found that 17,061 stray dogs live in the five kilometre buffer area around the Corbett Tiger Reserve in Uttarakhand which has lead to a host of problems. Off these stray dogs, over 13,300 are unvaccinated and pose a threat to the park's wildlife. Recently in the Panna Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh, tigers have died from canine distemper, a deadly disease, after eating stray dogs. We urge you to write to the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand and politely insist that he address the problem immediately. Address: Shri. Harish Rawat, Chief Minister's House, New Cantonment Road, Dehradun - 248001." Email: [email protected] Image: Hrishikesh Sagar  *This image is copyright of its original author A pack of 7 to 8 Stray dogs from the neighboring village of Touria at Pench Tiger Reserve, attacked a herd of deer deep inside Pench National Park on 24/05/2013, killing 2 deer instantly. This was the second incident I saw in two days inside the Tiger Reserve. There are more than 30 stray dogs in the park and when authorities were spoken to, they were very casual and called it a minor incident and said nothing much can be done about it. Forest guide were mentioning these incidents happening on a daily basis for the last few months and the authorities seems to be least concerned even after receiving formal complaints from several visitors. This kind of incident would seriously damage the food chain & if these dogs are not sent out of the park then the Tiger might be forced to search for food in the villages. It also puts a question mark of safety of Tigers in these so called "Tiger Reserves"  *This image is copyright of its original author The NTCA had held a meeting last month to discuss handling of stray dogs in and around tiger reserves. Stray dogs from cities are dumped in and around tiger reserves, resulting in their killing while also spawning the threat of the spread of diseases to wildlife, including tigers, through the stray dogs. http://icppl.in/Stray-dogs-in-tiger-reserves-posing-problem… Vaccination of dogs has become a priority for Panna Tiger Reserve, that rose from infamy to script a turnaround by successfully reintroducing the wild cats. About 600 stray and pet dogs in 13 villages in the buffer zone of the reserve now sport an identity collar around their necks. This is proof that they have been vaccinated for eight diseases like canine distemper and rabies. A week from now, teams will fan out in the villages and trace the same dogs to administer a booster dose to neutralise chances of the canines contracting, and, more importantly, passing on the deadly diseases to the big cats. The 600 dogs, most of them stray, were chased and netted over the last fortnight by teams of five volunteers who collected blood samples, vaccinated them and put collars on them for easy identification. The vaccination drive, which has made some dog owners doubtful and suspicious of the motive, was triggered by the death of a tiger in August due to canine distemper virus. Dr Sanjeev Kumar Gupta, the veterinary doctor at the reserve, told The Indian Express, “We are appealing to villagers for cooperation.” There are 150 villages in the reserve’s buffer area. https://www.facebook.com/PlaneteTigre Photo de mon ami Janardhan Copyright Janardhan N Doraiswamy  *This image is copyright of its original author
SVTIGRIS Wrote: @Pckts that may have been the case but honestly it seemed really centered towards the guard and the national park themselves. The opinions of those commenting were not fully developed (or it did not seem that way) as the false hope of leaving them and letting the situation of population decline resolve itself was a pattern in the posts. I think when you start making decisions and opinions on raw emotions that is not the right way to go about a situation. Take Cecil. Hunting in Zimbabwe was banned but almost in no time it was allowed once again as it just wasn't sustainable (or at least that is what I remeber of the situation). We have to play a part in saving them, more than we did in destroying them in the first place.
I agree for the most part, especially with this part "when you start making decisions and opinions on raw emotions that is not the right way to go about a situation." And that is where I think a lot of people had a problem. They may feel like Ustads "sentencing" was based on that, Raw emotion aka Fear. But I have come around a bit, I know that there will never be an absolute compromise but if Ustads life means that the tiger population as a whole will continue to grow and garner protection than so be it. I wish it wasn't the case since I firmly believe that no animal life is worth more or less than a human life but unfortunately most people don't share that sentiment.
@Pckts well put, Ustad's almost "taking one for the team" in a sense. And all life is equal, we can agree with there. Conservation and especially situations like these and allowing hunting so the revenue goes to the animal in question, is so hard to deal with. If you have to go backwards to go forwards so be it.
Don’t interfere with nature
By Dharmendra Khandal Jan 28 2015 Tags: Leisure Writing  *This image is copyright of its original author Just before we celebrated the news of tiger numbers swelling, Ranthambore reserve had a bit of a scare two weeks ago. One of its tigers, code-numbered T24, fell seriously ill. It started with constipation, but quickly turned into obstipation, the animal was unable to pass any stool at all. The commonest cause for such a situation is hairball formation combined with some large pieces of bones in the animal’s intestine. Scat turns into a hard and stony substance and leads to impassable blockage. Forest guards found that the tiger would try very hard to defecate, squatting all the time, but to no avail. The vets tried to give him oral laxatives mixed in chicken, but T24 would sniff at it, but never consume it. When the tiger’s condition did not improve in more than a week, worried foresters consulted all possible experts. While some vets suggested surgery, tiger expert Valmik Thapar advised against intervening in nature’s course. Post-operative care of a wild animal is impossible without holding it in prolonged captivity. T24 had already been kept in captivity for four days during treatment for a leg injury. After this, he killed three people in different incidents, when they ventured too close to him. Experts connected these incidents with some past captivity stress, which is why this time around, they were scared that after such a big surgery, they may not be able to release T24 into the wild again. Park managers, therefore, decided to give him some external help through an enema of laxative. They shot some sedative drug darts at him, but the 240 kg massive male tiger managed to climb onto a small hillock. He hid behind a big boulder. Tension and apprehensions were heavy in everyone’s mind, because it wasn’t clear if the tiger had been tranquilised or not. A single slap of a tiger can permanently disable or even kill, so the guards approached him cautiously and found, to their relief, it asleep. They then brought the animal to the hill-base. After the veterinarians completed the enema-job, the tiger disappeared in the bushes. Two days later, on the 13th day that is, T24 finally managed to answer nature’s call, and everyone heaved a sigh of relief. This incident goes to show that by not resorting to surgery as a desperate measure, forest staff managed to give this tiger a fresh lease of life. http://www.mydigitalfc.com/leisure-writi...nature-448  *This image is copyright of its original author
The case of India’s Ranthambore Tiger #24, aka Ustad—transferred from his jungle-bound reserve home to a zoo after killing four humans—has recieved a lot of attention from the media, general public, and activists. But according to those who actually work on the front lines of conservation in the country, this decision is one based on careful consideration and ultimately, in the best interest of the species as a whole.
Anytime wildlife—particularly of the endangered or rare kind—and humans clash, the results are almost never good. That’s why it’s so impressive that India, a country of some nearly 1.3 billion people, boasts about 70 per cent of the world’s remaining wild tiger population. Laws like the Wildlife Protection Act, adopted way back in 1972, including an outright ban on species depleting activities like hunting and trade, make India one of the strictest national wildlife guardians on the planet. ‘Most people may know of India as a heavily populated country, full of inequities and problems. But somehow the government has managed to protect tigers and wildlife, making strict laws and enforcing them. They just did it, ’ says Dr. Anish Andheria, President of Wildlife Conservation Trust, an NGO that works to fill in the gaps left by government services, currently operating in 10 national parks and sanctuaries across 19 states in India, covering 72 per cent of 47 tiger reserves. ‘Tigers today are doing pretty well in India compared to their other range countries,’ says Andheria, ‘their population remaining stable or increasing in the past 10 years.’ While India’s government has done a truly exceptional job thus far ensuring the country remains a holdout for wild tigers, a big part of the species’ success story is also based on the general public’s tolerance and reverence of the big cats. Andheria says as part of Hindu religion and culture people worship animals and have a very deep respect for nature. People will, for example, generally accept livestock deaths linked to tigers as part of the tradeoff of protecting them. It’s only when human life and security is at risk, really at risk, that officials consider action. So when protests began over forest official’s call to relocate a publicly well known and beloved tiger, Ranthambore Tiger #24, aka Ustad, after he stalked and then mauled a park gatekeeper to death, the uproar came as quite a let down to the people behind the scenes. At the end of March, following nearly a year of legal battles plus public protests galore on both the streets and social media, the Indian Supreme Court ruled the Rajasthan Forest Department had made the right decision, removing the dangerous offender from the world-famous Ranthambore National Park.  *This image is copyright of its original author An unknown tiger observed by tourists in Ranthambore National Park. Photo by Adam Fraise / ShutterstockUstad’s fate seems finally sealed once and for all, but how did a standard wildlife management procedure manage to spark a countrywide debate that wound up in the Supreme Court? And did Ustad’s case really deserve all this attention? Here’s the low down on the truth—or the best version we of it right now—behind the case of ‘man-eating Tiger #24’, and some insight into why it’s important to go beyond the headlines and work through knee-jerk reactions when it comes to conservation issues. India—the wild tiger’s last true frontier Of the 13 countries worldwide that are home to the estimated 3,800 or so wild tigers still left, India has about 2,560 of then. That’s because the government’s really stepped up their game in the last decade or so, with 1973’s Project Tiger over time designating 49 tiger reserves, which together comprise 70244.10 sq. km. That may sound like a lot, but to true tiger-lovers like Andheria, that percentage should be much higher. Tiger reserves are not 100 per cent safeguarded locations for the animals, compromised of core protection areas—spots entirely monitored like National Parks, refuges, and sanctuaries—surrounded by much larger buffer zones without such stringent protection. ‘And within these buffer zones, tigers live side by side some three million people,’ says Andheria. Ullas Karanth, Senior Conservation Scientist with the Wildlife Conservation Society and Technical Director of their Tiger Conservation Program, elaborates on these stats in an email to Love Nature. ‘Breeding tiger populations are now confined to less than 50,000 sq. km out of 300,000 sq. km potential habitat in India, which is a country with an area of 3.0 million sq. km,’ writes Karanth. ‘The interface between tigers and people is restricted to a very small fraction of the land.’ Firm laws are in place to manage the delicate balance of these close quarters living arrangement. And for the most part they’ve worked. Tigers are classified as a Schedule 1 species under the country’s WPA, deemed highly endangered and hence fully protected by law against any harmful human activity. And the punishments for tiger-offences are harsh. Killing a tiger in the core area of a reserve draws a minimum three-year jail sentence that can extend to a seven-year term and fines starting at 10,000Rs. These legal deterrents have been enough to essentially squash most internal demand for hunting and poaching, Andheria says. But the demand from foreign markets, in particular where tiger parts are used for traditional medicine, continues to fuel the illegal industry. ‘Today the biggest threat inside the country for tigers isn’t poaching, it’s habitat loss,’ says Andheria. ‘And external poaching threats from places like China and now Vietnam too.’ Ranthambore Tiger #24, aka Ustad Long before Ustad caught notice for his unfortunate behaviour, he was a bit of a local celebrity. Born in 2005, the male was getting on years in tiger-terms, but remained a force to be reckoned with. A massive 250 kg, Ustad had a mate, T-39 aka Noor, three male cubs, and a choice stretch of territory running between three check posts on the periphery of the Northern Rajasthan State reserve. Because of the location of his range, Ustad was well known to park staff, hoteliers in the area, and visitors alike, often spotted on safari tours.  *This image is copyright of its original author Ranthambore Tiger #24, aka Ustad. Photo source: The Indian ExpressBut Ustad’s life was at a time of flux. Recently his eldest son Sultan had naturally begun to steal the spotlight. And a huge rise in tourist numbers over the past few years had begun to acclimatise Ustad to humans. Karanth explains that tigers are by nature afraid of humans and normally avoid them through stealth. They will attack and kill people when they’re mobbed and feel threatened, but normally continue to fear humans after such events. ‘It is only when, rarely, a tigers loses this natural fear and starts stalking humans like it would hunt other prey, that it becomes dangerous,’ he writes. ‘Once tigers do this, they cannot be left loose to run around to kill more people.’ It is not the act of killing or even eating the human kill per se, he adds, but the deliberate predation that is the key problem. When the people living in these reserves become fearful of such a tiger, the real trouble begins. And this is precisely how the stage was beginning to set itself up in Ranthambore last spring. Andheria says Ustad had already been implicated in the death of three men between 2010 and 2013, but it was not until the death of the gatekeeper that the question of removing the animal was really posed. ‘In the first three cases, the officials determined the men had been in the tiger’s area, some illegally. He was not branded a man-eater, and park staff didn’t want him to have to leave,’ says Andheria. But in the spring of 2015, Ustad waited behind a group of bushes, then stalked, charged, and mauled a forest guard, 56 year-old Rampal Saini, to death. ‘You must understand this tiger lives on the main road, very close to many people and visitors,’ says Andheria. ‘He was not removed because he was a man-eater—a word I don’t believe in anyways—but because he had habituated to people and precautions needed to be made.’ When it came down to it, the potential future risks of allowing Ustad to remain freely roaming in Ranthambore simply outweighed the benefits. The tiger was an older male who from a scientific standpoint had served his purpose for the species— no longer really adding to the gene pool and soon to be rightfully replaced by his heir. And what if Ustad’s next victim was a villager, someone totally uninvolved in the park’s management or defence whose death would surely spark the desire for revenge. ‘The response would be burnt forests, and people would poison other tigers on top of that,’ he says. ‘This is one reason most people in tiger conservation don’t give much priority to individuals. The mistaken action of one can fuel the death of many, many more.’ Karanth adds the after effects of such unfortunate events can also be damaging to the very people trying to protect tigers. ‘Tiger attacks on humans create massive riot-like conditions, government staff are beaten up, offices burnt, parks invaded etc. In my own state which has the largest wild tiger population of 400 or so, only two to three predation on human incidents may occur in a year but each lead to huge anti-conservation agitations,’ he writes. Locals and some forest staff had begun to call for Ustad’s removal, citing concern he’d strike again. And the victim’s family claimed the attack could have been prevented. This time there really was no other option than to consider relocating Ustad to a venue with far less access to humans. So according to Andheria, following procedure a committee was formed consisting of forest officials, tiger experts and non-governmental representatives to look into the matter further. He says the rules for removing a tiger from a reserve are very strict and take into consideration a range of factors. Each case is discussed separately at great length, and it is determined the animal is indeed habituated to killing do they recommend to the Chief Wildlife Warden (who makes the final call) that the animal be removed or eliminated. ‘In this case, those actions were all taken, and the decision was made to move the tiger to Sajjangarh Zoo,’ he says. ‘We cannot talk to the tiger, so we look at the circumstances and make a best judgement.’ Karanth also believes based on the circumstances, the best choice was likely made. ‘I am not an eye witness… but from all accounts of people who I know have worked for decades to save Ranthambore and know its tigers well, there was more than enough evidence to warrant the removal of that tiger.’ Making Ustad a ‘man-eater’ So if the forest department, wildlife officials, and experts never called Ustad a man-eater, why do so many headlines state otherwise? Very likely the media, it turns out, and rather ironically, those who probably thought they were operating on the animal’s behalf.  *This image is copyright of its original author Ustad in his new enclosure. Photo source: The Indian ExpressUstad was a public figure of sorts, explains Andheria, which is really why news of his transfer plucked on the heartstrings of the general public and drew ire from activists, many of whom didn’t really care to know the full story. Protests occurred and soon after, a petition was filed for the case to be reviewed in court. ‘In the end the case was taken all the way to India’s highest court, the Supreme Court, who ruled the forest department’s action had been correct,’ Andheria says. ‘Their directive means this is the final word, the ordeal is done.’ Yet despite the concreteness of this ruling, there are still campaigns calling for Ustad’s freedom. Twitter hash tags that raged throughout his trial, like #FreeT24 #bringbackustad and #JeSuisUstad still get tweets every now and then. And Bina Kak, Rajasthan’s former Environment Minister, has publicly stated the dominant male simply lived too long without incident in extremely close proximity to humans to be the man-eater people are claiming he is. She even posted pictures of Ustad strolling by local women on a path without paying them any mind. And there’s fairly clear evidence that Ustad’s case may not have been handled 100 per cent correctly. According to info the The Indian Express gained under the country’s Right to Information Act, the Rajasthan Forest Department has admitted it did not follow the Standard Operating Procedure guidelines set out by the National Tiger Conservation Authority in 2007 and revised in 2013, only filing their first formal report with the NTCA a reported nine days post-transfer, meaning they didn’t gain permission from the authority before taking matters into their own hands. On top of that, the department claims it hadn’t realised the SOP guidelines had been revised, so used 2007 criteria in their report. In the aftermath of all these revelations, the man ultimately responsible for the whole affair, Chief Wildlife Warden, R.K. Tyagi, has retired. It also turns out that the NTCA had recommended the state look into Ustad’s situation back in 2012, after his third human kill, which was in fact, another forest guard, Ghisu Singh. While the authority did not respond to numerous emails, calls, and even last-ditch social media attempts, it’s rumoured they’re none to pleased with how things turned out for Ustad. Respected American NGO Big Cat Rescue, a leading group working to end the captive tiger epidemic in the US, has asked their community to email Prime Minister Narendra Modi with a message of discontent over Ustad’s case, referencing this NTCA disconnect. National news outlets have also this disproval, with a representative of the authority demanding Ustad should be rehabilitated per WPA and SOP guidelines, returned to a more isolated region of the park away from human settlements. And according to Karanth and others familiar with Ranthambore, there was a bit of a historic precedent in the park that may have contributed to Ustad’s habituation. ‘Forest authorities there are to blame too because in the past, for years they have artificially fed tiger cubs, treated injured tigers and in one case kept alive a tigress which should have died a long time ago by such means… they sowed the wind and reaped a whirlwind,’ he writes. ‘I am not at all in favour of this entire approach of ‘humanising’ such a wonderful wild creature that must live and die as nature designed it to a million years ago.’ The final word?  *This image is copyright of its original author A tiger in Ranthambhore National Park. Photo by Aditya Singh / ShutterstockWhile these finer points may continue to fuel public calls and activist rallies to reconsider Ustad’s case, all in all, it’s unlikely the ruling will be overturned or even officially revisited. Most of these details were public knowledge well in advance of the recent Supreme Court ruling and as with any news story, eventually public and media interest dissipates and dies out. So what was really gained by dragging Ustad’s name, and park official’s reputation, through the papers and courts? Nothing, it seems. Andheria, Karanth, and several other leading tiger and wildlife experts argue that instances such as this, when an individual animal is given such focus and attention, actually work against the species on a larger scale. ‘Our focus should be on saving the species and increasing numbers, which means we cannot create conditions that make local people anti-parks and anti-conservation,’ writes Karanth. ‘If we do not eliminate tigers that prey on humans…we are putting their lives at risk, this sets back conservation.’ Instead of railing for tiger’s that have strayed from the norm like Ustad, Karanth recommends focusing on boasting the numbers of tigers in the wild. He claims we still need to build the tiger population ten-fold going forward, so humans and tigers are going to have to get even better at sharing close quarters in the future. Achieving this goal will mean require sacrificing the odd misbehaving tiger for the greater good. ‘The focus on saving every individual tiger, obsessing and romanticizing about them is meaningless act of self gratification for us,’ he writes, ‘but it actually harms the species when carried too far.’ As for Ustad, he’ll probably live out his remaining days in the zoo. Andheria says this zoo in particular, the Sajjangarh Biological Park in Udaipur, some 400 km away from Ranthambore, is larger than many other such facilities in the country. It’s not an ideal living arrangement for a full-size male tiger used to roaming at will, he says, but it’s the best that they could offer him. Andheria says it’s important during conservation trials like this to remember the bigger picture, which is the awesome success story of wild tigers in India. This triumph wouldn’t have been possible without the continued commitment of government officials, wildlife groups, reserve staff, and most importantly maybe, the general public. ‘People must remember that anywhere else in the world, had a tiger, even in a zoo, stalked and killed a human very few questions would be asked before it was shot and killed,’ says Andheria. ‘In India, we give tigers many chances before interfering with their natural wild lives, and only eliminate an animal as a last resort. I don’t know of anyplace else that has such respect and care for wildlife. http://community.lovenature.com/2016/05/...ing-tiger/
Ustad the Tiger Belongs in the Forest, Not in a Jail
By Rukmini Sekhar on 18/05/2016 • 4 Comments  *This image is copyright of its original author Ustad in Ranthambore Tiger Reserve. Credit: Himangini Rathore Hooja/Wikimedia Commons, CC0 It’s been a year since the magnificent Bengal tiger Ustad – Urdu for ‘master’ – was punished and ‘incarcerated’ in Sajjangarh Zoo. Though forest officials claim he is in fine fettle, the mystery of the tiger’s complete isolation is baffling. Notwithstanding department staff, veterinary and some officials keeping watch through CCTV cameras, no one has set eyes on him since his relocation to a ‘non-display’ area even as voices for his release to a forest enclosure – as opposed to imprisonment in a zoo enclosure – have been rising in pitch. A year later, his story needs recounting. Even if the Supreme Court has condemned this nine-year-old cat in the prime of his life to an ignominious life of captivity, Ustad’s record needs to be set right to save his reputation and hopefully his life. If Ustad, also known as T24, who once roamed in his 40 sq. km. territory in Ranthambore Tiger Reserve, Rajasthan, could speak, he may have asked why he was taken away from the forest, separated from his beloved Noor and two cubs, and locked up in a rat-infested enclosure (whose previous occupant, a tiger named Monu, had died of leptospirosis) in complete solitude, and projected as a dangerous man-eater. Failed to follow procedures The apex court’s dismissal of a special leave petition (SLP) consequently upheld the continued incarceration of Ustad despite no verifiable proof that he killed a forest guard, Rampal Saini, on May 8, 2015, or was responsible for two other killings he is accused of (PDF). This, despite a National Tiger Conservation Agency (NTCA) report which explicitly states (PDF) that the Rajasthan Forest Department violated all standard operating procedures (PDF) for a methodical investigation into the removal of any tiger from the reserve, and that Ustad should be re-wildened. Following a ‘Save Ustad Campaign’, which started on May 9, 2015, noted environmental activist Ajay Dubey filed an SLP in the Supreme Court in January 2016. A bench headed by Chief Justice T.S. Thakur insisted that experts had officially declared T24 to be a man-eater and that he could not therefore be be released. He had been condemned without a fair trial. On that fateful summer day, Ustad had no idea that a gang of hoteliers, NGOs, forest officers, tourism officials, mafia groups and politicians, from a fiefdom called the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve, would swoop in on an opportunity that literally fell into their laps: the death of Rampal Saini. The quick ambush and capture of Ustad while he was eating his kill with Noor and their two cubs, and his subsequent transfer to a zoo, with the haste and efficiency so atypical of Indian red-tape only makes us gawk in amazement at the power of all those who ganged up against him. Ustad’s habitat is Zone 1, a deep forest bordered by human settlements, the largest territory of any male tiger in Ranthambore. The main road of the reserve falls within this area and is used by thousands of pilgrims walking to the Ganesh temple in Ranthambore Fort. This is the setting of the incident that cost the tiger his freedom. On May 8, 2015, Saini was mauled and killed by an animal around 5.30 pm. At around 5 pm, Saini’s wife had noticed a tiger in her vicinity while illegally collecting firewood and grass inside the reserve. She dropped her load and ran to inform her husband, a sentry, and told him about the tiger in the bushes. Rampal picked up a stick and ventured more than 500 metres into the forest, ignoring his fellow forest guards’ warnings and in complete violation of the NTCA’s rules. He was attacked and killed by an animal at about 5.30 pm. Was it Ustad? Initial speculation mentioned that it could have been Sultan (designated T72), Ustad’s son who shares the same territory. This statement was later retracted. However, there was not a single eyewitness. Two hours later, Ustad (who was regularly in the habit of patrolling his territory at dusk) was spotted sniffing at the bloody spot on which Rampal’s body lay, as tigers are known to do. Little did he know that this perfectly natural and instinctive act would be his downfall. Photos were taken and Ustad was declared a maneater. Humans to blame From then on, knee-jerk responses, tumbling into a series of contrived events, tried desperately to implicate Ustad. Neither the investigations nor the team that conducted them met the NTCA guidelines (PDF). Moreover, RTIs filed did not yield any report of a forensic analysis of the loose soil around Rampal’s body for pug marks nor a DNA test. With inexplicable haste, Ustad was sent to Sajjangarh Zoo. Post-mortem results on Saini referred to shock caused by the bite of an animal with a ‘long canine tooth’ – implicating one of a tiger, leopard, bear or hyena (all of whom are found in the reserve forest).  *This image is copyright of its original author The field director forwarded an official letter implicating Ustad to the chief wildlife warden, R.K.Tyagi. On May 14, 2015, Rajasthan’s minister for forests, Rajkumar Rinwa, declared that no action regarding Ustad’s relocation would be taken till all reports were filed. On May 15, Tyagi, in contravention, issued an order to capture and relocate Ustad. On June 2, the NTCA report clearly says that the Rajasthan forest department acted rashly, did not follow standard guidelines (including cordoning off the area in order to monitor the suspected animal), and that instead of sending him to a zoo, Ustad should have been brought back into the wild. It also says that the attacks on Saini and two others had occurred deep in tiger-territory and that the human victims were at fault for trespassing. After much to-and-fro-ing of files (orders, reports, counter-orders, etc.), nothing happened except that Tyagi admitted to the director-general, wildlife, that he was ‘under pressure’ to move the tiger and that he had been unaware of the NTCA protocols. At the same time, the NTCA was also under pressure from environmentalists and activists to sack Tyagi. Sensing that disciplinary action would be taken against him, he put in his papers for voluntary retirement. Commercial interests in play As Ustad languishes in his concrete prison, who is to blame? The reserve is now encroached by more than forty commercial entities, at least 38 of them hotels and resorts in violation of the requirement to maintain a 500-metre buffer zone – prompting suspicions of political patronage. According to some witnesses, some of the hotels allegedly indulge in ‘baiting’ the tigers, luring them closer, and so offering guests a ‘premium’ experience of seeing the animal up close. The tigress Machli often leapt over the walls to be fed in front of gawking tourists. Ustad, a fierce and aggressive tiger, whose territory includes most of the encroached hotel properties, began to appear at the baiting points, too, spelling trouble for the establishments. Some of them also allow guests on park safaris to get off the vehicles and approach tigers in deep-forest for a closer view on foot. This would have been impossible around Ustad. After the Saini incident, proper investigations would have meant that the area would have to be cordoned off for a few weeks, smothering opportunities for tourism in May and June, translating into a loss of several crores of rupees. The ‘Capture Ustad’ group tried to further strengthen its case by saying that the villagers were pushing for Ustad to be removed as his presence compromised their safety. Nothing could be further from the truth. Village grassroots movements like Bhoo Premi Pariwar Sangathan, from the Sawai Madhopur zilla, and the Ranthambore Bachao Andolan Samiti have been campaigning for the last year to bring Ustad back to Ranthambore.  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author Ustad’s tourism value was on the decline. Sightings were rare. His exit paves the way for Sultan, his son and a far more ‘visible’ tiger, to step into his father’s territory. Hidden tigers are not good for business. The timber, sand-mining and fodder mafia, all politically connected, also stand to benefit from Ustad’s absence. Moreover, why was he taken to Sajjangarh Zoo, nearly 500 km away from Ranthambore? Per NTCA protocols, a man-eater should be sent to the nearest zoo, which in this case is the Nahargarh Zoo near Jaipur. He was accommodated in Sajjangarh because of Monu had died recently and there was a vacancy. For luxury resorts coming up on the periphery, Ustad, with his marginal reputation for eating humans, would be a huge draw. He could continue to be milked for money. On April 12, 2015, Prakash Javadekar, the Union environment minister, inaugurated Sajjangarh Zoo and promised that a tiger would soon be sent there. His promise was fulfilled less than a month later. It is routine practice for the people in the position Saini occupied to call safari-vehicle drivers upon spotting a tiger, and the drivers in turn would quickly usher in the sightseers – even if they are explicitly forbidden from venturing into critical tiger habitat, an area reserved just for tigers. And was Ustad a maneater? R.N. Mehrotra, ex-principal chief conservator of forests and wildlife warden of Rajasthan (2005-2011), says, “A tiger is declared a man-eater only if he continues to prowl and selectively kills only humans. It is much harder to chase prey, and if any tiger is still doing that, he is not a man-eater.” Ustad had never before been accused of attacking a single pilgrim, picking up cattle or charging at vehicles. His relocation and imprisonment, thus, find little justification in reason but much more in politics. Noisy tourists do not aid conservation and violate the need for a safe, statutory distance between man and animal. Venturing into deep tiger-habitat is akin to putting your hand in a snake pit and expecting the snake to not bite. Mehrotra adds, “Tiger reserves are areas essentially for [the] conservation of tigers [and] tourism is only a byproduct. But in this case, the hotel lobby in Ranthambore called the shots, preventing proper investigations by cordoning off the area. In India, if conservation is not a money spinner, there is no conservation. Tourism has failed the tiger.” Sajjangarh Zoo should not be Ustad’s permanent home. He should be shifted into a forest enclosure, not a zoo enclosure. Only nine years old, he still has the capacity to sire cubs and breed. But for now, he has lost complete control over his life and has been denied all rights. He deserves to be freed. Rukmini Sekhar is a writer and activist committed to justice for animals. http://thewire.in/2016/05/18/ustad-the-t...ail-36975/ |
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