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Man-Animal Interaction: Conflict & Coexistance
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`Let tribals guard tiger reserves'
The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), a statutory body governing all tiger reserves in the country, on Tuesday said that no rights under Forest Rights Act 2006 shall be allowed in critical tiger habitats (CTHs) which are duly notified under Section 38 V (4) (I) of the Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972. However, evicting tribals and traditional dwellers from tiger reserves is not always the solution. Creating a stake for them in reserves could also be an option. The biggest tiger reserve of the country, Nagarjunasagar-Srisailam has its security manned by its tribal folks `Chenchus'. The step taken by Andhra Pradesh forest department to employ at least one person from `Chenchu' family has been found effective by committee of experts which evaluated the management of the reserve between August 10 and August 30. "The young boys and women have been employed, mostly on daily wages," said R L Singh, chairman of the committee. The tribals are employed on basis of daily wages. The idea is to ensure protection and security of wildlife and natural resources of the reserve spread over 3,500 sq km. The tribals are trained in security mechanisms. They are familiar with remote areas of the reserve and can move around even at odd hours. "We have readied certain set of recommendations for better management which we would hand over to GoI," said Singh. National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), in May, had come up with `Management Effectiveness Evaluation' project. It had roped in wildlife experts, researchers, conservationists and activists to field visit all 39 reserves in the country and evaluate the effectiveness of their management plans. The reserves had been divided into five clusters, state-wise and region-wise, for evaluation. The eight tiger reserves lying in Naxalite affected belt had been put in Cluster III. The team of experts constituted by NTCA started its visit from Nagarjunasagar-Srisailam (Andhra Pradesh) on August 10. The team will now move on to Palamau (Jharkhand), Similipal, Satkosia (Orissa), Indravati, Achanakmar, Udanti-Sitanadi (Chhattisgarh) and Valmiki (Bihar). In Nagarjunasagar-Srisailam, however, the team did not notice any Naxalites. "Employment of tribals has helped in controlling the threat which was there till two years back," said Singh. The women have been employed as wildlife guards. Their job involves surveying the area in groups of 4 to 5 women. The idea is to ensure the presence of forest guards over maximum area of the reserve. The project report by all committees is to be submitted by December, 2010. The ever rising man-animal conflict, increasing incidents of wildlife crime, poaching threat and subsequent decline in number of tigers has led NTCA to design the said project. The management plan of reserves, breedable population of tigers, status of staff, water conservation and prey base are to be studied. Cluster I reserves Dudhwa (UP), Corbett (Uttrakhand), Ranthambhore, Sariska (Rajasthan), Melghat, Pench, Tadoba-Andhari, Sahyadri (Maharashtra) Cluster II reserves Bandhavgarh , Satpura, Kanha, Pench, Sanjay-Dubri (MP) Cluster IV reserves Bandipore, Nagarhole, Bhadra, Dandeli-Anshi (Karnataka), Periyar (Kerala), Kalakad-Mundanthurai, Annamalai, Mudumalai (Tamil Nadu) Cluster V reserves Namdapha, Pakka (Arunachal Pradesh), Kaziranga, Assam, Dampa (Mizoram), Buxa, Sunderbans (West Bengal) 
Guides and photographers are normally notorious for inducing wildlife interactions.... though sometimes with good effect- Koshi tappu reserve and Everest national park in Nepal
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   (06-20-2017, 10:36 PM)sanjay Wrote: This is an amazing and very rare video to witness in the wild. I think the guide was very calm and courageous. @Pckts imagine the trill, excitement and fear of witnessing such experience in wild ? What if it had happened to you in Africa ?Incredible! I had a couple of elephants trumpet at me and one charged us but we were already moving quickly past so we were in no danger but this would definitely be scary and beautiful to experience. But if you notice the elephants demeanor, it's very inquisitive and shows all the signs of being relaxed and curious. Animals give you signs of their mood, it's your job to interpret them correctly, a guide like that knows good and well what each subtle sign means from an animal, I'm sure.
Big cat, maximum city
*This image is copyright of its original author Frédéric Landy JUNE 24, 2017 16:07 IST UPDATED: JUNE 24, 2017 17:17 IST Imagine, the city that’s most densely populated with humans is also the one with the highest density of leopards Entering a national park in India usually means crossing rivers, climbing mountains and trudging through forests and grasslands. But I know one national park that you can travel to in a packed local train. A gate appears by a flyover, and there you are. Welcome to Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) in Mumbai. Located in the midst of 20 million inhabitants, this forest reserve is 30 times larger than Central Park in New York & connected to the rest of the Western Ghats tract. It also happens to have around 35 leopards. This means that the highest density of leopards is to be found in the most densely populated city in the world. “Look! There!” Too late. In spite of environmentalist Krishna Tiwari’s warning, I only catch a glimpse of a spotted tail plunging into the forest at SGNP. On the pillion of Krishna’s bike, after several weeks of investigation on city-park relationships, that was my first—and perhaps last—glimpse of a leopard as it crossed the road. Till then I sometimes doubted they lived here at all. Living by night, stealthily grabbing a hen from a tribal hamlet, killing stray dogs or rodents near garbage dumps, Mumbai’s leopards are as territorial as they are elusive. They can jump the wall bordering the park—or simply slide through the gates and the holes in it. They are entirely at home in the bountiful supermarket that Mumbai is. Only camera trapping captures them regularly, sometimes just five metres from a human oblivious to the animal’s presence. Earlier this month, a widely shared CCTV video showed a leopard attack a dog at the Bombay Veterinary College after scaling a 7 foot wall. Leopard attacks At the peak of the human-leopard conflict in 2004, the big cats killed 19 people in Mumbai. The conflict has reduced , but not disappeared by any account: there have been at least 10 leopard attacks on humans (some fatal) in the last five years. The latest incident occurred just in May, when a three-year-old boy was attacked by a leopard when he was playing with his friends in Aarey Milk Colony, a Mumbai suburb. He fortunately survived, with injuries to his throat and chest. Halfway across the world, in Nairobi, Kenya, a city of four million people, is a national park that similarly borders slums and is home to a fairly dense population of leopards (as well as lions, hyenas and hippos). But here, no wild animal has killed human beings in living memory. So how can this difference between Mumbai and Nairobi be explained? In Nairobi National Park, too, leopards are also almost invisible, whereas lions, hyenas, rhinos are often spotted by tourists. Wildlife is more explicit in Africa, so to speak. Urban residents are used to living with it. They know that wildlife tourism is a key sector for GDP and jobs, unlike in India. The local pastoralists, Maasai, who live at the south of the park, are now part of the tourism circuit. While their cattle is often killed by carnivores, and Maasai sometimes retaliate by killing a lion or a leopard, on the whole, the complex livestock-wildlife-savannah ecosystem is not working too badly. The major threat is urban pressure, with road and railway projects destroying migratory routes and even encroaching on the park. “Here, in this part of the cage, we put the bait—usually a goat. There the leopard or the lion can enter.” In Nairobi, Caporal Kereto, from Kenya Wildlife Service, explains to me how they capture dangerous animals. He is posing near the cage so that I can take a photo. While shooting, I recall my last visit to the SGNP: I had the privilege of visiting the place where “stray leopards” are kept, but the rule was strict: ‘No photo!’ This was far too sensitive a topic, since the Forest Department was accused of not ensuring the safety of citizens by allowing leopards to roam in urban neighbourhoods. It is true that the policy of translocating leopards into the SGNP had tragic consequences; as it has been shown by ecologists such as Vidya Athreya, “rescued” (captured) and translocated leopards are stressed, have lost their territory and may even become “man-eaters”. This policy has been more or less stopped now, and the human toll from leopard attacks has subsequently reduced. It is true that in Nairobi the carnivores are less attracted to the city since the southern border of the park opens into savannahs where herbivores seasonally migrate. This landscape contrasts with Mumbai where the national park is now fully encircled by urban sprawl. Here, leopards have lesser choice. The objectives of nature conservation may contradict the needs of a city. Visible walls, invisible walls A big challenge in Mumbai is the assumption that leopards must remain in protected areas while humans must live outside it. It is time for a more holistic perspective. The lessons for Mumbaikars are many: better management of garbage so that it does not attract stray dogs or rodents, potential prey for leopards; reduce urban disturbance in the environs of the national park, notably in Aarey Colony where many leopards attack; create awareness among locals about daily safety precautions; and create cooperation between the Mumbai Corporation and the Forest Department. In short, wildlife policy must include an urban policy and vice versa. For the last few years, however, new park directors have tried to build some fragile bridges over the physical —and ideological—walls separating the park from the city. Civil society groups have been helping the local population coexist with wildlife, creating awareness about the carnivore’s behaviour. And if leopards have to be accepted in the city outskirts, humans have to be accepted in the park—both under conditions. A key to this is to involve all stakeholders—police, media, local residents—and harness the traditional knowledge of tribal communities in the management of SGNP.
@sanjay similar (also old & abandoned) threads that, if merged would enrich this one. Pls consider..
http://wildfact.com/forum/topic-human-at...ld-animals http://wildfact.com/forum/topic-conflict...als?page=2 Thank U 
In the heart of Mumbai, the most populated city of India, lies the Sanjay Gandhi National Park..
While some few hectares of SGNP is fenced into a Safari, the rest houses the highest density of leopards in India & often (every night actually) they prowl the cities at night in search of dogs, goats, pigs etc.  *This image is copyright of its original author The Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai (marked on map) lies right on its fringes & sightings like this are not uncommon. |
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