Three years on, India’s cheetah reintroduction struggles with poor science, delays, and missed grassland goals. In September 2022, the arrival of eight cheetahs from Namibia to Kuno National Park was hailed as a conservation milestone. Five months later in February 2024, 12 more spotted cats arrived from South Africa. The initiative, branded Project Cheetah, carried lofty ambitions. It aimed not just to restore the world’s fastest land animal to India’s landscapes, but to revive open natural ecosystems (ONEs) — the grasslands, scrublands, and savannahs that are among the country’s most neglected habitats. By reintroducing a top predator, policymakers hoped to spark wider conservation attention, diversify India’s wildlife portfolio beyond tigers and forests, and make ecological amends for a human-caused extinction. The Cheetah Action Plan set out a clear roadmap: import 5–10 cheetahs annually for a decade, create a metapopulation across multiple states, secure and restore grassland hab...
Ahead of the ambitious tiger census in 2022, there are disturbing reports of disruption in the counting of the big cats in Palamu tiger reserve located in Jharkhand where Naxalites have yet again threatened the tiger estimation work. Last year there were reports that the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) officials were allegedly taken hostage by the left wing ultras in Palamu when they were carrying out the work of setting up cameras in the jungle to capture the images of the tigers for the census. However, they were released later. Palamu is not the only tiger reserve in India facing the red threat. Indravati national park in Chattisgarh, now considered as a Naxal hotspot, and Similipal in Odisha are some other national parks where the Naxals have affected the wildlife conservation projects. 2022 is an important year for tiger conservation as the tiger range countries – mainly the countries where the big cat is found in South East Asia and the Russian Far East - had decided in 2010 to double the population of the tigers by that year.
Signs of Tiger Presence in Palamu
The latest crisis in Palamu has emerged at a time when the park authorities were monitoring about five tigers in the reserve. But the exact number could be known only after capturing the stripes in cameras . But Naxals are opposed to setting up of the camera traps fearing their whereabouts would also be revealed. Both the state forest department and the WII personnel are reportedly reluctant in venturing into the deep forest fearing the left wing ultras. Palamu tiger reserve is spread over Latehar , Palamu and Garhwa and all these places are considered as Naxal dominated pockets . The forest department officials in Jharkhand said , “ There is movement of tigers in Palamu but it is not recorded because there are no camera traps . Last year the carcass of an aged tigress was found in Palamu contradicting the popular belief that there is no tiger left in the jungle.” The officials said that in 2018, there was no tiger presence recorded in Palamu because “ we failed to access the whole jungle .But this time we want to convince the naxals that the camera traps are not being set up to monitor their movement “. “ Though we can’t communicate with them directly, we are trying to communicate through other channels”, they said.
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A book released in January 2020 explaining the tiger crisis in Palamu. BREATHLESS : Hunted and Hounded, The Tiger Runs for Its Life , explained , “ In 2006,Palamu tiger reserve in Jharkhand –which falls under the Red Corridor- was categorized by the government as very good in terms of resources, However, in 2010, it was put under the category of poor bracket. Furthermore in 2014 , the situation deteriorated and the number of tigers went down to three in the census. In the 2018 census, Palamu was declared as a jungle without tigers . The number of tigers was 42 in 2003.”
Palamu is a part of Bandhavgarh-Sanjay Dubri –Gur Ghasidas and Palamu tiger landscape spreads over 25000 sq km with a current tiger occupancy of 3844 sq km and a population estimate of 74 tigers. While Bandhavgarh and Sanjay Dubri are located in MP, Guru Ghasidas national park is located in neighbouring Chattisgarh and the jungle is stretched upto Jharkhand with regular tiger movement from one point to other.
Maoist Menace in Indravati
Indravati national park in Chattisgarh faces a similar crisis. Part of Kanha-Navegaon –Tadoba ,Indravati landscape is spread over 35000 sq km with tenuous corridor connectivity , Indravati is situated in Bijapur district of Chattisgarh bordering Odisha. It derives its name from Indravati river . The park has been inaccessible to the state forest department because of naxal violence in Bijapur. Though some tiger presence is recorded in the jungle, the officials don't want to divulge the details for security reasons .
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In the neighboring state of Odisha, the Maoists arrived in Similipal wildlife sanctuary with a bang on the eve of the last Lok Sabha and state assembly elections . They unleashed a reign of terror inside the 3000 square kilometer forest reserve repeatedly attacking tourists visiting the sanctuary. Situated in tribal dominated Mayurbhanj district , Similipal wildlife sanctuary houses India’s fourth largest tiger reserve . Considering parts of Similipal have contiguous borders with both the naxal infested bordering states of West Bengal and Jharkhand Maoist presence is no surprise in the region. Ten years ago in 2011, the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) had blamed the poor management of six tiger reserves on Left extremist. These tiger reserves were controlled by the Maoists. They included Palamu (Jharkhand), Valmiki (Bihar), Namdapha (Arunachal Pradesh), Nagarjunasagar-Srisailam (Andhra Pradesh), Indravati (Chhattisgarh) and Similipal (Orissa). But over a period of time situation improved a lot for some of them.
Palamu and Indrravat shall be counted as a permanant loss for tigers.
ReplyDeleteWhat on Earth are the authorities doing - or rather - not doing? "Reserve " means reserved for a reason, and here it is for the safety of wild tigers. NOBODY has the right to violate a reserve, and certainly not for political or social reasons. Why hasn't the army been called to evict the trespassers, and protect the National Animal. Is this how India protects its wildlife?
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