Protecting tigers from poachers

The death of a Royal Bengal Tiger in Kaziranga in a case of suspected poisoning has set off the alarm bells for the authorities of the national park and tiger reserve to take note of the looming threat to tiger conservation in the state. The recovery of the carcass inside the park just two days after the visit by President Ramnath Kovind and his family to Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve maybe tell a larger story of wildlife-crime gangs setting their eyes on tigers in the state after the intensified security measures making rhino poaching difficult for them. Recovery of a carcass of a bovine animal at the spot indicated that perpetrators used the poisoned animal as the bait to kill the tiger. The incident cannot be ignored as a stray killing and appears to be organized poaching for the illegal trade of tiger parts. Earlier in February, the seizure of the skin of a fully-grown tiger and body parts by a joint team of Wildlife Crime Control Bureau, Guwahati, forest and police officials from a petrol depot along the National Highway at Banderdewa in the Lakhimpur district brought to light that inter-state tiger poachers' gangs are active in Assam and the neighbouring states and if their network did not bust more tigers may fall prey to illegal trade in wildlife rising alarmingly in the world. According to India State of Forest Report 2021, Kaziranga has the second-highest tiger density of 13.06 per 100 sq. km with Corbet Tiger Reserve having the highest tiger density of 14 in India. With an estimated population of 104 tigers in the UNESCO world heritage site famous for one-horned rhinos, frequent sighting of tigers has become an added attraction to visitors to the national park. Of the other three tiger reserves in the state, Manas has an estimated population of 31 tigers, Orang has 21, while Nameri is left with only three tigers. The current tiger population in 52 tiger reserves in India account for 65% of the country's total estimated tiger population of 1923. The tiger population in the country is estimated to have increased from 1411 during the first tiger census in 2006 to 2967 during the tiger population estimation in 2018-19, but rising incidents of tigers being reduced to skins and bones by poachers caution that there is no room for any complacency. In 2021, the country recorded the death of 127 tigers, besides 24 tiger mortalities reported in the first two months of this year. According to the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), 88.9% of tiger mortality recorded over eight years from 2012 to 2020 has been closed after scrutinizing post-mortem and forensic reports and 11.09% of cases are still pending. Under the protocols set by the NTCA for recoding tiger mortality, all tiger deaths are considered poaching in the beginning and the conclusion is made based on post-mortem reports, forensic and lab reports and circumstantial evidence to decide if it is a case of natural death or poaching or unnatural death but not poaching. While Madhya Pradesh reported the highest number of 202 mortality during this period, Assam recorded 60 tiger mortality during these eight years. Of the total 106 mortality in 2020, NTCA attributes 19 cases to be a natural death, seven cases to poaching, seven cases to seizures (of skins and bones) while the remaining 73 cases are still under scrutiny. The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change states that results of the All India Tiger Estimation conducted in 2006, 2010, 2014 and 2018 have shown a healthy annual growth rate of tigers at 6%, which offsets natural losses and keeps tigers at the habitats carrying capacity level, in the Indian context. The ISFR, 2021, on the other hand, highlights depletion of forest cover in tiger reserves which put the spotlight on the new challenge of tiger habitat conservation apart from countering poaching threats. Of the 52 tigers reserves, 38 reserves which include the Orang tiger reserve (declared in 2016), registered a decrease in forest cover which need to be factored in tiger conservation initiatives. The theme of the World Wildlife Day observed annually on this day is "Recovering Key Species for Ecosystem Restoration" to draw the attention of the world community to the status of some of the most critically endangered species of wild fauna and flora and finding solutions to conserve them. The IUCN Red List of threatened species classifies tigers as "endangered". India accounts for over 75% of the global tiger population, protecting every single tiger from poachers and wildlife crime-gangs is extremely critical to preventing its conservation status from being reduced to "critically endangered". Conservation of tigers also ensures conservations of unique landscapes in which it survives and indicates the health of the forest and ecosystem. This global day is a reminder for all stakeholders in tiger conservation to take note of the emerging threats and scale-up tiger conservation initiatives to the next level.