NTCA, eco ministry take note of Karnataka tiger deaths

BENGALURU: The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has flagged the rising incidents of death of tigers in Karnataka, and sought a report from the state government on the mitigation action taken. Apart from tigers, the report should also include leopard and elephant conflict cases.

Karnataka forest department officials were also questioned at the recent NTCA meeting, chaired by Union Minister Bhupender Yadav, held in Bandipur Tiger Reserve.  The matter gained importance in the wake of a proposal by the Kerala government to cull tigers in Wayanad as a solution to reduce man-animal conflicts.

A senior official from NTCA told The New Indian Express that a committee is also being formed to assess the deaths of tigers and other wildlife. “The report has been sought to know what the government is doing to control conflicts, data on the numbers of conflicts, deaths and causes. It has been noted that as a solution, the animal is captured and sent to zoos or rescue centres. They are being turned into mini-forests!” the official said.

The official added that a close assessment has shown that in most cases, the causes are reduced green cover, absence of buffer zones, land diversion, rising intolerance among people and even rise in animal population. The problems are also linear and complex -- different in different places. So a close assessment in each is needed. There is also a need to know what awareness, education and preventive steps the government has taken so far and why this has failed.

Forest officials said deaths of leopards, tigers and elephants have increased, but in proportion to the rise in population, this is less. The officials were also quick to add that it was a matter of worry. They said similar to Wayanad plan should not be thought of in Karnataka as it will lead to a drastic decline in wildlife population.