A controversy rages over the count of big cats in Simlipal Tiger Reserve. At its entrance gate at Tulsiboni, the reserve flaunts the number of “Royal Bengal Tigers” as 101. But the claim of the State forest department is disputed by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII).
In the backdrop of such disputes, uncertainty prevails over the outcome of the ongoing nation-wide census, whose results are expected next month. The first phase of the census work has been so far completed in the reserve. The WII has so far not landed there to conduct its part of the exercise so far.
However amidst these confusions, members of the Simlipal Tiger Protection Force (STPF) — founded by wildlife activist Bhanoo Mitra Acharya — are ground-tracking the predators in the reserve. The STPF comprises local youths who are passionate of forest and wildlife.
According to PCCF PN Padhi, “The data collected from first phase of our survey work was sent to WII last year.” This was based on various signages, including direct and indirect evidence of predators as pug marks, scratches on ground, scrapes on trees, scat, calls, etc, he said.
In addition, prey density with dung pellet count and vegetation survey of the habitat of herbivores, etc, have been analysed and forwarded to WII, he said.
Padhi would like to keep his fingers crossed over the census in the reserve wondering how the WII would be able to complete its job, which involves using camera traps and other elaborate methods. “They were supposed to come in October,” he said.
Member Secretary of National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) Rajesh Gopal, however, told The Pioneer that the March report of the tiger census would have the figures from across the country, including Simlipal.
Confusions started over the number of tigers in the reserve when the State Forest department, in its 2004 census report, claimed presence of 101 tigers citing pug mark method.
These included 94 in the core area and seven others in the buffer and its immediate periphery.
However, these figures were not accepted by the WII when it conducted a census by using the camera trap method in 2008. The WII put the total number of big cats in Orissa STR at 20. Upset over the dismal figure reported by the WII, it conducted a repeat survey in Simlipal in 2009 and came out with the figures of 61, using the same old pugmark method.
“What happened to the missing 40 big cats in the STR remains unanswered till date,” quipped Sanjukta Basa, Honorary Wildlife Warden, Mayurbhanj. “Were the earlier figures of 101 tigers furnished by the State fudged or is it that 40 tigers disappeared from Simlipal during 2004 and 2009?
Padhi avoided joining the issue about the “missing tigers”, but quipped, “WII census in 2009 had covered a very small area, it certainly did not reflect the total tiger population of the reserve spread over 2,750 sqkm.”
Despite Padhi’s claims, tigers have become illusive for the local villagers. Village elder Rohidas Giri from Lulong in the reserve claimed, “I have not seen a tiger for the past 10-12 years.” He further said that far from tigers even leopards are spotted rarely these days.
“The situation could have been better had the forest department accorded more importance to the STPF and worked with better coordination,” said environmentalist Biswajit Mohanty, one of the members of NTCA team on Simlipal. The plight of STPF, their erratic and poor service conditions find a prominent mention in the report.
While there is vacancy in the various cadre of the reserve, a large number of personnel are above the age of 50, so these local youths of STPF are the “ears and eyes” of the reserve today, bringing out incidents of poaching and killing of animals here, he added.
There is certainly a trust deficit and lack of coordination between the STPF and forest department which need to be rectified for the betterment of the park, said Bhanoo Mitra Acharya.
The members are terminated, their salaries deducted without any reason, especially when they unearth instances of poaching and killing of animals in the reserve, Acharya charged.
STPF member Sonaram Saiyan from Naona range echoed his views. “Instead of being engaged in wildlife protection work, I am being given casual work as trench cutting, digging, etc. This is not for which I have been deputed,” Sonaram said.
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