Image 34 of 36

Tiger Relocation in India

Rajasthan Tiger A 052.jpg

Add to Lightbox Download
Men from Lilunda, Haripura and Kraska villages that lie in the core are of Sariska National Park. Included in the photo is Babla (centre foreground with dark hair), from Kraska village. These men and their families will be relocated from the park by the government. It was always a controversial decision to re-introduce tigers into Sariska without first relocating those communities who live in the park. Apart from the remote danger to human life that the presence of tigers presents, human's deplete vegetation, and therefore the tiger prey-base, by gathering firewood and allowing their animals to graze on park-land. The government is now in the process of removing villages by offering residents alternative plots outside the park. ..Sariska National Park in Rajasthan was once home to dozens of tigers but by 2005 poaching had resulted in their complete eradication. Recognising the urgent need for intervention, the Indian and Rajasthan-state governments began the reintroduction of tigers into Sariska. Two cats were airlifted 200 km from Ranthambore National Park in June 2008. On November 5th an attempt to relocate a third tiger was postponed until later in the month. This relocation strategy is certainly an important part of the tiger conservation effort but many, including those like Dharmendra Khandal of the NGO Tiger Watch, argue that it will never be entirely successful without properly confronting the three essential issues that threaten tiger populations: poaching, habitat loss and the hunting of prey-base animals. In turn, these three issues cannot be addressed without acknowledging the malign influence of caste, poverty and poor administrative accountability. Poaching is almost exclusively undertaken by extremely poor and marginalised groups, including the Mogia caste who, without education, land and access to credit have limited alternative means of income. Many in the Mogia community also hunt bush meat for both their own consumption and to sell to others. This
Copyright
Tom Pietrasik
Image Size
4372x2906 / 3.2MB
Men from Lilunda, Haripura and Kraska villages that lie in the core are of Sariska National Park. Included in the photo is Babla (centre foreground with dark hair), from Kraska village. These men and their families will be relocated from the park by the government. It was always a controversial decision to re-introduce tigers into Sariska without first relocating those communities who live in the park. Apart from the remote danger to human life that the presence of tigers presents, human's deplete vegetation, and therefore the tiger prey-base, by gathering firewood and allowing their animals to graze on park-land. The government is now in the process of removing villages by offering residents alternative plots outside the park. ..Sariska National Park in Rajasthan was once home to dozens of tigers but by 2005 poaching had resulted in their complete eradication. Recognising the urgent need for intervention, the Indian and Rajasthan-state governments began the reintroduction of tigers into Sariska. Two cats were airlifted 200 km from Ranthambore National Park in June 2008. On November 5th an attempt to relocate a third tiger was postponed until later in the month. This relocation strategy is certainly an important part of the tiger conservation effort but many, including those like Dharmendra Khandal of the NGO Tiger Watch, argue that it will never be entirely successful without properly confronting the three essential issues that threaten tiger populations: poaching, habitat loss and the hunting of prey-base animals. In turn, these three issues cannot be addressed without acknowledging the malign influence of caste, poverty and poor administrative accountability. Poaching is almost exclusively undertaken by extremely poor and marginalised groups, including the Mogia caste who, without education, land and access to credit have limited alternative means of income. Many in the Mogia community also hunt bush meat for both their own consumption and to sell to others. This