Conservation efforts at Kanha Tiger Reserve are bearing fruit, says Sanjeev K Chadha
A flash of brown and black and it disappears. A tiger might reappear, if you are really lucky — or not at all (but even then you’ve been lucky to have spotted it once). For it takes a really keen pair of eyes to track the big cat and then trail it. By nature, the animal is shy and does not stay for too long at a spot.
But at Kanha Tiger Reserve, one of the premier tiger destinations in the country, the chances of tiger-spotting are real. Not surprisingly, millions of enthusiasts from all over the world flock here every year to get a glimpse of this majestic animal in its natural habitat. This reserve in the Maikal range of the Satpuras is in Madhya Pradesh. Besides the tiger, this hotspot has a rich diversity of flora and fauna, which in turn makes it viable to support the tiger population as there is a substantial number of herbivores, including the highly endangered hard-ground barasingha.
The reserve, spread over 2,051 sq km, has panoramic flat-hill tops, varying degrees of slopes and rolling meadows, which offer diverse habitats for different types of animals. It has around 850 varieties of plants, including some endangered ones, and animals — leopard, wild dog, sloth bear and a large number of reptiles and birds.
Barasingha: Kanha is famous for the revival of the barasingha population in the country. The conservation practices followed in this reserve have steadily increased its population to over 700. To ensure the long-term survival of this small barasingha population, the animal has been reintroduced in some other protected areas successfully. Some of the animals have also been translocated to Van Vihar National Park without using drugs/chemicals. And the success of the exercise is evident when one drives through the tiger reserve as the visitors can witness ample sighting of this majestic herbivore.
Fauna: The reserve is a bird watcher's delight with its rich diversity of more than 150 species which include ducks, moorhens, storks, kingfishers, brown fish owl, number of eagles as well as highly endangered birds like the red-headed vulture, common Indian vulture, white and romped vulture. The flora in the reserve provides adequate food and nesting sites for a variety of birds. The wetlands include lakes, ponds and rivers, the ideal habitat for their breeding. The ground feeding birds like peacocks, pigeons, pheasant crow babblers can be seen in abundance during a safari.
Innovative management intervention: At Kanha, best practices are being followed in conserving bio-diversity and setting high standards in management. Over the years, forest species, as well as the undergrowth, have regenerated. Additionally, the bamboo forests have been revived with strict protection measures and preventing the biotic interference in the form of a forest fire, illicit felling and so on.
The availability of adequate food and grassland management has led to increase in the number of ungulates (members of a diverse group of primarily large mammals) thus making sufficient food available for the tiger and leopard — which lie at the top of the food chain. The protection measures include extensive use of technology in monitoring foot patrolling by the field staff, extensive use of camera traps to monitor the movement of wildlife, management of water holes and so on as per the protocol framed by National Tiger Conservation Authority.
The capture and translocation of spotted deer, barasingha, gaurs and other herbivores have been one of the high points of wildlife management in Kanha. A comprehensive capture, transportation and release protocol and using specially designed in-situ enclosures with an improved design specification to suit a species has been attempted for the first time in the country. This is inspired by the South African capture and translocation technique, the Boma method. This infrastructure can be well used for training field staff from different tiger reserves in the country to facilitate equitable distribution of prey base in the wildlife reserves of the country.
The School for Rewilding Orphaned Tiger Cubs is one of the innovative interventions made by the park authorities. The cubs in the wild are often abandoned when the mother is poached. Such cubs are reared in a scientific manner and released in the wild. The orphaned cubs are first kept in a makeshift cage for three months under strict quarantine and then moved to an enclosure with adequate area for their easy movement. As the cubs grow older, they are fed as per their dietary requirement with minimum exposure to human contact. They are closely monitored by the field staff from specially designed machans and
CCTVs round the clock. They are trained to hunt in the larger enclosures and are then reintroduced in the wild. This has helped in standardising the protocol to introduce the cubs in the wild so that they are not forced to spend their entire life in the zoos.
Relocation of Villages: The Kanha Tiger Reserve has successfully relocated the villages from core areas since 1960 with voluntarily consent of the residents. This has enabled the Tigers to reclaim the additional wildlife habitat. Park authorities are often criticised for relocation if it is not implemented as per the standard protocol. However, the extensive interaction with the villagers has helped in ensuring the successful relocation of the villages. The park authorities have not only helped the villagers in resettling at new sites but have also been actively taking care of the villagers after it. This has been appreciated by different quarters. After the relocation, the abandoned sites are treated in a planned manner to facilitate the reintegration of such lands into the wilderness. Between 1969 and 1998, 26 villages were relocated, which has played a significant role in providing critical care area for tiger population to grow and populate the nearby areas.
Management of Grass land: Regular improvement and restoration of wildlife habitat are an important management intervention. In many reserves in the country, it is seen that grasslands are often invaded by species of grass, lantana and other weeds that are unpalatable to the herbivores. Their scientific management has been a cornerstone of management intervention in Kanha.
Eco Tourism: Tourism in the park is professionally managed with the objective of educating visitors and providing them meaningful exposure to the protected area so that they can appreciate the natural heritage and benefit of the conservation. A balance is maintained between the conservation, education, and entertainment with the active involvement of local population so as to make the tourism activities ecologically and socio-culturally sustainable. There are guided tours from different entry gates and seven tourism zones i.e. Kanha, Kisli, Mukki, Sarhi, Khatia, Sijhora and Khapa which are open for tourists. Kanha is a must-visit destination for the wildlife enthusiast. The park can be approached from Raipur, Jabalpur, and Nagpur, which are well-connected by air and rail. The park headquarters is at Mandla and different entry gates are well-connected by road. A large number of private resorts offers excellent accommodation and safari which can be booked online.
(The author is Managing Director, NAFED)