Different awareness programmes at global level for conservation and management of nature are observed every year, but they all seem to turn out formal ritual programmes for us without proper involvement to serve the nature.
Our existence solely depends on the good health of nature. The nature is foster mother of all living beings. However, we exploit nature beyond repair. Man, being a superior animal in the animal kingdom, can take the charges of managerial position to maintain the biological order of nature.
July 26 will be observed as Tiger Conservation Day, which means the conservation of nature. The tiger is a carnivorous mammal, which lives on predation of herbivorous animals and without the herbivorous animals, its survival is impossible. Similarly, without herbs the herbivores cannot exist. If we want to conserve biodiversities and nature, the habitats as well as the habits of all the living creatures must be restored. The tiger is an animal of the tropics. Its habitat ranges from estuarine lands to alpine forests. There are six races of tigers, but the Indian race is typical, which is found throughout India, that is from the Himalayas to Cape of Comorin. Similarly, the tiger of Sundarvan is quite different in size and habits from other five races of tigers. These are all local variations but basically, it is a cat. There is no difference between common cat, and the tiger, expect for size and braveness as well as art of predation. The average length of male tiger is 10 feet or 300 cm, but the average length of female tiger varies from 8 to 6 feet. Again, the average weight of a male tiger is 180 to 230 kg, but the average weight of a female tiger 140 to 190 kg. The tigers of the Himalayan range are generally greater than tigers of other areas. The tigers of Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha and Southern India are equal and differ from the Himalayan race. The tiger can move up to 10,000 foot or 3,050 meter altitude in Himalayan range for search of food. It is such a species of animal, which lives in humid evergreen forests, in dry open jungle and in grassy wet lands of Tarai. It is also very peculiar in the estuarine lands of Sundarvan and lives upon fishes, monkeys including other herbivorous animals and changes its mode and pattern of life in altogether a changed environment. It is observed that the big cat lives in snows of Himalayas and also down in the river mouth of the Ganga. The tiger is a good swimmer and also climbs the tree to chase its preys. The tiger needs three things, prey animals, undisturbed sheds to sleep and water to quench its thirst. The tiger generally likes to hunt during sunset though it always depends on availability of herbivores. It prey animals include all kinds of herbivores, including female elephants and young elephants, buffaloes, Bisons, Gours, deer, Nilgais, wild pigs, bears, and porcupines etc. Sometimes the tiger kills and eats panthers, and other tigers. Tiger is a man eater too. When driven by hunger and other preys are not available to it, it hunts human beings. It is also driven to the extent of preying on fowls, fishes, reptiles and carrions in absence of game animals and availing of opportunities.
The tiger generally mates after rains and the majority of youngs are born between February and July. It is not a fact that the tiger is monogamous, the habits of monogamy may be for a season. The gestation period in case of tiger is about four months; and usually 2 to 3 are produced; but when the cubs become 6 months’ old, they follow the mother and learn the art of hunting from mother including the art of protection from any eventuality. The cubs stay with the mother until they become two-years-old or the mother acquires a new mate to conceive further. The sexual maturity is attained by a female at 3 years of age and in case of male, it is four years. The life span of a tiger is usually 20 years.
Once Odisha was quite a good abode of Royal Bengal Tigers but due to loss of habitats and regular hunting by fire arms and through other devices, their population has been reduced to a few. Now their number is less than 40 when the correct figure is not known to anybody. Since 1970 a complete ban on tiger shooting has been enforced in India and with the international co-operation, the projects for their preservation have been undertaken in India. First of all, nine sanctuaries were created in India for preservation and propagation of the tiger. The different habitats of tigers in India were selected for rehabilitation of the rundown species of tigers. Now the number of tiger projects in the country is going up without the sustainable management of the tiger projects, which is experienced from the rundown figures of tiger populations of India. In Odisha there are three tiger projects, including the Similipal Tiger Reserve. The wildlife sanctuaries are given the status of tiger projects. Such sanctuaries are Satkoshia Gorge Sanctuary and Sunabeda Sanctuary. Both are given the status of Sanctuary Cum Tiger Reserve; but Sunabeda is a proposed Tiger Reserve.
The explosion of human population is the sole causes of destruction and depletion of biodiversities. At the global level, the World Earth Day themes are chalked out for 10 years starting from 2007. Starting from 2007, each calendar year is taken as preservation of nature in different names and forms to save the biodiversities of the globe. Unless the biological processes of the nature are not allowed to work, the existence of human race is impossible. The year 2016 is the year of “Trees for the Earth”. The globe without trees is meaningless. The trees mean the entire ecological systems. April 22 is observed as World Earth Day. The earth means the habitat of innumerable living beings of the nature. If the earth becomes sick, the entire heritage will be at stake and the place of man will be nowhere. So to make the man conscious, the World Heritage Day is observed on April 17.
(The writer is a former senior forest officer and an environmentalist. Tel no 9937460649)