The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), in its new guidelines, has urged the forest department and people staying in the fringe villages of the reserve not to remove the dead prey from the spot as the tiger will be forced to attack another prey in the vicinity and this will only aggravate the man-animal conflict in the region.
The guidelines suggest that that if the tiger enters a house and attacks domesticated animals for food, allow the tiger to finish eating their prey. If the tiger’s presence is felt in human habitats, further activities in the area should be coordinated under the supervision of magistrate.
When there is protest and crowding around by the people, the tiger will find it difficult to go back to the forest and the prohibitory order is suggested to avoid such a situation. As per the guidelines, police should implement Section 114 of the IPC in case people become aggressive and create panic due to the intrusion of tiger into non-forest areas. Accordingly, the forest department should alert the district magistrate, collector and police superintendent in case of intrusion of tigers.
If the tiger catches domesticated animals, the owner of the animals should be given appropriate compensation without delay. Panchayat members and veterinary experts should be present in the committee that will decide the compensation to be paid.
CCTV cameras should be installed in areas where there are chances for the entry of the tiger. Studies should be conducted under the supervision of forest officials to ascertain why the tigers are entering only a particular area. Forest guards will have to track the detailed movement of tigers from time to time.
The easy way to track and tranquilise a tiger is by mapping its path and monitoring individual history, now more or less available through camera traps,” he said. The tiger protection force in Karnataka has so far captured seven tigers since 2009 and relocated five of them to forest areas that are more conducive to the beast.