Wildlife management - Strategies and management Initiatives in India with special reference to

conservation of the Royal Bengal Tiger Species

Authored by
Dr. M.M. Munshi, Prof. Sanjay K Deshpande, Mr. Shivananad Naikawadi
Abstract:
This Paper on wildlife management aims to delineate crucial information about reasons for decline in
tiger population & also on the initiatives taken by various nodal bodies like Ministry of Environment,
Forests & Climate Change, National Tiger Conversation Authority ( NTCA) , Wildlife Institute of India
(WII) and many others through range of projects launched for the purpose of conservation & healthy
management wildlife in India, with special reference to conservation of the Royal Bengal Tiger Species
(Panthera Tigris) . Healthy population of tigers in an indicator overall well being of ecosystem. Result of
Initiatives taken i.e increase in the tiger population is also illustrated in the paper.

Key words: Wildlife management, wildlife conservation, Nodal Bodies, NTCA, Ecosystem, Tiger
population.

Introduction:
India has a rich heritage of wildlife as well as a long history and tradition of conservation, promulgated by
Kautilya in his “Arthashastra”.  In the third century BC. Indian mythology is equally profuse in
references to our regard and love for wild animals. Different animals were associated with different Gods
and were thus provided with religious sanctity and ensured conservation. India is also unique in the
richness and variety of its wildlife. Though the love and regard for wildlife is a part of India’s culture, yet
it is confronted with the sad paradox of fast disappearing wildlife. Scenario of wildlife per se has
undergone a paradigm shift from hunting for game, recreation, Sport, show of splendor & audacity from
the ages during the regimes of various kingdoms In India to the present day scene of better regulated
and stringent mechanisms to monitor and converse Wildlife. The Instance of Jim Corbett is a testimony
of extreme change. “Jim Corbett once was a famous Tiger hunter, However after realizing the threat
to tiger population and anticipating dire consequences he became a pioneer in conservation in
India”.

The wildlife in India comprises a mix of species of different types of organisms. Apart from a handful of
the major farm animals such as cows, buffaloes, goats, poultry, pigs and sheep, India has an amazingly
wide variety of animals native to the country. It is home to Royal Bengal
tigers, Indianlions, deer, pythons, wolves, foxes, bears, crocodiles, camels, wild
dogs, monkeys, snakes, antelope species, Civets, varieties of bison and the Asian elephant

National symbols of India (animals)

 National animal: Royal Bengal tiger
 National heritage animal of India: Elephant

 National mammal of India: Hanuman Langur

 National aquatic animal: Ganges river dolphin

Conservation of the Royal Bengal Tiger Species (Panthera Tigris) by

mmmunshi@rediffmail.com , sanjaydeshpandegit@gmail.com shivanand.iari@gmail.com Page 1
  National bird: peacock

Types of Wild life management

 Manipulative management acts on a population, either changing its numbers by direct means or
influencing numbers by the indirect means of altering food supply, habitat, density of predators,
or prevalence of disease. This is appropriate when a population is to be harvested, or when it
slides to an unacceptably low density or increases to an unacceptably high level. Such densities
are inevitably the subjective view of the land owner, and may be disputed by animal welfare
interests Ex: Gir Forest Conservation in Gujarat India.

 Custodial management is preventive or protective. The aim is to minimize external influences

on the population and its habitat. It is appropriate in a national park where one of the stated goals
is to protect ecological processes. It is also appropriate for conservation of a threatened species
where the threat is of external origin rather than being intrinsic to the system. Feeding of animals
by visitors is generally discouraged. Ex: Conservational Practices across many national Parks
and Tiger Reserves in India.

Important Terminologies pertaining to Wild Life Management

Wild: living or growing in the natural environment; not domesticated or cultivated.

Life is a characteristic distinguishing physical entities having biological processes (such as signaling and
self-sustaining processes) from those that do not.

Wild Life: wild animals collectively; the native fauna of a region

Wildlife management attempts to balance the needs of wildlife with the needs of people using the best
available science. Wildlife management draws on disciplines such as mathematics, chemistry, biology,
ecology, climatology and geography to gain the best results

Ecosystem: Ecological system or ecosystem is an open space built by physical and biological
components of an environment. It is a result of an active interaction living and non living components.
Biodiversity is the degree of variation of life. It is a measure of the variety of organisms present in
different ecosystems. This can refer to genetic variation, ecosystem variation, or species variation
(number of species) within an area, biome, or planet

Ecology: The study of Ecosystem in order to get a coherent picture

WLS: A wildlife sanctuary is a space that is set aside exclusively for the use of wild animals, which are
protected when they roam or live in that area... Typically, WLS is created through a government mandate

Conservation of the Royal Bengal Tiger Species (Panthera Tigris) by

mmmunshi@rediffmail.com , sanjaydeshpandegit@gmail.com shivanand.iari@gmail.com Page 2
that sets the space aside for the use of animal protection, and rangers or other government employees may
patrol the area to ensure that no one hunts or otherwise harasses the animals.

Tiger Reserves: Tiger Reserves are protected / reserved forest areas for the purpose of conservation of
tigers, Here Tiger is given a special status, and however other species are not ignored. The guidelines for
protection and conservation are issued by National Tiger Conversation Authority (NTCA) according to
the provisions of Project Tiger 1973.

National Parks: A forest land maintained by the government which preserves nature, history science and
wildlife with restricted access for general public

Reasons for Decline on wild life in India – Tiger Species in particular

1.Diseases: Various diseases also take their toll silently on the wildlife, including the predators. Many
animals die and there is no way to ascertain the cause of their death. There are certain diseases that spread
like epidemic and play havoc. Diseases like Feline Panleucopania (highly contagious and can be fatal),
tuberculosis, sarcosystis, etc.

2.Habitat loss and prey depletion: The key findings from many years of study of tiger population have
indicated that in many sites, tigers decline in numbers because of habitat loss and prey depletion rather
than being killed directly. A tiger needs to eat about 50 deer-sized animals every year. Wherever prey-
base is adequate and good protection measures are in place tiger populations reach high numbers simply
because the species breeds quickly.

3. Lack of Forest Personnel: Forest Dept. Govt of India Is inadequately staffed, Lack of watchers,
Guards is hampering the monitoring mechanisms. This gives scope for poachers for gain entry in
reserves and start anti-forest activities.
4.. Poor genetic diversity threat to tigers: A recent study by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) in
Ranthambore Tiger Reserve (RTR), Rajasthan, India, says tiger population in the park has shown a loss of
genetic diversity over the years. “RTR tiger population is showing loss of many alleles, which may be
due to an isolated population without any genetic exchange,” said WII’s Dr S P Goyal, the investigator of
the report — ‘Tiger Genome: Implications in Wildlife Forensics‘. Alleles are a group of genes that
decide an animal’s hair colour and immunity, among other characteristics. Study was published in Times
of India

Conservation of the Royal Bengal Tiger Species (Panthera Tigris) by

mmmunshi@rediffmail.com , sanjaydeshpandegit@gmail.com shivanand.iari@gmail.com Page 3
5. Degradation of habitats: Big cats need secure and disturbance-free habitat to maintain a viable
population. But haphazard development activities in the landscape of the protected areas (PAs) pose big
threat to tigers. Villagers living on periphery of national parks exert huge biotic pressure on forest by
grazing cattle, extracting minor forest produce, bamboo, fuel wood and timber degrading forests. They
are also responsible for forest fires. Rampant Tourism and Commercialization is a spoilsport.

6. Illegal wildlife trade through poaching Owing to the fact that tiger Body parts, Skins have huge
demand in International markets. Tigers are poached and Killed, Studies show that tigers were killed
for just Rs. 5,000 in India by gullible villagers, but were sold in international market for a whooping price
of up to Rs 5, 00,000 by big traders, middlemen and smugglers. In 2011 alone till October 48 tiger deaths
were reported in India.

7. Man-animal conflict: Man-animal conflict is another major factor that affects the big cats. As humans
move deeper into the territory of tigers, chances of conflict between both sides increase many fold. Men
and livestock often become the victim of tiger attacks. This infuriates villagers who resort to revenge
killing.

8. Lack of Infrastructure: Forest and wildlife do not figure on the priority lists of states, consequently
forest departments usually suffer from the paucity of funds. This leads to delayed disbursal of money to
the protection staff. Under staffing, adequate numbers of arms are not available; same is the case with
vehicles and communication equipments. Patrolling vehicles are sometimes grounded just because there
is no money for fuel. In addition to this many posts are lying vacant in the forest departments of the state
and no efforts are being made to fulfill them. Contrary to this, poachers flaunt sophisticated arms and
technology. There are also cases of corrupt forest officials who connive with poachers in their sinister
designs. They are said to provide information on tigers’ location in exchange for bribes.

Modus Operandi of Conservation of Tigers in India is based the statutory guidelines of NTCA

The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) is a statutory body under the Ministry of
Environment, Forests and Climate Change constituted under enabling provisions of the Wildlife
(Protection) Act, 1972, as amended in 2006, for strengthening tiger conservation.

The National Tiger Conservation Authority has been fulfilling its mandate within the ambit of the
Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 for strengthening tiger conservation in the country by retaining an
oversight through advisories/normative guidelines, based on appraisal of tiger status, ongoing
conservation initiatives and recommendations of specially constituted Committees. ‘Project Tiger 1973’
is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme of the Environment, Forests and Climate Change, providing funding
support to tiger range States, for in-situ conservation of tigers in designated tiger reserves, and has put the
endangered tiger on an assured path of recovery by saving it from extinction, as revealed by the recent
findings of the All India tiger estimation using the refined methodology.

Milestone Initiatives taken

Setting up Anti Poaching Camps ( APC) – Deep in the forest or Core Areas , Camps are set up to
monitor and ensure strict vigil on movement of animals, poachers. Unauthorized or suspected tress
passers are interrogated and subjected to legal action, If found guilty. APCs are eco friendly, each camp
is manned with 3 to 4 personnel, the prime duty of each APC staff is patrol the forest by walk and ensure
24*7 vigil, they are provided with needed grocery ever week. They are connected to the head office
through GPS.

Conservation of the Royal Bengal Tiger Species (Panthera Tigris) by

mmmunshi@rediffmail.com , sanjaydeshpandegit@gmail.com shivanand.iari@gmail.com Page 4
Setting up Infrared camera for Camera Trapping: A camera trap is a remotely activated camera that
is equipped with a motion sensor or an infrared sensor, or uses a light beam as a trigger. Camera trapping
is a method for capturing wild animals on film when researchers are not present. Images are superior to
human observations; because they can be reviewed by other researchers they minimally disturb wildlife
and can replace the use of more invasive survey and monitoring techniques such as live trap and release.

Creating artificial and replenishing the natural waterholes in Tiger Reserves and National Parks:
Hundreds of artificial waterholes are created and replenished in summer season to ensure Wild animals
get access to drinking water during peak summers and thereby stop them from straying out of their
territory into human settlements. Water from outside the forest is bought and poured either into natural of
artificial water holes to replenish. Water holes are replenished through rain water harvesting techniques
too.
Prohibiting Human settlements inside WLS / NP/ Tiger Reserves: To prevent Human Interference in
forest areas, Rehabilitation of residents’ remote village inside national parks is taken up; Human beings
are the most potential source of concerns for wild animals in the forest.

Preparing Salt Licks to ensure prey is healthy and nourished: A salt lick is a deposit of mineral salts
used by animals to supplement their nutrition, ensuring that they get enough minerals in their diets. A
wide assortment of animals, primarily herbivores, uses salt licks to get essential nutrients like
calcium, magnesium, sodium, and zinc. When a salt lick appears, animals may travel to reach it, so the
salt lick becomes a sort of rally point where lots of wildlife can be observed. This In turn ensures
Predators are nourished through Eco Cycle.

Flying Squad: To monitor the health of ecosystem, To Ascertain any unnatural deaths of wildlife, the
question of formation of additional flying squads in the Forest Department to effectively prevent and
detect smuggling of timber from reserve forests and also to check encroachments has been engaging the
attention of Government for some time past

Encourage Tourism: Encouraging moderate tourism to expose the aesthetic value of tigers and forests to
tourists, which in turn will create seriousness and awareness amogst tourists to save a majestic species
like Tiger.

Constituting STPF: Since Tiger is an apex predator, and assumes the tag of flagship species. Owing to
its iconic value it is susceptible for poaching, to provide special shelter to Tiger. Special Tiger
Protection Force is constituted to monitor

Night traffic ban: The State government has decided to extend the duration of night traffic ban on two
National Highways that pass through Bandipur National Park (BNP) from the present nine hours to 12
hours. Between 6 pm and 6 am. (Ex: A special Case in Bandipur Tiger Reserve, Karnataka), Hundreds of
animal deaths were reported as a result vehicles hitting the nocturnal species. This is an Undesirable
outcome hence, ban on Night traffic.

Prohibition of Grazing: To prevent the threat of outbreak of contagious & fatal diseases like Foot and
Mouth Diseases from domesticated cattle grazing in the forest to wild herbivores and carnivores, several
vaccination drives are conducted too.

Deploying UAVs: A latest initiative from ministry of Forest, Environment and climate change is to make
Drones or Unnamed Aerial Vehicles (UAV) Fly over Forest Cover, Tiger Reserves to monitor and track
movement of wild animals, Poachers, This initiative has given excellent results during its testing phase in
Panna Tiger Reserve In the State of MP and Kaziranga National Park, Assam.
Conservation of the Royal Bengal Tiger Species (Panthera Tigris) by
mmmunshi@rediffmail.com , sanjaydeshpandegit@gmail.com shivanand.iari@gmail.com Page 5
 Tigers population Trend in India

Map showing Tiger Reserves in India

Conservation of the Royal Bengal Tiger Species (Panthera Tigris) by

mmmunshi@rediffmail.com , sanjaydeshpandegit@gmail.com shivanand.iari@gmail.com Page 6
There are 47 Tiger reserves in India which are governed by Project Tiger 1973, which is administered by
the National Tiger Conservation Authority. India is home to 70 percent of Tigers in the world. The
existing tiger reserves represent around one-third of India's high density forest area Karnataka has the
highest number of tigers in the age group of 1.5 years with more 408 big cats. Uttarakhand has 340,
Madhya Pradesh 308, Tamil Nadu 229, Maharashtra 190, Assam 167, Kerala 136 and Uttar Pradesh 117.

Amazing Tiger Facts

 They are the largest of all the big cats, weighing up to 300k (700 pounds).
 If you look a tiger in the eyes he is less likely to kill you.

 Tigers are completely blind for the first week of their life. About half do not survive to adulthood.

Conservation of the Royal Bengal Tiger Species (Panthera Tigris) by

mmmunshi@rediffmail.com , sanjaydeshpandegit@gmail.com shivanand.iari@gmail.com Page 7
  Tigers can leap distances of over 6m, and jump up to 5m vertically and drag their Kill or prey
weighing 1000kgs with powerful jaws to several meters.

 Tigers have been known to imitate the call of other animals to successfully attract prey.

 Each Tiger has unique stripe patterns and markings on the body.

 Tigers are adept swimmers.

 There were once nine subspecies of tigers: Now only 6 remain

Conclusion - Why Save Tigers

 To Prevent Ecosystem from getting perished : As mentioned earlier the tiger is a unique
animal which plays a pivotal role in the health and diversity of an ecosystem the extinction of this
Apex predator is an indication that its ecosystem is not sufficiently protected, and neither would it
exist for long thereafter.

 Prevent Desertification: Improper management of Forest and Wildlife pave way for
desertification (Case of Rajasthan Deserts where excavation studies show that, once upon a time
it was the Flourishing land of Indus valley civilization. Poor Management Practices Lead to
desertification.

 Tiger is a symbol of our National Pride- The magnificent tiger, Panthera tigris is a striped
animal. It has a thick yellow coat of fur with dark stripes. The combination of grace, strength,
agility and enormous power has earned the tiger its pride of place as the national animal of India.
Out of Nine races of the species known, the Indian race, the Royal Bengal Tiger.

 Tigers Prevent Climate Change: A healthy tiger population lives in large forests – which are
nothing but the natural sinks of Carbon. The more tigers we can save, the healthier reserves we
have, and larger is our national carbon sink. A tiger should therefore be entitled to carbon credits
in the form of protection.

References

1. Wildlife management. (2015, February 25). Retrieved March 9, 2015, from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wildlife_management.

2. Milestone Initiatives. (2015, March 5). Retrieved March 10, 2015, from
http://projecttiger.nic.in/content/37_1_MilestoneInitiatives.aspx.

3. Decline of tiger population. (2014, March 17). Retrieved March 10, 2015.
4. http://www.wwfindia.org/about_wwf/priority_species/bengal_tiger/why_save_the_tigers/
5. Singh, D. (2014, April 13). Top Five Reasons Why You Must Act to Save the Tiger. Retrieved March 13,
2015, from http://delhigreens.com/2009/07/23/top-five-reasons-for-why-must-you-act-to-save-the-tiger/
6. News service, D. (2015, March 19). Centre Plans to deploy drones to check tiger poaching.
Deccan Herald, p. 9.

Conservation of the Royal Bengal Tiger Species (Panthera Tigris) by

mmmunshi@rediffmail.com , sanjaydeshpandegit@gmail.com shivanand.iari@gmail.com Page 8
 Referees

Si. Name Designation Email Contact

No Number

1 Mr. Vijay Mohan Chief 9980870771

Conservator of belgaumcircle@gmail.com
Forest (CCF)
North
Karnataka
Belagavi Circle
Govt Of
Karnataka
India

2 Mr .Srinivaslu Director / directordatr@gmail.com 9448272045

Conservator
Dandeli Anshi
Tiger Reserve,
Uttar Kannada
Karnataka
India

3 Dr. Rajshekhar Professor rayeladhalli@gmail.com 9480555310

Yeladhalli University of
Agricultural
Sciences,
Dharwad
Karnataka

4 Mr. Shaba Ali Ansari Deputy Forest Shabha.ansari@gmail.com 07762820162

Officer
Jhakand,
Govt of India
India

Conservation of the Royal Bengal Tiger Species (Panthera Tigris) by

mmmunshi@rediffmail.com , sanjaydeshpandegit@gmail.com shivanand.iari@gmail.com Page 9