The Supreme Court permitted the Maharashtra forest department to shoot a “man-eating” tigress recently.
What are the concerns raised against?
Officials of the forest department have declared T1 a “man-eater” as the animal, along with her cubs, ate 60% of a human corpse.
It was accused of killing more than a dozen people over the last two years.
But it was argued that all the kills have taken place within designated forest areas or on their periphery.
The Pantharkawada forest is home to spillover tigers from the nearby Tipeshwar Wildlife Sanctuary.
With rampant Human encroachment, contiguity of the habitat was disrupted.
The forest has scant food for wild herbivores, hence it also multiplies the chances of man-animal conflict.
There is heavy pressure of illegal grazing, with livestock consuming a huge proportion of the food and water meant for wildlife.
Locals take cattle and goats “on contract” from rich owners to graze them illegally in the forest.
What should have been done?
The National Tiger Conservation Authorityprotocols say that the human beings killed due to chance encounters may also be eaten by the animal.
However, this is not sufficient for classifying a tiger as a man-eater, especially for an encumbered tigress supporting two cubs, in a low prey base area.
Hence, the Forest Department appears to be apathetic towards the basic tenets of habitat management.
Citing human and political pressure, wildlife coming into conflict situations is regularly eliminated.
The court has observed that the directions for Standard Operating Procedure under Section 38(O) of Wildlife Protection Act are merely suggestive and not mandatory.
It was also alleged that the forest department has already roped in a “sharp shooter” to kill the tigress, instead of first trying to tranquillise her.
This case reveals that a distinction has to be made between a tigress killing a human and a habitual man-eater.
Hence it is necessary to keep wild habitats safe for wildlife to ensure their long-term survival.
