There are conflicting theories for the increase in man-animal conflict in villages surrounding the Bandipur National Park.
While one attributes it to depletion in prey base in some parts of the park, others say it is because of the increase in carnivore population owing to conservation measures. The recent incident in which a tiger attacked a farmer and killed an ox at Kalasur village in N. Begur range is a case in point.
D. Rajkumar of Wildlife Protection Foundation told The Hindu that the domestic animal population was higher than human population in some villages in N. Begur, Katwal, and so on. A majority of the people release their cattle inside the national park for grazing in the absence of fodder.
This practice not only erodes the vegetation cover but also depletes the prey base for carnivores. “In the competition for fodder, the herbivores abandon the habitat and migrate elsewhere as the domestic animals establish their foothold over vast swathe of the park. Carnivores such as tigers and leopards begin to stalk on domestic cattle grazing inside the national park,” said Mr. Rajkumar, who is a representative of the National Tiger Conservation Authority.
H.C. Kantharaj, Director, Bandipur Tiger Reserve, however, said that cattle entry into the national park has declined in the recent years because of multiple barriers on the forest fringes.
But the carnivore population has increased and tiger population is in the range of 90 to 105 in Bandipur alone.
“So the weak and the old get ejected in the territorial fight and come to the forest fringes where they chance upon domestic cattle and prey on them,” he said. But Mr. Rajkumar said depletion of prey base was certain around N. Begur where protection was inadequate all these years. While the multiple barrier system, including elephant-proof trenches and solar-powered fences, installed along the forest boundary in N. Begur has helped curb domestic cattle entry into the forests in recent years, it will take some more time before the habitat recovers fully, he said.
For the Forest Department, it is a tightrope walk as they have to balance wildlife conservation with the imperatives of survival of the local people living on the forest fringes whose support they require to protect the forests. On the other hand, the patience of the village residents with the Forest Department is running out and they want the carnivores to be trapped, shifted or shot.
