Chandrapur, At present, the human-wildlife conflict has reached its peak in the village adjacent to the forest. The main reason for this is considered to be the tiger itself and this is a confusion in the society. Human-wildlife conflict is not only a struggle between ‘tigers and humans’, but also a daily struggle between leopard, wolf, deer, pig, bear and farmer-farm workers. Tigers are always blamed for conflict situations.
When people enter the forest and a woman or a man bows down to work, the tiger attacks by mistaking it as an animal. On the one hand, when one person dies in a tiger attack, on the other hand hundreds of people are killed by dog bites. Thousands of people are killed by killing themselves by humans. And lakhs of people die in road accidents.
However, there is a lot of discussion about the incidents of tiger attacks. In this mainly political leaders to increase their vote bank, some social workers come on the streets demanding to kill tigers to gain the affection of the people and the ugly face of the tiger comes in front of the world and begins ‘ The struggle of ‘tiger and man’.
39 people and 14 tigers died in a year
For money, a tiger was hunted in the forest of Talodhi. Due to superstition, an incident in the Sindewahi forest area, and sometimes in the name of security, a tiger like ‘Srinivas’ hunts a tiger in the forest area or a tiger gets seriously injured by throwing pombhurna grenades in the name of settlement.
Only then no one comes from the tiger’s side to arrest the poachers and hang them or to settle the entire hunters or the human race. This year 39 people have died in the attack of tigers in the district and 14 tigers have been hunted. There has also been death due to superstition and mutual conflict.
Improvement in the number of tigers
Although the number of tigers is being said to increase, but the reality is quite the opposite. In the 19th century, the number of tigers was one lakh at one time. By the turn of the 20th century, this number decreased to 40,000 and in the census of 1972, it was reduced to just 1800. Recognizing the seriousness of the issue of tiger extinction, the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi prepared the Tiger Project in 1972. The Wagh Prakalpas were established in 1973 and after that 4418 tigers were recorded in the census conducted in the country in 1999.
In 2010 1140 tigers and in 2018 census 2969 were recorded. It is not correct to say that the number of tigers has increased. However, the figures have improved. Due to increasing human-wildlife conflict, the habitat of tigers is believed to be extinct. The forest area which was once thirty five to forty thousand square kilometer, now only one percent is left.
Lack of forests is also a big reason
The main causes of human-wildlife conflict include encroachment on forests, open mines for minerals, construction of roads for them, collection of forest produce, entry into the forest to graze animals for theft of wood, indiscriminate consumption of herbivores for food. Hunting, night and day tours are included. Leaving their habitat of the sanctuary, Sharmila, the nocturnal tiger, moved towards agriculture in search of new habitat and towards the village. As a result, the human-wildlife conflict has increased and reached its peak.