Poaching at Achanakmar Tiger Reserve

ACHANAKMAR DYING


Tiger census: 2009

As I slowly drive in broad daylight through the achanakmar amarkantak highway, my hopes are raised high to find plenty of pugmarks of the striped predator along with its other cat family members. Last year I had the pleasure of accompanying Mr. P.S Lahiri, a well known photographer and conservationist and we had spotted plethora of wildlife and evidence to support the fact that achanakmar was teeming with game.

Nature club Bilaspur had been participating in tiger census along with the forest department since last 12 years and this year the census was conducted on 15th of March. Around 100 enthusiast souls were exited and ready with transparencies and plaster casts to record the pugmarks. All the members were distributed throughout the jungle according to the beats with their beat guards. Three different groups were stationed at achanakamar range, chaparwa range and lamni range. We were supposed to leave at 4.00 AM sharp. Last years census had reported around 27 tigers and with the hope of an increased population we called it a day and waited for the next morning.

As we waited exited and ready with our gears, not a single beat guard arrived before 7.00 AM. Even the Ranger was nowhere in the vicinity. I decided to check the Bokrakachar beat of the achanakmar range. Last year I had seen the pugmarks of a large male in the same area quite a few times hence I took the assigned beat guard and started my day. We meticulously checked each water whole every possible spot of that area but could not trace a single pugmark. Even more surprisingly we did not come across a single leopard pugmark. I was now really tensed and after checking almost every possible by lane of that range we were on our way back. While crossing a small stream, under an arjun tree there was a small water whole and near which were lying seven dead Babblers. One of them was still breathing faintly. I picked it up and poured some water in its mouth but within seconds I lost hope and it died. As I was reasoning it out two more fell from the tree. I had no idea whatsoever was happening. I decided to take one of them along as a sample for testing. I had doubts that some thing was wrong with the water and it must have been poisoned but the beat guard did not allow me to take them as it was against the rules.

As soon as I reached the guest house tensed and worried, one of the members of nature club gave me the news, “At Kumbhipani water whole (Chaparwa range) a dead leopard, a dead hare, a dead barking deer, dead frogs and bees and peacock feathers were found, As these animals died in the vicinity of water, it is suspected that the water was poisoned.” My heart missed a beat and worst nightmare came true. I knew poachers were at large and that they were operating through out the jungle.
As I reached the spot I was told that only 7 tiger and 17 leopard pugmarks were found throughout the jungle and that all the well traced territories have no pugmarks at all.
We were sure that this was another sariska and panna in making. The irony is, still the forest department is unwilling to accept the fact that the animals are being poached in the game range and that they have miserably failed to stop it.
May be when the last pugmark is blown away from the achanakmars dusty terrain and not even a single tiger survives to support our hopes, the forest department would accept the situation. Things have changed drastically in last six months or so. The regular visitors, senior conservationists and even the beat guards are recording a serious drop in the frequency of tiger evidence or even pugmarks.
We have been studying achanakmar since a decade and the nature club has been through years of detailed scientific research along with many, many hours of meticulous observations by its members and never in the past have we encountered such a bad situation. some of the major tiger territories which invariably used to record tiger evidence, Satapani, sarai pani, sambhar dhasan, darrapani and many more have not recorded a single pugmark this year. Only the lamni range records the maximum pugmarks, the credit of which undoubtedly goes to the hard working range officer Mr. Sidar.

Even worse as the national elections are ahead, 90 percent of the forest officials are stationed to their respective polling booths. Almost all the forest vehicles are taken by the state election committee, leaving the park wide open for the poachers to ravage freely within and sweep out the little that is left.
In last six months at least six incident of poaching have been reported and it is imperative that apart from tigers the low density of cheetals and even the wild boars and peacocks are missing.

Facts today:
1 Even after getting ample of proof that the leopard was poached and the water wholes were poisoned as in the babbler’s case too, the attitude of the forest department is very casual and they believe that the cat must have been suffering from some physical ailment because of which it slipped down from the cliff and died.
2 Since last six month there have been quite a few incidents of cheetal poaching. Even poachers having political connections were caught on the bilaspur achanakmar highway skinning the cheetals, enquiry still pending.
3 As the rangers and the beat guards have their residence at bilaspur, almost no monitoring takes place.
4 Huge disturbance from the cattle gazers, human habitation and even traffic within the park attributes to the dwindling numbers of prey and their predators.
5 The state government has sanctioned “Rojgaar guarantee yojna” hence permitting trucks and jeeps to roam freely around the jungle repairing roads which are connecting the villages, creating a win loose situation for the villagers and wildlife. Just imagine 10 JCB’s, 20 tractors , dozens of trucks , dumpers and many other machines moving freely inside the core area of the game range constructing 10 feet road and hundreds of workers sleeping inside the forest. Will it be possible to identify the poachers amongst the mass
6 It has been a year that the park has been notified as Tiger reserve but no action has been taken by the state authorities and all powers are still vested in the hands of bilaspur forest division.
7 For any park superintendent, it takes at least four or five years to work out some positive results but sadly even before he starts implementing his plans he is transferred from that park due political malaise. Last two years we were very optimistic as The park sptd Mr B.P Singh and the rangers had a mutual understanding and things looked positive but as soon as the elections arrived they were transferred.

8 The supreme courts central empowered committee has sanctioned the reallocation of seven villages and the budget has been sanctioned for the same. The government has agreed to provide five acres of agricultural land and a house for every single family even then not a single village has been shifted.
9 The most venerable are the achanakmar and the chhaparwa range. One can find the achanakmar ranger under the influence of alcohol at any given time. It has been more than 5 years that the achanakmar and chaparwa rangers have been deputed in the bilaspur division and since then they have not committed a single productive work.

10 Forest department has developed more than five tourist bungalows and three of them are inside the core area. Most of the time these bungalows are occupied by the forest officials, politicians and their guests for their personal entertainment, even if a lady needs to use the guest house for some basic requirement, she would be denied brutally and ll have to resort to the jungle.
11 Many a times the senior naturalists and researchers are harassed and threatened inside the park and they have to face the malice attitude of the rangers and forest guards.
12 Timber mafia and cattle gazers have become rife in the sanctuary but the forest department keeps its eyes and ears closed.
13 The achanakmar-amarkantak highway was supposed to be closed since 2008, but still it continues to place animals at grave risk.

Over the years, achanakamar has had more than its share of problems. For decades forest officials, conservationists and researchers have all contributed towards the development of the park.
As Mansoor khan (convener, nature club bilaspur), B.P Singh (Ex-Park Suptd) and I sit near the dead leopard with our heads down and tears in our eyes, our hope lingers around the media, the honest senior forest officials of our country and all the wildlife enthusiasts through out the country who would try to contribute in all possible ways to make it safe for the forest and its denizens and to create a beautiful Achanakmar.