Apathy, red-tape threaten tigers

The last four or five months have witnessed unprecedented human-tiger conflicts in Karnataka.

- B K SINGH

It started on 26 June, when a tigress and its four cubs were poisoned near Meenyam village inside forests of the MM Hills Sanctuary, followed by the death of two tiger cubs in the adjoining Hanur forests on 12 August and poisoning of a male tiger again in MM Hills Sanctuary on 3 October. The June 26 poisoning exposed the weaknesses in management leading to the state government suspending the Deputy Conservator of Forests and others and ordering an enquiry.An enquiry conducted in fast-track mode revealed that the wages of anti-poaching camp watchers, who are contract employees, had remained unpaid since January 2025. This hampered patrolling in the forests. Further, camera trap data showed that the tigress and cubs were moving around, yet forest department officers did not engage with the communities and there was red-tape involved in paying the compensation for the wildlife damage to crops and loss of domestic livestock. The accused person was from Meenyam village, who admitted to poisoning the carcass of cattle after the tigress had killed it, dragged it into a thick patch of vegetation, and ate some portion along with its cubs.

Often tigers revisit the carcass after three days to eat the remaining meat. This behaviour is known to everyone and the accused person took advantage of this. Villagers also revealed to the investigating team that the tigress had preyed on another cattle of the accused person fifteen days earlier and he did not apply for compensation because of red-tape. It is a clear case of a lack of trust between forest personnel and communities.