Sanctioned trophy hunting by another name a grey area in man-animal conflict

The steady shrinkage of natural habitats and the resultant rise in man-animal conflict have led to increasing incidents of big cats being labelled "man-eaters" and caught or shot down in authorised kills by hobby hunters deployed by authorities, triggering a wider debate on the ethical as well as environmental dimensions of the practice.

- Neeraj Santoshi and Jayashree Nandi

The latest case came from Uttarakhand on December 11, when the state forest department caught a tiger in the Naukuchiatal area near Bhimtal on suspicion that it had killed a woman. The woman, a 52-year-old local, was allegedly killed in a big cat attack on November 25, though forest officials were not sure whether it was a tiger or a leopard. Now, the department is trying to ascertain if the captured animal was a man-eater.

There are at least 3,167 tigers in India, of which 3,080 were photographed in 2022, the Status of Tigers Report released by the National Tiger Conservation Authority last year said. In 2018, there were estimated to be at least 2,967 tigers. There were 1,411 tigers in 2006; 1,706 in 2010; 2,226 in 2014 and 2,967 in 2018. There has been a 124.45% increase in tiger numbers since 2006, according to the estimation results.

Several other changes have taken place in the management and land use of recorded and unrecorded forests: Of the approximately 400,000 sq km of forests in tiger states, only one-third are in relatively healthy condition, the tiger estimation results have pointed. Also, the country's green cover may be increasing according to the headline findings of the India State of Forest Report 2023 but the study itself points to the degradation of large tracts of forests, increase in plantations and a lack of clarity on the status of so-called unclassed forests - all of which could have serious implications for biodiversity and wildlife, experts have said. The combination of these factors will lead to an escalation in conflicts, especially in the Terai region that has as many as 757 tigers in about 8,103 sq km of forested habitat.