CONSERVE OR PERISH

Periyar Tiger Reserve has rewritten Indian conservation by turning poachers into protectors and conflict into coexistence

- K A SHAJI

ENTRY TO Periyar Tiger Reserve is not marked by any ceremonial gate. The checkpost that leads to the national park in Kerala also has no sign to announce that one has crossed into one of India's most closely guarded forest landscapes in the Western Ghats.

But guarded it is. A small group of men at the checkpost watch all vehicles entering and exiting the reserve. C Pandian, C Murugan, V Mahamayan, and R Rakkumuthu are not forest guards by training. Till the mid-1990s, they would enter the forest at night, following routes taught by family elders, to illegally collect forest produce. Now they ensure that nothing leaves the reserve illegally. And they know how to spot a poacher.

"If the responses come too quickly, or sound rehearsed; if the driver's eyes drift while speaking; if the declared cargo says one thing and the smell escaping the cabin narrates a different story—these are all signs of something illegal being done,” says Pandian. Murugan assesses vehicles’ bodies, checking seams and joints, listening for hollow sounds, watching for signs of recent tampering. Mahamayan stands near the bus bay to observe passengers waiting to board. He notes who avoids eye contact, who repeatedly scans the checkpost, and who appears unusually eager to leave. Rakkumuthu surveys the entire scene, reading rhythm, coordination and small disruptions that signal something out of place.

The year 2026 marks Periyar Tiger Reserve’s 75th anniversary. For years now, the 925 sq km forest has officially recorded zero poaching cases. But that was not always the case.