Three years on, India’s cheetah reintroduction struggles with poor science, delays, and missed grassland goals. In September 2022, the arrival of eight cheetahs from Namibia to Kuno National Park was hailed as a conservation milestone. Five months later in February 2024, 12 more spotted cats arrived from South Africa. The initiative, branded Project Cheetah, carried lofty ambitions. It aimed not just to restore the world’s fastest land animal to India’s landscapes, but to revive open natural ecosystems (ONEs) — the grasslands, scrublands, and savannahs that are among the country’s most neglected habitats. By reintroducing a top predator, policymakers hoped to spark wider conservation attention, diversify India’s wildlife portfolio beyond tigers and forests, and make ecological amends for a human-caused extinction. The Cheetah Action Plan set out a clear roadmap: import 5–10 cheetahs annually for a decade, create a metapopulation across multiple states, secure and restore grassland hab...
The dispersing tigers of Bhopal seem to be watching helplessly as their habitat grows smaller, food getting scarcer while a smarter set of predators, the land sharks, increasingly devour their habitat. As you read this, prowling somewhere in the fast-dwindling forests of Kaliasot- Kathotia-Kerwa , on the city outskirts, are 18 magnificent tigers, whose future hangs on the pen tips of Bhopal’s babudom.
Pending Tiger Issues
Many times, some of these dispersing tigers have left the balding jungle cover and strayed into the National Judicial Academy at Bhadbhada , as if knocking its doors for justice
Besides, a file to declare Kaliasot- Kathotia-Kerwa tract a conservation reserve has been gathering dust for the past 10 years.
The latest in the series is a wonderful recommendation. The regional office of the ministry of environment and forest and climate change in Bhopal reportedly recommended saving tiger habitat near Bhopal. It also said “mapping, notifying and handing over “all the remaining deemed forest areas to the state forest department for administration. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) directed the forest department to go ahead with these recommendations.
Now the ball is in the court of the state government. In the times of climate change and global warming, the Madhya Pradesh government needs to show a strong political will to follow the directives of the centre to save these green lungs.
In the latest tiger census, there are 45 tigers counted in Ratapai sanctuary, the source population of the dispersing tigers of Bhopal. which is more than in many national parks including Panna tiger reserve and Sanjay national park Sidhi. As the number of tigers in Ratapani is more than its carrying capacity and the prey –predator ratio is skewed, the tigers are dispersing.
If the beautiful jungle is upgraded as a tiger reserve, its forest area will be increased by the inclusion of the adjacent Singhora sanctuary as a buffer zone. Herbivore like spotted deer would be translocated from Pench national park- a proposal already long pending- and the last but very important, more funds will be available for the conservation works. But the tiger -reserve tag will come along with more restrictions and , perhaps, no government would like them in the times of populist political measures which undermine forest and environment issues. Several activities around the jungles including industries and land ownerships are believed to be the reasons behind the hurdles why the decision is delayed, and perhaps, may not be taken. But the wildlife lovers are disheartened.
The Wildlife Corridor
The tigers from Ratapani travel a few hundred kms from a traditional forest corridor, fast shrinking. As the big cats move out from Ratapani, they cross Bhopal- actually a mid -way treat for them where food, shelter and water is available- they further walk down to Sehore, Kheoni Sanctuary in Dewas and beyond to the proposed Omkareshwar national park ,Choral and Shajapur forests of Western Madhya Pradesh.
The NTCA has set up an electronic surveillance system worth about Rs 5 crore in Mendora village of Bhopal .There are 4 towers each of them 50 meter high in a 20 km area . They are fitted with high resolution night - vision devices and cameras. However, in monsoon, it is difficult to keep a vigil because of a bigger forest crown.
All the statistics related to the tiger is collected every day and analysed to understand the territory and spots where the predator hunts. This also helps in giving compensation to the villagers for their cattle loss as there are 23 gaushalas around the jungle and the cattle from these cow shelters left in open for grazing in the jungle attract tigers.
The Tiger Territory
All of the tigers moving around Bhopal are identified with the help of their pictures from the cameras fitted in the jungles. Geo mapping of the tiger territory has also been done with the help of Google map. Their movement is monitored on a day to day basis to track change in their territory.
“If we go into their genealogy, these tigers belong to the family of tigers T1 (male) and T2 (female) who originally belong to the neighbouring Ratapani sanctuary”, said a senior IFS officer
The forest department has also took -up a work to erect 5-meter high fencing in about 8 km length from Mendora to Bairagarh Chichli to ensure that the tiger doesn’t appear on the road.
The issue has come to fore as there are whispers again in the corridors of power that the government may change the land use of the Kerwa forests in the long delayed Master Plan . The protection of the forest patch of Kerwan –Kaliayasot also known as Chandanpura is also necessary after the 2005 trend of change in land use in Bhopal when the land use of almost 1000 hectare green belt, botanical garden, city parks agriculture land and the land used for recreation purpose was changed to residential and PSP ( public and semi-public) purpose among others. The city master plan 2021 has been pending for very long and the forest patch is perhaps a major reason behind the inordinate delay.
45+ tigers! That's enough to grab the attention of wildlife lovers in particular. As the blog suggest that it is the source population of the dispersing tigers in bhopal, the authorities and general public needs to be more vigilant regarding these big cats. It's an opportunity for the Bhopalis to show their sensitivity toward wildlife. Populist or non populist politics, the ball is now bouncing in people's court...dont just like n forward messages n dont just show pity..show ur anger n make then take necessary actions. Let's take a pledge to provide the wildlife with their share of privacy.
ReplyDeleteWell,
Nature is a fine mom provided she is treated well.