The distressing incident of a tiger killing a

farmer in India’s Maharashtra province

highlights the need for scientific efforts to

reduce conflicts between people and wild

animals. Encounters between tigers and

humans are likely to occur in less than one

per cent of the country’s geographical area

today. Tiger numbers have dwindled

because they were hunted down either as

dangerous vermin that stood in the way of

expansion of agriculture or as prized trophies.

In spite of legal protection, poaching

remains a threat. Also, habitat capable of

supporting the large cats has shrunk and

become increasingly fragmented. Yet some

communities living close to forests face conflicts.

It is important to understand that

man-eating is not a widespread phenomenon,

and the species generally avoids

human encounters. Some tigers do get

involved in opportunistic attacks and may

begin stalking humans as normal prey. The

answer to this human-tiger conflict lies in

good conservation science and in mitigation

measures that help people co-exist with the

carnivores at the landscape level.

To many scientists, the most effective

interventions to achieve a reduction in

attacks by tigers are those designed to eliminate

human pressures on the habitat.

Relocation of people from tiger territory

with handsome compensatory packages is a

superior alternative to crisis management

techniques that invariably follow attacks.

Problems in voluntary relocation such as

lack of alternative land, corruption, and cultural

factors do persist, but suitable incentives

can persuade more forest residents to

move out.

Tiger researchers show, encounters take

place mostly in free-ranging situations, particularly

in forests where villagers graze livestock.

All this makes it clear that it is vital to

maintain a strong prey base within the habitat.

(NYT/ The Hindu)