30^th December, 2021, Sundarbans National Park

Wildlife Trust of India’s Rapid Response Team (RRT) assists the Forest Department to rescue an adult male tiger from the Kultali Village Block of Garankanthi Forests of the Sundarbans Tiger Reserve. Thanks to a highly collaborative effort by the villagers, local administration, forest department officials and WTI’s rescue team, a potential conflict situation was averted while allowing safe passage to the animal back in the wild.

Addressing tiger conflicts in Sundarbans

WTI’s Sundarban Tiger Project was initiated back in 2018, wherein our baseline surveys indicated villages witnessing around 3-4 deaths in average each year, with the entire Sundarbans landscape witnessing around 15-20 deaths a year. This had resulted in the formation of a RRT team that would be responsible to handle any potential conflict situation. Equipped with a rescue vehicle (boat) that would help address such situations, the RRT team comprises of biologists, veterinarians and support staff, to work in collaboration with local forest department officials and other key stakeholders.

Bengal Tiger (listed “Endangered” under the IUCN Red List of Species) sightings around villages around the Sundarbans National Park are nothing new. Nevertheless, the presence of this apex predator always creates panic. The latest case was reported on the 23^rd of December when villagers of Kultali block near the Garankanthi Forests located fresh pugmarks in close proximity to the village.

Pic Credits: Samrat Paul/WTI

WTI’s RRT in action

On receiving the pugmark evidences, the team had promptly started putting up nylon fencing around the area of the reports. The team tracked the animal for the next 5 days using pugmarks and other signs, covering 6-7 kilometres each day to try and corner the animal. All throughout, it was a priority to secure any entrances to the nearby villages. This needed two layers of nylon fencing on the Raidighi village and three layers to block entrance into the Piyali River as it opened up to human habitations on both sides.

Using skilled trackers, the tiger was identified to a location dominated by spiny shrubs of the Holy Mangrove (Acanthus ilicifolius). The team attempted to lure out the animal using trap cages and firecrackers but to no avail. The team also took the help of the fire brigade to spray water and force the animal out and into the trap cages that had been strategically installed but this too was unsuccessful. At last, a team of 30-40 forest staff had to drive the animal out of hiding while veterinarians were able to tranquilize and cage the animal.

Pic Credits: Samrat Paul/WTI

The tiger, an adult male, was translocated to the Bonnie Forest Camp using the WTI’s RRT boat and after a day’s monitoring, it was finally released in Dhulibhasani, near Ramganga Range.

Summing up the conflict situation in the landscape, project lead Mr. Krisnendu Basak says “Tiger movements in the human inhabited areas are infrequent in current years due to successful installation of nylon net fencing along the fringes by West Bengal Forest Department which is one of the remarkable achievements by the authority. Still, few individuals cross the net and come in close proximity to the highly populated villages in the fringes. In such chaotic situation, we need to save both human lives and also ensure that the animal is safe. This is where our Primary Response Team (PRT) and Rapid Response Team (RRT), consisting of villagers, support Forest Department and rescue teams.”

In the year 2021, the deaths across the landscape were numbered at 11, slightly lower than the previous years. However, one also needs to account for the fact that much of the fences were destroyed by the cyclones like Amphan. Currently, the team is targeting at lowering this number to less than 7 in the project villages for the duration of the project. Through the RRT and activities like fencing, the team isn’t just focussing on protecting both humans and animals but also build a trust in the community that extends to protecting other species in the diversity-rich mangrove ecosystem.

The Sundarbans Project (Protecting tigers, people and their vital habitats in the Sundarban Delta of India and Bangladesh) is supported by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), KFW and the West Bengal Forest Department. From engaging locals in tiger conservation activities to community awareness and supporting locals through alternative livelihoods, WTI has been instrumental in bringing down the conflict rates in the landscape.

To know about the project, click here.

Disclaimer: This project is supported by IUCN’s Integrated Tiger Habitat Conservation Programme, funded by the German Cooperation via KfW Development Bank. The contents of this article are the sole responsibility of Wildlife Trust of India and do not necessarily reflect the views of IUCN, the German Cooperation or KfW.