Protect Bandhavgarh's Tigers From Poachers

The monsoon season is drawing to a close with thunderstorms and showers now a rare occurrence. Over the next few months tigers and the other wildlife which share their forest home will face much cooler drier conditions with early morning mists blanketing the lush greenery of the post monsoon forest. The early morning mists make it a little easier for wild tigers to sneak up and ambush their prey but it also means that life is a lot more for the anti-poaching patrollers who risk their lives to keep wild tigers safe.

Thanks to the donations we received from online and offline fundraising during the monsoon we were able to patrol at 83% of planned patrolling levels. A shortfall in fundraising meant that we had to reluctantly reduce our patrolling by 17% during peak poaching season. As always happens, during the heavy monsoon rains, there are casualties in the wild tiger, human and other wildlife populations. These deaths arise from a variety reasons including snake bites, old age, and drowning of weaker or infirm animals in the localised floods which result from the sudden surge and overflow of replenished rivers.

Sadly, we have to report the deaths of eight tigers during the 2019 monsoon period. The oldest tigress in Bandhavgarh was the first to die as her body weakened by old age and failing limbs (suspected arthritis) in July. A few days later we received news of three more tiger deaths as a tigress sought to defend her cubs from an intruding male lost her life in the fight and her male cub also died close by from the wounds inflicted by the male. The female cub was rescued by forest department officials who arranged immediate treatment by a vet and housed the cub in a specially designed enclosure to allow her time to recover. In a separate incident, a young sub-adult male tiger was bitten by a venomous snake and died a few hours later. Further bad news arrived just a few days later when the rescued female cub also died from the wounds inflicted by the intruding male. It had been a bad start to the monsoon period with five tiger deaths in a matter of weeks.

Things didn’t really improve as we moved into August with the discovery of another young cub abandoned by his mother and dead in the undergrowth. It was difficult for the patrollers to determine why his mother had left him behind, maybe he was unwell or maybe he was just weaker than his siblings and couldn’t keep up with them. As September arrived, and the heavy rains became more sporadic, we received reports that one of the older tigresses in Bandhavgarh hadn’t been seen by the patrolling teams for quite a few weeks, she had left her two cubs whilst she went off to hunt but hadn’t returned, not wishing to lose any more tigers the forest department decided to rescue the cubs and put them in an enclosure where could learn vital hunting skills by killing easier prey. The search for their mother continued and a few days later her skeleton was discovered in the think undergrowth, cleaned by the vultures, she had obviously died a few days or possibly a week earlier. The final reported tiger death came when we received news that a tigress had died near to a river which had burst its banks, she was a young tigress and is thought to have struggled to cross the river as a sudden swell caused a fierce current as she tried to cross.

It is always sad and difficult to receive and report so many tiger deaths in such a short period of time, the only consolation is that the deaths were not due to illicit poaching or poisoning activities.

Now we must prepare for the challenges presented by the cooler post monsoon weather, as summer turns to winter. Yes the weather is much drier in winter but it is much colder too. Our anti-poaching patrollers can put away their waterproof clothing for a while and turn to study warm boots and warm jackets to protect them from the early morning and night time cold. They also need to be extra vigilant in the early morning mist as visibility is reduced so spotting wild animals including tigers lurking in the undergrowth is more of a challenge. At this time of year, our patrollers are always grateful for the alarm calls sounded by the langur monkeys high in the trees, especially the panicked alarm call which alerts the monkey troop to the presence of a leopard on the move. Leopards present a greater risk to both humans and monkeys because they are much better at climbing trees, than tigers, when in pursuit of their prey.

Peak poaching season may be drawing to a close, but it doesn’t mean our patrollers can relax, quite the contrary in fact. During the monsoon rains the plants and grasses in the jungle have flourished but so have the crops in the villages too. Wildlife doesn’t distinguish between the jungle and human habitat so human-animal conflict often increases when the fields are filled with crops of rice, fruit, vegetables, sugar cane and other grain crops too. The herbivores often see these crops as food for them and indulge themselves at the farmers’ expense. This can lead to traps and snares being set around the villages to prevent crop raiding wildlife, but where the prey ventures the predators, including tigers, will follow. These traps and snares are both illegal and indiscriminate but it doesn’t prevent them being laid. Prior to the establishment of our anti-poaching patrols many tigers, young and old, fell victim to these snares and traps even though their purpose was to prevent wild boar and deer, etc., from raiding the crops. For this reason, we utilise local intelligence in our patrolling network to discover which villages and farms have been most affected by crop raiding, loss of livestock, etc., as these are the villagers who are most likely to take retaliatory action against the wildlife which they see as a nuisance. In the last few weeks, our patrollers have been mobilised to search around the perimeter of two villages where we had received information that snares and traps had been laid. Our patrollers were quick to ensure the removal of these traps and snares before any tigers or other wildlife fell victim.

It isn’t just about removing the traps and snares, it is also as important to communicate with the villagers about the consequences of such traps and snares for both the wildlife and themselves. Many are unaware of the consequences of their actions, so our patrollers talk to them about other ways to protect their crops and livestock, from their wild neighbours, without inflicting harm. It is, after all, the people who live with wild tigers on their doorstep who will have the greatest say as to whether wild tigers will have a wild future. For this reason, we have always had a community focus with all our wild tiger conservation projects: we recruit our anti-poaching patrollers (and other workers) from the local villages, use local suppliers to make their uniforms, equipment and the food which our patrollers eat whilst on duty. This way the villages are dependent on the wild tigers for income from other sources which sustain their wellbeing too. Providing a uniform and full equipment for one patroller cost just £123 ($165) but can provide employment for up to 20 people https://goto.gg/34704 plus the patroller, and that means that at least 21 people and their families need wild tigers to survive to ensure that their work will continue into the future. When we say that all donations can really make a big difference to saving wild tigers, no matter how large or small the donation is: https://goto.gg/34704, we hope that you can see why.  

We want to end this newsletter on a positive note because it isn’t all bad news for the wild tiger numbers in Bandhavgarh. In the four and a quarter years since we established our first of its kind buffer zone anti-poaching patrols (established 01 July 2015) we have seen the number of wild tigers in Bandhavgarh double, we have eliminated wild tiger deaths from retaliatory poisoning and have seen a 96% reduction in wild tiger poaching, which gives us the confidence that our community focussed projects are getting it right. As we have said previously, we are eternally grateful for the bravery and ingenuity of the men and women who are the Tigers4Ever anti-poaching patrollers and who risk their lives each day to ensure that wild tigers are safe. As we don’t receive any grants or government funding, we are entirely dependent on the generosity of our supporters, people like you, to keep our patrols protecting wild tigers.

Thank you for sparing the time to read this newsletter and for all your amazing support and donations. We know that Christmas is on the horizon for many of you now, so it is always difficult to ask, however, wild tigers’ lives are at risk 24 hours a day 365 days a year so it is essential that our patrollers are there to keep them safe.  If you can afford to help, please donate now at: https://goto.gg/34704 and help us to continue to give wild tigers a wild future, every little really does make a big difference.

Finally, as always, I would like to thank you on behalf of the wild tigers, which we are keeping safe; on behalf of the anti-poaching patrollers you are helping to keep in work (and their families who have food on the table). I would also like to thank you on behalf of the wider tiger community in Bandhavgarh, which benefits from providing food/uniforms/equipment for our patrols and from the safety/education advice given by Deepak, Prahlad, Vidya, Ravi and our patrolling team.

Links:

• Tigers4Ever Website
• Tigers4Ever online shop
• Make a Difference for wild Tigers every month

The drought season is almost over with heavy monsoon rains expected any day. With the rains will come new problems for our patrollers to address: it is harder to spot the tracks of would be miscreants because the heavy rains wash these away quickly; the patrolling vehicles aquaplane in the surface water and mud; visibility is down to very few metres (about 6 feet) in heavy rainfall so the risk of wildlife encounters increases; lightning fells trees blocking tracks and roads whilst endangering life too; and if that isn’t enough to contend with it is peak poaching season too! It isn’t all bad news though, wild tiger numbers in Bandhavgarh have almost doubled in the 4 years we have been conducting our patrols, so we must be getting something right, especially with poaching and retaliatory killings on the increase elsewhere….. 

We’ve already had some heavy pre-monsoon rain making visibility difficult for our patrollers in June, none the less they are on high alert because all kinds of miscreant activity increases in the lead up to and during the monsoon period. Once again, our patrollers found evidence of encroachment into protected tiger forest habitat from the villages in the buffer forest around Bandhavgarh, this has been detailed and reported to officials in the forest department who will take steps to reverse the encroachment and reclaim the land. Newly planted areas of the previously denuded forest were also showing signs of cattle encroachment which is having a significant impact on the recovery of the forest. If we can double our patrols during the monsoon period we will be able to monitor this more closely to catch the culprits in the act. To ensure that we can double our patrols we need to raise £2268 ($3040) to cover our additional costs during the monsoon period starting right now, if you feel able to help please donate now at: https://goto.gg/34704 all amounts will help our quest no matter how large or small the donation.

Wild tiger numbers have almost doubled in Bandhavgarh during the time whilst we have been helping to give wild tigers wild futures there, this has been helped significantly by cub mortality rates which have seen almost all cubs born in the last 3 years surviving to adulthood. We recently received news about the patter of even more tiny tiger paws when one of the tigresses in the buffer forest gave birth to five cubs. This brings the number of cubs in pristine tiger habitat to 41, with more cubs expected soon as we’ve received plenty of reports of tigers mating over the last few months. It will be a challenge for both the mother (of the 5 cubs) and our patrollers to keep them safe throughout the monsoon period, but a challenge which our patrollers are ready for. We are delighted to say that the all the females with cubs living in the areas where Tigers4Ever has constructed permanent wildlife waterholes are doing well and the cubs are growing up quickly. You can read more about our waterhole project progress here: https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/water-for-bandhavgarhs-tigers/reports/#menu. It really has been a bumper year for tiger cub survival in Bandhavgarh, which means that our patrols now have many more than 100 wild tigers (including cubs) to protect from harm.

Just this week, our patrollers found some discarded metal wire on a tiger trail, thankfully it wasn’t a snare, but it reaffirms why we need to be extra vigilant at this time of year. It isn’t uncommon during the monsoon period for villagers to set traps to catch wild boar and deer which come to the villages to raid the food crops, sadly these snares and traps can be indiscriminate and have killed tigers and leopards in the past. As a matter of course, our patrollers scour the periphery of the villages in and around the buffer forest searching for these ill devices and those who have laid them. With over 70 villages to check, this is no easy task, especially during the heavy rains of the monsoon. Our brave patrollers are not deterred by the challenge, they even scour through the tangled lantana bushes looking for traps and snares, and patrol along the power lines which transect the forest looking for signs of tethered snares. Canes and head-torches are invaluable equipment during these searches, as available light is low which results in poor visibility and an increased risk of the patroller stepping into a trap intended to kill a wild animal. We are eternally grateful for the bravery and ingenuity of the men and women Tigers4Ever patrollers who risk their lives each day to ensure that wild tigers are safe. Did you know that it costs us just £123 ($165) to provide a patroller with full uniform and equipment (including vital head-torch, spare batteries and cane) which usually lasts for up to 3 years?If you would like to help us to provide vital equipment for our patrollers, please donate now at: https://goto.gg/34704 every little helps.

For those of you who have been following the progress about our Senior Anti-Poaching Patroller, Ravi, who was beaten up by poachers towards the end of 2018, he is still receiving specialist treatment for his injuries at a hospital in Jabalpur. We know that like us, you wish him a speedy recovery and hope that he will be fit, healthy and back protecting Bandhavgarh’s wild tigers again as soon as he is able.

Before we close, just a little reminder that peak poaching season is already upon us. We are already on high alert, and we are trying to double our patrols for the duration of the monsoon period. Elsewhere, the poachers have started early, with more than 7 tiger deaths reported already this month. This news is devastating in its own right but when we think about the 41 small cubs who could so easily be orphaned if their mothers were to be poached, the impact just doesn’t bear thinking about! We’ve already asked our patrollers to be on high alert for new miscreant or suspicious activity and tethered snare traps, it is now with some urgency that we therefore ask if you could spare £20/US$26, or more if you can afford it, after reading this report to ensure that we can double our patrolling before the poachers strike in Bandhavgarh: https://goto.gg/34704. We really want to ensure that the 41 plus tiny tiger cubs grow up safely; and that their parents are around to protect them whilst they grow. Your donation will help us to pay a team of brave patrollers to protect wild tigers for a day and will give you the satisfaction of knowing that you are making a real difference today. It is more than 21 months since the last tiger was poached in Bandhavgarh which together with our record of 48 months without a retaliatory poisoning is a great achievement on the part of our patrollers. We hope that we can raise sufficient funds to keep this exemplary record going.

I can’t sign off without thanking you all for your continued amazing support and donations, which enable us to give wild tigers a wild future. I know that many of you will have holidays/vacations to pay for right now, so if you can’t donate £20/US$26 right now, please feel free to donate whatever you can afford, every little really does make a big difference. Finally, I would like to thank you again on behalf of the wild tigers, which we are keeping safe; on behalf of the patrollers we are keeping in work (and their families who have food on the table). I would also like to thank you on behalf of the wider tiger community in Bandhavgarh, which benefits from providing food/uniforms/equipment for our patrols and from the safety/education advice given by Deepak, Prahlad, Vidya, Ravi and our patrolling team.

Links:

• Tigers4Ever Website
• How to get in touch