By Dr. Corinne Taylor-Smith | Project Leader
The hot dry season is into its third month already and despite a recent scare from the passing Cyclone Fani, Bandhavgarh has seen very little rain for months. The rivers and streams have long since run dry whilst reservoirs and lakes are at an annual low. The four waterholes funded by Tigers4Ever in the last two and a half years are providing much needed respite for the parched land and thirsty animals. It is good news that up to 34 wild tigers including cubs are benefitting from these waterholes on a daily basis, as these waterholes are a key component in reducing human-animal conflict. More waterholes are still needed and we are trying to raise sufficient funds over the next few months to ensure that we can build at least one more waterhole before the drought season begins in 2020. You can read more about our waterhole project progress here: https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/water-for-bandhavgarhs-tigers/reports/#menu.
The good news for Bandhavgarh is that more and more cubs have survived to adulthood since we started our Anti-Poaching Patrolling back in July 2015; even better news is the number of tigers with cubs right now with more than 36 young tigers growing up in pristine tiger habitat. It is hard work for the tiger mums to raise their youngsters, especially at this time of year when the forest is parched and there is little food for their herbivore prey. The tinder dry leaves on the forest floor can spontaneously combust in the heat leading to devastating forest fires in which young frightened cubs can perish. Only last year, an experienced tigress lost all four of her 6 week old cubs when a forest fire took hold whilst she was out hunting. The inexperienced cubs were caught in the centre of the flames and by the time the tigress returned it was too late for her tiny offspring. A stark reminder of how precious every tiger cub is and how important preventing the spread of forest fires is to ensuring the future of a healthy tiger population. For this reason our patrollers have been actively involved in forest fire prevention and fire fighting since March.
Our patrollers are always on the lookout for warning signs like an unattended camp or cooking fire, a carelessly discarded cigarette, littering in the forest or the early signs of a natural fire due to parched vegetation. When a fire is spotted, the patrollers quickly mobilise to the area calling for support from forest department rangers en-route, if it appears that the fire will spread (due to windy conditions and the location of the fire) then the first task is to light and extinguish firebreaks which will limit the spread of the raging fire. The second stage is to extinguish the flames as quickly as possible before there is a change in wind direction which would turn the fire away from the firebreaks. By creating these fire boundaries, our patrollers increase the survival chances of the wildlife in the burning forest giving them an escape route to safety. Many trees, plants and insects are still casualties of these forest fires but limiting the spread of the fire will save thousands of animals including tigers every time.
It isn’t all doom and gloom though, around the Tigers4Ever waterholes and other water bodies which still have some natural water left, the vegetation provides much needed food for the herbivores, and in turn the tigers who need to hunt to feed themselves and their hungry cubs. It will be at least 7 weeks before the onset of the monsoon rains rejuvenates the parched landscape and brings new life to the forest; in the meantime our patrollers continue to be on high alert for fire-fighting duties. It means that no two days are the same for our tiger protectors and that each problem they face is just a solution waiting to be found. We are eternally grateful for the bravery and ingenuity of our patrollers as they carry out their duties to keep wild tigers safe, and when we ask them if they are afraid they simply reply: “No, not of the forest, not of the tigers, it is the humans we fear most because they are the ones who are unpredictable and can be violent!” It certainly makes you think!
I know that some of you have been following the reports about our Senior Anti-Poaching Patroller, Ravi, who was beaten up by poachers towards the end of 2018. Although, the perpetrators are now behind bars, Ravi still suffers each day from the pain of his fractured eye socket and skull, he has currently taken some time off to seek specialist help at the hospital in Jabalpur. We’ve sent him our best wishes for a speedy recovery and I’m sure that we all want to see him fit, healthy and back protecting Bandhavgarh’s wild tigers again as soon as he is able.
Before our next project report, peak poaching season will already be upon us. We already know that we need to be on high alert at this time of year, which is why we try to double our patrols during the monsoon period. This year, the poachers have started early, only yesterday we heard that a young tigress had been electrocuted in a tethered snare near Satna, in the Satpura Tiger Reserve, some 150 miles northwest of Bandhavgarh. This news was devastating in its own right but it was the third snaring of a tiger in addition to a leopard snaring in the same area in the last two weeks. 150 miles away is far too close for comfort, so we’re already asking our patrollers to be on high alert for new miscreant or suspicious activity and tethered snare traps. It is with some urgency that we therefore ask if you could spare £20/US$26 after reading this letter to ensure that we can double our patrolling before these poachers strike in Bandhavgarh: https://goto.gg/28767 we really want to ensure that the 36 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 will soon be 20 months since the last tiger was poached in Bandhavgarh which together with our record of 47 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:
By Dr. Corinne Taylor-Smith | Project Leader
By Dr. Corinne Taylor-Smith | Project Leader
Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can recieve an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.
Support this important cause by creating a personalized fundraising page.
Start a Fundraiser
