New Delhi, Jan 11 (PTI) Conservationist G Susheel, who has spent nearly 50 years in the jungles of India, has come out with a real-life account of the man-animal conflict in which he also suggests how small steps can resolve much of the tension and keep both the animals and humans safe.
In "Rogues: Elephants, Maneaters, Poachers", he further discusses how perilous the land and laws are for wildlife as well as people.
Susheel wonders how safe will wildlife hotspots remain as the pressure of 1.4 billion people on them increases rapidly.
He says it is time to urgently relook conservation in the agricultural landscape, where huge numbers of wildlife exist.
According to him, tigers and other animals do not have any protection in the agri-landscape and a better management plan for dealing with these big cats needs to be put in place.
"For maneating tigers and leopards, a standard operating procedure has to be put in place to deal with these problem animals. The local populace usually gets terrorised by these animals. It has to be seen to be believed to see the fear that people go through during all such episodes in any affected area," Susheel writes in the book, published by Storywell Books Foundation.
He says incidents of man-animal conflict disrupt the livelihood of the people living in the affected areas.
He suggests that in the event of an attack on humans or cattle kill, a wait-and-watch policy should be adopted to identify the errant animal among the many in the specified habitat.
"The moment there is an incidence of man-eating, a series of immediate steps should be taken to remove the problem animal, by following a well-tested, scientifically devised SOP," he writes.
On the shooting tranquiliser darts, he says there is no training provided.
"It is better to train some forest staff in the art of shooting - experts to do the real shooting of the dart - and allow vets to accompany them to calculate weights and dosages and carry the drugs and to aid in the recovery process of the darted animal," Susheel says.
He also suggests that every state forest department should train some of their frontline staff as marksmen and introduction of proper weapons.
"I have seen instances where the shotgun was not enough to kill the leopards in Kadur and the tiger in Coorg. There are innumerable instances of maneater tigers and leopards being shot and dying in pain. The NTCA should reintroduce the minimum caliber of .375 H&H magnum, so that if the situation demands killing of maneaters, with heavy caliber rifles, a humane kill is achieved," he writes.
For the author, the most majestic creature of the Indian forests is a big bull elephant.
"In my early years, if I saw the tracks of a big bull elephant I always followed it to see these majestic creatures. During my Wildlife Association of South India (WASI) years in the 1970s, I followed innumerable bull elephants to watch and observe them. Following these elephants gave me a lot of insight into their behaviour," he writes.
On elephants being caught and radio collared, he says when a elephant is fitted with a radio collar and wakes up from being tranquilised, the animal initially shakes himself violently to get rid of the collar.
"Elephants also get irritated and behave irrationally when they hear the beep of the radio collar and is frustrated with the irritation of having the heavy band around its neck. The beep and vibration of the radio collar disturb the peace and tranquillity of the animal. When the battery of the collar dies, the elephant has to be tranquillised again and a new battery installed. Radio collaring ought to be stopped. It is simpler to insert microchips in their ears, to monitor their movement," Susheel suggests. PTI ZMN RB RB
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