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File photo: Avni, a five-year-old tigress which was shot dead in the forests of Pandharkawda. (PTI Photo)[/caption]
Eastern Mirror Desk
Dimapur, Nov. 9: Animal rights activists are up in arms against the recent killing of two tigers -- one each in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh -- but sharpshooter Nawab Shafath Ali Khan has claimed that man-animal conflict is going to escalate in India in the near future if the land-to-animal ratio is not maintained.
Shrinking of forest area due to human activities and increase in wild animals’ population because of government’s conservation efforts seems to have triggered more human-animal conflict of late. Man-eater tigress Avni, identified as T1 and believed to have killed 13 people in the last two years, was shot dead by Shafath’s son Asghar Ali Khan in Yavatmal district of Maharashtra last week, and another tiger was killed in Uttar Pradesh for which an FIR has been filed against over half-a-dozen people.
Shafath believes that human-animal conflict in India will be so severe five from now that many tigers would be killed and no government could be able to control it unless steps are taken to “maintain the land-to-animal ratio, fence all national parks and ensure availability of food and water for animals in forests so that they don't venture into human habitations.”
"Till 1972, the number of animals was under control because killing of animals entering fields was allowed. Today the law provides full protection to animals, and as a result, their numbers are increasing," Khan, who is wildlife adviser to nine states and helped capture wild animals for four decades, told IANS.
The professional hunter pointed on the need of “culling animals to maintain the natural balance”, citing many countries like the United States and Russia that take up such measures.
"In 1980, there were 15,700 elephants and today their number is 30,000. They are venturing into human habitations and creating havoc. Nilgais are causing terror in Gujarat, Bihar and other states. Thousands of nilgai are destroying fields," said Khan. He added that the population of tigers has gone up to 3,000, wherein a single tiger needs a kill every week, thus signalling the need to make prey and water available in their natural habitat.
He believes lack of forest maintenance has “turned 5.5 crore people living in 1.87 lakh villages adjoining the forests into enemies of animals.” He added that it is the responsibility of the government to ensure that animals don’t intrude into human habitations.
According to wildlife experts, a single tiger needs an area of about 60-100 sq km being a territorial animal, which indicates the need to maintain land-to-animal ratio to avoid human-animal conflict.
Meanwhile, Khan has rubbished the allegations levelled against him by animal rights activists and Union Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi, saying that his son had acted on the orders of the Maharashtra government and shot the tigress in self-defence. He also welcomed the probe announced by the state Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to ascertain if there were any lapses in the killing of the big cat.
“Last year, 18 tigers were killed ue to poisoning and electric fencing in Maharashtra alone. Nobody talks about it. Here when one man-eater tiger is killed they are raising all sorts of questions," said Khan, adding that he had received 50 orders from governments so far not because they needed his help.
"Show me the pugmark of a tiger, I will tell you if it is male or female, old or young, healthy or ill. That's our expertise and that's why we are called," said the 60-year-old man whose father was also a renowned hunter.
It may be mentioned that a similar scenario was witnessed in Nagaland in 2016 when the residents of Medziphema village shot dead a full-grown Royal Bengal tigress after it killed two pigs and a cow. It came as a surprise for the wildlife conservationists as no tiger has been officially recorded in the state in the recent times.
In the wake of the incident, Nagaland announced its first ever tiger census through its Forest department in collaboration with the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) as part of the All India Tiger Estimation (AITE), 2018.