Death of Tigress at Bandhavgarh National Park

That's devastating news - how terrible and what a loss. I wonder if they will reveal what happened and why.

Thanks for letting us know Doogs.

Lai

Doogs that is very upsetting news. I remember reading a post on Jonathans blog on 1st May about Tigers & Tourism . A journalist reported from Mumbai that the Ministry of the Environment was going to begin phasing out tourism as it was impacting negatively on the cats. This has since been refuted by the authorites.
A reporter wrote an article that set out the impact of tourism and the imapct it could have if it was stopped, he puts across both sides very well but it then remains at the end of it the old saying of "We are damned if we do and we are damned if we don't".
It is such a tough call on what to do and the effect that tourism is having on the cats and the effect it could potentially have if they stop the tourism.
Here is the letter that was posted on Jonathans Blog.
Sir,

The attempt to present wildlife tourism as a major threat to tigers or wildlife (Tourism ban to save Bengal tiger from being loved to extinction – April 28, 2010) is perverse and deeply wrong-headed. It is in reality an attempt to use the symptom to mask the disease. The disease being the failure – despite repeated warnings and requests – on the part of the federal and various state governments in India to create a sound and coherent policy on wildlife tourism. A policy that would recognise the benefits as well as dangers of tourism and from which would flow the regulatory mechanism that would enhance and re-enforce the benefits while mitigating the excesses. The potential dangers of this policy and regulatory vacuum were recognised by the mid-1980’s and expressed in articles, letters and memoranda to government – to no avail and tourism was allowed to proliferate unregulated. In any unregulated business landscape there will be excesses and irresponsible behaviour and now that it has reached an extreme in some parks – the authorities who should shoulder an equal share of the blame are cleverly deflecting it exclusively to the wildlife tourism industry – and penalising it! The politicians, journalists and public who are uncritically swallowing this line are guilty of deeply fuddled thinking – as your article demonstrates. The writer misleadingly juxtaposes two unrelated facts: that Corbett National Park has high visitor numbers and that there were 4 tiger deaths implying that tourism was somehow responsible. The fact is that it was because of tourists, guides, drivers etc that the whole story of these 4 tiger deaths reached the public – not via the park management. Your article also details the value of a poached tiger. The only way to counter that is to ensure that a live tiger is worth more. Is there any other economic activity other than well-regulated tourism that can deliver this?

The fallacy that tourism endangers tigers is further contradicted by the facts on the ground: Kanha, Bandhavgarh, Pench, Corbett, Ranthambhore, Nagarhole, Bandipur, Mudumalai, Kaziranga – all parks with high visitor numbers have thriving tiger populations. Two reserves with high tourist numbers that lost tigers were Panna and Sariska – where the managements fudged numbers even when the tigers had disappeared and it was in part the local tourism industry (normally intimidated into silence for fear of vindictive retribution) that blew the whistle. Does one hear of any tiger fatalities in the bulk of ‘non-tourist’ tiger reserves? Rarely, because many of them hardly have any tigers left to kill and in any case there is no one there to oversee the management and leak the news to the press.

And finally — here’s the thing that this tourist exclusion policy fails to consider: the tiger reserves of India are public property paid for by the tax-payer who, by this policy of exclusion will be denied to see the very thing his or her money is paying to protect, for remember the great bulk of visitors to India’s reserves are Indian and not foreign. And when the wildlife tourism industry withers in the stony scrublands of cattle ravaged buffer zones leaving hundreds of jobless locals looking for any alternative income will the tiger with its $50,000 price tag – dead – suddenly be rendered safer?

Hashim Tyabji
ex-Honorary Wildlife Warden,
Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve

Thats devastating news, and what a shame with 3 cubs as well. I remember the news with the cub being run over. If I remember right it was one of the owners of the reserve who did it and he was arrested,but what happened next I dont know. Thanks for passing that on Doogs
WS

Doogs i guess the tiger in this story is Mohini...not sure,but her case was similar

Mohini is the daughter of legendary charger and Sita in bandhavgarh national park,MP...she was hit by a safari jeep and she got separated from her three cubs...she later died of injuries..

this is one sad part of safaris..especially the night safaris..tiger is nocturnal and their camouflage make it difficult to spot them in dark....

Mohini is one of the victims of this..such similar stories is definitely gonna put a negative impact on Indian Tourism

Tragic when there are so few of these magnificent animals.

Lai

i know Lai....the ones who suffer the most will be her cubs

Doogs - it was just unforgivable

Lai

tiger tourism is banned in national parks across india

huge blow to tourism industry

I saw this the other day Rhadu, but I did'nt realise the decision had been made.This is the article I saw, it's a long read, but well worth the time

India to ban tiger tourism?
25/07/2012 22:07:49
There is plenty of evidence to show that tourism is good for tigers.
Tiger Tourism ruling in India's Supreme Court.
July 2012. The Supreme Court of India has ordered an embargo on tourism in the "core zones" of India's government run tiger reserves. There is a further hearing on 22 August, at which Travel Operators For Tigers (TOFT) will present an argument to the Supreme Court for a review petition, allowing for the continuation of sustainable tourism in India's National Parks and reserves.

As is often the case this announcement poses more questions than it answers so below is an attempt at clarifying what is a very complicated and ambiguous situation:

Is this the end of tiger tourism as we know it in India?
It is important to understand this is not a blanket ban on tourists entering national parks but is an order to stop tourists being taken into the Core Tiger Areas of the parks. The key issue to come out of the next hearing is what the Supreme Court means by "core zones". There are already agreed lines of demarcation that separate the Core Tiger Areas from the rest of the reserves and so we are assuming the Supreme Court is referring to these established zones. In some of the parks, tourism is reliant on these zones for a large proportion of game drives - for example, in Pench Tiger Reserve 62.5% of tourist activity takes place in Core Tiger Areas. In Panna however this figure is much less at 15% and in Satpura the figure is only 7.5%

The latest NTCA Tiger census show that the tiger numbers went up at the same time as tourism numbers have increased significantly. Banning it altogether though is the final nail in the coffin of the tiger.
The ruling then will have a significant impact on some parks more than others, but what is clear is that tour operators and guides will have to approach game drives in a different manner, right across India. Tour operators will need to stop being tiger centric in their marketing and tourists will have to change their perspective and embrace the diverse myriad other wildlife in India's parks and understand that seeing a tiger is not a given right but a privilege.

What is the background to this ruling?
The Indian government has lost patience with the Indian states that are responsible for the parks and the welfare of their animals. The government has been telling the parks to put their stall in order and come up with initiatives to better protect tigers and the significant revenue that tourism attracts. In the eyes of the government the states have not acted enough and apparently, a ‘junior' lawyer was sent to the Supreme Court to represent the states, which was seemingly the final straw.

Only time will tell whether this is sabre rattling designed to give a wake-up call to the states however the timing of this order is telling. Given that most national parks are already closed to tourism at this time of year it would seem that this announcement has been timed to have maximum publicity but minimum disruption to national park operations and revenue. Hopefully this is a sign that the Indian government is acutely aware of the economic importance of tiger tourism, and is not about to implement measures that will jeopardise this.

Are tigers better or worse off with tourism?
Evidence shows that more tourists = more tigers
This is an excerpt from a press release on the recent order, written by Julian Matthews, Chairman of Travel Operators for Tigers:
We are perplexed that the Supreme Court has chosen to disregard the clear evidence that proves that wildlife tourism within India Tiger Parks is not harming tigers. The highest densities of tigers can be found today in the most heavily visited Tiger Reserves including Corbett, Kaziranga and Bandhavgarh. The latest NTCA Tiger census published in March 2011, show that the tiger numbers went up in all these parks - at the same time as tourism numbers have increased significantly. At the same time, unseen and unloved sanctuaries and forest corridors lost all their tigers and wildlife to poaching, grazing, neglect, agriculture and extractive pressures.

Not only common sense but hard facts all support the argument that tourism places a spotlight on tigers and provides constant scrutiny of their health and welfare. Remove this spotlight and the door is left wide open to poachers, illegal loggers and other people who do not have the tiger's best interest at heart. Tourism in the parks needs better regulation as nobody benefits - neither wildlife nor tourist - from irresponsible driving and over exuberant guides. Banning it altogether though is the final nail in the coffin of the tiger.
Tiger tourism helps keep tigers alive. Banning it may have the opposite effect when those reliant on tourism for a living will target tigers in response to the ban.

Lose tourists and you lose tigers for good, this is lunacy
The news that India's Supreme Court has banned tourism in tiger parks has infuriated Paul Goldstein, Exodus guide, award-winning wildlife photographer, philanthropist and TV presenter.

The areas affected support thousands of livelihoods, the tigers literally being the meal ticket for guides, wardens, hotels, camps, lodges, schools etc. Goldstein, the man behind the hugely successful Worth More Alive campaign to save the Bengal Tiger, and who has personally raised over £100,000 to help protect this magnificent animal, is outraged by this latest news, branding it "lunacy".

Goldstein commented, "The whole reason of visiting these parks is to keep these marquee species alive, where the tourists have disappeared in parks like Sariska and Panna, so has the tiger, you just cannot argue with these stark facts but some people seem intent on doing just this. The presence of tourists is not only a critical source of income it is also an essential deterrent for poachers and without these extra sets of eyes the tigers will be even more vulnerable.

"If tourists are no longer able to visit these key places and are instead forced out into buffer zones where there is little wildlife to be seen they simply will not travel. Tigers are difficult enough to spot in the core areas. The knock on effect is devastating - the local towns and communities will lose their income and thousands of hardworking people will be forced to move, leaving the tigers open to attack.

Tourists are truly the only real ally of the tiger and the Indian government should be ashamed of even considering this absurd piece of legislation. Nowhere in the world can predators survive without tourism, tigers are no different except they are more vulnerable than any other cat. India is happy to brandish the tiger brand, but their government is about to be responsible for its demise. Trying to deflect criticism from their own incompetence in preserving this species against the ravages of Chinese traditional medicine, by concocting this bilge is an utter disgrace. Already I have had repeat clients wishing to cancel their safari next year so the rot has already started. An utter disgrace the like of which I have not seen in 29 years in tourism. If it is not rescinded on August the 22nd, the tiger will be wiped out and soon."

WS