the last six weeks have caused concern among the officials of the
Forest Department. Opinions differ on whether cyclone Aila was
responsible for the behaviour of the tigers. "We have seen that
incidents of [tigers] straying have occurred wherever embankments were
breached," said Atanu Raha, the Principal Chief Conservator of
Forests. "It is possible that the tigers may have become disoriented
as the forests lie inundated, and drifted towards the villages."
According to records of the Sundarbans Tiger Reserve (STR), 11 such
incidents occurred in 2006-07. The number rose to 13 the following
year. In the six weeks since the cyclone struck the region, tigers
have entered inhabited areas five times.
Principal Conservator of Forests (Wildlife), S.B. Mondal denied that
these occurrences were connected to the cyclone. "Instances of tigers
straying into inhabited areas during the monsoon are observed every
year. They are being noticed this year because of the cyclone," he
said. While the straying of tigers might be unrelated to the cyclone,
chances of man-animal conflict increasing in its aftermath were highly
likely, said N.C. Bahuguna, Director STR. "After Aila, people have
lost their livelihood, so are encroaching into the forests in
increasing numbers," he said.
This is true of Bhaben Gayen, a fisherman who was killed and carried
off by a tiger last week while fishing with others in Jharkhali. The
fishermen allegedly entered the restricted area of the forest because
of poor catches elsewhere.
"While the cyclone could be one of the probable reason for these
attacks, it is difficult to know for sure," said Richa Dwivedi, Deputy
Field Director of the Reserve. "A calamity of this kind has happened
after a long time, so we can't even rely on past experiences," she
added.
The Hindu, July 14
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