Call for Forest Intelligence Wing in Adilabad to monitor tiger movements, deter poachers

Adilabad: Activities of farmers and poachers alike have raised the need for the establishment of an Intelligence Wing in the forest departments, especially in Adilabad forest areas.

The forest department is yet to learn about some of the methods being used to ward off animals from habitations and crops that also pose a danger to their lives.

Farmers using heavy-duty torches to ward off animals

The harvest time necessitates farmers spending sleepless nights guarding their precious agricultural produce from wild animals, especially in the forest fringe areas.

Armed with heavy-duty torch lights, farmers shoo away wild marauders from atop perches specially made for the purpose. This crop protection method, however, is not as innocuous as it seems. The high-power torch lights coming in various shapes and sizes also help willing humans in poaching animals.

An unsuspecting wild animal like a deer of sambhar freezes in its tracks after being blinded by a beam from the powerful torchlight. This makes it easier for a poacher to kill the animal on the spot.

More than 500 torchlights sold in a year

“I sold more than 500 torchlights to farmers in one year, including the conventional handheld ones and those that can be strapped to the head like a miner’s headlight,” revealed a general store owner in a mandal headquarters village, explaining the demand for such handy lights.

“The cost of the light ranges from Rs 250 to Rs 1,000 depending on the intensity of the light,” he added, talking about the poachers who buy these lights.

The torches that run on ordinary batteries or rechargeable ones can be found in general stores in all tribal mandal headquarters that line forest areas. Yavatmal district headquarters in Maharashtra is one such source of these torches.

Poachers killing prey needed for the survival of tigers

Unfortunately, the field staff of the Forest Department is not aware of the current trend in crop protection which could be deadly even for migrating tigers. A tiger was killed in Indervelli mandal in Adilabad about two years ago which should have sent alarm bells ringing for those concerned.

Survival of tigers invariably depends on the availability of their prey in a given habitat. Therefore, there is a dire need for the protection of its prey from poachers and to make the habitat conducive for the big cats.

One of the ways to supplement and strengthen the efforts in tiger monitoring is intelligence gathering and sharing. This was discussed at a joint meeting of forest officials from Telangana and Maharashtra held a few years ago. It was decided in the meeting that intelligence should be shared regarding monitoring the movement of tigers in the several corridors on either side of the border.

However, nothing was heard about this ‘endeavour’ after the meeting. In the meanwhile, several tigers from habitats in Maharashtra which had wandered into forests on the Telangana side of the border went missing without a trace.

“This is no place for tigers to wander freely,” remarked Mirza Kareem Baig of the Forest and Wildlife Protection Society, Telangana. “As many as 25 tigers have gone missing from Kagaznagar (KB Asifabad) forests alone during the last dozen years,” he added and claimed to have a list of the disappeared wild animals.

Importance of an intelligence wing and informers in forest departments

Baig supported the formation of an intelligence wing in the Forest Department. “It can be extremely helpful in curbing poaching,” he opined.

The wildlife expert also suggested the appointment of non-political wildlife activists or researchers as ‘honorary wildlife wardens’ at places such as the Kawal Tiger Reserve. “The HWW will report to the chief wildlife warden and such interaction can have a positive impact on the restoration of precious habitats,” he added.

The two tigers, a male and a female, currently moving in the erstwhile united Adilabad district, can be an excellent opportunity for the appointment of informers in given villages. The department can informally train them to keep an on the movement of tigers and on any persons who can be suspected of poaching.

Intelligence Wing can prevent forest fires

An intelligence wing can also prove to be extremely useful for controlling or preventing forest fires by keeping an eye on the movement of the usual suspects who commit arson, knowingly or otherwise. Almost all fires that so far have been linked to beedi leaf collection. People in the nearby villages connected to the industry have been known to start forest fires.