Veerangana Durgavati Tiger Reserve: ENVIRONMENT
News: Demand for
tiger skin, poaching and other administrative lapses at Veerangana
Durgavati Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, are probed after
wildlife activist Ajay Dubey files a complaint about negligence to
conservation.
What’s in the news?
- Madhya Pradesh government
begins probe into tiger poaching, other anomalies at Veerangana
Durgavati Tiger Reserve.
- Some of the issues that come under the purview of the act include,
Illegal felling of trees and transportation of woods in the Nauradehi
Sanctuary.
- Nauradehi Sanctuary was initiated in 2018 for the reintroduction
programme; current tiger numbers are 16, in the new tiger reserve.
- Insufficient prey and health facility that are key factors that
have led to degradation of tiger population in the
reserve.
Poaching in India:
- The hunting of the tigers to supply the demand for body parts such
as claws, whiskers, and bones also remained a large problem.
- Southeast Asia traditional medicine and black market and
superstition are root causes of demand.
- Some of the poaching techniques used are electrocuting, using
poisonous content, and trapping.
- Out of all the states, Madhya Pradesh has become
the most affected one, where over 90 tiger
mortalities have been reported in the last 29 months.
- Electrical shock from fences used in guarding crops and snares used
on other animals are also some of the causes of accidental deaths.
Difficulties in Addressing the Issue:
- The low conviction rates for poaching discourage
the enforcement of laws against the acts.
- There is no standard way for states to report tiger
population which complicates the verification process.
·
This is because human and animals compete for space
and resources hence resulting to retaliatory killings by the villagers.
- Some of the tribal people who have always engaged
in hunting the tigers may consider the act as a means of making
money.
Veerangana Durgavati Tiger Reserve:
o
The Veerangana Durgavati Tiger Reserve lies in
Sagar, Damoh and Narsinghpur districts of Madhya Pradesh in India.
o
In the Madhya Pradesh it ranks
seventh while in India it is at the 54th position.
o
Named after Rani Durgavati who is
an epitome of bravery and Gond
Source: https://www.theweek.in/wire-updates/national/2024/07/09/del75-env-tiger-reserve-probe.html