Biologist: Jim Corbett Park most vulnerable to poaching

Vishal Gulati

Sairopa (Kullu), February 19

The Jim Corbett National Park in Uttarakhand is most vulnerable to poaching for international trade owing to its proximity to the Nepal border, a major trade link to the Chinese traditional medicine market, says legendary field biologist George Schaller. Uttarakhand has a good population of the elusive and highly-endangered species of snow leopard.

Animals in the wild mostly avoid any encounters with humans and when they do attack people, it is usually in self-defence. And it will be wrong to declare tigers and leopards that attack humans as “man-eaters”, Schaller, 83, told IANS in an interview.

Thus, there is a need for training communities settled in the periphery of wildlife parks and sanctuaries because wild animals—be it a tiger or a leopard or an elephant—don’t want trouble from humans, he said. Schaller attended a two-day nature conservation biology workshop at the Great Himalayan National Park’s camp office here in Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh.

“And if a tiger is a man-eater, its killing is certain,” he added.

German-born Schaller said in India—a storehouse of biodiversity—development was a big issue.

“India is saying it’s doing a lot for the preservation of wildlife. But it is really disturbing that 200 sq km of forest area of the Panna tiger reserve in Madhya Pradesh is being diverted for non-forest purposes. After 1990s, the country’s image in preserving forests is going down,” said the biologist-cum-author.

It is greed and corruption that threaten nature more.

The problem, in fact, across the globe is that oil, mining and timber companies are prepared to pay anything to operate in sensitive areas. Sadly, governments and officials succumb to their pressures.

“I know people (supposed conservationists) who prefer to sit in their offices (rather than go to the field). Conservation has not to do only with animals. It also has to do with economics and politics”.

Estimates say India supports the highest population of tigers in the wild, accounting for 2,226 of the estimated 3,890 worldwide.

Schaller, who has worked for nearly two decades on studying endemic wildlife in the Tibetan Plateau, said the snow leopard also needs protection from pastoral communities.

“The Spiti valley in Himachal Pradesh and the Hemis National Park in Jammu and Kashmir support a good population of snow leopards,” he said.

“They are beautiful and majestic animals that rarely attack humans. They attack only when villagers attack them with sticks. I have spent nights in their habitat and they passed my sleeping bag”.

“Man-animal conflicts are more of a social issue. For the conservation of wildlife, you need cooperation of local communities,” he said.

According to Schaller, for conserving the snow leopard there is need to maintain a sizeable population of its prey species like the Asiatic ibex, a wild goat and the Himalayan blue sheep.

Schaller’s photograph of a snow leopard, taken in Pakistan in 1970, is the first recorded image of the wild cat. It is necessary for wildlife conservation to link eco-tourism with local communities. “If we fail to create awareness on wildlife, we will fail to preserve for our future generations,” he added. — IANS