Rajasthan: Rising Human-Wildlife Conflict as Tigers Stray from Sariska Tiger Reserve | Representative Image
Jaipur: The danger of human—wildlife conflict has increased in the nearby areas of Sariska Tiger Reserve (STR) of Rajasthan, as young and subadult tigers are straying out of the Reserve searching new territory for them. In the last couple of years, 3–4 tigers have come out of the protected area, including the recent one who reached Dausa and attacked three persons.
There are 42 tigers in the STR and media reports said that in the last couple of years three tigers have come out of STR and two of them have still not returned and reported to be spotted in the forest of Jaipur, while one has been shifted to Mukundra Tiger Reserve. Apart from this, on the very first day of this year, ST-2402 was spotted in Dausa and attacked three persons, however, later it was rescued and released in the forest.
As per the experts, the major reason behind the tigers straying out of the forest is the human activity in the forest. The forest is big, but the space for tigers is less.
As per the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) records, the total area of STR is 1,213.34 sq. Km out of which 881.11 is the core area and the rest 332.23 is the buffer zone.
About 29 villages are settled in and around the core area of Sariska Tiger Reserve and only five of these have been relocated until now. Among the remaining 24 villages, six are in the core area and could not be relocated until now. Relocation of these ten villages can provide space for the territory of ten tigers.
The founder secretary of Sariska Tiger Foundation, Dinesh Verma Durrani said that
due t villages, a large area of Sariska forest has been full of human activities. The tiger avoids making its territory in this area. This is the reason that the space for tigers in Sariska forest is becoming less, and young tigers have started looking for the surrounding forest area for their territory.
The other reason behind the human activity in STR is tourism and traffic. There are hotels in the periphery area and temples in the forest. There are around 305 identified temples in STR including the historic Pandupol Hanuman temple that attracts heavy traffic on Tuesdays and Saturdays.
The Supreme Court-mandated Central Empowered Committee in its report submitted on July 22, 2024 said that the massive vehicular traffic inside the reserve was negatively affecting tiger breeding and recommended a blanket ban on private vehicles.
It also recommended deploying a special tiger force in Sariska Tiger Reserve (STR) and prioritizing issues such as staff shortages, uncontrolled cattle grazing and village relocation.
Citing conflicts between young and old tigers as the other reason for tigers straying out of the forest, Durrani said” Tiger cubs are now reaching puberty in Sariska and territorial conflict have started arising between the tigers. The tigers who have been roaming in their territory in the core area of Sariska for a long time do not accept the settlement of any other tiger there. As a result of this, many young tigers are bound to roam in the buffer zone and sometimes they stray out of the forest,” said Durrani.
Wild lifer Dharmendra Khandal associated with Tiger Watch working in Ranthambore said that the problem is likely to persist in the coming years as well as the area available in the forest can accommodate only 20–25 tigers while there are already 42.
“The government should prioritise the relocation of villages because the notified area of STR can accommodate 60–80 tigers. The village relocation has yielded good results in Ranthambore,” said Khandal.
Situated in the Aravalli mountain range, STR spans the Alwar and Jaipur districts and is known for its dense Dhak and Khair forests and hosts over 420 plant species.
The core area of STR supports diverse wildlife, including multiple cat species, dogs, mongooses, and marsh crocodiles
