Subject: Nagarahole Poaching (Long)

SEIZURE OF TIGER BONES ALARMS FOREST OFFICIALS
MYSORE, July 18- The arrest of an ''insider`` in the Kallahalla range of the
Nagarahole National Park for dealing in tiger bones has alarmed the higher
echelons of the forest department who do not seem to have much of a clue as
to the enormity of poaching in the very core area of Project Tiger. The
Hunsur wildlife division, led by Assistant Conservator of Forests
Balachandra, intercepted a KSRTC bus coming from Kutta (in Kodagu, situated
about 10 km from Nagarahole) near Hunsur and picked up three Jenu Kuruba
tribals (honey gatherers) and seized tiger bones, a skull, claws and
whiskers. The trio were identified as Basava (of Kallahallahaadi), and Manu
and Chinnappa (both of Gaddehaadi). What shocked the forest department
higher-ups was that the trio allegedly named Gopala, a kavadi (man entrusted
with maintaining tamed elephants) at Kallahalla, during their interrogation.
Gopala was rounded up by Hunsur police a day later on Wednesday.
Interrogation further revealed that the tiger parts were collected from
Kallahalla range. Pending chemical analysis of the bones, the authorities
believe that the seized skull, bones, etc., were not from a tiger which was
poached but from one which must have died of natural causes. The bones would
be sent for examination only after obtaining them from court, to which they
have been submitted.The three persons repeatedly claimed ignorance when asked
about the destination of the consignment of tiger products they were
carrying. They would only say that they could identify the man who contacted
them and revealed that it was Gopala who introduced them to the man.
RAMPANT: Experts maintain that with the exception of Karnataka and
Maharashtra, there isextensive poaching in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Madhya
Pradesh, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal where tigers exist in large
numbers. This belief is likely to be belied when results of the chemical
anyalsis are known. A forest officer told Deccan Herald today that for the
past two years there had been no tiger poaching in the Nagarahole Park. The
officer himself admitted that the claim is contested by tiger experts.
According to a recent article (CBI Bulletin, February 1996), state
governments often do not report tiger poaching cases to the Central
Government (the subject of forests is a concurrent subject) and tiger
poaching statistics are sketchy to say the least.''The Wildlife Protection
Society of India has recorded 63 tiger poaching incidents and seizures during
1994 and 73 during 1995, indicating a dramatic increase over the previous
year`s figures... Some large stocks of tiger bones have evidently been
stashed away by traders as 'future investment`,`` the article says.
A TIGER A DAY: The known tiger poaching figures should be multiplied by ten
to get a figure closer to the actual number of tigers being killed, it points
out and adds that, at the very least, it can be credibly said that at least
one tiger a day is killed in India by poachers, to supply the illegal tiger
bone and skin trade. Forest authorities have kept a close watch on Tibetan
settlements at Bylakuppe and Gurupura
ever since it turned out that the kingpin in the widest ever tiger- bone
smuggling racket busted in New Delhi four years ago was a Tibetan refugee. A
rich haul of 400 kg of tiger and leopard bones was made with the arrest of
the Tibetan who had undertaken to supply a consignment of 1,000 kg of bones,
besides close to 100 tiger and leopard skins. A spokesman for the local
Tibetan refugees has denied the possibility of there being smugglers amidst
them. In the wake of the New Delhi haul, the Dalai Lama, chief of the Tibetan
government in exile, himself wrote to the then minister for environment and
forests urging the latter to feel free to act against any refugee involved
any illegal activity.
TRIBALS EXPLOITED: The CBI Bulletin article also says that much of the tiger
poaching is done by tribals who know their forests well. They are usually
paid a meagre amount (in a case near Kanha Tiger Reserve, in May 1994, a
trader paid four poachers Rs 500 each for killing a tiger) for their hunting
talents and knowledge of the forests exploited by greedy traders. ''A tiger
can be killed for as little as Rs 45, the cost of purchasing poison, or Rs
300 for the cost of a steel trap. A middleman may receive Rs 12,000 to Rs
40,000 for a tiger skin and, at the most, Rs 84,000 for the bones of an adult
tiger. Depending on his links with foreign smugglers, it is unlikely that a
trader in one of the major cities makes much more than Rs 2
lakh from the skin and bones of a single tiger. A senior forest officer
revealed that only one of the three arrested persons, Basava, had a criminal
history and was involved in sandalwood smuggling in the past. ''Manu is a
relative of a tribal leader of Gaddehaadi who has been vociferously demanding
forest products collection rights,`` he said.
NEWS FWD FROM DECCAN HERALD, BANGALORE JULY 18, 1997
>From P M Vijendra Rao DH News Service