‘Odisha govt was in a hurry to translocate tigers to Satkosia’
Odia biologist Bivash Pandav will join as director of Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) in January 2021. Currently a professor in the department of endangered species management, Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, Pandav talks about Odisha’s failed tiger translocation project and his vision for BNHS with Arunika Mohapatra
Why did the tiger translocation project in Odisha fail?
Three things are absolutely necessary for survival of tigers — inviolate space, plenty of wild prey and connected habitat. Large tracts of forest devoid of human settlements and livestock are needed for relocating tigers. Tigers need plenty of large-bodied wild prey for survival. As long as humans and their livestock share tiger habitats, the wild prey population will remain perpetually depressed. In that case, tigers will prey on livestock, leading to conflict with humans. Ultimately, the tiger will be at a loss.
Tigers have been successfully translocated in Panna and Sariska. Tiger translocation is currently going on in other areas in India, too. Any translocation of tiger needs very careful planning. Unless we provide large tracts of disturbance-free habitats (>500 sq km), there is no point in thinking about translocating tigers. Maybe the government of Odisha was in a hurry to translocate tigers to Satkosia and ignored some of these basic requirements.
More villages should have been relocated from the area, more habitats should have been consolidated for tigers and people should have been taken into confidence. All these things are difficult to accomplish, but certainly doable. The state government needs to demonstrate strong willpower to make tiger translocation a success. It may take more time, but I am sure the government will certainly accomplish the task in future.
What more could have been done to make the tiger translocation project a success?
Many more villagers needed to be given a good deal. They should have been made to voluntarily relocate from the tiger’s habitat. The government should have created a conducive atmosphere for tigers through creation of inviolate space, developed the habitat and brought back wild prey in the area.
How has mass nesting of Olive Ridley turtles changed in Odisha over the years?
It has changed a lot. Earlier mass nesting used to take place in December. That has become a thing of the past. Mass nesting now takes place invariably in late February or March. The profile of mass nesting beach has changed from bad to worse at Gahirmatha. A lot more coastal development has happened over the past three decades. Unplanned development in the vicinity of turtle mass nesting beaches is not desirable.
What can we do to promote mass nesting of sea turtles?
Mass nesting of sea turtles is unique to Odisha. This is something that happens in only two other places in the world. We need to involve school and college students in turtle conservation. Regular turtle walks with students need to be organized at mass nesting beaches like Rushikulya. People should be made aware of the real conservation issues associated with turtle nesting in Odisha.
What does protection of endangered species depend on?
Most endangered species are highly dependent on conservation action. Be it the tiger or the gharial, their survival is completely dependent on us. How we protect their habitat, how we manage their population determines the survival of the endangered species.
Which species need our help now?
I would say the gharial needs more conservation attention. We very proudly say that Odisha is the only state in India that has all three species of the Indian crocodiles in the wild. However, very soon, this may no longer be true. The gharial survives in the Mahanadi in a precarious condition. We cannot protect a species like gharial within the administrative boundary of the Satkosia Tiger Reserve. We need to do more and protect it in a much larger stretch of the Mahanadi, provide alternative livelihood opportunity to fishermen dependent on the river and involve them directly in gharial conservation. We need to do more than just releasing captive-bred gharials in the Mahanadi. Rear and release has done wonders for the mugger and the saltwater crocodile, but it has not helped the gharials in Odisha so far.
What are your plans for the BNHS?
There are quite a few activities I want to do after joining BNHS. The most important activity is to revive the membership base of the BNHS across the country, involve members in field conservation and promote science-based conservation. The BNHS has been involved in bird banding programme in the Chilika for a long