Aggressive tigers
The Indian debate around aggressive tigers is intensifying, as India balances conservation success with rising conflict. A recent case near Pench showed how rumours of a tiger attack can spark panic even without proof. Officials stress that true aggression is rare, but with 3,682 tigers, encounters are increasing.
Conservationist Y.V. Jhala calls it a ticking time bomb: India is nearing its tiger carrying capacity. He actually said: ““No one has actually given much thought to what exactly the current potential for a safe tiger population in India is now, and beyond that, how will we control them?”
Well, maybe it’s not the right question to ask. A better question would be: “How can we control the human population?” India now has 1.466.769.084 inhabitants and less than 4,000 tigers. Still the discussion is about the number of tigers, not about the number of humans. Something is really off here.
Experts argue most aggressive tigers are victims of circumstance—driven by shrinking prey bases, fragmented habitats, and reckless management, such as live-baiting in Ranthambore. As tiger corridors collapse under mining, dams, trains and highways, conflicts rise. But that’s all due to human growth. In the tiger conservation discussion we always tend to look at the tiger situation only, and forget about the exorbitant human growth. When do we start seriously talking about that issue? Governments won’t do that for two reasons: one is the excuse – the religions won’t allow it. The second reason is the actual problem: more people means more tax money pouring in.
Aggressive tigers are not changing nature—they are reacting to ours. They need to, to survive.
The aggressive tigers article:
Based on The Print, India.
Photo via The Print.
