The poaching link
Both Ranthambore and Sariska have traditional poaching communities operating near the park. Sariska lost its last 8-10 tigers in the monsoon of 2004.
The monsoon, during which enforcement becomes difficult, is the period during which most poachers strike. In 2004 (monsoon), there was no Field Director at the reserve between September 5 and November 7. The Deputy Conservator of Forests was also on leave for a month in this period. The Assistant Conservator of Forests was thus given charge for four months.
In this same period, Ranthambore lost an astounding 21 tigers. The CBI finally established crucial links between poaching in Sariska and poaching in Ranthambore. The SEC also found that many of the poachers were operating from Tonk, an area which is close to Ranthambore.
Perversely, the death of all the tigers in Sariska was an eye-opener. A red-alert was sounded in Ranthambore after the Government admitted in 2005 that there was indeed a poaching problem. In both the reserves, the Rajasthan Armed Constabulary and the Home Guard were brought in. Though nothing could help Sariska, there still is hope for Ranthambore.
“If it weren’t for the Sariska eye-opener, even Ranthambore might have lost its tigers,” says Rajpal Singh, SEC member.
This year, thankfully, there is a mounted sense of urgency in Sariska. Guidelines set by the NTCA declare that ex-army persons should be made part of the patrolling regime. Following this, Sariska has employed 62 former soldiers. For the first time, park authorities are talking to local communities living within the reserve to become a part of the patrol and help apprehend poachers. And both men and women have signed up. “We are involving local communities here hoping they will inform us of suspicious persons. We will also scale up the number of ex-Army personnel. For the past two years, we have been setting up tents and nakas in all the sensitive areas,” says Sariska Park Director R.S. Somashekhar.
Ranthambore has deployed around 150 ex-Army people to guard its tigers. The park has the traditional Mongia poaching community, often armed with muzzle-loading guns, on the fringes of the park. The government has now set up a school for Mongia children.

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