Madhya Pradesh is now considering fencing in some of its tigers within the tiger reserves, while Uttarakhand is setting elephant sensors in areas which are prone to man- animal conflict.

But it’s not just the forests. Agricultural land surrounding forests or tiger reserves today is in the eye of a storm — and of greed. Farming, especially outside a tiger reserve, is no easy thing. Apart from the invasion of weeds like Parthenium and Lantana, which make cropping difficult, there is also the constant threat of elephants or large antelopes decimating the crops. Scientists and biologists point out that despite the presence of adequate food in the forests, these animals will be attracted to agricultural fields which provide a high(er) nutrient base. Attacks by hungry elephants lead to not just crop destruction, but also to more serious loss of life. The circle doesn’t end there: farmers will then lay traps and poison to kill the rampaging animals, as well as carnivores which eat their cattle.

The result: all over the country, privately owned agricultural land around prime tiger or elephant land is being sold at high prices to resort owners. In Corbett, arguably the world’s most famous tiger reserve, the process has already set in. The ranges of Dhela, Marchula and Dhikuli are now home to enormous, new resorts which attempt to take the city to the forest and not vice versa: music, alcohol and exotic plants, garnished with bright lights that blink into the night are on the itinerary. Kanha and Bandhavgarh tiger reserves are seeing the same metamorphosis.

... contd.