The holiday weekend is taking an adverse toll on animals of the Bandipur and Nagarhole tiger reserves near Mysuru and the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary near Bengaluru which are bustling with tourists. With most visitors being either ignorant or unaware of rules , both the habitat and the wildlife have been adversely affected.
Despite induction of more staff at the ground level and with activists keeping a vigil of the protected areas during holiday season, forest officials say it is still very difficult to control the unruly crowds, especially youth who trespass and enter prohibited areas and disturb the wildlife.
A visit to Bandipur reveals heavy tourist traffic, stationary vehicles spread out at many places, continuus noise poluution in the form of honking and the disposal of items dangerous at animal-habitated areas- half eaten food, plastic bags, glass bottles, popcorn, etc.
Many monkeys, deer, peacocks and other species are seen eating from these food packets and activists say animals have become addicted to processed food items which has resulted in loss of hunting instinct and has affected their health.
G Veeresh, a wildlife activist said, "During Dasara or any holiday season, in both Nagarhole and Bandipur, violations are very common and one can find tourists taking photos from very close quarters and feeding wild animals. The safari vehicles of Jungle Lodges and Resorts sometimes get very close to tigers, elephants and other animals. Recently, in Kabini, three tiger cubs were sighted on Bavali Road. The vehicles took photographers and other tourists very close to them. All this should stop as people are visiting animals in their territories, their homes and one should respect their privacy and rights."
In the wake of continuing violations, the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has called for strict implementation of its guidelines States with tiger ranges with the continous violation of rules. As per the NTCA, the 10 most visited tiger reserves in the country receive nearly two lakh visitors per year on an average.
- Visitors should keep a distance of more than 20 metres from all wildlife
- Cordoning luring or feeding any wildlife is prohibited
- Minimum distance between any two vehicles should be 50 metres
- Vehicles should not monopolise wildlife sighting for more than 15 minutes
- Tiger reserve managers must establish advance booking system to control tourist and vehicle numbers
- Rules of booking must be transparent and violators must be penalised
Karnataka, which has five tiger reserves, attracts the highest number of tourists, especially to Bandipur and Nagarhole. However, violations are a recurring hamartia, with tourists violating the animal's space in their quest for a selfie by going too close (very dangerous, for them), especially for a close-up shot of a carnivore or sometimes asked their guides to take the vehicles extremely close to a tiger or an elephant, resulting in injuries and conflict.
The NTCA has directed Karnataka, which has the highest number of tigers in the country and attracts high tourist footfalls, to follow the Normative Standards for tourism activities and Project Tiger guidelines, 2012. As is human nature, 'we love breaking the rules', but some rules are meant to be adhered to.
- Visitors should keep a distance of more than 20 metres from all wildlife
- Cordoning luring or feeding any wildlife is prohibited
- Minimum distance between any two vehicles should be 50 metres
- Vehicles should not monopolise wildlife sighting for more than 15 minutes
- Tiger reserve managers must establish advance booking system to control tourist and vehicle numbers
- Rules of booking must be transparent and violators must be penalised
As is human nature, 'we love breaking the rules', but some rules are meant to be adhered to. Here are some that we often flout:
- Getting close to animals
- Making noise
- Taking selfies
- Feeding animals
- Vehicles stopping near an animal for long
- Encircling, scaring animals
(This story was first published in the New Indian Express)
