IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
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| Barlow, A.; Alam, M.M.; Islam, M.K.; Ahsan, M.M.; Haque, M.A.; Islam, M.A.; Greenwood, C. | |
| Tiger human conflict report: 2010 | |
| 2011 Full Book | |
Tiger-human conflict (THC) in the Sundarbans Reserved Forest (SRF) of Bangladesh results in the loss of humans, livestock, and humans. Reducing THC in the SRF requires improved management in general and the development of new conservation actions. Improving management of THC, and developing and measuring the effectiveness of conservation actions requires a sound information base of the scale of THC and its trend over time. To fulfil the information gaps relating to THC incidents and management responses, the Wildlife Trust of Bangladesh (WTB) and Zoological Society of London (ZSL) has been working with the Forest Department since 2010 to improve the THC data collection, storage, analysis, and reporting processes. This document details the THC incident and management response data for 2010, and proposes some future improvements in data collection and management. Data collection on tiger, livestock, and human incidents were recorded on standardized data sheets (Appendix 1-4). Data was collected by WTB staff through the activities of the boat-based TRT, the VTRTs, liaison with the FD field staff, and the _Tiger Hotline_. The TRT team or WTB staff generally visited each incident and interviewed multiple witnesses to verify the information of each THC incident. A total of 86 THC incidents were recorded, with the majority (67) occurring in Satkhira range. In terms of management response there were 18 responses to tiger incidents, 99 responses to human incidents, and 18 responses to livestock incidents. The number of tigers killed this year is within the historical range of 0-3 tigers killed per year. The number of human incidents (37 killed and 17 injured) is above the average number of humans killed each year (22/year) but within the historic range (0-96). However, there is considerable room for improvement in terms of data collection; the THC data was probably better recorded for the ranges in the west (Satkhira and Khulna) than the east (Chandpai and Sarankhola), because of the presence of the TRT in Satkhira. In terms of management response, the two tigers killed by villagers this year could have been saved if the FD had the capacity to capture and immobilize wild tigers; the staff trained so far do not have the capability or motivation required to conduct tiger capture and immobilization activities. Further training programmes are under development but the main issue is a lack of capable FD staff. Until such staffs are acquired, the FD will not have the capacity to save tigers that stray into villages. |
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