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People in `cages`, tigers roam free: The Times of India
New Delhi, Apr 14: No more open-jeep thrills in tiger reserves. Following the recent attack by a tiger on tourists in Bandhavgarh reserve in MP, Project Tiger has asked all 27 tiger reserves to fit all open tourist vehicles with iron grills and sliding windows.
New Delhi, Apr 14: No more open-jeep thrills in tiger reserves. Following the recent attack by a tiger on tourists in Bandhavgarh reserve in MP, Project Tiger has asked all 27 tiger reserves to fit all open tourist vehicles with iron grills and sliding windows.
Accepting that "a certain amount of risk is always involved in jungle incursions," Project Tiger director Rajesh Gopal has issued new guidelines to ensure safety.
The vehicles entering a reserve will have to maintain a minimum distance of 500 metres between them. "In Bandhavgarh, six vehicles were travelling together - three in two rows. The tiger, which had been attacked by other big cats, got irritated as it found the road blocked by the motorcade. If the vehicles are spaced out, animals can roam freely and cross the road if they want to," he said. The tourist vehicles will also have to stay at least 30 metres away from the wildlife they spot.Territorial animals like tigers don't tolerate anyone getting closer than this and can react in two ways - either they go away or they attack," Gopal added.
Project Tiger has asked all states to follow the Madhya Pradesh example and make tourists sign an "indemnity bond" before entering the forest reserve.
This bond will protect the authorities from any accident-related litigation.
The guidelines will have to be introduced "at the earliest" in all the 27 tiger reserves in India, failing which their recognition or funding may be withdrawn, a source said.
Project Tiger issues guidelines for these reserves and funds them partially. Its annual budget is Rs 25 crore, said Gopal.
The last time the authorities acted after an incident was about eight years ago when a tiger pulled out a child through an open window of a bus in Banerghata safari park, where animals move freely in a huge enclosure and people go in closed vehicles, near Bangalore. After this all vehicles entering safari parks got iron grills. Wildlife experts, however, call such mishaps 'aberrations'. Said P R Sinha, member-secretary of the Central Zoo Authority: "The tiger is the gentleman of the forest. It is wary of humans, who are not its natural prey. Unlike a leopard, it does not stray near human habitat. It attacks man only if it is handicapped or there's too much human intervention in its habitat."
Accepting that "a certain amount of risk is always involved in jungle incursions," Project Tiger director Rajesh Gopal has issued new guidelines to ensure safety.
The vehicles entering a reserve will have to maintain a minimum distance of 500 metres between them. "In Bandhavgarh, six vehicles were travelling together - three in two rows. The tiger, which had been attacked by other big cats, got irritated as it found the road blocked by the motorcade. If the vehicles are spaced out, animals can roam freely and cross the road if they want to," he said. The tourist vehicles will also have to stay at least 30 metres away from the wildlife they spot.Territorial animals like tigers don't tolerate anyone getting closer than this and can react in two ways - either they go away or they attack," Gopal added.
Project Tiger has asked all states to follow the Madhya Pradesh example and make tourists sign an "indemnity bond" before entering the forest reserve.
This bond will protect the authorities from any accident-related litigation.
The guidelines will have to be introduced "at the earliest" in all the 27 tiger reserves in India, failing which their recognition or funding may be withdrawn, a source said.
Project Tiger issues guidelines for these reserves and funds them partially. Its annual budget is Rs 25 crore, said Gopal.
The last time the authorities acted after an incident was about eight years ago when a tiger pulled out a child through an open window of a bus in Banerghata safari park, where animals move freely in a huge enclosure and people go in closed vehicles, near Bangalore. After this all vehicles entering safari parks got iron grills. Wildlife experts, however, call such mishaps 'aberrations'. Said P R Sinha, member-secretary of the Central Zoo Authority: "The tiger is the gentleman of the forest. It is wary of humans, who are not its natural prey. Unlike a leopard, it does not stray near human habitat. It attacks man only if it is handicapped or there's too much human intervention in its habitat."