Tiger on prowl leaves villagers living near Kaziranga National Park scared for life, worried about livestock; forest officials yet to trap feline

Guwahati: A tiger that moved out of the Central range of Kaziranga National Park is giving sleepless night to the villagers living along the boundary of the park adjacent to National Highway 37. Tagged as ‘Kazi 188’, the tiger had killed 32 cattle last year, and is on the prowl again after a few months. It has been a week since forest personnel and rangers have been deployed on the ground to track the big cat, although it has remained elusive so far.

“The tiger is presently in the fourth addition of the park that connects Kaziranga to Karbi Anglong hills. There are animals moving to the fourth addition and if the cattle too move there, they will serve as prey for the tiger. Villagers should not let their cattle graze in the park area. It is an animal corridor, but people living in the fringe villages have built cattle sheds along the stretch. The conflict area is barely 100 metres from the highway. We have already compensated for the loss of cattle, but we want to bring about a permanent solution,” said P Sivakumar, Director of Kaziranga National Park.

The fourth addition to Kaziranga National Park is a buffer zone comprising an area of 89.754 hectares.

‘Kazi 188’ had killed a mother cow two days ago, and villagers are now having to feed the calf that is said to be about three months old.

“I had about 50-60 cattle, and the tiger has killed almost 30. We are now feeding the calf in the absence of its mother. The foresters have set a trap cage here, but without success,” said one of the villagers.

“It has reappeared after a few months and can be sighted sometimes during the day, or in the evening hours. A lady had brought her cattle to graze on Tuesday. The tiger pounced on a cow and dragged it to a distance…When we rushed to the spot hearing the woman cry for help, the tiger left the animal there and escaped. Next morning, there was no sign of the carcass,” said another.

The forest department is now left with two choices – either to capture the big cat and release it at another location, or tranquillize it.

“Tranquilizing the tiger would be against our own conservation efforts. We have already put up a trap cage, but if it remains elusive, we will have to locate and tranquillize it. We talked to the villagers and they want us to take away the tiger from the area. But it is challenging,” said Sivakumar.

However, authorities are still trying to ascertain if ‘Kazi 188’ is the same tiger that had moved out of its territory during the flood season last year, and had devoured more than 30 cattle that belonged to villagers living along the periphery of the park.

“We have to verify if it is the same tiger that had strayed out of its area during July-August. There were no incidents reported in past few months. Since last week, villagers have complained of a tiger attacking their livestock. There are also about 4-5 tigers in Karbi Anglong, reportedly in areas where mining used to take place. These are protected areas and a reserved forest,” Sivakumar explained, adding that there has been no scientific estimation of tigers in the hills district.

Cattle lifting is said to be a common phenomenon. A few days ago, there were reports of a leopard lifting cattle from the surrounding areas around Kohora range of the park. The conflict between humans and big cats has not just posed a threat to tigers and leopards, but have also proved to be a major problem for people living in and around their habitat. According to the last camera trap estimation in Kaziranga National Park in 2018, there are 121 tigers in the wild.