India's Dwindling Tigers Safe in Guerrilla Hands
Date: 28-Sep-05
Country: INDIA
Author: Sujeet Kumar
Tiger conservation became a hot-button issue after reports in March that poachers had wiped out the entire population of 16-18 tigers at a leading sanctuary in western India.
But poachers had kept away from the Indravati tiger reserve in Chhattisgarh state for fear of the Maoist guerrillas who have banned all entry except once-yearly visits by census officials.
Authorities counted 39 tigers this year, up from 29 in 2002 when the Maoists imposed the ban, the state's chief wildlife warden said.
"The tigers are totally safe ... we have had no report of poaching," warden N.K.Bhagat said.
The Maoists, who operate out of jungle bases in nine states, say they are fighting for the rights of poor peasants and landless labourers. They have killed politicians and policemen in a nearly 40-year-old revolt.
Poaching is blamed for the drastic fall in India's tiger population from about 40,000 a century ago to just about 3,700 today. Some conservationists put the number at fewer than 2,000.
Trade in dead tigers is illegal but poachers still operate with impunity in much of the country.
A single animal can fetch up to $50,000 as tiger organs, teeth, bones and penises fetch high prices on the black market, where they are bought for use in Chinese medicine.
