Ranthambore’s faith versus forest is a false dichotomy. Political sagacity can restore balance

Over the past few months, multiple tiger attacks have claimed human lives in and around the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve. (File photo)

One of India’s most iconic tiger reserves, the Ranthambore National Park, is battling an unprecedented crisis. This year, it has seen a sharp surge in tiger attacks on humans, raising alarm over the safety of locals, forest staff, and pilgrims. It has also reignited a long-simmering conflict between wildlife conservation and religious tourism. At the heart of this crisis lies the problem of unregulated movement of pilgrims visiting temples located in tiger territory. Regulating this inflow has now become a critical challenge for the future of Ranthambore and its tigers.

Over the past few months, multiple tiger attacks have claimed human lives in and around the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve (RTR). Most notably, a tigress known as “Kankati” was involved in two fatal attacks - one on a 7-year-old child in April and another on a forest ranger in May. In another grim incident, Tigress Arrowhead and her cubs were spotted close to the Trinetra Ganesh temple - and led to temporary closure of Ranthambore’s most famous temple.

Tragically, in the most recent attack on June 9th, a temple priest was mauled to death by a tiger inside the historic Ranthambore Fort. The victim served at a Jain temple inside the fort for over 20 years and his death marks the third fatal tiger attack in RTR in just two months. Beyond igniting public outrage, these recurrent attacks have spread panic even among forest staff who now face grave risks during routine patrols, with many being caught in dangerous encounters while managing wild animals and temple-bound crowds.

The contest for space

The frequency and ferocity of tiger-human encounters in RTR have grown in recent years. Experts say this is not because tigers are becoming more aggressive but because humans are often encroaching into the tigers’ natural domain. With over 80 tigers, the reserve is nearing saturation, and core areas are shrinking due to pressures from tourism and pilgrims alike.

Unlike most wildlife sanctuaries in India, Ranthambore houses over 350 religious shrines within its habitat zones. Among them, the Trinetra Ganesh Temple located in a core tiger zone is the most popular, attracting over 1.2 million visitors annually. A study by Tiger Watch, a Ranthambhore-based NGO, reveals that over 2.2 million pilgrims visit the temples in the park and over 1.75 lakh vehicles enter RTR for pilgrimage annually. On festivals like Ganesh Chaturthi, the numbers swell uncontrollably - with pilgrims walking, driving, and even setting up temporary camps inside tiger territory.

This intense human movement not only disturbs wildlife corridors but increases the likelihood of encounters with tigers. Food waste from pilgrims draws herbivores and monkeys, which in turn attract predators. Tigers, conditioned to the presence of humans and drawn to easy prey, begin associating these areas with food - a lethal recipe for conflict.

Fear of offending religious sentiments poses a challenge

Despite the dangers, regulating temple traffic in RTR poses a huge governance challenge. On the one hand, forest laws and conservation principles require minimizing human interference in core tiger habitats. On the other, religious sentiments and political/electoral calculations make it nearly impossible to restrict temple access.

Efforts to limit entry of pilgrims have faced backlash and turned conservation at RTR into a sensitive socio-political issue. Not surprisingly, neither previous Congress governments nor the current BJP dispensation have made any bold or imaginative moves to tackle the man-animal conflict in Ranthambore.

Need to cap influx

Experts warn that if this growing clash is not addressed urgently, Ranthambore faces a dark future. Among the major steps they suggest, the first is to cap the number of daily pilgrims. Introducing a permit system, as used for Char Dham or Vaishno Devi, to control the number of pilgrims entering the core zone is seen as a great starting point. They also assert that strict monitoring is now essential at RTR and say the use of camera traps, drones, and dedicated pilgrim safety patrols could restrict movement and ensure compliance with rules.

Exploring possibilities for relocating temples or building parallel routes to temples that don’t disturb wildlife corridors is another key initiative that experts suggest. They claim that launching awareness programs among devotees about the importance of wildlife conservation and safe temple practices is another way to mitigate the crisis in RTR.

Despite repeated warnings from conservationists, governments in Rajasthan have failed to impose meaningful controls. As stressed/displaced tigers increasingly stray into human paths and cause fatal encounters, public support for conservation is eroding. Political hesitation, driven by fear of offending religious sentiments, is rapidly turning a manageable situation into a potential conservation disaster.

Supreme Court’s intervention provides hope

Mercifully, the Supreme Court intervened recently and has formed a special committee to assess tiger-human conflict zones in RTR. The Court wants the committee to address concerns about excessive crowds and vehicular intrusion, acknowledging the need to balance ecological protection with the religious sentiments of devotees. This momentum from the Court must be used to create a sustainable management plan to balance Ranthambore’s conservation needs with the devotees’ religious rights.

In a largely similar situation in Sariska Tiger Reserve, the Rajasthan government plans to use 20 electric buses for pilgrims to the Hanuman Pandupol temple to curb the use of private vehicles. Though the Temple Trust claims this solution is insufficient for the thousands of visitors, especially on Tuesdays, Saturdays, and festival days, a move is already underway to restrict pilgrim inflow. Experts say similar steps need to be immediately implemented in Ranthambore.

While finding an acceptable solution is a tough challenge in RTR, it needs to be met on priority. Instead of dilly-dallying, what’s urgently needed is political will - bold, balanced, and backed by law. Regulating temple traffic is not about curbing faith but about ensuring survival of both humans and tigers. Without clear action and careful planning, Ranthambore could lose its tigers not to poaching, but to political cowardice.

If the conflict between unregulated temple traffic and the survival needs of India’s most remarkable species is not tackled quickly, Ranthambore’s tigers could well become casualties of our religious indulgence and policy paralysis. Our ruling elite needs to find the political will and administrative vision to resolve this crisis swiftly. The future of Ranthambore tigers depends on balancing faith with ecological responsibility - urgently and decisively.