Corbett maneater threatens to spoil the party for merry holidaymakers

Forest officials say a top team has been pressed into service to capture the maneater, one of the cubs of a maneater tigress that had been captured earlier and sent to a rehabilitation centre near Corbett.

“It’s clear that the cubs have tasted human flesh. They have now grown up and are on the prowl. One of these tigers has been spotted killing people. The other grown-up cub, which has also tasted human flesh, must be around,” said a source in Ramnagar, the town nearest to Corbett.

In another incident this October, the tiger picked up a forest guard near Khinnanauli, which has a forest rest house (FRH) meant for VIPs. The half-eaten body of the guard was found a few days later, said sources at the tiger reserve. The incident never made it to the local dailies.

Stray incidents of tiger attacks in Corbett have been reported over the past five years or so.

But now these attacks have become more frequent. The maneater’s territory is approximately four kilometres from the Dhangarhi gate, the main entrance to the reserve.

A herd of deer at Jim Corbett National Park, Uttarakhand. (Photo: Shantanu Guha Ray)

“It means you have to pass through a very risky zone once you are inside the forest. There is no guarantee that the big cat will not travel further inside the reserve, where the rest house is,” say local guards.

With 14 big cats every 100 sq. km, Corbett has the highest tiger density among all of India’s 53 tiger reserves.

Over the years, tigers which had turned maneaters have been captured by forest rangers and sent to a rehabilitation centre close by. But locals feel that that is not the answer to the crisis.

“People come to see tigers. Barring five months — mid-July to mid-November — the park is open for visitors. We will be in trouble if they stop coming because of maneaters,” said Raju Singh Bisht, a tour operator.

Dheeraj Pandey, field director, Corbett Tiger Reserve, admitted that the matter was serious.

“We are looking for the tiger,” he told me in Dhikala, the last outpost of the tiger reserve that has round-the-clock power, nice rooms, and two restaurants.

Three elephants and wireless-fitted vehicles have been pressed into action. Forest guards roam all over the forest with guns and walkie-talkies. They have been asked to double their rounds. Top wildlife officials are camping inside and outside the reserve.

Forest guards at Jim Corbett National Park. (Photo: Shantanu Guha Ray)

“Tourists are asking us about the presence of a maneater in one of India’s most popular reserves,” said a jeep driver. “This is not good.”

Posters have come up all around Corbett asking people not to drive two-wheelers in the stretch between Dhangarhi and Ramnagar at night. Corbett administration has imposed Section 144 of the CrPC in the area.

The height of the electric fences have been increased in parts of the reserve after tigers and leopards had jumped over and entered the tourist complex at Dhikala.

“Tigers and elephants cannot jump over the electric fences now, but leopards climb trees to jump across the fence to kill the deer inside the tourist complexes, as well as other prey. Once inside, the animal comes face-to-face with people in the complex. The fear of an attack remains,” added Bisht.

India’s tiger population rose to 2,967 in 2018, about 700 more than in 2014. Across the world, there are only about 4,000 tigers left in the wild. The WWF says that since the start of the 20th century, over 95 percent of the world's tiger population has been lost.

India’s oldest national park, Corbett forest, is spread over 521 sq. km. It is part of the larger Corbett Tiger Reserve comprising 1,288 sq. km of dense forest, including adjacent protected areas. Only 15 percent of the forests are open to tourists.

Corbett is surrounded by more than 150 hotels and resorts. With unplanned tourism and free movement inside the forests, the habitat of the big cat is shrinking fast. People who live near the forests are rarely made part of the conservation process. Experts have repeatedly argued for expanding the tiger's territory.

In India, forests are managed with an eye on commercial forestry, but it is not a profitable venture for the government. Over the last decade, the government has spent Rs 2,000 crore more than it has generated from tiger  reserves.

Jim Corbett National Park, Ramnagar, Uttarakhand, India. (Photo: Jeshika Sinojia via Unsplash)

Meanwhile, the resorts around Corbett are brimming with holidaymakers. Over 175 jeeps are all set to travel inside the forest to see the VVIP (very, very important predator), along with the other wildlife.

No one wants to hear stories about a maneater.