By Dr. Corinne Taylor-Smith | Project Leader
It has been a difficult few months since our last project report, so we are grateful for your dedication and support for our anti-poaching patrols in these challenging times. Without your help we would not be able to keep our anti-poaching patrols at the maximum level which is essential as both human-wildlife conflict and tiger-tiger conflict are at unprecedented levels right now. Your generosity helped us to keep our patrolling at triple base level for the past 4 months. We need supporters and advocates like you to ensure that our anti-poaching patrols can protect wild tigers now as your donations are critical to ensuring that we can protect these magnificent wild tigers and their cub when they need it most.
Poachers Strike Again
It is with a heavy heart that I share the news we received from Bandhavgarh this week, when anti-poaching teams apprehended two men who had set a tethered snare which killed a beautiful wild tiger. The poachers claimed to have set the snare to deter wild boar from raiding their crops, but tethered snares are indiscriminate, and the beautiful tiger was electrocuted the moment he set foot on the snare! The poachers compounded their crime by dismembering the beautiful tiger and burying it to hide it from the patrollers’ sight. Although the two poachers have been arrested and charged, we cannot bring the tiger back and thus if he has fathered cubs their lives are now in danger too!
So why didn’t the patrollers find the snare? The simple answer is that the poachers set it on their own land in midst dense vegetation in a field. Our patrols systematically check the wildlife routes in and out of the forest and around the periphery of the villages where snares are often set in thicket fences, but they cannot enter private land without good reason. If evidence leads the patrollers to a house or field within a village then our patrols can follow that trail but without it, pursuit is more challenging. The dead tiger had also wandered beyond our patrolling zone beyond the boundary of Bandhavgarh into a neighbouring forest area, so this presents other issues too. Recently, we were asked to increase our patrolling area to include an extra 100 square kilometres in the Shahdol forest to the northeast of Bandhavgarh, whilst this poaching incident occurred in an area to the northwest. Increasing our patrolling area not only stretches our human resources but increases our costs too; something which is quite challenging right now as fundraising is down by more than 40% compared with 2023-24. As our patrolling costs continue to increase, and funding reserves are depleted we need to consider whether maintaining maximum patrolling in the long-term is feasible. This year will be a challenge and if fundraising in 2025 doesn’t improve then we will have to consider reducing our patrolling from the 2025 monsoon which will increase the risk of poaching incidents increasing too!
When we compare to 2010 when Tigers4Ever was founded, we are nothing short of amazed and proud. Even though Bandhavgarh’s forest habitat remains unchanged in size, there are now five times as many wild tigers for us to keep safe. Both the human and wild tiger populations continue to grow, which is placing immense pressure on the ecosystem and its inhabitants. With limited tolerance from both wild tigers and humans, conflict is inevitable. Over the past year, our focus has been on several initiatives to mitigate these conflicts and address their consequences. Our patrols covered over 33930km (21083 miles) whilst protecting wild tigers in 2024, imagine how many tigers would be vulnerable if we had to reduce this by a third? If you can afford to donate this month, please do, whatever amount you can spare will be a huge help for sure. (https://goto.gg/28767).
Human Encroachment
Throughout 2024-25 and for the latter part of 2023-24 we have focussed on many initiatives to address Human-Wildlife Conflict and forest encroachment via our other projects, including the provision of more permanent wildlife waterholes bringing the total number of Tigers4Ever waterholes to 25 and installing solar-powered PIR lighting at 55 locations to reduce the risk of livestock and human kills and nightly crop raids by elephant, tigers and leopards, (https://goto.gg/34315). These initiatives have run alongside our forest safety education programme too.
As winter draws to a close in Bandhavgarh, seasonal streams, rivers and ponds are already dry and Tigers4Ever waterholes are crucial to keeping wildlife in the forest and safe, again funding for more waterholes is depleted and we are actively seeking more funds as more waterholes are needed urgently too. Something which is always a problem at this time of year is human encroachment into the forest as the fields in the villages are dry too, so farmers bring their livestock into the forest to graze whilst poorer members of the rural community look to collect tendu leaves (for Indian tobacco) and mahua flowers (for Indian alcohol) so that can sell their collections and feed their families. This puts the lives of humans, their livestock and wildlife at risk as tigresses will systematically attack anyone who gets close to their cubs, and old or infirm tigers will take the easier meal of livestock which doesn’t run away leading to retaliation by the humans who try to protect their herds. It is a never-ending cycle of events which challenge our patrollers every year and as the months progress the risk of forest fires increases with the mahua picking and deliberate fire lighting will double the workload for our brave patrollers too. Life is tough in the jungle right now and will be more so over the next 7 months too.
What more can we do?
Our anti-poaching patrollers work tirelessly in some of the planet’s most extreme and dangerous environments, performing one of the toughest jobs in the world. India is home to three-quarters of the global wild tiger population, with 3,167 wild tigers, 785 of which are in Madhya Pradesh where our patrollers operate. Bandhavgarh’s wild tiger population has increased fivefold from 37 in 2010 to more than 225 today, a success story made possible by your support!
Worryingly, two wild tigers have been trapped by poachers in the last 5 months and the number of snare wires and signs of anchored traps are increasing again too. Farmers often tie wire snares around the boundary of their crops and villages to prevent crop raiding, but these wire snares are indiscriminate and will kill tigers and leopards if they remain undetected. Our patrollers systematically remove these wires and fill the anchor points with sand or soil to prevent hidden tethered snares along the trails where tigers walk. Our patrollers always need to be extra vigilant against snares as they can be easily concealed and can snare a patroller’s foot too. Increasing tiger numbers inevitably leads to an increase in poaching, in addition to increased tiger-tiger and human-tiger conflict, so we can’t afford to reduce our patrolling now. Wild tigers need more habitat and protection, so we extended our patrolling range a few months ago to include areas where some of the sub-adult tigers from Bandhavgarh have migrated.
The growing wild tiger population has also resulted in an increased risk of tiger-tiger conflict too. The aggressive roars of territorial battles can echo for up to 8 miles, prompting our patrollers to approach with caution. Wounded tigers are extremely dangerous, and our patrollers must stay alert to avoid attacks on themselves. They search for signs of injury and, if necessary, call for veterinary help. Sadly, sometimes it’s too late, and the lifeless body of a once-majestic tiger is found. Despite being it a natural death, it’s heartbreaking to see such a magnificent creature lying lifeless. Without restored habitat and more waterholes, sadly tiger-tiger conflict will continue to increase.
More wild tigers mean more territorial conflicts and natural deaths, thus expanding and improving forest habitat is crucial, and we are actively working on forest rehabilitation projects and hope to have the green light to start the work soon. We’ve identified a 100-acre area of denuded forest where we hope to clear invasive lantana before planting saplings from 32 native tree species and grasslands to provide food for elephants and the tigers’ prey. In June 2024, Tigers4Ever Trustees planted 12 native tree saplings at Tala Camp as a commitment to Bandhavgarh’s future. We hope to have some photos of these growing saplings soon.
Every day, we confront these challenges head-on. In 2023, wild tiger deaths in India reached a 15-year high with 181 reported deaths, which was a 150% increase from 2022. The 2024 death toll reached 126, including 15 due to tiger-tiger conflict in Bandhavgarh. The news for 2025 is bleak too with 29 wild tiger deaths across India already including 2 female sub-adult cubs of Chhota Bheem killed by another male seeking to mate their mother and the male tiger killed by the poachers, detailed above. It is vital therefore that we continue maximum patrolling to protect wild tigers during the lead up to the monsoon as so many young cubs would not survive if their mother or father was killed by a poacher’s snare. Meanwhile, our work to enhance the existing wild tiger habitat and to reduce conflict through our wildlife waterholes project continues: https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/water-for-bandhavgarhs-tigers/.
Enhancing protection for wild tigers and their habitat ensures that more cubs survive, which in turn means that more protection is needed, and as the number of wild tigers exceeds the carrying capacity of their current habitat, further urgent action is essential. We have already reached a critical impasse in both human-wildlife and tiger-tiger conflict. Thankfully, our patrolling helps to keep unnatural wild tiger deaths at a minimum in Bandhavgarh, but we cannot let down our guard as poachers are always lurking and seeking opportunities to strike. Your kind donations have ensured that we can fund increased patrolling into May 2025. We’re hoping that our supporters who can help will choose to do so, so that our anti-poaching patrols can continue to keep wild tigers safe throughout the next few months and beyond (https://goto.gg/28767).
Instances of human-tiger conflict at the extreme level can lead to dangerous challenging times for our anti-poaching patrollers too, as they are tiger protectors and rural communities often exact revenge on patrollers as they attempt to remove a tiger which has attacked or killed. Our patrols need to always remain vigilant, especially whilst attempting to restore calm. We continue to deliver our forest safety education training to those we encounter in the forest to try to reduce the risk of further deaths-whether those are human or tigers.
Our patrols frequently remove wires and snares set to capture wild boar and herbivores which enter the villages to raid the farmers’ crops and livestock fodder. These wires and snares are indiscriminate and have killed tigers and their cubs too. Precious tiger lives can easily be lost when they follow their prey into the villages in search of food and it is why our projects to reduce human-wildlife conflict form a vital cornerstone of our efforts to keep wild tigers safe.
Fundraising to cover our current patrolling costs continues to challenge us so we must be cautious when extending our patrolling range further. The poachers know that the cubs born 2 -3 years ago are old enough to leave their mothers’ protection now and are making their own way in the world, so we are on high alert to curb this risk and have tripled patrolling and extended our range as a result. These vulnerable young tigers will face many challenges in their quest for their own territory, not least sibling rivalry and aggression from their own parents. They will also face battles with other young adult tigers seeking to establish their own territories too and other adult tigers which have already staked their claim. As young tigers migrate further afield, our brave men and women patrollers will risk their lives to keep them safe. It will be a challenge to protect them all!
We are proud of our patrollers and their amazing efforts to keep wild tigers safe. During the last 3 years their workload has increased 3-fold, and our patrollers have responded with outstanding effort and hard work whilst poaching activity around India has reached a 15-year high. It is a miracle in the circumstances that we continue to keep so many wild tigers safe!
When conflict incidents are coupled with the increased risk of poaching activities, it means that our patrollers need to always be on high alert. We must ensure that we can maintain a minimum of tripled patrolling now, especially as poaching activity is on the increase. https://goto.gg/28767.
Making a Difference
Your continued support means that we can cover an extra 1800 km (1135 miles) of wild tiger territory per month with our tripled patrols. During patrolling, it is essential to ensure sufficient time to search for snares; traps and signs of poisoners around forest areas where human encroachment is widespread as poachers are more active. We need to maintain our patrols around the periphery of villages where crop raiding and livestock killing is rife. Our increased patrolling helps us to curb human encroachment into wild tigers’ territories and allows us to provide safety advice for those trying to protect their crops and livestock from wandering elephants and tigers respectively.
With around 225 wild tigers to keep safe, your help is crucial. In the last quarter, we’ve received news of 12 more precious tiny cubs which need our help. Your gift, however large or small can make a huge difference as to whether Bandhavgarh’s wild tigers and cubs can survive the unprecedented threats they face:
Without our help, we know that more wild tigers will die; and more humans will be mauled or killed due to encroachment or human-tiger conflict. Sadly, with every human life lost comes another threat to the wild tiger’s survival in the form of retaliation; thus, we must protect both if we are to ensure that wild tigers can have a wild future.
Please don’t hesitate if you can help, your donation can be the difference between life and death for a wild tiger, as it helps to increase our patrolling when it is most needed. Every tiger and every tiger cub counts. Thank you for making our fight against poachers, the changing climate and human-animal conflict possible. (https://goto.gg/28767).
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By Dr. Corinne Taylor-Smith | Project Leader
By Dr. Corinne Taylor-Smith | Project Leader
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