Avni, the tigress from the Yavatmal region of Maharashtra, who was accused of 13 human-killings over the past two years, has been killed. After nearly three months of launching a search operation, the tigress was cornered and shot dead on Friday night.
Avni was also a mother of two cubs, both 10-months-old. The Logical Indian spoke to AK Mishra, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Pandharkhawda, who said, “Avni’s cubs are still in the forest. We have set baits like small goats and pigs around the forest to lure the two cubs. Once they hunt the baits, we will try to capture them.”
He further said that he is not sure what will happen to them after the capture. “Keeping them in a zoo is the least priority. After capture, we will decide whether they would be kept in a reserve or sanctuary.” The cubs are too young to hunt and wildlife conservationists and activists are worried that the cubs would not survive in the wild without their mother.
“It was never our plan to kill. Yes, the order was passed but we still wanted to capture Avni. We fired a tranquilising dart and she charged at us. That is when she had to be shot,” says Mr Mishra. He says that not just the lives of the people staying around the forest were endangered but the forest staff were also worried for their lives as they knew that a ‘man-eater’ was roaming around in the ‘wild’.
Another tigeress killed
With animal rights activists protesting the killing of Avni, in Dudhwa Tiger Reserve, Uttar Pradesh, another tigress was killed by angry locals. The tigress was said to have injured a man from the nearby village, as reported by The Times Of India.
On November 4, the locals beat up forest guards and took away their sticks. They then ran over the tigress with a tractor and beat it with sticks until it bled out and died. According to forest officials, the angry locals were from a village called Chaltua inside the Dudhwa Reserve. They have been asked to relocate a lot of time but refused as they are heavily dependent on forest resources for survival.
The officials said that the 10-year-old tigress never injured anyone before and only attacked the one person as he intruded inside the forest at his own risk.
The Logical Indian take
India’s growing population has confined wildlife to the ever-shrinking forests and grasslands. Reports have come out which show that between the years 2014-2017, one person lost his/her life every day because of the man-animal conflict.
The growth of human settlement is considered an economic development, but it is the animals who are paying a heavy price as they are competing with humans for food and shelter. Wildlife experts have said that territorial animals lack space within reserves and their prey also lack enough fodder to survive on. This forces wild animals to move out and venture close to human habitations in search of food.
It is us who are encroaching on their land and taking away their livelihood. It is us who are killing them. There needs to be more awareness about man-animal conflict and villagers should be taught to handle such situations and not kill the animals altogether.
Also Read:
