Mah registers highest human deaths caused by wild animals since 2010
05 Oct 2020 09:29:15
By Kartik Lokhande :
Even as Wildlife Week is being celebrated across the country with enthusiasm, a look at data since the year 2010 reveals that the current year has recorded the highest number of human deaths caused by wild animals in Maharashtra. This indicates pressure on wildlife habitat, and also potential for escalation in future. Forest Department compiles data on human deaths caused by wild animals. The data since the year 2010 has numbers of human deaths caused by wild animals including tiger, leopard, sloth bear, wild boar, wolf, crocodile, fox, gaur, hyena, elephant, and even nilgai. Since 2010, as per the data, the year 2016 has been the bad year in this regard. In 2016, State recorded 57 human deaths. However, 2020 appears to be even worse than 2016. For, till September 30, Maharashtra has recorded as many as 56 human deaths caused by wild animals. With three months remaining, the experts believe that the number may go up and surpass the number recorded in 2016. If one goes by wild animal involved in reported human deaths since 2010, Tiger is at the top.
Between 2010 and 2013, the number of human deaths caused due to tiger was single-digit. However, in 2014, it rose to 12. In 2015, the number of human deaths in tiger attack dropped to six, only to rise to 17 in 2016. In 2017, the number increased further to 24, followed by a drop to 15 in 2018. However, in 2019, the number again rose to 24. Now, in 2020 so far, as many as 31 human deaths caused by tiger have been reported. Most of these cases have been reported in Eastern Vidarbha or Nagpur Division, which has well-known tiger reserves. The data available reveals an interesting fact. Of total 466 human deaths due to wild animals recorded in Maharashtra since 2010, at least four have been in Nilgai attack. According to experts, this is quite unusual given the fact that it is a herbivore and even if a fight breaks out between two Nilgais, they fight with front legs.
Nitin Desai, Director, Central India, Wildlife Protection Society of India, told ‘The Hitavada’ that the number of human deaths caused by wild animals indicate pressure on wildlife habitat. As far as tiger attacks causing the maximum number of human deaths is concerned, he said, the tiger population has grown especially in Eastern Vidarbha and the space for the tigers has shrunk. “The conflict is going to escalate in future,” he observed. He felt that mitigation measures like efforts to sensitise people on how to avoid tigers and other wild animals were needed to be given a boost. Lot many times, it has come to notice that people often engage in squatting, collecting minor forest produce, enter into forest areas where wildlife presence is recorded, and also encroach upon the forest areas. This, he added, reduced space available for wildlife movement.
Conflict continued even during lockdown period The year 2020 has recorded 56 human deaths caused by wild animals so far. With three months still remaining for the year to come to an end, the number is likely to increase. These many deaths were reported this year so far despite COVID-19 lockdown restricting the movement of people out of their houses. Also, there has been a good rainfall since 2019, resulting in good availability of water in forest areas.
This should have restricted movement of wild animals too. Asked about this, Nitin Desai, Director, Central India, Wildlife Protection Society of India, replied that human entry into forests had increased in the past six-seven months. Obviously, the conflict between man and wild animal also increased. According to him, migrant labourers had returned to their native villages from the big cities following lockdown.
In villages, since they were not much sensitised about precautions to be taken to avoid encounter with widlife, they entered forests and even loitered around. In some cases, he said, villagers had collected firewood from jungles to stock it due to possibility of running short on supply of LPG cylinders. These factors have contributed to increase in human deaths due to wild animals in the past six-seven months, he added.