The Young Volunteers Helping Bhopal and Its Tigers Live Peacefully Together

In Bhopal, city residents share ground with the tigers. And they do it without fear. For a city that has long boasted an incredibly high acceptance level for tigers, among its urban counterparts, Bhopal is setting a precedent for how human-animal conflicts can be mitigated. 

The Kerwa-Kaliyasot forest complex, located three kilometres from Bhopal’s residential hubs, sees the tigers mating, breeding, and moving freely through the landscape. And, a documentary by Akash Evney and Choulesh Chachne, both GreenHub Fellows, explores this tale of co-existence.

The urban volunteers assess tiger tracks and apprise the Forest Department of the same
The urban volunteers assess tiger tracks and apprise the Forest Department of the same

The GreenHub initiative offers a one-year residential fellowship for youth to learn about environment, wildlife, conservation, and climate sustainability by documenting their native lands.

 

The documentary credits the ‘urban tiger volunteers of Bhopal’ for their dedication. As wildlife researcher DP Srivastava shares, “In 2022, while trying to understand the tigers of the area, we compiled the camera trap footage, and found that 83 tigers were using the landscape. According to the All India Tiger Estimation report (2022), 96 adult tigers were moving in the landscape (Ratapani-Bhopal-Dewas).” 

This is fascinating, Srivastava points out, considering the area isn’t a protected reserve. This was the driving spark behind the forest department turning this into a community-driven effort. 

Through collaborative efforts between the local volunteers and the Forest Department, the tiger populations are protected while letting the locals co-exist
Through collaborative efforts between the local volunteers and the Forest Department, the tiger populations are protected while letting the locals co-exist

The objective of the ‘Urban Tiger Volunteer Program’, an initiative by Bhopal-based NGO TINSA Ecological Foundation in partnership with the Madhya Pradesh Forest Department, is to champion wildlife conservation by building a team of local volunteers who will monitor the forests and apprise the forest department of changes. 

As part of the programme are skilling sessions on installing camera traps, routinely checking them, assessing tiger scratch marks on trees, looking for hair against the bark, and identifying pugmarks. 

The pugmark impression pads (PIPs) measure 4 x 6 metres, allowing a tiger of five to six feet to fit easily into the mould. A quick assessment of the impression allows the volunteers to deduce the age and size of the tiger. 

The pugmark impression pads help the volunteers identify and track the animal
The pugmark impression pads help the volunteers identify and track the animal

Along with being more aware, the volunteers say there’s been a definite shift in mindset. They are more equipped to spread awareness among the cattle herders and the residents of the area. 

Through the initiative, the volunteers feel empowered to protect the land they call home and the wild they call their cohabitants. 

This story is part of a content series by The Better India and GreenHub.

All pictures courtesy GreenHub

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