God versus Tiger

The Bandipur-Nagarhole National Park once was a place where big cats thrived more than the biped beasts who hunted them. Since 2009, that has changed.

The Bandipur-Nagarhole National Park, currently home to about 300 tigers, once had a reputa­tion for being a place where big cats thrived more than the biped beasts who hunted them. Since 2009, though, that has changed. About eight tigers have been reported killed since—and the real figure is widely acknowledged to be much higher. Poachers are aided and abetted by the slow but inexorable habitat degradation: cars barreling down NH-212, encroachments by villas and resorts, and now, the proliferation of small but teeming temples. According to reports, shrines to local deities have sprung up in the dense reserve forest areas, where animals are sacrificed, trees are chopped for firewood, leftovers are piled up, with the wildlife drawn to these left exposed to the depredations of poachers and motorists. The shrines include a Maramma temple in Hosur in the Anechowkur wildlife zone, a Chowdamma temple in the Handigere reserve forest area, a Gundre Maramma temple in the Gundre wildlife zone, and a Basaveshwara temple in the Begur reserve forest. “They’re all old, existing temples, and we’re not allowing further activities,” counters field director, Bandipur Tiger Reserve, BJ Hosmath. “There is certainly animal disturbance, but we can’t do much. We’ve completely banned plastics at the Gopalaswamy Betta temple. They (devotees) come once a year, and something happens once in a blue moon.”

About The Author

Shruti Ravindran