On the morning of 18 July, Rafiqul Islam, a resident of Bagori, on the western fringes of Kaziranga National Park, was surprised to find a tiger sitting on his bed. Islam, who is used to wild animals around his shack didn’t panic and his presence of mind avoided a fatal encounter. An ‘SOS’ call from him got the Assam Forest Department and the animal rescue team from International Fund for Animal Welfare – Wildlife Trust Of India (IFAW-WTI) to sanitise the area and provide a safe passage to the tiger, which moved out on its own later in the day.
The photograph of a Bengal Tiger resting on a floral-print bed sheet, it’s head next to a carry bag with the words ‘Billion Choice’ is the defining image of this year’s floods in Kaziranga – of what happens to wild animals on the move in times of trouble. Clicked by Samshuli Ali, veterinarian at the IFAW-WTI, the picture has gone viral across social media platforms and is still trending across the world.
Floods are usually associated with loss of life and business, yet they are also part of a natural process that creates fertile lands for agriculture, replenishes wetlands and riverine grassland ecosystem. Floodwaters of the river Brahmaputra are key to the ecology of Kaziranga. Annual flooding revitalises the famed grasslands, which shelter keystone species such as rhinos, tigers and elephants.
However, in some years, there is an excess overflow of water causing a deluge. Last week, 90 per cent of Kaziranga (of 430 sq km) was submerged displacing most of its wild denizens to neighbouring areas. Wild animals do possess a sixth sense — to migrate towards the adjoining Karbi-Anglong hills when the river swells. An act of survival embedded into their DNA through generations. But once a smooth getaway for wild animals to the highlands, the animal corridors are now a cramped space with proliferating human habitations, hotels, illegal encroachments and tea estates.
Why did the tiger enter Rafiqul’s shack in the first place? This all-important question is lost amongst the hullabaloo surrounding the tiger — the king resting on a bed. The shack and the adjoining dhaba are just one of the many establishments that have come up in recent years blocking the animal corridor.
This year, the state administration had to impose a curfew or Section 144 for crowd control and provide a safe passage for animals crossing National Highway 37, which runs along the periphery of the Kaziranga National Park.
Hog deer are the biggest casualties every year. Most of them either get drowned or killed by speeding vehicles. This year too the hog deer tops the ‘Animal Death and Rescue’ chart with 71 drowned, 15 killed by vehicles, 10 dead by unknown reasons and over 53 rescued by the forest department. In the list of ‘drowning’ animals are 11 rhinos and one elephant when official reports last came in (20 July, 3 pm). Between 13 and 19 July, park authorities have recorded a total of 141 animal deaths. Actual numbers may be much more according to some experts as it is not humanly possible to document each and every animal mortality. This list also does not include a plethora of smaller mammals and reptiles. Thankfully, floodwaters are now receding.
The National Highway 37 is the main arterial road crisscrossing Assam, and the stretch along Kaziranga has seen a steady rise in traffic over the years along with mushrooming human habitation, unplanned tourism infrastructure and other illegal structures. The road cuts through the passage between the grasslands and the adjoining highlands – the Karbi-Anglong Hills — leaving animals with no other option but to take the traffic head-on while crossing. And once outside the protected area, the animals are extremely vulnerable to poaching, especially in a region where there is a craving for venison and wild boar meat, least to mention the illegal wildlife trade in rhino and tiger body parts – a constant threat to wildlife in this landscape.