A driver of a tourist vehicle in Jim Corbett National Park in Uttarakhand, India, was detained for allegedly provoking a tiger after a video of the incident went viral on social media. The video shows the tiger charging at the tourist vehicle after emerging from the bushes and growling at the tourists.
The driver was arrested under the Wildlife Protection Act after being detained on April 29. In the video, the tiger appears irritated and one of the tourists can be heard screaming in the background. The tourists remain stationary as they use their cameras to photograph the tiger, but the tiger starts pursuing the gypsy when it moves backward. The tiger retreats into the forest after growling at the end of the video.
The video garnered more than 88,000 views and attracted hundreds of comments. Many social media users expressed their anger at tourists for disobeying the rules when visiting national parks and wildlife sanctuaries. One user emphasised the importance of educating visitors about animal habits and habitats, especially since there is less space for wildlife and more people entering their space.
Another user suggested curbing the number of safaris on a daily basis and avoiding them for several weeks. Some users also commented that drivers flout rules in Jim Corbett and that tourists give them extra money to increase their chances of sighting a tiger, or they carry meat or flesh to attract the felines.
In another news report, it was stated that five villages of the Valmiki Tiger Reserve in West Champaran district of Bihar would be converted into a model human-carnivore coexistence zone. The state government collaborated with the Wildlife Trust of India, a Nepalese organisation, and a UK-based zoo for the project, which was planned to take shape in 2023.
The Valmiki Tiger Reserve made headlines in 2022 after the shooting death of a man-eating tiger in October that had previously killed nine humans and numerous domestic animals. Officials claimed that the reserve is essential to ensuring that tiger populations are genetically healthy. Wildlife specialists stated that tigers and other large creatures frequently use forest corridors that connect India and Nepal.
The state government has implemented several measures to safeguard the habitats of big cats and maintain their population, according to P K Gupta, Bihar’s Chief Wildlife Warden, in accordance with the National Tiger Conservation Authority’s guidelines.
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