Copyright 2001, Environmental News Network
October 12, 2001
By Ellen McCarty

Little is known about the forest guards who risk their lives in Indiaís mountainous Corbett National Park to protect sensitive wildlife from well-armed poachers. Harish Chandra Dhyani, a 17-year veteran of the reserve, describes how an international partnership is helping his men and endangered species survive.

Morning in the moist, tropical forest of Corbett National Park begins with a cacophony of birds. Monsoon season brings with it the dissonant melodies of the cuckoo, brain fever bird, and magpie robin.

During the summer, the metallic calls of the barbet usher in the sunrise. As the day wears on, forest guards hear the swish of elephants moving through the dense forest and the occasional roar of a tiger. There is a saying in these parts, however, that the tiger sees you many more times than you see him. Its elusive presence is often announced by the alarm calls of other animals. The sambar, spotted, and barking deer react immediately to the presence of a predator, leaving a rush of undulating flora in their wake. The guards track tiger movements through this code of alarm calls, pugmarks, territorial sprays, and kills, but sometimes it is unclear who is following whom.

Harish Chandra Dhyani, a Corbett guard for the last 17 years, remembers his most unnerving encounter with a tiger. He was walking through the park at twilight after buying provisions at a local shop. Five miles from park headquarters, he sensed he was being followed. He turned around but could not see or hear anything. Darkness was descending rapidly. He retraced his steps and found a tigerís footprint covering his own. Knowing he could not outrun the animal, he climbed a nearby banyan tree and spent the night perched in its branches. The next morning when he climbed down, he found the tigerís pugmarks all around the base of the tree.

"It was a very scary feeling because I could not see the animal," he said. "I do not think the tiger had any intention of attacking me. It was simply curious of a human being walking through its territory. Nevertheless, it was one of my most frightening experiences."

Two thousand elephants and 100 tigers inhabit the park, but the animals are the least of Dhyaniís fears. Far more dangerous are the poachers, who are more sophisticated, heavily-armed, and organized. They pose a constant threat to Corbettís wildlife and its government-funded protectors.

"Big cats and elephants attack only if they are cornered or have cubs or calves with them," Dhyani said. "It is a rare occasion that the staff is attacked by animals. The danger is usually from the well-armed and equipped poachers who do not hesitate to kill."

Between December 2000 and February 2001, seven elephants in Corbett were found dead. The poachers shot the animals with poison arrows and chopped of their heads to extract the ivory. A smaller number of tigers and deer have been poached in the park during the last decade, but the sight is equally gruesome. Once poachers kill a tiger, they remove the skin along with the nails and leave the rest of the carcass behind.

Until now, the park has been ill-equipped to respond to these violent acts. Each forest guard is expected to patrol a wide swath of land primarily on foot, accompanied by two or more assistants. Only about 250 guards patrol the mountainous 509-square-mile reserve, which takes about 10 days to cross on foot. Many rangers lack the basic equipment — protective clothing, good shoes, and water bottles — necessary to survive the reserve, which ranges in temperature from 32 degree Fahrenheit in the winter to 110 degrees in the summer.

To make matters worse, poachers tend to enter the forest when normal park activity is restricted, especially during monsoons. The heavy rains destroy most of the roads, and patrolling by vehicle becomes impossible. Even when poachers are spotted in the park, many guards are unaware of the laws protecting wildlife and are unsure of their own authority to arrest them, said Kyla Bennett, a deputy director of the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW). The American organization has begun working with the Wildlife Trust of India to provide training as well as antipoaching kits to bolster the parkís efforts.

"By providing necessities to the rangers, we hope to improve not only their ability to traverse the reserve in search of poachers but also improve their morale," Bennett said. "We believe that protecting tigers and elephants in India is of utmost importance. It is not enough to designate an area as a park or reserve. The protection must be real and on the ground."

Protection is not just for wildlife but for guards as well. IFAW has donated US$20,000 this year to teach Corbettís forest guards wildlife law, wildlife crime investigation, and how to build intelligence networks to prevent crimes. The money is also funding the distribution of winter jackets, raincoats, backpacks, flashlights, hiking shoes, sleeping bags, water bottles, and weapons.

"For most of us, given the current state of unemployment in the country, there is not much of a choice (as far as occupation)," Dhyani said. "However, we are local people with our roots in the forest and believe that Indian wildlife is not just for the Indians but for the whole world to see and cherish."

While the guards greatly appreciate the training and antipoaching equipment donated to Corbett, Dhyani said many reserves throughout India need more vehicles and resources to effectively patrol sensitive areas and prevent poaching.

"The IFAW-Wildlife Trust of India training and supplies will provide us the much-needed weapons and skills to make our job in the forest easier," he added. "We feel someone cares for us and the work that we do."

Ellen McCarty is a freelance writer in the San Francisco Bay Area. Special thanks to Aniruddha Mookerjee for translating the interview with Harish Chandra Dhyani. Error: Unable to read footer file.