Can UP's "Sugarcane Tigress" Survive In Wild Or Is She A Pet Animal?

The Pilibhit tiger that created a spectacle as it was seen tamely sitting on a wall even as hundreds of people almost surrounded is probably one of the many "sugarcane tigers" seen in the Terai region. But is it a domesticated or a pet animal?

"These are called sugarcane tigers as these animals are now living in the tall sugarcane fields of the Pilibhit Terai region," says Rajesh Gopal, former head of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and Secretary General, Global Tiger Forum.

He says the animal that is now in the custody of the forest department seems like a "domesticated or a pet animal" that has escaped from the owner.

The tiger reserves of Dudhwa and Pilibhit straddle the region. There has been one other instance when a pet tiger was quietly released into the wild by the owner into the forests of Dudhwa a decade ago.

Mr Gopal adds the tiger seems "conditioned to the presence of humans", and this adds a layer of complication since if the animal is used to humans, releasing it into the wild may be dangerous as it may stray back into human habitation. It also endangers the animal since if it enters villages then it can be poisoned or stoned to death.

According to Mr Gopal, releasing the animal into the wild should be held back for now or if at all released then it should be radio-collared with a GPS tracking device to monitor its movements.

Veterinary officers who have examined the animal confirmed the tiger is healthy, has no injuries, and is unlikely to be suffering from any disease. But a final diagnosis of any infection will come only after the blood test reports are out in a few days.

Some say the Pilibhit tiger behaved like how conservationist Jim Corbett had described the big cats: "The tiger is a large-hearted gentleman with boundless courage."

These "sugarcane tigers" are still wild animals, but for many generations they have lived in the sugarcane fields where they have been born and brought up, they seem to have lost fear of humans, says Mr Gopal. There could almost three dozen of them, say experts.

The two-year-old tiger seen at Atkona village in widely circulated videos. It seems to be timidly sitting on a wall, even licking itself unabashed, and almost not at all concerned by the presence of crowds around it. It is a very rare and unique sight, never seen before, says Mr Gopal.

For these "sugarcane tigers", there is enough prey like wild boars, hog deer, and cattle, and many tigers use the cover of the tall and dense sugarcane fields to give birth and raise the young, hence "they are used to human presence," says Mr Gopal.

Ramesh Pandey, former field director of the Dudhwa Tiger Reserve and currently with the Ministry of Environment and Forests and Climate Change, also calls this behavior "odd and strange" since the tiger stayed at the same place for an extended period with crowds around it and showed no aggression and irritation.

Wildlife photographer Rajesh Bedi says the question is how come the tiger was so calm. "This was unusual behavior. The tiger was behaving like one of the temple tigers of Thailand," Mr Bedi says.

The Pilibhit tiger brings back memories of the 1970s controversy of a zoo-reared cocktail tiger, possibly with Siberian blood, named Tara that was introduced into the Dudhwa National Park by Billy Arjan Singh.

But human-animal conflict is only increasing. The Wildlife Protection Society of India says 202 tigers have been lost in 2023 alone and of these 55 took place due to poaching and electrocution.

According to data released by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), for the period 2017-2021, the NTCA has recorded 547 tiger deaths, of which 393 tigers died due to natural causes, 154 to poisoning, nine to snaring, seven to shooting and 22 to electrocution, among others.

The actual number of tiger deaths that can be attributed to poaching for illegal body parts and wildlife trade in the strictest sense are 88, which accounts for 16 per cent of total tiger deaths in the past 5 years.

That the human-tiger conflict is on the rise can be estimated by the fact as NTCA reveals that between 2018 and 2021, at least 36 were killed by man-eating tigers in Uttar Pradesh alone and in all 169 people lost their lives to tiger attacks.

A 2022 estimate by the government suggests that 3,167 tigers are present in India up from 2,967 in 2018 and in 2008 the number was estimated to be just about 1,411.

India has been a success story in tiger conservation. In 2023 alone, 177 tigers died, including due to natural causes and old age.