Nature & Animals….. - HereNow4U.net

Animal Crusaders • Commemorative Issue • October 2010Outreach ProgrammesSunderbans….human & animals orhuman versus animals!The too frequent incidents in therecent past of mauling of villagersby Sunderbans tigers raise manyquestions, especially at a timewhen man animal conflict isseemingly on the rise. It alsosharply brings into focus themethods used by the ForestDepartment to deal with theanimal’s rescue. One incidentapparently took place when atigress strayed into a locality inthe Sunderbans. The villagersreported the animal's incursionbut the Forest Department’sdelayed response set in panic.With no authorities around, thevillagers felt nervous and did theobvious act of chasing the tigresswhich took refuge in a tree. ForestDepartment officials on theirarrival were faced with a mob ofangry villagers.The Forest Departmentattempted to tranquilise theanimal lodged in a tree. Duringthe process, a villager namedAshutosh Dhali was reportedlyasked by the Forest Departmentofficials to check if the tiger hadbeen sedated. He attempted todo so with the help of a couple ofhis colleagues. And it was thenthat the tiger rose from itsapparent stupor and pounced onhim. Dhali was mauled and had62to be sent to the SSKM hospitalin Kolkata.With the circulation of mediareports displaying video footageshowing villagers using bamboopoles to hit the animal and peltingit with stones, justifiable outragepoured out regarding the crueltymeted out to a sentient creature.When the tigress was eventuallycaught, public attention wasdrawn on the method of herrelease. The animal was keptunder observation and was finallyreleased under the prying eyes ofcameras. A vigorous debateensued on how the tigress wastreated and there werestatements from the ForestDepartment insinuating theirsuccess concerning the captureand release of the animal.Asutosh DhaliAshutosh Dhali however layunattended in the hospital. Hereported that his plight wasignored by the hospitalauthorities. The CompassionateCrusaders Trust then made amove that must have startledmany. Ignoring the protestationsof the Forest Department thatDhali had never been asked tosee if the tigress had beensedated, CompassionateCrusaders Trust sent theirrepresentatives to the hospital tolook into Dhali's welfare. Whilstmost people were highlightingthe plight of the tigress singularly,the organisation took a step tounderpin the human's state ofaffairs. Compassionate CrusadersTrust praised Ashutosh Dhali andhis colleagues for helping tocapture the tigress andmentioned that such an effortwas in the best interest of animaland human alike. Theorganization even went so far asto offer him a job on recuperation.The incident shows us an aspectof human animal conflict wherehumans live in proximity to wildanimals. And whilst there is notan iota of justification for cruelmob behaviour on animals, panicreaction of humans is also tooobvious. Human animal conflictis everywhere throwing aformidable challenge toconservation efforts to balancebetween human rights andanimal protection both being ofequal importance.