Getting set to guard forests housing tigers from raging fires during summer in Karnataka Premium

The two national parks — Bandipur spread over 912.04 sq km and Nagarahole over 847.98 sq km — are home to 376 tigers besides elephants, leopards, dholes and a host of herbivore creatures, as per the assessment of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA). But any habitat imbalance by way of degradation through recurring fires and further proliferation of lantana can put a question mark on the long-term viability of the tiger numbers.

The combination of searing heat due to rising mercury levels this summer preceded by unprecedented drought owing to monsoon failure in 2023 has brought to the fore the threat of forest fires plaguing national parks and wildlife sanctuaries in Karnataka.

Bandipur, Nagarahole, MM Hills Wildlife Sanctuary, BRT Tiger Reserve are more prone to devastating fires given the dry deciduous nature of the vegetation. Add to this, the proliferation of invasive weed lantana, and the stage is set for a conflagration that could go out of control.

Bandipur in 2019 and Nagarahole in 2012 bore the brunt of some of the deadliest fires that ravaged large swathe of forests and reduced them to cinder, recovering from which takes years.

In Bandipur, authorities are on high alert as more than 60% of the national park spread over 912.04 sq km has been overrun by lantana. Not only is it inedible for the herbivores, but it is dry and highly inflammable, and is akin to fuel in the forest. A tiny spark could lead to a conflagration that could spread rapidly and would take days to control, by which time hundreds of acres of forest cover, along with edible vegetation for herbivores, would have been destroyed.

The added concern is the loss to the biodiversity and habitat degradation, which could have a bearing on the wildlife population of the national park in the long run.

If there is no concerted effort to prevent forest fires, the devastation to the vegetation and, in effect, fodder availability to the herbivore population, will diminish. This will set in motion migration of the herbivores to greener pastures, or their numbers will decline in the medium to long run, which will have an adverse impact on the carnivore population.

The two national parks — Bandipur spread over 912.04 sq km and Nagarahole over 847.98 sq km — are home to 376 tigers besides elephants, leopards, dholes and a host of herbivore creatures, as per the assessment of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA). But any habitat imbalance by way of degradation through recurring fires and further proliferation of lantana can put a question mark on the long-term viability of the tiger numbers.