<p class="bodytext">The Karnataka Forest Department has been in the news for all the wrong reasons lately. A series of disturbing incidents over a span of days has brought to light the systemic rot and a glaring lack of accountability plaguing the state’s wildlife administration. Recently, five tigers – a mother and her cubs – were found dead in the MM Hills Wildlife Sanctuary in Chamarajanagar district. The owner of a cow, killed by the tiger, allegedly poisoned the carcass, which the tigers later consumed. While three suspects have been arrested, what is more damning is that the carcasses lay unnoticed for days, barely 100 metres from the road and 900 metres from an anti-poaching camp. This lapse exposes the collapse of effective patrolling. Days earlier, forest staff were accused of covering up the poaching of a leopard in the same division. Meanwhile, a major poaching racket was busted in Bengaluru, with spotted deer carcasses, meat, and weapons seized. Now, 20 monkeys have turned up dead – likely poisoned – in Bandipur’s buffer zone.</p>.<p class="bodytext">These incidents are symptoms of a deeper malaise. Farmers living near forests often see wildlife not as a national treasure but as a menace. Compensation for livestock loss is meagre and delayed, while crop raids by elephants, wild boars, and monkeys destroy livelihoods, pushing desperate farmers to take extreme measures like poisoning. When a tiger attacks a cow, he sees no value in conservation; instead he sees only loss, and bureaucratic indifference. Authorities routinely blame encroachment, but the issue is more complex. The real question is: why is wildlife increasingly straying into human settlements? Degraded forests, dwindling water sources, and unscientific habitat management are pushing animals to the edge – literally. Compounding the problem are the poor working conditions of forest watchers – the frontline defenders – who are underpaid and overworked, and in many cases, not paid at all.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Shockingly, the state has not appointed honorary wildlife wardens who act as a vital link between the local populace and the Forest Department. This reflects the department’s closed-door culture where decisions are made without transparency or public engagement. Local communities, especially school children, must be educated and enlisted as conservation allies. While meaningful conservation requires public participation, joint patrols with villagers, crucial for intelligence gathering and fostering a sense of shared responsibility, remain largely ineffective. The stakes could not be higher. Without urgent intervention, Karnataka risks losing not just its tigers and leopards, but the ecosystems that sustain them. The Forest Department must break free from its insular ways, empower frontline staff, and rebuild trust with local communities. Only then can conservation move from crisis management to lasting coexistence.</p>
<p class="bodytext">The Karnataka Forest Department has been in the news for all the wrong reasons lately. A series of disturbing incidents over a span of days has brought to light the systemic rot and a glaring lack of accountability plaguing the state’s wildlife administration. Recently, five tigers – a mother and her cubs – were found dead in the MM Hills Wildlife Sanctuary in Chamarajanagar district. The owner of a cow, killed by the tiger, allegedly poisoned the carcass, which the tigers later consumed. While three suspects have been arrested, what is more damning is that the carcasses lay unnoticed for days, barely 100 metres from the road and 900 metres from an anti-poaching camp. This lapse exposes the collapse of effective patrolling. Days earlier, forest staff were accused of covering up the poaching of a leopard in the same division. Meanwhile, a major poaching racket was busted in Bengaluru, with spotted deer carcasses, meat, and weapons seized. Now, 20 monkeys have turned up dead – likely poisoned – in Bandipur’s buffer zone.</p>.<p class="bodytext">These incidents are symptoms of a deeper malaise. Farmers living near forests often see wildlife not as a national treasure but as a menace. Compensation for livestock loss is meagre and delayed, while crop raids by elephants, wild boars, and monkeys destroy livelihoods, pushing desperate farmers to take extreme measures like poisoning. When a tiger attacks a cow, he sees no value in conservation; instead he sees only loss, and bureaucratic indifference. Authorities routinely blame encroachment, but the issue is more complex. The real question is: why is wildlife increasingly straying into human settlements? Degraded forests, dwindling water sources, and unscientific habitat management are pushing animals to the edge – literally. Compounding the problem are the poor working conditions of forest watchers – the frontline defenders – who are underpaid and overworked, and in many cases, not paid at all.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Shockingly, the state has not appointed honorary wildlife wardens who act as a vital link between the local populace and the Forest Department. This reflects the department’s closed-door culture where decisions are made without transparency or public engagement. Local communities, especially school children, must be educated and enlisted as conservation allies. While meaningful conservation requires public participation, joint patrols with villagers, crucial for intelligence gathering and fostering a sense of shared responsibility, remain largely ineffective. The stakes could not be higher. Without urgent intervention, Karnataka risks losing not just its tigers and leopards, but the ecosystems that sustain them. The Forest Department must break free from its insular ways, empower frontline staff, and rebuild trust with local communities. Only then can conservation move from crisis management to lasting coexistence.</p>
