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Listen to the scientist

  • 14/01/2005

Listen to the scientist Wildlife research can be categorised as those that are purely academic and others which have implications for management. A good example of the latter is the survey, conducted nearly a decade ago, by wildlife scientists to find an alternative home for the Asiatic lion. The site chosen was Palpur Kuno wildlife sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh. However, the recommendations of the researchers were ignored in the face of political issues: Gujarat wanted the Gir lion to remain within it.

In the West, wildlife management is based on inputs provided after years of research. That has yet to happen in India. Politics would not have overtaken the issue of finding an alternative home for the Asiatic lion if the word of the scientist had precedence on issues relating to conservation.

A recent study Recently, another issue related to management of large cats has come into focus; it has, in fact, acquired much prominence for the matter at hand is their conflict with humans. A study by this author along with Sanjay Thakur, Sujoy Chaudhuri and Anirudh Belsare (A study of the man-leopard conflict in the Junnar forest division, Pune district, Maharashtra, Forest department, Maharashtra and Wildlife Protection Society of India, New Delhi, 2004) shows that human

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