As I continued my tiger tourism and photography in Central Indian tiger reserves, I saw the ugly face of commodity fetishism which had converted ecotourism into pseudo ecotourism. I saw how commodity fetishism stricken urban affluent wildlife photographers and ecotourists do not hesitate to perform unethical practices to get their desired tiger images.
A female tiger of Tadoba
Ranthambore National Park is a 1,334 km2 (515 sq mi) large national park in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It is bounded to the north by the Banas River and to the south by the Chambal River. It is named after the historic Ranthambore Fort, which lies within the park. Ranthambore National Park was established as the Sawai Madhopur Game Sanctuary in 1955, initially covering an area of 282 km2 (109 sq mi). It was declared one of the Project Tiger reserves in 1973.
A female tiger at Ranthambhore snarling at touristsTerritory marking
Bandhavgarh National Park is a national park of India, located in the Umaria district of Madhya Pradesh. Bandhavgarh, with an area of 105 square kilometres (41 sq mi), was declared a national park in 1968 and then became Tiger Reserve in 1993. The current core area is spread over 716 square kilometres (276 sq mi).
This park has a large biodiversity. The park has a large breeding population of leopards, and various species of deer. Maharaja Martand Singh of Rewa captured the first white tiger in this region in 1951. This white tiger, Mohan, is now stuffed and on display in the palace of the Maharajas of Rewa. Historically villagers and their cattle have been at a threat from the tiger. Rising mining activities around the park are putting the tigers at risk. The park derives its name from the most prominent hill of the area, which is said to have been given by Lord Rama to his brother Lakshmana to keep a watch on Lanka (Bandhav = Brother, Garh = Fort). The fort was built by a Gond Dynasty king.
A male tiger at BandhabhgarhChasing tiger by elephant
What was transformed after witnessing this great Indian tiger show and how? To know that read my book on “Inclusive Ecotourism”
When a buyer invests in any commodity, they expect a return as promised by the seller. After parting with Vedavyasa, I had emerged as a solo explorer venturing into BRT and Kabini of Western Ghats and Sariska of central India. There I experienced the tiger economy in very different ways and understood the resulting stress on the tiger and its habitat.
After witnessing the commodity fetishism in so-called glamorous tiger reserves of India, I encountered with a Conservation Crusader Couple at Amrabad Tiger Reserve, India’s second largest tiger reserve. They were promoting the concept of “inclusive ecotourism” to counter tiger centric ecotourism.
Listen my conversation with them
Me with Swetha, Akhil and a local Chenchu tribal boy at Amrabad
The Kabini Forest Reserve is one of the most popular wildlife destinations of Karnataka, due to its accessibility, green landscape surrounding a large lake, and sightings of herds of elephants and tigers. It is 61 km (38 mi) away from Mysuru and 205 km (127 mi) from Bengaluru, and comprises the south-eastern part of Nagarahole National Park. The reserve is spread over 55 acres (22 ha) of forestland, steep valleys, and water bodies. Once a private hunting lodge of the Maharaja of Mysore, Kabini was a popular shikar hotspot for British Viceroys and Indian royalty. There are around 120 tigers, more than 100 leopards, four types of deer, Sloth bear, Indian Gaurs and elephants in the Nagarahole National Park.
A male tiger at Kabini
Sariska Tiger Reserve is a tiger reserve in Alwar district, Rajasthan, India. It stretches over an area of 881 km2 (340 sq mi) comprising scrub-thorn arid forests, dry deciduous forests, grasslands, and rocky hills. This area was preserved for hunting, for the Alwar state and was declared a wildlife sanctuary in 1958. It was given the status of a tiger reserve making it a part of India’s Project Tiger in 1978. The wildlife sanctuary was declared a national park in 1982, with a total area of about 273.8 km2 (105.7 sq mi). It is the first reserve in the world with successfully relocated tigers. It is an important biodiversity area in the Northern Aravalli leopard and wildlife corridor.
Amrabad is a Mandal in Nagarkurnool district, Telangana It is the largest mandal in the district area-wise, but population density is less. Large portions of the mandal is occupied by Nallamala forests. Amrabad also served as the headquarters of the taluka before separate mandals were formed. It is inhabited by tribal population, mostly Chenchus.
Nilgai at Amrabad
To know what I discovered as “tiger economy” read my book
This success (of tiger sighting) repeats itself in the forests of Corbett Park, and we conclude that today’s tigers in the wild are not as ferocious as described in stories of Jim Corbett. We were engulfed by commodity fetishism for tiger photography and tourism.
We visited Corbett Park in April 2018 and then in Nameri Tiger Reserve of Assam in December 2018. In Balipara of Assam the miserable side of Vedavyasa was unfolded in front of me.
To know, what was that and what happened after that, read Pseudo Ecotourism in the Shadow of the Bengal Tiger
Jim Corbett National Park is a national park in India located in the Nainital district of Uttarakhand state. The first national park in India, it was established in 1936 during the British Raj and named Hailey National Park after William Malcolm Hailey, a governor of the United Provinces in which it was then located. In 1956, nearly a decade after India’s independence, it was renamed Corbett National Park after the hunter and naturalist Jim Corbett, who had played a leading role in its establishment and had died the year before. The park was the first to come under the Project Tiger initiative
A female tiger looking straight to usParade of elephants crossing forest path
Nameri National Park is a national park in the foothills of the eastern Himalayas in the Sonitpur District of Assam, India, about 35 km from Tezpur. Nameri is about 9 km from Chariduar, the nearest village. Nameri shares its northern boundary with the Pakhui Wildlife Sanctuary of Arunachal Pradesh. Together they constitute an area of over 1,000 km2 (390 sq mi), of which Nameri has a total area of 212 km2 (82 sq mi). Nameri National Park was declared as Tiger Reserve in the year 1999-2000, and is the second Tiger reserve of Assam after Manas Tiger Reserve. It has two core areas: Nameri National Park and Sonai- Rupai Wildlife (Satellite Core of the Nameri Tiger Reserve). The river Jia-Bhoroli is the lifeline of Nameri, which flows along the southern boundary of the park from northwest to southeast. In the east, the river Bor-Dikorai is a tributary of river Jia-Bhoroli, flowing along the southern boundary from northeast to southwest.
Jia Bhoroli river at NameriTokay gecko at Nameri
To know more about my book Pseudo Ecotourism in the shadow of the Bengal Tiger, read reviews at Good Reads
We discover a way to evade such hardships and decide to roam the forests from the safety and comfort of a safari gypsy. After six successive failed explorations across the forests of Nagarhole, Bandipur, Periyar, Satpura, Pench and Kanha, finally, we succeed in taking the coveted pictures of Bengal Tigers in the deciduous forest of Tadoba and were convinced that that was the easiest way to achieve fame and glory. On the journey, though, I realize how commoditization has created the concept of tiger tourism and photography, that threatens ecotourism potential involving other wildlife species.
Exploration in “Tiger Terrain”
We started our exploration in most popular tiger tourism destination of subcontinent, the so-called “tiger terrain” – The Central Indian landscape. In the May of 2016, we explored Satpura, Pench and Kanha tiger reserves of Madhya Pradesh state of India and in January of 2017 we visited Tadoba Andhari tiger reserve of Maharashtra state of India.
Entry of Satpura through Madhai gateA leopard cub at Satpura
Satpura Tiger Reserve (STR) also known as Satpura National Park is located in the Narmadapuram district of Madhya Pradesh in India. Its name is derived from the Satpura range. It covers an area of 524 km2 (202 sq mi). Satpura National Park, along with the adjoining Bori and Pachmarhi wildlife sanctuaries, provides 2,200 km2 (850 sq mi) of unique central Indian highland ecosystem. It was set up in 1981.
Herd of sambar at PenchA golden jackal at Pench
Pench Tiger Reserve or Pench National Park is one of the premier tiger reserves of India and the first one to straddle across two states – Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. The reference to Pench is mostly to the tiger reserve in Madhya Pradesh. The portion of the reserve that is in Madhya Pradesh is nestled in the southern slopes of the Satpura range of Central India. Pench Tiger Reserve comprises the Indira Priyadarshini Pench National Park, the Pench Mowgli Sanctuary and a buffer. It is the same forest area portrayed in the famous “The Jungle Book” by Rudyard Kipling.
Spotting tiger pugmark at KanhaBarasingha at Kanha
Kanha Tiger Reserve, also known as Kanha–Kisli National Park, is one of the tiger reserves of India and the largest national park of the state of Madhya Pradesh. The present-day Kanha area is divided into two protected areas, Hallon and Banjar, of 250 and 300 km2 (97 and 116 sq mi), respectively. Kanha National Park was created on 1 June 1955 and was designated tiger reserve in 1973. Today, it encompasses an area of 940 km2 (360 sq mi) in the two districts Mandla and Balaghat. Together with a surrounding buffer zone of 1,067 km2 (412 sq mi) and the neighbouring 110 km2 (42 sq mi) Phen Sanctuary, it forms the Kanha Tiger Reserve, which is one of the biggest in the country. This makes it the largest national park in central India.
First tiger sighting at TadobaTiger tourism at Tadoba
The Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve is a wildlife sanctuary in Chandrapur district of Maharashtra state in India. It is Maharashtra’s oldest and largest national park. Created in 1955, the reserve includes the Tadoba National Park and the Andhari Wildlife Sanctuary. The reserve consists of 577.96 square kilometres (223.15 sq mi) of reserved forest and 32.51 square kilometres (12.55 sq mi) of protected forest. Legend holds that Taru was a village chief who was killed in a mythological encounter with a tiger. Taru was deified and a shrine dedicated to Taru now exists beneath a large tree on the banks of Tadoba Lake. The temple is frequented by adivasis, especially during a fair held annually in the Hindu month of Pausha (December–January).
After our first tiger sighting at Tadoba, we were confident about our path chosen to achieve fame and glory through ecotourism/wildlife photography.
But something was not quite right! What was that? To know read my newly published book Pseudo Ecotourism in the Shadow of the Bengal Tiger.
You can read the review of the book at Good Reads:
Based on 2022 NTCA tiger status report of India, tigers were photo-captured for the first time in Buxa Tiger Reserve, Neora Valley National Park, and Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary in West Bengal. Also, after quite a few years, a tiger was photo-captured in the Namdapha Tiger Reserve of Arunachal Pradesh. The report also mentions that Tiger reserves and protected areas in Arunachal Pradesh are connected through large, forested tracts and a number of reserve forests situated along the interstate border between Arunachal Pradesh and Assam.
This landscape is further connected to Intanki National Park in Nagaland and Dampa Tiger Reserves in Mizoram through some weak linkages of degraded forest. Several indigenous forest communities dependent on bush meat and forest resources for subsistence inhabit this landscape; hence, the prey base is almost depleted in many of the forests. In addition, due to its strategic location, several highways are planned in Arunachal Pradesh to provide faster access to international border areas.
Entry of Namdapha
Arunachal Pradesh gets three national highways: the Frontier Highway, the Trans-Arunachal Highway, and the East-West Industrial Corridor Highway, and six vertical and diagonal interstate highways of about 2178 km will be built. Fragmentation of habitat by this rapid infrastructure development will eventually destroy the weak linkages between the tiger habitats and might lead to the local extinction of tigers in this landscape. Substantial poaching for the illegal trade of tiger body parts and ungulates constantly threatens the tiger population in this landscape. Since the landscape shares porous international borders in many parts with neighbouring Southeast Asian countries, it is comparatively easy for poachers to operate in this landscape. In the recent past, the skin and body parts of two tigers were seized from Dibang Valley in Arunachal Pradesh and Itakhola on the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border. Direct exploitation of tigers from this already low abundant population, coupled with habitat fragmentation and biotic pressure, could eventually deplete the tiger population in this landscape. Other than rapid development causing habitat fragmentation and the poaching of wild tigers and prey, the invasion of weeds in the natural habitat is a severe threat to this landscape.
Forest of Namdapha
The institute responsible for tiger conservation in India itself recognizes these facts behind depleting tiger population in the Dibang-Kamlang-Namdapha block of tiger landscape in Arunachal Pradesh. The state has three tiger reserves namely Pakke, Kamlang, Namdapha tiger reserve and Dibang Wildlife Sanctuary. As per 2022 tiger status survey, only nine tigers were photo-captured in this state.
However, the status of Arunachal’s tiger population does not tell the real story of its phenomenal biodiversity resources. This state is an ecological wonder that remains largely unexplored. The tropical rain forest of the Namdapha National Park, one of India’s largest protected area, throbs with a dizzying array of flora and fauna, many of which are lesser known, hidden gems of the wild.
Devan camp of Namdapha
After completing our exploration in Dehing, on following day, on 14th December, at around 6:00 AM we started for Namdapha National Park and Tiger reserve, the main destination of our exploration. On the way we stopped at various village forests, ponds and water streams for bird watching. Some noteworthy sightings were – greater necklace laughingthrush and red headed trogon near exit gate of Dehing; Oriental pied hornbill feeding on banana and coconut tree in a village; pied falconet perching on a tree top and occasionally snooping for butterflies, just before the entry gate of Namdapha; and few black capped and white crowned forktails near a water stream within Namdapha. We reached at Devan Forest camp of Namdapha at around 4:00 PM. In this part of India, sun goes down by 4:00 PM and by 4:30 PM light was quite low. In the evening between 6:00 PM and 8:30 PM we did a nigh-walk within the tiger reserve to search for slow loris. We stayed in Devan camp for three nights and every night we searched for that nocturnal animal. But never succeed. Instead, every night we saw red giant flying squirrel feeding on tree bark within our campus.
Pied falconet
On 15th December at morning 6 o’clock we did a moderate hiking in the Haldi Bari area of the tiger reserve. From our forest camp it was three hours hike, which included crossing Nua Dehing river through a precariously constructed bamboo hanging bridge, climbing steep hillock, and walking through dense foliage. From the hoolock gibbon, the only ape species found in India, to the elusive snow Leopard and the majestic red panda, Namdapha is a living testament to the intricacies and wonders of evolution. The day was sunny, and the forest was resounded with iconic call of hoolock gibbons. This reserve is unique, not just for its lofty stature as the third largest of its kind in India but also due to the strikingly varied altitudinal range of its landscape. Ranging from 200 metres to an astounding 4,500 metres, it provides the tiger and numerous other species with an environment of unparalleled diversity.
Eye-browed wren babbler
Before we returned to our camp at 12:00 noon, quite a few rare birds we spotted and shot. Some of them were slaty bellied tesia, white tailed flycatcher, streaked wren-babbler, white throated bulbul, rufus backed sibia, long-tailed broadbill, Durian redstart, and eye-browed wren-babbler. Afternoon again we explored the road goes through buffer zone of Namdapha towards Vijaya Nagar, where India ends, and Myanmar starts. Oriental hobby, rufous-gorgeted flycatcher, dark breasted rose finch, little forktail were some notable sightings. Our day ended with much delight by sighting of Oriental Bay owl, which we were trying to spot from day one.
Oriental bay owl
Next day was all about full day walk on the road passing through tiger reserve towards India-Myanmar international border. We left our camp at 6:00 AM and returned at 5:00 PM. Between Deban camp and Kamala Valley camp we spotted and identified birds like white-bellied erpornis, snowy throated wren babbler, brown crowned scimitar babbler, greater rufous headed parrot bill, white hooded babbler, hill prinia, black throated sunbird, white-rumped munia, Nepal fulvetta, pale-billed parrot bill, white browed piculet, whistling warbler, grey headed canary flycatcher, black chinned yuhina, long-tailed sibia, and mountain imperial pigeon.
pale-billed parrot bill
As per Forest Department’s norm, one local forest guide named Assam Mussang was also with us for two days in Namdapha. He told us that tourists are allowed only in selected routes in buffer zone of this tiger reserve. Rest of the forest is not even suitable for walking. Leave aside the possibility of driving car or jeep. Therefore, ecotourism activity does not happen in most of the buffer and entire core zone of Namdapha. Only forest department staffs and researchers go there for study and installing camera traps. Even forest patrolling is limited in majority part of this forest due to difficult accessibility. That is why probably NTCA was also sounded helpless in their 2022 tiger status report while explaining depleting tiger and its prey base population in Arunachal Pradesh. Assam Mussang told us that Kodwai zone is part of buffer and core, where maximum number of tiger pugmarks and camera trap images were recorded. His comment was well resonated with NTCA’s 2022 status report of recording one tiger in Namdapha.
Red giant squirrel
The day was sunny and the snow-capped Dapha bum, the highest point of Namdapha was visible from our exploration track. Despite of depleting tiger population, Namdapha stood tall with array of its magnificent biodiversity. As one steps into an era marked by climate change and biodiversity loss, Namdapha shines as a beacon of hope, a sanctuary where life thrives in its countless forms. It stands as a testament to the resilience of nature when given the chance to flourish and the power of people when they become stewards of the land. At the end of the day when we came back to our camp, the resident red giant flying squirrel was found to be feeding on tree bark. That was how my last night in India’s last tiger reserve ended with a message, “to become a splendid ecotourism destination, raining of tiger sighting is not essential. The forest has much more to offer than the tigers.”
Snow-capped Dapha boom
We left Namdapha on 17th December, towards Miao, the border town between Arunachal and Assam. Our next destination on Maguri bill which was in news because of one of the recent environmental disasters of India.
Pseudo Ecotourism 