R S TEJUS:
The death of a tigress and her four cubs by poisoning in the Hoogyam Range of MM Hills Sanctuary is not merely a tragedy but a damning indictment of Karnataka’s Forest governance.
What happened in Gajnur beat, Meenyam section, should haunt policymakers for years to come. Although three persons – Madaraju, Nagaraj and his uncle Konappa have been arrested for poisoning the cow that was killed by the tigress (which had killed the grazing cow in Hoogyam range), the reasons for this heinous development need to be resolved first. But it won’t. Because in this state, wildlife only matters in slogans not in action.
A CRUCIAL BUT NEGLECTED LINK
MM Hills Sanctuary forms a vital ecological bridge between the BRT Tiger Reserve, Bandipur Tiger Reserve, and the forest ranges of Tamil Nadu. It is a living corridor for tigers, elephants, and numerous other species. And yet, this very sanctuary despite its ecological significance is being managed like an afterthought.
LACK OF RFO @ HOOGYAM
The Hoogyam range, where this massacre happened, doesn’t even have a Range Forest Officer (RFO). Let that sink in.
An entire range is being overseen by an overburdened Deputy RFO, functioning without institutional support or a structured hierarchy. In any other department, this would be considered gross negligence. In the forest department, it’s business as usual.
PROTOCOLS IGNORED, UNFILLED VACANCIES
When the tigress killed a cow, the site should have been immediately monitored by the forest watchers, guards, DRFO, and RFO. But that basic protocol was never followed. There was no patrol. No surveillance. No deterrence. Because there is no staff.
Vacancies from RFOs down to guards remain unfilled. Even where posts exist, foot patrolling has all but disappeared from the ground.
Worse, most of the forest watchers and guards deployed are not even from the region. Recruited from other parts of Karnataka with little or no exposure to tiger terrain, they are thrown into the heart of sensitive habitats without field-based ecological training or cultural familiarity. Meanwhile, local communities who know the terrain, wildlife behaviour, and conflict zones intimately are left out of the system.
NEED FOR LOCAL RECRUITMENT
Why is the government not training and employing these locals as forest watchers and community patrollers? Their inclusion would not only bridge the employment gap but also reduce the trust deficit and retaliatory incidents like this poisoning incident.
Where Are the Foot Soldiers?
The forest department today relies heavily on digital monitoring tools like Huli. While these platforms are well-intentioned, they have replaced actual patrolling, and not reinforced foot patrolling. Technology should be a tool and it cannot be a substitute for foot presence.
What’s missing is real leadership on the ground. Divisional Forest Officers (DCFs), Assistant Conservators (ACFs), and RFOs are rarely seen on foot. Instead, they prefer sitting in their offices or driving around in jeeps. That’s not leadership. That’s optics.
NEED FOR FOOT PATROLS
What forests need is daily foot patrols – both day and night by beat-level staff and led from the front by senior officers. Real intelligence is gathered on foot, listening to locals, spotting cattle trails, identifying traps, reading fresh pugmarks. None of that happens on a computer screen.
This isn’t theory. It’s experience. And it’s how legends like K M. Chinnappa brought Nagarhole back from the brink with relentless beat patrolling, fearless enforcement, and constant engagement with locals. We need 100 Chinnappas today. Instead, we don’t even have one.
KARNATAKA HAS MONEY FOR EVERYTHING EXCEPT PROTECTION
Here’s the painful irony. The forest department has no shortage of funds when it comes to:
* Digging unnecessary waterholes,
* Constructing roads inside pristine forests,
* Building check dams in eco-sensitive zones.
But when a tiger kills a farmer’s cattle or a wild elephant damages crops, there’s suddenly no money. No compensation. No quick response. No dialogue.
What do you think happens next? Resentment festers. Retaliation brews. A poisoned carcass appears. And five tigers are dead.
THE SILENCE OF THE GOVERNMENT
The most deafening sound in the aftermath of this tragedy is the silence from the corridors of power.
The government, which has no hesitation in doling out welfare guarantees worth thousands of crores, refuses to allocate basic funds for recruitment of watchers, their payments or compensation for conflict-hit communities.
There is no real effort to fill vacancies, to build inter-state cooperation with Tamil Nadu, or to strengthen ties between the forest and police departments. In a place like MM Hills which borders another state and hosts sensitive cattle-grazing flashpoints – inter-state coordination is not optional. It is essential.
Safeguarding a forest like MM Hills is no different from protecting the country’s borders. It needs trained personnel, ground intelligence, and a zero-compromise attitude from top to bottom.
WHAT WILL IT TAKE?
How many more tigers must die? How many more forests must be degraded before this state wakes up?
Until Karnataka recruits’ local people, tribal communities, restores beat patrolling, fills critical vacancies, reins in destructive development, and establishes constant dialogue with villagers, we’re not conserving forests. We’re just letting them die slowly.
The tiger state tag is bleeding. And this government is too busy watching from their office windows.