The presence of Gujjars in the Rajaji
National Park could be responsible
for the significant increase in elephant numbers in the past four years,
wildlife observers claim. According
to them, the Gujjars have minimised
poaching and regulated the monitoring of the elephant population in the
park. The number of elephants in
Rajaji has risen from 338 in 1989 to 552 in 1993.
The latest census, conducted by
park authorities and the Dehra Dun-based Wildlife Institute of India,
used the more authentic "visual"
count instead of the traditional
pug method, revealed Mohammad
Hassan, director and conservator of
the park. Significantly, Rajaji is one
of the few national parks in which
the forest dwellers have been
allowed to stay.
"The local people help to protect
wildlife and maintain the balance of
nature wherever they have not been
removed from forests and parks,"
maintains Avdhesh Kaushal, chairperson of the Rural Litigation and
Entitlement Kendra in Dehra Dun.
Kaushal points out that the people
ousted from Project Tiger
reserves such as the Betla Tiger Reserve in Bihar and
Kanha National Park in Madhya Pradesh have turned hostile towards the
resources to which they have been denied access,
leading to a dramatic decline in wildlife populations. In Rajaji, where the
forest people still live in
their traditional habitat, organised poaching is discouraged.
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