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On the morning of January 9 this year, 56-year-old Bhuvanchand left his house in Uttarakhand’s Kyari village to collect fodder for his cattle from the forest. “He would usually return by 2 pm. But that day, there was no sign of him till late evening,” recalls Nirmala Belwal, Bhuvanchand’s wife. So Belwal and her son, Pawan, went to find Bhuvanchand. They saw grass soaked in blood just 3 km inside the forest. Bhuvanchand’s body lay a further 2 km away, mauled to death by a tiger.
This was the first tiger attack in 50 years seen in Kyari, located in the Ramnagar forest division on the fringes of the Jim Corbett Tiger Reserve. That same week, nearby villages Chhoi and Dhela reported similar attacks. Overall, between March 2024 and March 2025, the forest division saw 12 tiger attacks, a senior forest official tells Down To Earth (DTE) on condition of anonymity. “Sensing a tiger or an elephant nearby while collecting grass from the forest has never bothered us. But increasing ecotourism is changing the behaviour of animals adversely,” says Bhagwati Sati, a farmer from Kyari.
The Ramnagar forest division has five of the 15 ecotourism zones at the Jim Corbett National Park, promoting natural travel activities like wildlife adventure safaris, popularly through Gypsy cars. The Jim Corbett Tiger Reserve, a buffer zone around the core protected area of the park, has eight zones, and the Terai West forest division near Ramnagar has two. The zones are major sources of livelihood and income for communities in the region. As per the forest official, the national park annually generates Rs 2,000-3,000 crore. It is surrounded by some 400 resorts, 1,500 registered drivers and 560 nature guides, who earn Rs 135 crore and Rs 16 crore a year respectively. The revenue is supplemented by events at resorts.
In October 2024, the Terai West forest division put forth a proposal to open one more ecotourism zone, in the Chandani forest area. The an-nouncement concerned villages of Ramnagar, including Kyari, that are situated on the border of the proposed zone. “We were not consulted for this proposal. We learned about the plan to open the zone in November from media reports,” says Navin Upadhyay of Kyari, who runs a resort. Since February, he says, people have approached forest authorities to protest the proposal. It is perhaps the first time such opposition has been reported. “We have never opposed welcoming tourists. In fact, two ecotourism zones in the area, Mohaan and Bhandarpani, opened just last year with a gap of just a few months,” says Pankaj Sati, a guide from Kyari. The Kaladhungi Heritage zone, a 26-km adventure safari, also opened in February 2025.
Five residents, including Upadhyay, also filed a public interest petition with the High Court of Uttarakhand in early April. At a hearing on April 23, the court directed that the proposal be put on hold. It sought response from the forest department on the reasoning behind the proposed zone and its potential ramifications.
DTE’s attempts to speak with the Terai West divisional forest officer were not fruitful. However, the senior forest official explains, “Tourist zones are chalked out considering the carrying capacity of the forest area. Enough measures are taken to ensure wildlife populations are not disturbed and fixed routes are carved. For instance, the Chandani zone is spread over 10 sq km. Only a 25-km stretch would be dedicated for tourist safaris, with a road width of about 0.7 m (this is equal to an area of 0.017 sq km).” This means hardly 1 per cent of the area will be used for ecotourism. Only 30 safari vehicles will ply for about eight hours, the official adds.
Data suggests the rising human-animal conflict in Ramnagar may be due to high tiger density. As per the National Tiger Conservation Authority’s (NTCA’s) 2022 census, Ramnagar has some 67 tigers.
Forest officials estimate the number to be higher at around 80, or nearly 20 tigers per 100 sq km—against an average of eight tigers for such a geographic area in other parts of India. The division has the highest density of tigers outside a protected area across India, they say.
NTCA’s “Status of Tigers, co-predators and prey in India-2022” report notes that development projects and setup of resorts and private properties led to a “loss of connectivity” between the Corbett Tiger Reserve and Ramnagar, in terms of animal movement through corridors. It notes instances of tigers moving from Amangarh Tiger Reserve in Uttar Pradesh to Terai West and then to Ramnagar. This shift will lead to negative interactions, it says.
Apart from tigers, their prey are also venturing out of forests to feed on crops. “Nilgai, sambar, elephants and monkeys destroy about 40 per cent of standing crops,” says Soni Devi Bisht of Gebua village, near Kyari. More speeding vehicles will result in animals getting disoriented and coming to villages, she says.
The senior forest official says the incidences of human-animal conflict may be because of increased wildlife population, and due to humans expanding presence in the forest. “Tourism alone cannot be held responsible,” the official adds.
People also highlight that after the January attacks, the forest department restricted access to the forest. “Without access, how will we feed our cattle and cook food?” asks Uma Devi from Gebua. “People with poor income cannot afford to get and refill LPG cylinders offered by the government. Firewood is the only reliable resource,” she says.
Bhagwat Singh, a guide from Kotabag village, says even guides and drivers rely more on forest resources than tourism. “Tourists only visit during peak summer months and a few winter months. We make Rs 12,000-Rs 25,000 a month during peak tourist flow. If more wild animals feast on crops, we may be forced to leave the village,” he adds. “Ecotourism cannot be the only source of livelihood. We hope the judiciary helps us protect our forests and livelihood,” Upadhyay says.
This article was originally published in the June 1-15, 2025 print edition of Down To Earth