Strange weather in Bandhavgarh

Since the end of March, we have seen some very unusual weather in Bandhavgarh. Normally it would be the height of the drought season and see the onset of the picking season for Mahua flowers and tendu leaves, and the onset of the forest fires which threaten habitat destruction each year. This year, a period of heavy rain at the end of March cut short the mahua picking season and reduced the number of early season forest fires.

Initially, this seems like a good thing because the forest has new life as shoots and saplings start to come through, plus habitat loss is curbed due to fewer fires. More green foliage and wetter surfaces are definitely a plus for forest regeneration. Encroachment into the forest also reduced as the mahua picking season came and went in a flash. The long term consequences of a short mahua picking season are yet to be felt as the mahua pickers will need to find another income source to survive.?This worries us because poaching or giving sensitive information to poachers may become the preferred income source?for these poor rural villagers who desperately need money to feed their families.

The strange weather continued in April with a week’s sustained downpours towards the end of the month. By this time, snakes were becoming more active and consequently snake bites more frequent. Temperatures also fell dramatically to just 22°C (72°F) instead of the 40°C (104°F) usually seen in April. The heavy rains made conditions underfoot much more treacherous for both foot patrolling and the patrolling vehicle, plus increased the need for waterproof clothing and boots before the monsoon. Wet conditions also wash away footprints which makes tracking poaching activities more difficult. Whilst thunderstorms sometimes bring down power lines?which makes it easier for poachers to use tethered snares and disguise the power outage?as weather related. These are just a few of the reasons why increased patrolling is absolutely essential during the rainy season.

You can donate to provide uniforms and other wet-weather essentials for our brave tiger protectors here: https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/protecting-tiger-protectors/

The unseasonal wet weather continued in May as well, with thunderstorms featuring heavily in the third and fourth weeks. One of the benefits of this heavy rainfall in the early warm season was new growth with bamboo turning from black to green and providing much needed food for deer and elephants too. Nonetheless the continued rainfall caused problems for our anti-poaching patrols as conditions for the patrolling vehicle and under foot became treacherous again.

Our anti-poaching patrols were ready to introduce a new training programme for mahua pickers, which involved a safer way to collect the mahua flowers without the need of fires to burn leaf litter or the risk of being killed by tigers if mistaken for a crouching deer. The training involved on site demonstrations with mahua pickers in the forest. Unfortunately, the early raise reduced the opportunities for this training, ending the picking season weeks ahead of schedule. To work effectively, the training needs to be delivered to maximum numbers and embraced by all as a new way of working. We will need to revisit this next year.