Once upon a time tigers roared in Bhitarkanika

KENDRAPADA/BHUBANESWAR: Many years ago, tigers' roars would often rip apart the unnerving silence of Bhitarkanika. If one was lucky, one could catch a fleeting glimpse of a big cat's black and gold flashing against the forest's verdant green.
The autobiography of Jonn Beames, who was the commissioner of Odisha in 1873, clearly suggests the presence of tigers in the country's second largest mangrove forest in Kendrapada district.
"From the top of the lighthouse about sunset one would look down into the dense jungle that spread for miles and frequently see tigers crawling across the open passage...," writes Beames in "Memoirs of a Bengal Civilian."
If one doubts the Britisher's account, a tiger trap, found from the palace of Kanika royal family and kept on display at the interpenetration center in Dangamal within Bhitarkanika National Park, can be regarded as a clinching evidence of the big cat's preence at the Ramsar site.
"The tiger trap proves that the mangrove forest was an abode of tigers and leopards during the Raj era. However, more research needs to be done to establish the exact period when tigers lived here," says Kedar Kumar Swain, divisional forest officer of the park.
Biswajit Mohanty, a wildlife campaigner, says tigers are believed to have stayed in the area till early part of 20th century. "The fear of tigers would keep villagers away from the interiors of the forest till as late as the 1960s, long after a big cat was last sighted. People would never venture out in the dark and tell stories about tigers told to them by their forefathers," he adds.
While the Sunderbans, the world's largest mangrove forest is still home to a large number of big cats, Bhitarkanika seems to have lost its big cat population owing to its smaller expanse and increased port activities, Mohanty says.
Lala Ajit Kumar Singh, a wildlife researcher, says in recent memory, there was no information about tigers in Bhitarkanika. Leopards, which were frequently spotted in the area, have also disappeared. But there is strong possibility that tigers once stayed here."
Former principal chief conservator of forests (Wildlife) Saroj Patnaik says leopards were sighted till the 1970s. "But I have not come across reports of tigers being sighted," he adds.
The existence of a century-old hunting tower in the core areas of Bhitarkanika testifies the fact that the Rajas of Rajkanika were passionate about hunting and presence of a strong prey base. Rajendra Narayan Bhanjadeo, the king of Rajkanika from 1924 to 1948, was a famous hunter. The history of Rajkanika is replete with accounts of his hunting expeditions.