Summer 2014, I traveled to India to do fieldwork in the Buffer Zone around Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra India. During that time, I spent two weeks shadowing Forest Rangers and accompanied them on all daily activities, including tracking tigers on foot, taking GPS data of any tiger activity, sightings, and responding to human-tiger conflict incidents. I was able to have this incredible experience and access by an invitation to accompany two photographers working on a story for the wildlife magazine, Sanctuary Asia. You can read about our journey learning about the guards' dedication as the first line of defense for Tadoba's tigers (inside and outside the PA) and see one of my photos published in the October 2014 Cover Story 'On Their Shoulders: In Praise of Forest Guards, the Foundation for Wildlife Protection in India'. This trip offered an invaluable opportunity to do data collection and interviews with stakeholders in the region. It is the Rangers' responsibility to collect evidence when a person or livestock is killed/injured by a tiger or leopard, and once at the scene she and the Rangers would collect interviews from family members and witnesses. They then tracked the animal in hopes of learning its whereabouts. If the animal was not located on foot patrols, camera traps were also set to document which animal was responsible, establishing a pattern to determine if the animal is becoming a man-eater or serial cattle-killer and needs to be removed from the area.
It was a privilege and a lot of fun to talk with DiscoverConservation.org about my work last summer (2014) in the Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve Buffer and surrounding landscape. See the full article here: Human-Tiger Conflict The most fun part may have been thinking of advice I'd give to others wanting to work in the same type of landscapes or on similar issues:
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