13. Laokhowa and Burhachapori Wildlife Sanctuaries

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1 13. Laokhowa and Burhachapori Wildlife Sanctuaries Grassland sites that lost most of their flagship species such as rhino, wild water buffalo and tiger to human disturbance and poaching, where natural dispersal of these species are being facilitated through protection of the river islands that serve as animal corridors. The site has also recently received its first reintroduced rhinos. Photo: A map of the Laokhowa-Burhachapori Sanctuaries at the interpretation center at Burhachapori. Smarajit Ojah & Prasanta Bordoloi (Wildlife Photographer and Filmmaker), Laokhowa Burhachapori Wildlife Conservation Society 1

2 The Brahmaputra is one boundary of the Burhachapori. I have been coming to Burhachapori since At one time, when there were cattle carcasses, I used to see the rare king or red-headed vultures. Four years ago, we saw and photographed a flock of hundreds of vultures mostly Himalayan Griffon and Eurasian Griffon, and also White-backed and Slender-billed Vultures. When travelling on the Brahmaputra, we once saw white-bellied heron (Assamese: Kona musori), a very large and rare heron. The migratory birds come to the river islands. At one time when Burhachapori was disturbed, the Bengal Florican moved away to the river islands. We get quite a few reports of floricans from the chaporis, but now because of better conditions, they come to Burhachapori as well. Quite a few river dolphins are seen, especially on the channel of the Brahmaputra that flows through Burhachapori. There are otters that are breeding well. Among reptiles, the Brahmaputra is conducive habitat for turtles. Especially in the Burhachapori area, due to erosion large trees fall and these provide ideal spaces for turtles. There are several WPA Schedule 1 species such as the Spotted Pond Turtle, three species of Softshells the Ganges Softshell, Peacock Softshell and the Indian Flapshell and the Tricarinate turtle whose habitat is mainly the grassland. Tigers move through Burhachapori and the river islands. One part of the Brahmaputra is inside Burhachapori. Once in 2010, we received news that a tiger had attacked a buffalo near Burhachapori. At the kill site there was the carcass and blood, and the bundles of grasses that the grass-cutters had dropped and fled, but we could not find pugmarks because the sand had been disturbed. Nearby, though, we found tiger claw marks on a tree. Another time at Bilal Tapu, we heard of a tigress and two cubs at a cattle kill from the khuti people who had seen them. (When the Koliabhomora Bridgewas built, several islands changed form and people gave them various names). Laokhowa and Burhachapori have a common boundary and it was also connected to Kaziranga, with wild animals moving between the sites. This was the case until the Koliabhomora bridge separated the sites, due to heavy disturbance during the construction between In 1983 we also had a serious political disturbance 2

3 during which rhinos and other wildlife in Laokhowa-Burhachapori being killed or chased away. This resulted in Laokhowa-Burhachapori being neglected, although now things are looking up. The Brahmaputra wildlife corridor, however, is extremely necessary and if this route can be opened up between Kaziranga and Laokhowa-Burhachapori, with necessary security, then issues like inbreeding etc. can be avoided. Buhachapori has returned to a wonderful environment. From March-April, blue-tailed bee-eaters that usually nest on river banks, nest here on a small grassland on relatively high ground at Koroitoli. We realized that the bee-eaters avoid the erosion prone sand banks, and breed here instead. There are predators like hawk eagles, adjutant storks and mongoose, but they cannot easily come to the open field where the bee-eaters nest, the grassland is naturally sheltered. The bee-eaters have abundant food here with crickets, dragonflies and butterflies. If there is big flood, Koroitoli gets flooded, but by then usually the chicks have usually fledged. We have an organisation called the Laokhowa Burhachapori Wildlife Conservation Society. We started this Society in 2008 with the Nagaon Wildlife Division, and as volunteers our first work was to document and understand these sanctuaries. We found that there may not have been the attention-grabbing large mammals like Kaziranga or Pobitora, but there were many small and interesting ecological events happening. LBWCS is a good example where common citizens and a government department have collaborated for the conservation of a site. There is much to be done here. Laokhowa (70 sq.km) and Burhachapori (44 sq.km) are contiguous habitats, and Burhachapori, being a river island, is a very important area. It is mid-way between Orang and Kaziranga. We realized that we needed to look at it at the landscape level, as a Laokhowa-Burhachapori Landscape Complex, not just as a 114 sq.km site. We did not have much support neither from higher-ups in the department, nor from common people nor from the media. Under the circumstances, we worked as volunteers for documentation. We got some cameras, practised some field techniques. With this simple beginning, we have now have photographically documented more than 240 bird species. We have camera-trapped evidence of tigers coming from Orang and 3

4 Kaziranga. In 2009, November 19 we heard of a tiger at Koliabhomora bridge. We went and checked pugmarks. On November 21 st, we heard that at Mikirbheta village at Morigaon a tiger had killed cattle. We reached there and saw the carcass. WWF arrived and Nowgong Wildlife Division provided compensation to the owner. On the night of November 23 rd, further west, to the south of Orang, a tiger killed a woman when she came upon it in a paddy field. Some 30 40,000 people collected at the scene, and in a classic case of human-wildlife conflict, the tiger killed 4 people before it was eventually shot dead. We later found out that the tiger had come from Kaziranga through the river corridor. This incident in 2009 was a turning point we decided that we must document the Brahmaputra river corridor was important. That was when we the LBWCS Research Cell - collaborated with the Nowgong Wildlife Division and found out that the river islands function both as prime habitat and crucial corridor. On every island, there is rich presence of avifauna including Bengal Florican. We were not subject experts then, but we realized the importance later. Even Dr Asad Rahmani of the Bombay Natural History Society hadn t known that these river islands are the non-breeding winter habitat for the floricans. With the understanding of this importance, with Nowgong Wildilfe Division, we submitted a proposal for including the Brahmaputra riverine area as the first extension of Burhachapori WLS that is now at the approval stage. When this gets approved, then this stretch of 195 km² from Singri Hills in the west to the Koliabhomora Bridge will connect the entire river section from Singri Hills, Dhekiajuli to beyond Kaziranga at Jorhat. We believe that this entire section Orang, Laokhowa, Burhachapori and Kaziranga connected by the Brahmaputra - must be treated as one landscape and protected as such. A piecemeal protection approach will not work. There are many limitations on research work on the river islands in terms of logistics and funding, but once protected, future research work can be taken up and we will learn much more about the wildlife on the river islands. There are many illegalities and settlements happening now, and the beautiful Imperata cyclindrica (Ulu kher) grasslands will disappear. 4

5 There used to be rhinos in Laokhowa-Burhachapori until 1983, when, during the time of the Assam Agitation, rhinos were killed within days and they were wiped out. Now under the Indian Rhino Vision 2020 a program of the Assam Forest Department, WWF and the US-Fish & Wildlife Service we welcome the plan to reintroduce rhinos to Laokhowa and Burhachapori. Mohammad Idris Ali, Age: 50 yrs. Boatman, Burhachapori WLS The Burhachapori WSL area starts from the Kolibhomora bridge. When rhinos and elephants come from Kaziranga, they come into the villages here and we have to chase them. The river island here Puhodra Tapu has deer and at Jahaj Tapu ahead there are deer, pig, buffalo and sometimes the elephants come occasionally during the rains. There are settlements dotting the river islands. This makes it somewhat difficult for the animals, but they move to Orang National Park via these islands, for example, Jahaj Tapu, Jahajghat and Lankeshwar. There are wild animals on all the islands. During the floods, Jahaj Tapu is relatively high ground and this is mainly where the animals take shelter. Now is the time for the turtles to lay eggs. They emerge from the water, dig nests in the sand where they lay eggs and cover it again with sand. I have seen turtles up to 4-5 kgs in weight. They climb out on tree stumps and we can see their tracks on the sand. We protect them, along with all the other animals. In the island area, we look out for dolphins. At this time when the mouth of the channel is sandy, the dolphins are not able to come in, but when the water levels rise, we see them in this channel. There is a good population of fish and we do not permit fishing. We have come face to face with wild 5

6 buffalo and elephants, while we are on duty on our boats. We remain on patrol duty regularly whenever the animals are on the islands until they move into the jungles on the banks. We stay on duty for the birds too in the island territories, so that they are not hunted. Sciences, Guwahati. Shabana Hussain, M.A. Student, Tata Institute of Social Burhachapori WLS I am here for dissertation field work. My study is on Livelihood challenges of fringe villages in Buhachapori-Laokhowa WLS. Studying the socio-economic aspect, peoples view is that the land belonged to the villagers, but due to new encroachments they gave the land to the forest department so the forest may be protected. When the area became WLS in 1995, their grazing and entry rights stopped. They faced some challenges due to that, but overall the people are very positive. They want the forest and sanctuary to be saved. They mention that there used to be rhinos and they disappeared, and are happy that rhinos will be reintroduced. However, their economic aspect has been hampered. In my survey, they are looking to the government to support them in small ways; for example with LPG cooking gas connections or perhaps milch cows, then they would no longer need to go into the sanctuary to collect firewood. 6

7 Premprasad Adhikari, Gaonbura, Dhaniya Village Burhachapori WLS We were traditionally graziers living with our cattle in this area. I think we have been here about years, the lower primary school was established in In 1967, Burhachapori became a professional grazing reserve and we paid taxes to the government for grazing rights at Re. 1 for a cow, and Rs. 3 per buffalo. Then in 1967, suddenly encroachments began from the Nowgaon side. First it was the Biharis and later in the 1970s, the Bangladeshis came in and encroached the entire reserve. As graziers, we needed the forest and place for cattle camps. Our villagers got together for a meeting and informed the Deputy Commissioner about the encroachment. Our President was Narbahadur Subedi. With the DFO Bedananda Sharma and with the help of a battalion and villagers in 1970, we helped remove the encroachments. In 1971, many Bengalis encroached again, in the area near the present Inspection Bungalow. At that time some people from our village committed murders there and stayed in the reserve. Dil Bahadur Karki and Kul Bahadur Karki were jailed for these incidents. There used to be rhinos, tiger, deer, Bengal Floricans and good forest when we were grazing in the reserve. If a rhino died then, it was of old age. Seeing that we couldn t keep the site safe anymore from the encroachers, we gave an application to the government in Shillong, the then capital. The government sent surveyors and about 4600 ha of revenue land was given to forest. Dhaniya village has about 1200 bighas revenue land. Our old village shifted here for the reserve, with the idea that we would be on one side and the forest would remain on one side, the goal was to preserve the forest and protect the animals here. That is what our forefathers wanted and that is what we want. The 7

8 rhinos used to come out from Orang and on their way to Kaziranga, use the river islands. But once the river islands were encroached and settled, our livelihood as cattle graziers also stopped. On this side, our grazing reserve became a wildlife sanctuary, and our cattle were no longer permitted inside. Before the WLS was declared, the Forest Department had given us alternative land for grazing, and asked us to leave grazing in the soon-to-be sanctuary area. We did not agree to move, then we heard that our village was also going to be taken for the WLS so I filed a high court case. Then we got our village secured as revenue land. The tapu we had been allotted for grazing was encroached by others and we said there would be conflict with the encroachers if we went there, so we did not want it and that they should remove the encroachment. That has not happened to this day. I suggest to conservationists that they should secure the islands as wildlife corridor, that way some of our cattle camps can also exist. I don t know when it will happen. Regarding wildlife, we made this reserve and we want wildlife to be safe and welcome the reintroduction of rhinos to Burhachapori and Laokhowa. Before, when rhinos used to fight in Laokhowa, the loser would escape here through our courtyard. One morning when I went looking for my cattle, I came upon a rhino resting below a simul tree after feeding on the fallen simul flowers. I landed in front of its face and got so nervous I fell down. My companion came running back to the village to announce that the gaonbura has been killed by a rhino. Meanwhile, the rhino just kept looking at me. I came to my senses and reached up with one hand for a branch of the tree, at which the rhino charged me. I climbed higher, shivering in fear. It didn t kill me, just put me up the tree. We respect the rhino and welcome it and there has to be strict protection for it here. If there is corruption, it has to be taken care of. If they say we have to stop grazing, we will we can stop our cattle, we have done it, but the government should also help us with alternatives and facilities. 8