“Madam, see that mountain langoor (black-faced monkey) to your right. A langoor’s body language will tell you if a tiger is around,” Satish Mane, 25, a guide at the Tadoba forest, said.
There are 30 guides at the three gates of the Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve — Kuthvanda, Mohori and Kolsa gates. Rules make it mandatory that a vehicle entering the reserve forest has to hire a local guide, and he has to be paid Rs100 per trip. “Some tourists, especially foreigners, give us tips too,” Sachin Lahane, another guide, said.
Guide Rajesh Panna is quite vocal about protecting the tigers in the reserve. He says it is a good effort on the part of the government to promote eco-tourism, but it needs to be done in a controlled manner.
“Tiger spotting has always been a craze because of the media hype. But the influx of tourists disturb the rhythm of the tigers,” Panna said.
He got emotional talking about tigers. “Four years ago, a tigress attacked my mother at a farm, and dragged her away. We found her badly mauled body a kilometre away from the spot where she was attacked,” Panna said, his voice shaking.
But he holds no grudge against the beast. “I don’t blame the tigress. She was hungry, and found my mother within her reach. People like us living in the forest have to live with this danger. Yet I think we should all do our bit to save tigers which are fast becoming extinct,” Panna said.
Most of these young men have barely managed to study beyond board exams for want of resources. The state government, as part of its eco-tourism policy, hired them to tap local talent and knowledge. The guides know English, and local names of the animals, birds and reptiles.
“Eco-tourism aims to tap local resources. So, we hired these locals, and groomed them into guides with the help of experts,” Sanjay Thakre, field director and conservator of forest, said. “We want to train these guides further and grade them according to their knowledge and ability. There has to be some incentive for them to excel. However, some guides, who has been here for long, and want their monopoly to continue, are opposing the idea.”
