This Arunachal Tribe Considers Tiger As Elder Brother & Helps Protect The Species At Pakke Tiger Reserve
Settled across eight districts of Arunachal Pradesh as well as a couple of districts in Assam and practising shifting cultivation, the Nyishi tribe do not seem to be any different from the numerous other tribes across Northeast India.?
But upon looking closely, one can see what sets them apart - the tribe has played a significant role in protecting the stripped cat species at the Pakke Tiger Reserve.?
Treating the tiger as an 'elder brother'?
The Nyishi tribe, which occupies the fringe villages surrounding the Pakke Tiger Reserve, identify with the stripped cat - the tiger.?
In fact, they consider the tiger as an elder brother and do not allow any harm to this feline species.?
Apart from the emotional connection, there is a cost factor too. When a tiger dies, the villagers perform a shradh ritual. This has a cost attached to it, which acts as a deterrent to killing of the animal.?
The Nyishi tribespeople are also involved in tiger protection at the Pakke Reserve in a more institutional manner. The Ghora Aabhe Society, a group of 12 village heads of the fringe villages and the women self-help groups (SHGs), provides information for effective wildlife protection and enforces the customary laws related to prevention of hunting and logging.?
Thus, the tiger in the Pakke Tiger Reserve is protected both by conservation laws and by the culture of the Nyishi tribe, which considers the tiger to be a part of their family.?
Bears, Hornbill & other species also conserved?
Pakke Tiger Reserve, also known as Pakhui Tiger Reserve, is located in Pakke Kessang district of Arunachal Pradesh and is home to a wide range of plants and animals due to its wide altitudinal variation - from 150m to 2000m above sea level.?
It was formerly a part of the Khellong Forest Division and was declared a game sanctuary in 1977. The sanctuary was later declared a tiger reserve in 2002.?
Besides the tiger, it is also home to the four hornbill species and the endangered white-winged wood duck.?
In 2016, the Pakke TR won the India Biodiversity Award in the category Conservation of Threatened Species for its Hornbill Nest Adoption Programme.?
The reserve also has a Centre for Bear Rescue and Rehabilitation run by WTI in partnership with the Forest department of Arunachal Pradesh.?
The centre has been annually rehabilitating orphaned Asiatic black bear cubs in the reserve.?
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