Tiger conservation doesn’t need eviction of tribals

For Bellaiah in Chikkayelchetty village, his 20 cows and 30 sheep are his life. Besides the milk from the animals, the cow dung that he sells to tea estates nearby is the main source of his income.

But the villager staying near Bandipur Tiger Reserve in Gundlupet taluk of Karnataka’s Chamarajanagar district is under constant threat from tigers.

In fact, he had lost about four cows to tiger attack four years back and was at a loss on what to do.

“The Mariamma Charitable Trust has been a great blessing for me. They came and helped me find the kill and gave me compensation. It made a big difference,” he said, according to the website of the trust.