Unabashed Cruelty on some wildlife of Barak valley, Assam, India: a report

Forests are the important cradle of terrestrial ecosystems where wildlife survives. Anthropogenic activities are now a serious threat to the forest areas as well as wildlife worldwide. Various anthropogenic activities such as killing of wildlife for flesh, skin, horn and other body components, amongst others are causing widespread loss of them and hence has been a serious concern for conservationists. The Barak-Valley of Assam is represented by three districts viz. Cachar, Hailakandi and Karimganj. The area includes a total of 16 Reserve Forests, out of which two lies in Hailakandi, seven each in Karimganj and Cachar respectively. Among these Reserve forest, the Inner-line Reserve Forest is the largest that covers almost 418.56 km². This reserve forest came into existence in 1876–77 through a gadget notification of the colonial government of Assam. Local communities/frindge village mass for their livelihood practices are dependent on the forest resource and thus are the major conservation threat in Inner-line Reserve Forest. Some of them are known for their active involvement in hunting for ornamental, medicinal, edible and commercial purposes. This paper highlights some of the incident of human-Wildlife conflict and anthropogenic threats in the Inner-line Reserve Forest, Assam.