Who killed the Panna tigers: CBI probe sought

The complete disappearance of tigers from the Panna reserve continues to stoke controversy. Now the Madhya Pradesh forest minister himself says the big cats were poached and has asked for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe.

Panna Tiger Reserve, which was found to have around two dozen tigers after the census in January 2006, was left with no tigers by December 2008, according to wildlife experts.

'We have sent our request for a CBI probe into the disappearance of big cats from the reserve to the state government which will forward it to the centre,' Sartaj Singh told IANS.

'No arrests have been made till now even though it is clear that the tigers have been poached. The CBI could apprehend the guilty, some of whom are suspected to have inter-state links,' the minister added.

The minister said there are many aspects in the case that need to be closely looked into and the CBI would be an appropriate agency for the purpose.

The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) team sent to Panna in 2009 to look into the disappearance observed that there were no tigers in the reserve.

Later the state government ordered its own probe after it disagreed with the findings of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) set up by the union environment and forests ministry.

The central government team's report, submitted in June 2009, said the reserve lost most of its tigers to poachers and alleged that the forest officials did little despite adequate warnings.

But the state committee's report submitted in the last week of February said a skewed male-female ratio, territorial fights, revenge killings by villagers, unbridled tourism activities and poaching were among the reasons behind the fall in tiger population.

'There were many reasons for the tiger's disappearance and poaching didn't occur inside the park,' said former principal chief conservator of forests J.J. Dutta, a member of the state team.

A forest department official told IANS: 'One of the seven members of the state committee did not put his signature on the report as he disagreed with some of the findings.'

Unhappy with the report submitted by the state committee, Minister Singh now wants a CBI inquiry into the disappearance of tigers.

On whether such a request would not embarrass his own government, the minister said: 'No. Fingers have been pointed at the forest ministry and its officers in the past. I want to get the taint cleared once and for all.'

Earlier, the CBI had in 2005 probed the disappearance of tigers from Sariska Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan.

http://sify.com/news/who-killed-the-panna-tigers-cbi-probe-sought-news-national-kd5kOccheic.html

Tiger! Buxa earns its stripes

Alipurduar, March 30: Buxa can breathe a little easy: a Royal Bengal tiger — or something that resembles the magnificent beast — has been spotted in the reserve and captured on film too.

One tiger in a tiger reserve may not appear too much of a big deal to the uninitiated but it is a milestone moment for north Bengal’s Buxa, where no big cat has been spotted in the past 40 years.

Certainly not since 1983, when the reserve, 8km from Alipurduar town in Jalpaiguri district and contiguous to Bhutan, was formally inducted into Project Tiger, India’s flagship conservation programme.

All these years, all that Buxa Tiger Reserve had to justify its moniker was a few growls in the dead of the night — presumably a hungry cat making a kill — scat and an estimate that the area housed at least a dozen big cats.

The ignominy — imagine calling yourself a tiger reserve with no tiger to show — appears to have ended now, thanks to beat officer Manindra Sarkar who has come up with a grainy image of a golden creature.

Sarkar’s colleagues say he caught the tiger on camera when it turned around and made a royal walkout. Sarkar was on tiger census duty that started in early February.

“It’s indeed a happy day as for the first time in the history of the tiger reserve, we have been able to record direct evidence of tigers in Buxa. So far, our staff had to be satisfied with the pugmarks, scat and distant roars. But this is the first close encounter,” said S.B. Mondol, the chief wildlife warden, in Calcutta.

He added that the exact location from where the photograph was taken was not being disclosed for the safety of the animal.

According to the reserve’s deputy field director, Subhankar Sengupta, Sarkar had gone to investigate a bush in which he suspected an animal was lurking.

“When he approached the bush from behind, he saw the tiger, about five to six years old, come out,” Sengupta said. “The tiger began walking away and when it turned around once, Sarkar managed to take two snaps,” the official added. He said the foresters later collected plaster casts of the pugmarks.

Animesh Bose, the secretary of the Siliguri-based Himalayan Nature and Adventure Foundation, said: “We are happy. No one had been able to photograph a tiger even before it was declared a tiger reserve.”

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1100331/jsp/frontpage/story_12285410.jsp

Tigress strays into village, kills teenager

BHOPAL - A tigress strayed into a village located on the outskirts of the BandhavgarhNational Park in Madhya Pradesh and killed an 18-year-old girl Tuesday. It is hiding in a farm and all efforts to nab it have so far proved futile, an official said Wednesday.

“The park officials are trying to nab the tiger hiding in the farm, where it had killed the girl and a bullock,” the park’s Deputy Director K.S. Alawa told IANS.

Dwarika Prasad Tiwari’s daughter Anjana went to collect mahua, a forest produce, from her father’s farm in village Kuchwahi when the feline, which had earlier killed a bullock, attacked and killed her.

The villagers reached the place but the feline hid itself inside the farm. The park officials also reached the spot and cordoned off the area.

“Our efforts to capture the animal were futile as the big cat was still hiding inside the farm,” Alawa said, said adding that Rs.1 lakh as ex-gratia was released for the victim’s family as per government norms.

http://blog.taragana.com/science/2010/03/31/tigress-strays-into-village-kills-teenager-9597/

Nath writes to PM to clear environmental roadblock

After issues like finances and land acquisitions, now it is India dwindling tiger population that is posing a problem for Road Transport Minister Kamal Nath's road building programme.

Nath has sought the Prime Minister's intervention to get the environmental clearances so that he can achieve his target of building 20 km of roads every day by building right through the sanctuaries.

At least seven highway stretches pass through wildlife sanctuaries which are home to several endangered species as well as the most precious tiger. The road transport ministry wants these stretches upgraded to 4 and 6 lane highways which means destroying vast expanse of wildlife.

Most of these projects are stuck for over five years now. The environment ministry's version is to divert the highways and acquire land around the sanctuaries. But the huge costs and the entire problem of land acquisition are things that the Road transport ministry surely wants to steer clear from.

The Prime Minister's Office has asked the Cabinet Secretary to resolve the green clearance issue delaying road projects.

Nath had written to the Prime Minister on the issue. Five road projects are stuck due to delays in environmental clearances. Four of the highway projects are in Pench sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh. Two are in Hastinapur sanctuary in Uttar Pradesh. These stretches have to be upgraded to 4 and 6 lane national highways.

It is now a tussle between nature and infrastructure development and the ball is in the cabinet secretary's court. He has to do a balancing act between environment and development.

http://beta.profit.ndtv.com/news/show/nath-writes-to-pm-to-clear-environmental-roadblock-32825

Straying tigers worry for wildlife officials in Nagarhole

NEW DELHI: Two fully grown male big cats have been straying out of the Nagarhole Tiger Reserve in Karnataka for the last few days, keeping wildlife officials on their toe as they fear the animals might intrude into human habitats or be targeted by poachers.
"It is for the last one week that the duo are roaming in the fringes of the reserve and have killed a few cattle there as well. The two aged tigers seem to have been driven out by their counterparts in a territorial fight in the reserve," said B K Singh, Karnataka Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (PCCF).

The staff has been alerted which is keeping a close watch on their movement and making efforts to drive them back to the reserve, he said.

"We hope that they do not get into poachers' trap or enter into nearby villages as it can result into a serious man-animal conflict," he said referring to the recent death of the two tigers in Ranthambore in Rajasthan who were poisoned by angry villagers.
Two 17-month-old cubs were found dead early this month in Ranthambore, allegedly poisoned by villagers apparently upset over the killing of their livestock by the tigers.

Though straying of animals was a natural phenomenon, at times lack of enough space in their habitat due to over-population becomes the main reason for such action, he said.

"This is the second incident of straying of tigers this year, with the previous one being in February when a big cat was chased back to the sanctuary."

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Flora-Fauna/Straying-tigers-worry-for-wildlife-officials-in-Nagarhole/articleshow/5743954.cms