Killer tracks in tiger reserve Animals fall prey to speeding trains, blame game on A.S.R.P. MUKESH

Trains are meant to observe speed restrictions between Hehegara and Chipadohor in Betla within Palamau Tiger Reserve. File picture
Ranchi, July 26: Around 70 Up and Down trains, often flouting regulation speed limits, use an 8-km railway track that cuts through Palamau Tiger Reserve in the Chipadohor area of Betla forest, proving to be a menace for the animal population.

A three-year-old elephant calf was fatally hit by a goods train speeding at 60kmph on July 22 night. However, the carcass on tracks has simply sparked a war of words between the state forest department and Dhanbad railway division.

Officials at the reserve blame the railways for not sticking to an agreed upon speed limit. But, the railways claim they always do, also clarifying that the death of the calf occurred in an area that was beyond the zone with speed curbs.

At a joint meeting in 2004-05, a mutual agreement was drafted between the forest department and railways. Trains were supposed to run within the speed limit of 20kmph, blow horns and keep high mast lights on. Labourers were supposed to be employed to uproot bushes regularly for visibility and sprinkle lubricants on tracks to ward off animals.

However, the forest department officials claim nothing of the sort happened.

According to PTR director S.E.H. Kazmi, senior railway officials pass the buck, claiming manpower crunch, but do nothing to sensitise employees who man the trains. “No one seems to be aware of any rule. Fortunately, no tiger has been mowed down yet,” he said.

He agreed the track was a threat to ecological sanctity, but said nothing could be done as the rail link existed much before the reserve came into being in 1973. “Diverting it practically is not possible. It’s one of the two routes connecting Delhi and Ranchi,” he said.

However, divisional railway manager (Dhanbad division) Anand Sagar Upadhyay denied rules were violated. There’s an 8km stretch between Chipadohor and Hehegara, but speed restrictions are applicable on 2km. Of the stretch, 1km is a caution zone where a speed limit of 20-25kmph is to be maintained, while the other is a lookout zone, where the driver has to be alert, but not maintain speed limit. The incident took place beyond the restricted 2km and we aren’t at fault,” he said.

He added that they had written to the forest department last year, asking for a review on speed limits. “They (the department) said things are fine,” Upadhyay said, adding according to their records, animal deaths due to trains took place in 1981-82 and 2003-04.

“Our record shows we are enforcing better speeds,” he said, but then went on to add a technical nitty-gritty. “The goods train had a high capacity engine, which meant it could have clocked speed in no time. In this case, even if the driver intended to stop the train, he couldn’t have done so immediately,” he said.

Which means even emergency brakes wouldn’t have saved the animal.

However, even if no one wants to own up responsibility, the death of the elephant is prompting a reaction. Casualties of small animals such as goats, deer, hares, among others, are frequently not recorded as villagers collect the carcass. In the case of larger animals, too, forest department officials plead helplessness, saying they don’t have enough manpower or patrolling jeeps.

But the reason that no one admits is that if all accidents were recorded, it would make both the forest department and the railways cut a sorry figure.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1110727/jsp/frontpage/story_14293974.jsp

Sundarbans have only 90 tigers

KOLKATA: It is neither 274, nor 64, the exact number of tigers in the Sundarbans is 90. Recently, the Wild Life Institute of India (WLII) has informed this to the state forest department, said state's chief wild life warden Sitanshu Bikash Mondal.

Earlier, the WLII set the figure at 64, while the state forest departments used to claim that there were 274 tigers in the Sundarbans and the tiger population was ever increasing.

Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) earlier carried out study to refute the claim of the state forest department. The ISI study revealed that the number of Royal Bengal tigers in Sundarbans would be some where closed to 70. However, the forest department questioned the veracity of this study.
According to WLII, there are 1627 tigers in India. Unlike rest of the forests in India, it is really difficult to carry out tiger census in Sundarbans. The entire area is strewn with pneumatophores or breathing roots of mangrove trees. Routinely, each island gets completely inundated. So it is next to impossible to physically access every part of the Sundarbans.

So, WLII and the forest department jointly put camera traps, put radio-collars around some tiger's neck and of course analyse the tiger scat to identify the DNA of the tiger. The tiger scat were collected periodically by the forest guards.

The number of tiger in Sundarbans is difficult to ascertain. More than half of Sundarbans is in our neighbouring country Bangladesh and tiger never follow the political boundaries created by human beings. So tigers often move around a wider area across the Sundarbans. Unless it is a joint Indo-Bangla tiger census, the tiger-population in Sundarbans is difficult to as-certain, said a senior forest officer.

The Indo-Bangla joint initiative was first taken up by the then union forest minister Jairam Ramesh. Ramesh made it a point by inviting the Bangladesh forest minister in Kolkata to take the initiative forward. Now it is up to new forest and environment minister Jayanti Natarajan to take the is-sue forward farther.

According to the forest department, there are 185 rhinoceros. But the gender ratio is quite skewed. To strike a balance, 20 male rhinoceros of North Bengal will be exchanged with 20 female rhinos of Kaziranga national park, Assam shortly.

Mhadei tiger reserve pro-people: NBW member

PANAJI: National Board for Wildlife (NBW) member and conservationist, Prerna Singh Bindra, has thrown her weight behind the proposal to declare Mhadei wildlife sanctuary as a tiger reserve, stating that it will help secure the entire regions water resources.

In a letter to chief minister Digambar Kamat, sent on Friday, Bindra urged him to consider the merit of the proposal as suggested by former union minister for environment and forests Jairam Ramesh.

"Mhadei is the catchment area of important rivers like Mhadei, Malaprabha, Pandhari, Bailnadi, Tillari, and making it a tiger reserve will help consolidate the habitat and address the water security issues of Goa for posterity," said Bindra.

She added that declaring Goa a tiger state would be a matter of prestige during Goa's golden jubilee year of liberation. Doubts being raised in some quarters that the move is anti-people were unfounded, she stressed.

"I am sure as a leader of Goa, you will have the vision to see the benefits of declaring Mhadei as a tiger reserve, and will commit to save the tiger, as has been done by the UPA leader, Sonia Gandhi, and the honourable PM," Bindra stated.

Given the importance and uniqueness of Goa's tiger forests, she suggested that expanding the reserve beyond Mhadei may also be considered.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/environment/flora-fauna/mhadei-tiger-reserve-pro-people-nbw-member/articleshow/9329756.cms

NTCA's 10-member panel to save tiger corridors, habitat Vijay Pinjarkar

NAGPUR: To check intensive landuse practices like mining, construction of road and railway lines affecting the tiger habitat and corridors, the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has set up a 10-member committee of experts.

NTCA is a statutory body under the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) monitoring tiger reserves in the country. The committee will do appraisal of impact of mining, road and rail construction on tiger conservation. The panel of well-known experts from all fields will draw upon the best practices in other countries in this context, while suggesting ecological compatible synergy between conservation and development.

The 10-member panel consists of MK Ranjit Sinh, member, National Board for Wildlife Life (NBWL), Asha Rajwanshi and Qamar Qureshi, both scientists, Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun, VK Sharma, chief general manager (CGM), NHAI, New Delhi, M Firoz Ahmed, member of NTCA, T Chandni, director (IA), MoEF, HK Chowdhury, AIG (FC), MoEF, one nominee each of the ministry of railways (MoR) and Coal India Limited (CIL), and SP Yadav, deputy inspector general (DIG), NTCA. Yadav will be the member-convener.

Yadav said the terms of reference (ToR) of the committee will include country-level appraisal of the extent of tiger habitat, corridors and other crucial areas for conservation, based on the 2010 all India tiger estimation. The CIL and MoR have been requested to depute their one representative on the panel.

The committee will also appraise ongoing demand for diversion of habitat areas towards infrastructure projects in tiger range states. It will also appraise global best practices adopted to safeguard conservation vis-à-vis intensive land use.

The committee will also make general recommendations for harmonising such land uses vis-à-vis tiger conservation in the Indian context. The panel will submit its report within a period of six months, Yadav added.

MK Ranjit Sinh, chairman of Wildlife Trust of India (WTI), confirmed to TOI about his inclusion in the NTCA committee but said as he had just returned from Rajasthan and will have to check the mandate.

The committee has a key role to play while deciding on various ongoing projects threatening tiger corridors in the region. The prime among them includes the four-laning of NH6 by NHAI between Lakhni and Deori. The road widening cuts the tiger corridor between Navegaon National Park and Nagzira wildlife sanctuary, proposed to be declared as tiger reserve.

Another issue is the stalled four-laning of NH7 from Mansar to Rukhad which threatens both Pench tiger reserves. The four-laning will also rip through some compartments of the newly declared Mansingdeo sanctuary. Besides, there are several mining projects around Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR), which pose threat to the reserve.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/NTCAs-10-member-panel-to-save-tiger-corridors-habitat/articleshow/9314209.cms

Private space in the wild is no mild worry Jayashree Nandi, TNN

BANGALORE: Many tiger reserves have vast stretches of revenue land in the core area which are owned by private parties. These are patches of land that were leased out or sold pre-Independence. The new conflict facing the government is: how it can protect wild zones which have private properties thriving within them. One such reserve is Biligere Ranga Temple (BRT) sanctuary in Karnataka that has been recently proposed to be declared a tiger reserve.

These revenue enclosures are owned by and leased to major industrialists as per documents with the district commissioner's office. Secretary, revenue department, K S Prabhakar confirmed: "There are a number of revenue enclosures inside BRT and companies like the Birlas and TVS group own some of them. But I am not sure if any changes would be made to these leases."

Principal chief conservator of forests (PCCF) B K Singh also told TOI: "We are aware that there is a revenue enclosure of 400 to 500 acres. The leases are very old. They are growing coffee there. As far as I know four out of five leases have a long time to expire. I am not sure what has to be done about this patch of land. Either the land has to be relocated or acquired by the government."

Even though coffee may be called by many as a non-polluting industry locals raised concerns about pesticide usage and movement of labourers inside the reserve. "When tribals are living inside the forest, officials raise so many questions that we are interfering with the wild but the industrialists own so much land here in the core area. Isn't that going to interfere with the wild? There have been no relocations of tribals so far. We are hoping that BRT will really be the first sanctuary to have Soligas inside. We will continue our conservation work here. We worship our tigers and elephants and will continue sustainable harvesting of honey, lichen, soap nuts and others," said a leader of the soliga tribe from Chamrajanagar district, Madegowda C.

The forest department is clueless whether this huge revenue enclosure can be acquired by the government and handed over to the wild.

The land that is known to be home to Soliga tribals earlier made headlines when tribals did not agree to move out of the core area. Union environment minister Jairam Ramesh had recently announced that BRT could be the first example that would see co-existence of tribals and tigers, since evicting soligas from their homeland could be disastrous.

The forest department seems to have no answers on how such cases would be handled. The Kudremukh national park, also a proposed tiger reserve has a huge chunk of land owned by Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Limited (KIOCL). The forest department is well aware of this contradiction in land ownership in the forest area but as there has been no directive from the government and the ministry of environments and forests, no action has been initiated with regard to getting back the land from the company.

The land owned by these private companies were leased to them decades ago and it was later that some areas of that land was declared tiger reserve area. In such an area, no activity is supposed to be undertaken including running estates even if that involves minimal human activity. But forest and revenue officials are clueless about the future of the status of the land as leases of some of the patches run into decades.

KIOCL's eco project


KIOCL Ltd recently sent a detailed project report (DPR) to Jungle Lodges and Resort for the eco-tourism project, KIOCL Ltd CMD K Ranganath said. The project will come in 162 hectares of revenue land lease area and not in Kudremukh National Park (KNP) area. "Our project will not be in any conflict with tiger conservation project that the Union ministry of environment and forest wants to start in KNP, and will be in consonance with laws of the land," he said. "The eco-tourism project mooted by us will see the use of electric carts, tap solar and wind energy and also have a no-plastic zone," Ranganath explained. Besides, the use of biodegradable materials including for floor mats will make the project truly 'green'. The other major spin off would be the employment generation for the locals and full utilisation of assets created in Kudremukh township that has been set up using taxpayers' money, he added.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bangalore/Private-space-in-the-wild-is-no-mild-worry/articleshow/9319418.cms

Tiger skins seized in Haryana, 5 held

Five tiger skins, worth Rs 1.5.crore, were seized from five wildlfe smugglers arrested in this Haryana town, an official said on Wednesday. Working on a tip-off, police laid a trap near the Panipat bus-stand late Tuesday and arrested the five, busting the gang. "We intercepted a


car, which was coming from Delhi side, Tuesday night and made the recovery of tiger skins. One skin is of an adult tiger while four are of cubs. We have also arrested five occupants of the car," Additional superintendent of Police Pankaj Nain said.
He said that the five revealed that the skins were from from a Delhi-based smuggler Sudarshan alias Bittu and were supposed to be handed to another smuggler in Haryana.

"This gang was active in this region for the last many months. Their interrogation is on and we expect more arrests in the coming days," Nain said.

The arrested men were identified as Irfan, Pawan (both residents of Delhi), Ashok Kumar, Sunil Gupta and Ram Narayan (from different parts of Haryana).

http://www.hindustantimes.com/Tiger-skins-seized-in-Haryana-5-held/Article1-723383.aspx

Tiger Task Force suggestions still hanging fire: Ecologist

Panaji, Jul 19 (PTI) The recommendations given by the Tiger Task Force are still awaiting implementation by the Centre, a senior member of the panel said today. "The Task Force, among other things, had recommended that the management of Tiger Reserves should be made much more participatory and people-friendly," Madhav Gadgil said here. "But the recommendations of Tiger Task Force are not at all being implemented," said Gadgil, who now heads Ministry of Environment nd Forests' (MoEF) panel on Western Ghats. The Task Force was formed by the Centre in 2005 to suggest ways to increase the number of tigers and improve their natural habitat. "I am not happy with the rigid regulatory approach of the Forest Department," said the noted environmentalist. Gadgil was talking to reporters on the sidelines of a youth convention on environment and development. MoEF has asked the Goa Government to send a proposal on declaring Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary as a Tiger Reserve. In this regard, Gadgil said "It has to be decided by the State Government as to what kind of participatory process local people will be involved with." Rubbishing contention that people's presence in the reserves would affect the tiger habitat, he said preservation of sacred groves (forest fragments) is the best way to prove that people's participation can do wonders. "In the Western Ghats, the sacred groves are the best example of preservation of bio-diversity. They are not protected by government but by the people," he added.
http://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfeed/news/tiger-task-force-suggestions-still-hanging-fire-ecologist/759044.html

'Tiger reserve only after all views taken' TNN

DONA PAULA: With the proposed Mhadei tiger reserve being opposed by certain sections, the state environment minister Aleixo Sequeira on Tuesday said the government will need to take into consideration the views of all stakeholders before reaching a final decision.


Sequeira was addressing the inaugural of the Goan Youth Convention on Environment and Development organized by the Centre for Environment Education and the Goa Golden Jubilee Development Council at the Goa International Centre, Dona Paula.


"There are two voices on the issue of the tiger reserve: those in favour and those against. Such reserves require a buffer zone of 10 km and this is also making people apprehensive," said Sequeira.


"With the Salim Ali bird sanctuary at Chorao also having a 10 km buffer zone, I wonder if we can even move any stones in Panaji. Hence these issues need to be deliberated before a stand can be taken," said Sequeira.


But noted ecologist Madhav Gadgil, while addressing the media, was of the view that buffer zones of wildlife sanctuaries and reserves should be considered on a case-to-case basis and there is no need to apply a 10 km buffer zone everywhere.


When queried on the proposed Mhadei tiger reserve in particular, Gadgil-who has been a member of the official Tiger Task Force constituted by the Centre-said he will need to study the issue. In the same breath he called for better management of such reserves with the involvement of locals.


Pointing to environment impact assessment (EIA) reports submitted by mining companies to the government, Sequeira said these need not be true and hence the government will be re-inspecting the reports submitted so far. He felt that most reports were cut-and-paste jobs which didn't reflect ground realities.


"Because we were concerned, we wrote to the Centre not to grant any more environment clearances till the mining policy was in place," said Sequeira.


On the lack of a proper biomedical waste disposal system in the state, Sequeira said that the 4,000-5,000 sq m site identified at Dharbandora is being stalled due to local opposition.


Commenting on the flaws in the Regional Plan (RP) 2021, Sequeira said, "When RP 2021 was proposed there were many suggestions from people to change their respective zones from orchard lands to settlement and commercial zones. We believe monetary benefits were behind most of these suggestions."


Goa Foundation director, Claude Alvares, called on the youth to start rebelling on environmental issues. He claimed mining silt has destroyed the rivers and fields in Goa, yet mining production has increased. "The Goa CM and government have been installed by mining companies," he claimed.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/goa/Tiger-reserve-only-after-all-views-taken/articleshow/9290055.cms

Chain link fencing pushes Bandhavgarh tigers to edge

After courting controversy over the chain link fencing of its boundary, Bandhavgarh National Park in Madhya Pradesh is again back in the news. Two of its sub-adult male tigers have been captured and send to Van Vihar in Bhopal after being declared man-eaters.

This happened after a forest guard was killed in a tiger attack last week and its half eaten torso and limbs were found near Hardia forest camp in Tala range of the reserve. Earlier two persons were killed but their bodies were not preyed upon by the big cats.

The two brother sub-adult tigers branded as “man-eaters” and sent to the zoo are aged about two years five months. They were born to a tigress named “Mirchahani” in the reserve in 2009. Generally, tigress keeps her cubs with her for one and a half years, after which they are left to fend for themselves. These cubs too were learning to hunt, sources said.

Justifying his action, Field Director CK Patil said it was a choice between the devil and the deep blue sea. “Had the two sub-adults tigers not been sent to zoo, they could have been killed by the local villagers,” he said.

Tiger expert Belinda Wright pointed to the root cause behind the incident. “It is the absurdity of chain link fencing round the reserve that is intensifying man-tiger conflict. It has severely restricted the free passage of big cats and other wild animals within the reserve. The limited space in this high tiger density area is compelling the big cats, particularly the sub-adults to move out and venture into surrounding village areas, she said.

The Pioneer had earlier reported that the Bandhavgarh reserve was slowly getting converted into a zoo with a 108 sq km area enclosed by chain links or iron mesh fencing, which in the long run would aggravate man animal conflicts. All the three kills during the last three months had occurred outside the fencing area.

Wildlife experts pointed out that the reserve houses 60 tigers. “With increasing pressure, the cub tigers have no choice but to move out, and once they are outside the reserve territory can the management simply shrug off its responsibility and send it packing to a zoo?” they asked.

They further added that a tiger is sent to the zoo, when it is unable to hunt for itself but in this case both of them were juveniles. Cramming such animals into a zoo for the rest of their lives is a big blow to wildlife conservation, they claimed.

The experts also argued that there was no proper tracking to conclusively establish which tigers had actually killed and eaten the forest guard. If the forest department is to be believed that the same trapped tigers had eaten the forest guard, then why did they leave untouched the previous two kills? Experts also pointed out that as per guidelines of the National Tiger Conservation Authority a tiger is declared a man-eater only when it kills and preys upon at least three persons.

Belinda further pointed to the heavy presence of forest personnel within the reserve.

“There are forest guards to protect water holes, for grassland management etc making them susceptible to attacks,” she pointed out.

Raghu Chundawat, a wildlife scientist, felt “there should be a proper planning on how to handle such wild caught animals — sending them to a zoo is not the solution”. The growing problem of shrinking tiger habitat vis-a-vis increasing tiger population across the country requires an immediate policy decision, and the reserve management cannot back out from its responsibility, he felt.

Pointing to the grave situation, which had emerged after the forest guard’s killing, the field director regretted that he had no choice. “The assistant field director, including the range assistant and the forest guard, were assaulted by villagers after the third killing and had to be hospitalised. They faced the wrath of the villagers sympathetic to tigers”, he said.

When questioned on the ultimate efficacy of chain link fencing, Patil pointed out that there are 80 surrounding villages with 30,000 population and 50,000 cattle. Further, 4000 pattas (forest land deeds) have already been distributed in the district. In such a situation, how else can we keep away the growing human pressure from the reserve, he shot back.
http://www.dailypioneer.com/354268/Chain-link-fencing-pushes-Bandhavgarh-tigers-to-edge.html

Oppn to Adani power plant in Chhindwara grows Vijay Pinjarkar, TNN

NAGPUR: When the Centre is contemplating to put Adani power projects on the fast-track, opposition to the power company is growing in the region.

On Sunday, at a meeting held at India Peace Centre, Civil Lines, a pressure group followed a five-member fact-finding committee was formed to oppose Adani Pench Power Limited (APPL) in Chausara village, 160 km from Nagpur in Chhindwara district.

The team consisting of Baba Shelke, Yashwant Telang, AK Ghosh, Sunil Chokhare and Seema Sahu will visit the proposed project site and submit a report on August 7. Based on the report, a signature campaign will be launched in the city against the project and a memorandum will be submitted to Union environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan.

Dr Sunilam, ex-MLA from Multai and founder chief of Kisan Sangharsh Samiti, and Advocate Aradhna Bhargava, chief of the Mahila Sangharsh Samiti, who are spearheading the stir against the power plant, said that the project not only threatens Pench Tiger Reserves and its corridors to Kanha but also will snatch away drinking and irrigation water meant for Nagpur region.

The APPL is constructing 1,320 mw (2x660) power plant in Chausara at an estimated cost of Rs 7,390 crore. The plant will require 33.2 MCM (million cubic metres) per annum and will be sourced from the Pench project through a pipeline at a distance of 4 km from the project site. The major issues raised are impact on forest and river due to the project.

In 1987, the Madhya Pradesh State Electricity Board (MPSEB) had acquired farmers' land of five villages - Chausara, Hiverkhedi, Dhanora, Tekathawadi and Dagabani Piparia - to establish a power plant.

Land acquisition was done at the rate of Rs 1,500-10,000 per acre for 750 acre land. The MPSEB was to start the plant in three years but failed to do so even after 23 years.

As government never took possession of the land, farmers continued to till it. However, in 2010, the government sold the land to Adani group for Rs 13.75 lakh per acre without any fresh public hearing or so.

Since then the struggle for control over the land has begun between the farmers and Adani group. Farmers are resisting land acquisition. Final environment clearance has also not been given.

Dr Sunilam said that as per the Land Acquisition Act, if the purpose for which land is acquired is not met, then acquisition becomes null and void. He said that Adani tried to fence the said land but villagers destroyed the fencing and are doing farming.

Bhargava alleged that the power company has encroached upon five acre crematorium land in Tekathawadi and two acre land in Chausara. "It is a big crime, but no action has been taken against the company," she said.

"It is surprising that Adani group has started construction work without getting clearance from the ministry of environment and forest (MoEF). Former environment minister Jairam Ramesh had earlier told us that no clearance has been given and hence construction can't be done," Dr Sunilam said.

A public hearing held on December 6, 2010, faced strong protests from farmers opposed to hand over their lands for the power project. Those opposing the project are being harassed, intimidated, and threatened.

Both Dr Sunilam and Bhargava have been slapped with more that 50 cases by police, aimed at obstructing government work. On May 22, both were attacked while returning to Chhindwara after a meeting with farmers at Bhulamohgaun. Police have failed to act against the culprits.

Dr Sunilam said that although no diversion of forest land is involved, a MoEF panel felt that since saving the tiger is a major concern, one needs to be clear as to what kind of activities should be permitted in areas close to tiger reserves.

"The plant will use imported coal which has high ash and sulphur contents of about 26-29% and 0.3-0.4% respectively and will damage ecology in a big way," said Dr Sunilam.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/Oppn-to-Adani-power-plant-in-Chhindwara-grows/articleshow/9262114.cms

TATR partially closed till Sept 30 TNN

CHANDRAPUR: The partial closure of Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) for monsoon period came into effect from Friday following directives of chief wildlife warden SK Khetrapal. As per new arrangements, the interior kuccha roads of the park would remain close for safari, while only 16 tourist vehicles would be allowed collectively in two shifts to stroll along pucca road during the day until September 30.

First day of partial closure proved disheartening for many tourists, who were disallowed after full quota of eight vehicles were completed. "Only eight vehicles each were allowed to enter the park in one shift today. The guide accompanying the vehicle was strictly ordered to ensure that tourist vehicle follows only pucca road between Moharli and Tadoba," sources in TATR said. It is for first time in over 15 years of creation of TATR, when specific tourist regulation directives have been issued for monsoon period.

The proposal seeking closure of the TATR on lines of other tiger reserve was forwarded by CCF and field director Vinaykumar Sinha earlier in May. Chief wildlife warden SK Khetrapal, however, agreed for partial closure for two and half months tagged with certain conditions. All the gates, other than Moharli, have been closed for the tourist during period of partial closure.

However, the closure would not effect the movement of state transport's bus that ferries passengers across tiger reserve or the villagers residing inside the park from any gate. TATR management would observe monsoon patrolling programme to enhance security arrangements in the reserve during the closure period.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/TATR-partially-closed-till-Sept-30/articleshow/9240955.cms

Satellites to track Sariska's big cats

Tigers in Rajasthan's Sariska Tiger Reserve may soon be connected with a satellite, enabling foresters to keep a constant watch on their movement. The system will be a first for India, that too, in a place where the big cats had once vanished.

The satellite system is being planned as the earlier installed radio collars, connected to a wireless system, failed to track the location of some tigers which had gone missing from the reserve in Alwar district, over 140 km from state capital Jaipur.


One of the tigers, called ST-1, which had disappeared from the forest department's radar

last year, was found dead after allegedly being poisoned by residents of a nearby village.

Currently, the reserve has two tigers and three tigresses.

"The shifting of some other tigers is being planned to accommodate a growing population of big cats at Ranthambore National Park; so we have decided to introduce a better tracking system in Sariska," a forest department officer, who did not like to be named because of official rules, told us.

The radio collars currently in use are the hi-tech Very High Frequency (VHF) tracking device strapped around the neck of the big cats.

But now the government is proposing to go in for global positioning system (GPS)-linked radio collars.

Under the new system, 10 wireless towers will be installed at the reserve. The radio collars will be connected to these towers, which will send signals to a satellite connected with a control room being set up in Sariska.

"This control room will give us constant information about tigers' movements in and around Sariska," said the officer.

He said a detailed project report has been sent to the union ministry of environment and forests. "The project is likely to cost around Rs.50 million," the officer added.

Sources said after radio collars were found to be ineffective, the department had launched a system to manually track the big cats.

"Foresters and some guards remain in the field for tracking. It is such a vast area that they too find it difficult to keep proper watch on straying tigers," said the officer.

However, wildlife experts are somewhat skeptical about the new system.

"I am of the opinion that the GPS collars are not suitable for the tigers. There have been some instances in other countries where the wild cats have tried to chew up the external antenna, following which the satellite link got snapped," Babu Lal Jaju, Rajasthan incharge of the NGO People for Animals, told us.

During 2004-05, the forest department and the state government faced all-round criticism over the disappearance of tigers from Sariska.

A report produced in March 2005 by the Wildlife Institute of India confirmed that there were no tigers left in the Sariska reserve at all. Poaching was found to be a reason for the dwindling tiger population.

Facing flak from different quarters, the state government decided to relocate tigers from Ranthambore National Park in Sawai Madhopur district of Rajasthan to Sariska.

The Sariska Tiger Reserve, originally a hunting preserve of the erstwhile princely state of Alwar, was declared a wildlife reserve in 1955.

In 1978, it was declared a Tiger Reserve. The total area of the park is 866 sq km. Some of the wildlife found in the reserve include leopards, jungle cats, hyenas, jackals, chital, sambars, langurs, wild boar, four-horned deer and many species of birds.

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-07-14/travel/29773009_1_radio-collars-ranthambore-national-park-tiger-population

Man who was fascinated by city and Tadoba

Vijay Pinjarkar, TNN Jul 12, 2011, 10.26pm IST
NAGPUR: In January 2010, a visit to coal blocks close to Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) allotted to Adani group for its power plant in Tiroda, had brought Jairam Ramesh to Nagpur. For all one knows, the Adani tangle of forest land diversion and rejection of coal blocks may be one of the reasons for Jairam's ouster from the environment ministry.

On January 26, 2010, during his maiden visit to Nagpur and Chandrapur, Jairam had virtually fallen in love with Chanda's forests and its tigers. He was also fascinated by the tendu patta and beauty of TATR. He also missed seeing a tiger by a whisker while returning from his trip there.

During his tenure as MoEF, Jairam visited the city thrice, perhaps the first minister to do that. On January 26-27, 2010, he visited Chandrapur and Nagpur. On September 13, 2010, he came to look into environment concerns about Bapu Kuti t Sevagram and then on April 27, 2011, he was here to grant community rights for bamboo to Mendha-Lekha villagers in Gadchiroli. All of these were environmental concerns, very dear to the region.


So, Jairam's first impression as a 'green minister' was the final impression that people have of him here - so much so that they are unable to digest his unceremonious exit from the MoEF. "He was transparent and spoke his mind. Jairam paid the price for being proactive. We are also sailing in the same boat," said a senior forest official.

Green activist Bandu Dhotre, who fought against the Adani coal mines, is hurt and wants to know why it happened. "We will stage protests against Jairam's removal," Dhotre said, "He was so simple and easily accessible that it was never felt that we were talking to a high-profile Jairam."

Jairam was very concerned about Maharashtra and was instrumental in clearing the long-pending upgradation of IFS officials in the state. During his visit to the city in September last, he principally agreed to give two new tigers reserves in the form of Bor and Nagzira-Navegaon.

He was also very positive about Nagpur as the tiger capital and declared it the 'gateway to tiger land.' He was also the one who decentralized NTCA by setting up its first regional office in Nagpur. He made it a point to be present at its inauguration. The other two offices to be set up in Guwahati and Bangalore are yet to be inaugurated.

Jairam was frank to admit that it's a big challenge to protect corridors and sacrifice some development to protect forests too. Greens here hope the new incumbent Jayanthi Natarajan follows his lead.
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-07-12/nagpur/29764414_1_jairam-ramesh-ntca-coal-blocks

Tigers feasting on kill boost hopes of population recovery in Andhra reserve

Camera trap images of three tiger cubs and an adult female at the site of a cattle kill in the Nagarjunasagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve (NSTR) in Andhra Pradesh have come as a boost to conservationists who hope to see recovery of the big cat population in an extensive area.

The photos, taken by cameras that are triggered off by sensors during the movement of tigers and other animals, show in sequence the scenes that biologists look for as evidence of breeding tigers - a mother and three cubs at a kill.

Preliminary analysis of the images taken at night on July 6 and 7 indicate that the cubs are four or five months old. The site is about a kilometre from the office of the Field Director of the NSTR.

The “India Tiger Estimate 2010” of the Ministry of Environment and Forests records an overall decrease in the tiger population in reserves of Andhra Pradesh among protected areas of Central India and the Eastern Ghats. Madhya Pradesh is another State with a recorded decline, while others in the region are either stable or have recorded an increase.

Among the key conservation points that the India Tiger Estimate report highlights is the need to secure corridors between source sites, to improve the prospects for tiger persistence outside reserves and sanctuaries.

The 3,568 sq km Nagarjunasagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve, located in the Nallamalai Hills of the Eastern Ghats, is the largest among the 40 tiger reserves in the country. It is adjacent the large Gundla-Brahmeswara Wildlife Sanctuary. It is also home to the historic Srisailam Shiva temple.

A note sent by the Nagarjunasagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve points out that though the area came under Project Tiger in 1982-83, the NSTR has been a conflict-ridden landscape owing to left-wing extremism for well over a decade. The MoEF found it a challenge to protect it. With left-wing extremist activities in the area waning in recent times, concerted efforts by the Centre and the State resulted in the gradual revival of the ecosystem. The local management team led by Field Director Ajay Naik came up with an innovative strategy, to deploy the local Chenchu tribes for protection duties. As many as 250 young Chenchus have been engaged by the Forest Department to protect forests and wildlife.

Union Minister for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh said, "To me the involvement of Chenchus in tiger protection is very significant and is a model we want to replicate elsewhere. The habitat is tough but the field director and his staff are doing an outstanding job."

The outcome has been an improvement in the spatial occupancy of tigers in the reserve. The recent estimation by the NTCA and the Wildlife Institute of India in 2010 indicated a population of 60 tigers (lower limit 53, upper limit 66). The management is using as many as 30 pairs of camera traps to monitor tiger presence, besides collection of other evidence in the field during day-to-day patrolling. The reported presence of around 20 tiger cubs in the reserve is an indication of habitat recovery.

Research scientists have pointed to the benefits of carrying out camera trapping in all reserves on a continuous basis, as this would provide a more accurate picture of the national tiger population. Camera trap images also help identify individual tigers, since the stripe markings are unique for the big cat.

http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/article2211406.ece

Re-notification issued for tiger, peacock as national symbols

New Delhi, Jul 11 (PTI) With the notification of tiger and peacock as India''s national animal and bird not making into official records, the Ministry of Environment and Forests today issued a re-notification for this purpose.

"The Government of India had notified tiger and peacock as national animal and national bird respectively.
However, the said notifications are not forthcoming in the official records of the Ministry of Environment and Forests for quite some time," a government release said here.

"In view of this, the MoEF re-notifies the tiger as the national animal and peacock as the national bird of India," Additional Director General of Forests (Wildlife) Jagdish Kishwan was quoted as saying in the release.

http://news.in.msn.com/national/article.aspx?cp-documentid=5281718

Activists roar for tiger reserve as Goa drags feet

Panaji, July 11 (IANS) Even as the Goa government is dragging its feet over drafting a proposal to set up the Mhadei tiger reserve in a wildlife sanctuary ringed by iron ore mining leases, a green activist in Goa has already launched a petition campaign to speed up the process.

The online petition seeking to expedite the process of setting up the tiger reserve at Mhadei wildlife sanctuary, located 70 km from here, was launched by activist Tallulah D'Silva Monday.

"We the undersigned, residents of Goa, nature lovers and wildlife enthusiasts, admirers especially of the tiger, are writing to you as we are aware that Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh has requested the Goa government to send the proposal for a tiger reserve at Mhadei region," reads the petition, which will be submitted to Chief Minister Digambar Kamat.

"We write this to highlight the need to protect and conserve an intrinsic part of our Western Ghats, its forests and biodiversity. There is a dire need to protect and conserve our tiger habitats," it says.

The online petition comes against the backdrop of a sluggish response from the forest department as well as the state forest minister, after Jairam Ramesh last month wrote to Kamat asking the state government to submit a proposal to upgrade the Mhadei wildlife sanctuary to a tiger reserve.

While Goa's chief wildlife warden Shashi Kumar has said that there "are a lot of local factors yet to be taken into account, before setting up of a tiger reserve", according to state Forest Minister Filipe Neri Rodrigues, the Mhadei tiger reserve would take some time coming.

"We have to first take the local legislators into confidence, then we have to talk to the local people as to whether they want it or not. How can a decision be taken soon?" Rodrigues told IANS.

According to Tallulah, who started a similar campaign last year, the Mhadei tiger reserve would be a critical habitat which would serve multiple purposes.

"That they are dragging their feet over the issue is obvious because of mining interests. Declaration of a tiger reserve will ensure protection to the catchment areas of important rivers like the Mhadei, Malaprabha, Pandhari...and will address the water security issues for Goa, Karnataka and Maharasthra for posterity," she said.

"There is a strong indication that the floater population (young adults in search of territories) of tigers from neighbouring Anshi Tiger Reserve (Karnataka) are moving into areas of Bhimgad forests (also in Karnataka) and adjoining Mahdei Wildlife sanctuary," Tallulah said.

"This also indicates that the area has a substantial prey base and additional protection as a tiger reserve will help augment this prey base due to additional forestry and conservation initiatives," she said.

Wildlife expert Rajendra Kerkar, who has been campaigning for the setting up of a tiger reserve in Goa for the last 20 years, says that mining leases which surround the Mhadei wildlife sanctuary were discouraging the government from taking active steps towards setting up of the reserve.

"It is beyond doubt that these forests are a home for tigers. However, if the state's handful sanctuaries are notified as tiger reserves, mining - illegal and legal - around these, carried out with the blessings of the politicians and state administration would have to cease," he said.

Goa's Rs.6,000 crore mining open cast iron, manganese and bauxite industry is located in the state's hinterland, nestled in the ecologically sensitive Western Ghats.
http://mangalorean.com/news.php?newstype=local&newsid=250566

Green alert: Karnataka transfers 178 forest watchers to tiger reserves

By M Raghuram
In a surprising decision, the government has ordered the transfer of 178 forest watchers to the wildlife division to keep an eye on the tiger reserves of the state.

The order has not only created a serious shortage of personnel in the forest department, but also made life easier for the tree-fellers.

The order copy (No 38/2011-12) issued from the principal chief conservator of forests, exclusively available with DNA, has directed all the deputy conservators of forests, assistant conservators of forests and range forest officers to relieve the watchers immediately to take their positions in four different tiger conservation projects of Nagarahole, Bandipur, Bhadra and Anashi Tiger reserves.

The order transfers 60 watchers from Chamarajanagar, Kollegal, Mysore, Hunsur, Mandya, Chikmagalur, Koppa, Sirsi, Yellapur, Haliyal, Honnavar and Haveri to Bandipur Tiger Reserve, 63 from Karwar, Shimoga, Tumkur, Gulburga, Yadgir, Madikeri, Virajpet, Bellary, Chitradurga, Davanagere, Koppal, Ramanagar and Belgaum to Hunsur Wildlife division, 37 from Mangalore, Bangalore Urban and Bangalore Rural districts to Bhadra wildlife division, Chikmagalur and 18 from Kundapur and Kolar to Dandeli wildlife division in Uttara Kannada district.

This decision comes in the wake of Karnataka being declared as having the largest number of tigers in the wild in the country.

Questioning the decision, the green activists are baffled at the government order. “First, the government says no to the world heritage tag offer from the Unesco to 10 different in Western Ghats sites. Now, they have removed the watchers from the forests.

What could be the intention of the government?” asked Panduranga Pai of Sirsi Parisara Okkuta. Many of the forests are Naxalite-infested. It could be recalled that it was a watcher who had first reported Naxalite activities in Kudremukh National Park in 2001.

“Watchers are the primary source of information for the forest department. Their information was like the first information report for the police. Based on their report the officials rush to the spot and take required action in situations.

Without them many of the range forests will not have their eyes and ears,” said a forest official on conditions of anonymity.

However, the principal chief conservator of forests IB Shrivatsava said that the forest department will recruit more watchers and guards in the days to come. But it is a long-drawn process to fill up the posts created due to the en masse transfer.

To fill up the vacancies, it would need a year or so, during which period many things may go wrong, fear the green activists.

http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_green-alert-karnataka-transfers-178-forest-watchers-to-tiger-reserves_1563558

NTCA to study Adani impact on Nagzira wildlife sanctuary-TNN

NAGPUR: The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), a statutory body under the ministry of environment and forest monitoring tiger reserves in the country, will study adverse impact on Nagzira wildlife sanctuary with the diversion of 163.84 hectares forest land for Adani power project in Tiroda in Gondia district.

A proposal for diversion of 163.84 hectares of forest land in Garadi village for establishment of 1980 MW coal-fired power plant at MIDC Tiroda is under consideration of the MoEF. The Adani Power Maharashtra Limited (APML) plant falls within 10 km of the forest land proposed for diversion and hence the study.

NTCA sources told TOI that the Authority had on July 1 written to three leading institutes in India to quote rates to take up the study. They are National Environment Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), Nagpur; Pollution Control Research Institute (PCRI), Haridwar; and Environment Protection and Training Research Institute (EPTRI), Hyderabad.

"NTCA proposes to study adverse impact of gaseous and particulate emissions and additional thermal load from the proposed power plant on the flora and fauna in 152 sq km Nagzira sanctuary. We will recommend appropriate mitigation measures to eliminate and minimise the impact," said sources.

If NTCA is to be believed, MoEF has almost made up its mind to divert the said land to APML. TOI on January 1 was first to report about MoEF readying to divert the land close to the sanctuary. Union environment minister Jairam Ramesh is already under pressure from his cabinet colleagues to clear coal blocks for power projects. Government is keen on putting Adani plant on fast-track.

Adani is coming up with 3,300 MW power plant in Tiroda. Work on first phase of two 660 MW units is in full swing and the company needs 163.84 hectare forest land for expansion. It has applied to the MoEF for diversion of the proposed land under the Forest Conservation Act (FCA) 1980.

Wildlife experts recalled that MoEF's move would be a u-turn by Ramesh, who, during his Nagpur visit on September 13 last year, had said that if the land was close to Nagzira, then permission to divert it would not be granted. Ramesh has already agreed to make Nagzira-Navegaon a tiger reserve.

"The grant of diversion of forest land will be in contravention to MoEF rules that state that any proposal falling within 10 km of sanctuary or national park should be referred to National Board of Wild Life (NBWL) which is not being done in the case of APML," they said.

Earlier, two offences have been registered against the APML for violating the FCA twice - once on May 16 and another on June 4. Even after a year, the forest department has taken no action against the power company for those violations. In June 2010, a six-member committee headed by then PCCF (wildlife) and now head of forest force (HoFF) A K Joshi had visited the proposed site and studied the impact of diverting the said land on wildlife and tigers.

The panel has already stated that diversion of said land to APML would impact Nagzira, which is just 8.5 km from the plant's boundary.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/environment/flora-fauna/ntca-to-study-adani-impact-on-nagzira-wildlife-sanctuary/articleshow/9178416.cms

Heritage panel seeks Manas report

ROOPAK GOSWAMI
Guwahati, July 10: The World Heritage Committee has asked the Centre to inform it by next year whether the Manas Tiger Conservation Foundation is operational and financial arrangements are in place for the site.

Sources said the committee had asked for the report by February 1 next year for examination at its 36th session in 2012.

The committee in its report said sustained finance to the site remains a critical long-term requirement to secure its full recovery.

It urged the authorities to ensure that the Manas Tiger Conservation Foundation was made operational as soon as possible and that funding for the property from the Centre was channelled through the foundation to avoid future delays in the transfer of funds to the property.

The Centre has informed the committee that the proposal for the Manas Tiger Conservation Foundation is currently awaiting Parliament approval, which is expected to come soon.

Though the foundation was formed two years back, it has still not been operationalised.

“All the hard work seems to have gone in vain and it is now nearly two years but the foundation has still not been operationalised,” a park official said.

The joint IUCN/Unesco monitoring mission, which visited the park in January this year, had pointed out that though lack of funds had not prevented activities necessary to allow recovery of the outstanding universal value of the site, the situation would have been much better if the funds-release problem had been fully addressed.

The slow release of funds for the site from the state government is an issue that has been raised by all previous Unesco/IUCN monitoring missions since 1997.

In fact, in 2009 and 2010 the park management was forced to operate for two years on one year’s budget as the state released the funds at the end of the year, rather than disbursing them directly to Manas at the time of receipt from the federal government.

A 2005 ruling by the Supreme Court states that funds must be released by the state government within 15 days of receipt from the Centre but this has not been implemented in the case of Manas.

Every year, the park management has to submit three annual plans of operation — one for project tiger, biosphere scheme and elephant project, but unfortunately the release of funds is sometimes delayed which has a serious impact on the efficient implementation of management activities.

The monitoring mission had also found the majority of available cash flow to the site comes from the BTC of which a major proportion of these funds is spent on staff salaries.

The park has also been asked to submit a comprehensive tourism management plan and a recovery plan for swamp deer by February 1 next year.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1110711/jsp/northeast/story_14221385.jsp

Two tiger cubs brought to Van Vihar from Bandhavgarh

Two tiger cubs were brought from Bandhavgarh National Park to Van Vihar here last night. These two cubs from the same mother are about two-years-old. After arrival of these male tiger cubs, the number of tigers in Van Vihar has reached 12. There are nine tigers and one white tigress already in the Van Vihar.
These two tiger cubs have been kept in separate housing in Van Vihar. They will be quarantined from other animals for one month. During this period, their health checks and vaccinations will be undertaken.
Generally, a tigress keeps a cub with her for one and a half years. After this period, cubs are separated from mother. These two cubs are offspring of Mirachhani tigress of Bandhavgarh National Park, who had given birth to them in the same litter in 2009.
Now the number of man-eater tiger in the Van Vihar has reached 12. Earlier in 2008, another man-eater tiger Nahar was brought to the Van Vihar. Besides these tigers, there are five man-eater leopards also in the Van Vihar. Their names are Salman, Jhiriya, Khusi, Neemu and Nimi. Man-eater tigers and leopards are kept under adequate security and constant vigil is maintained on the enclosures where they are kept. Man-eater tigers become aggressive on seeing human beings. Therefore, they are kept at places where there is minimum human interference. These tigers are used for conservation breeding.

http://www.centralchronicle.com/viewnews.asp?articleID=63623

More sightings at Mudumalai Tiger Reserve

With sighting of tigers in the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) near here now being not as difficult as it used to be till about a year ago, the management has put in place a plan of action to step up its vigil.

Pointing out that a series of measures would be taken in a phased manner to protect the national animal, MTR Field Director K. Srivastava told The Hindu here on Saturday that chances of sighting tigers have increased because their population at Mudumalai was growing. Describing it as a welcome trend, he attributed it to the effective conservation measures implemented by the department with the help of its staff, particularly anti-poaching watchers and the local people.

Twenty anti-poaching camps and two floating camps have been set up. While the routine patrolling has been intensified, elephant patrolling has been introduced. Simultaneously habitat improvement has been taken up to ensure that the prey base is healthy. Tourism is being regulated in the area. Fixed surveillance cameras are being mounted at appropriate places.

Adverting to a scheme now under implementation to rehabilitate people residing in the core area of the MTR, Mr. Srivastava said that it would help the reserve gain about 300 hectares of grass and marshy land. Stating that direct sighting of tigers was being frequently reported, he said: “A heartening feature is that many of them are sub-adults and cubs.” He added that over the last two years, 27 direct sightings had been reported.

Union Environment and Forests Minister Jairam Ramesh and the Wildlife Institute of India have acknowledged the development. Due to better management practices, the population of other animals had also gone up. The number of elephants now is 1,000 against 835 last year, he said
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2215890.ece

NTCA committee on orphaned tiger cubs Vijay Pinjarkar, TNN

NAGPUR: The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has constituted a three-member committee for examining issues relating to abandoned and orphaned tiger cubs from the wild, so as to explore the feasibility of their in-situ rearing and release in low tiger density habitats. The committee members are Prof PC Tyagi, YV Jhala, both scientists with Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, and SP Yadav, deputy inspector general (DIG) of NTCA as the member convener.

Yadav said that the terms of reference (ToR) of the committee will include country-wide assessment of the wild caught orphaned and abandoned cubs; identification of low density tiger reserves; to give recommendation for rehabilitation of such cubs vis-à-vis the NTCA guidelines; to prescribe 'minimum standards' for creation of tiger safaris; and to examine feasibility of ex-situ to in-situ linkage in the context of tiger. The committee will submit its report in 60 days, Yadav said.

MoEF meet on tiger reserves: The ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) has called a meeting of field directors of all tiger reserves at Bandipur in Karnataka. The two-day meet on July 29 and 30, will be inaugurated by union environment and forest minister Jairam Ramesh. All chief wildlife wardens of tiger-bearing states have been told to attend the meeting and make presentations on status of tiger reserves in their states.

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-07-05/nagpur/29738237_1_tiger-reserves-tiger-cubs-ntca

Tadoba oustees settling in Vijay Pinjarkar, TNN

NAGPUR: Villagers who moved out of Tadoba Andhari Tiger reserve in 2007 are beginning to settle down with their feeling of well-being going up, a study has found. It has also found that this is not as a result of government effort and but due to the various survival strategies adopted by relocated families of Bhagwanpur in Mul tehsil of Chandrapur district.

The study, funded by Ashoka Trust, Bangalore, was conducted by Rucha Ghate and Suresh Ghate of Shodh, the Institute for Research and Development, Nagpur. It says difficulties imposed on the villagers in terms of food insecurity, non-availability of fuel wood and fodder, deprivation of income from sale of non-timber forest produce (NTFPs) had resulted in overall fall of their welfare. Recently, both presented a paper based on the study at a conference on climate change at the University of Michigan, USA.

In Bhagwanpur, welfare plummeted immediately after the relocation for 69 families of Botezari and 40 families from Kolsa inside TATR. This was evident in 2009 when over 17 villagers, tired of their difficulties, returned to Botezari in the hope of starting cultivation again on their old farms. The villagers were arrested and released but cases are still pending against them. Looking at the Bhagwanpur mess, other villages are reluctant to move out.

Shodh, which has been associated with the six villages Rantalodhi, Kolsa, Botezari, Palasgoan, Jamni and Navegaon inside TATR since 1999 when relocation was actually announced, made an attempt to compare the level of welfare and feeling of well-being as perceived by the communities in 2004, 2007 and 2011.

For this, the NGO identified 12 indicators that the community considers important determinant of wellness. These included housing, access to education, opportunities of employment, ownership of agriculture land, productivity of land, livestock, wealth indicators, and species diversity in adjoining forest, accessibility to forest products, crop depredation and threat of cattle lifting by wild animals.

"Our analysis clearly shows that people think they are better off now but it was not so immediately after relocation. The lowering of welfare is the cost borne by the community for protection of tigers," says Ghate.

The study reveals that, the two villages that moved out were poor in civic amenities compared to new location at Bhagwanpur.

For example, the primary health centre (PHC) was 26km from Botezari but it is just 4km from Bhagwanpur. Similarly, bank, school and colleges which were 30-45km away from both the villages are now between of 4-14km. The subdistrict headquarters is also at 14km from earlier 45-75km.

Ironically, villagers were relocated to create inviolate spaces for wildlife but threat to them from wildlife has increased as the relocation site is also surrounded by forests. Within the PA, a large number of herbivores ensured sufficient prey for the carnivores but in degraded forests near Bhagwanpur, spill over population of leopards and tigers from Tadoba finds easy prey in cattle.

The study also reveals that social and cultural fabric of the community has been broken after relocation.

Two major indicators are that Ganesh and Durga festival are not celebrated.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/Tadoba-oustees-settling-in/articleshow/9145542.cms

Vehicles banned on forest route to Sabarimala

A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court on Wednesday prohibited movement of vehicles, other than those of forest officials, through the Fourth Mile-Uppupara forest route to Sabarimala.

The Bench, comprising Justice Thottathil B. Radhakrishnan and Justice K. Surendra Mohan, also directed the authorities, including the police, to ensure that this prohibition was enforced forthwith.

The court directed that any official found to have violated the order would be proceeded against.

The court ordered the police to ensure that there was no traffic congestion on the Vandiperiyar-Sabarimala road.

Disaster management

The Bench also reminded the government that it should take urgent steps to put in place a disaster management plan at Sabarimala.

The court issued the directives on a suo motu proceeding initiated in connection with the Pulmedu stampede in January 14 this year in which 102 Sabarimala pilgrims were killed.

Noise pollution

The court said it did not find any reason to permit private vehicles through the Fourth Mile to Uppupara Road as it was not a tourist spot.

The court added that allowing a large number of vehicles through this route would not only create problems such as noise pollution but also affect the flora and fauna of the Periyar Tiger Reserve.

Tiger reserve

The court said the road passed through the tiger reserve, which has been declared a wildlife sanctuary. So, persons other than forest officials should not be allowed to enter the road.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2201783.ece

Panna trail leads to MLA kin; minister blames dacoit - DNA

Bhopal/Indore: Relatives of a BJP MLA have been linked to a tiger death in the Panna Tiger Reserve.

The forest department recently handed over details of nearly two dozen cases related to tiger deaths in Panna to the home department asking for a CBI probe. The government picked up only three cases considering them worthy of an independent investigation.

One of these cases trails back to a close relative of BJP MLA from Bundelkhand region.

According to Prayatna, an environmental action group that has been demanding CBI probe into the tiger deaths, forest officials had seized a jeep with Uttar Pradesh registration plates (UP 92/9434) in 2007. The jeep was reportedly trying to enter the Panna Tiger Reserve with armed passengers, forcefully.

The jeep was later released to one Babbu Singh, a close relative of a BJP MLA from Bundelkhand region, sources said.

The officials said that a case was lodged under the primary offence report (POR) 355/2007. There was apparently no follow up on the matter for several years.

The other two cases of tiger deaths shortlisted for a CBI enquiry also expose chronic laxity on part of the government.

In one of these cases, forest officials recovered jaw trap and bones of tiger acting on a complainant filed by one Kalyan Singh, resident of village Sukhwah in Panna district. The tiger, whose body parts were seized by the police, was reportedly killed between 2004 and 2005, but the POR was registered only in January 28 this year.

When contacted, highly placed officials said that the forest department had sought details of these cases from the director of the sanctuary. No records were provided to the headquarters.

In the third case taken up by the government, it has been revealed that the officials never lodged a POR about the killing at all. The tiger in this case was killed between 2004 and 2005. The forest department, however, did not register a POR.

Their inaction has raised serious questions on the intentions officials dealing with the Panna tiger deaths.
Ajay Dubey of Prayatna alleged that the forest department has overlooked even more serious cases with clear evidence.

"What is interesting is that they were clear cases of poaching but were recorded as revenge killings," Dubey said.

Reacting to the NGO's allegations, minister for forests, Sartaj Singh told DNA that gender imbalances and threat from dacoit 'Thokia' led to the elimination of the tigers from PTR.

The minister further clarified that, "the forest guards could not protect the tigers due to presence of dacoits in the area."

http://daily.bhaskar.com/article/GUJ-AHD-panna-trail-leads-to-mla-kin-minister-blames-dacoit-2241600.html

Eye in the sky to help track big cats of Palamau A.S.R.P. MUKESH

Ranchi, July 5: Goodbye pugmark spotting. Enter Global Positioning System (GPS).

The 1,014sqkm Palamau Tiger Reserve is set to hit hi-tech highway with navigational satellites monitoring its rich treasure trove of flora and fauna, protecting particularly the towering rows of Shorea robusta or sal from the axe brigade and the majestic but endangered Panthera tigris or Royal Bengal Tiger from poachers.

Divisional forest officer (core) of the reserve Premjit Anand said they had procured four GPS apparatus some time ago and the system would debut soon after reserve officials were trained.

“A three-day crash course is scheduled for our 20-odd front-line members of staff from tomorrow. After successful installation of some four dozen cameras along tiger corridors, we are ready to launch the GPS,” he said, explaining that the system would enable precise monitoring of the entire reserve — right from animal movements to status of check dams and water bodies.

“We have four GPS gadgets at hand for the core area. Once the system takes off, more devices will be introduced to cover buffer zones as well,” he added.

According to Anand, forest guards will be trained on how to use the satellite-based system to capture details on territorial tiger behaviour, distribution of animals in the core area, level of water bodies and tourist movements.

“First, the animal corridors will be mapped based on co-ordinates (latitude and longitude). Then, this data will be linked to three different satellites and fed into the computer through a common server. Once these are done, forest officials will have electronic access to every nook and cranny of the reserve on a real-time basis,” Anand explained.

The Palamau Tiger Reserve is also planning to impose a blanket ban by this year on private vehicles like Rajasthan’s Sariska Tiger Reserve and Uttarakhand’s Corbett National Park.

The idea is for the reserve to gradually organise a fleet of vehicles from local private operators to facilitate tourist tours. But, for starters, the authorities have decided to enforce a colour code on private vehicles.

Bright is bane for big cats and so, only black, white and grey cars will be allowed inside the reserve.

“Animals, especially tigers, tend to react in an unpredictable manner to flashy colours like red, yellow, orange, et al. This leads to accidents. Hence, we will first regulate colours of vehicles and then gradually disallow private vehicles,” Anand said.

According to the senior forest official, banning private vehicles all at once may affect tourist influx. “So, we will go step by step to ensure proper regulation of vehicles and maintenance of the reserve,” he said.

Reserve officials are currently scouting for vehicle operators in the Palamau region to be registered by the forest department.

“We will soon begin registration of local operators. Once we have a substantial pool of vehicles to take tourists around the reserve, we will bar entry of private cars,” Anand said.

adding that the car hire rates would be advertised at the entrance.

Every reserve tour vehicle will have a tracker-cum-guide. “This will help us in two ways. First, tourists will have expert escorts. Second, we will be able to monitor illegal activities such as poaching and damage to flora,” the divisional forest officer said.

Tadoba tiger reserve to be partially closed during monsoon Mazhar Ali, TNN

CHANDRAPUR: It's final - the Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) will remain partially closed in the monsoon period. From July 15 to September 30, the park will see restricted movement. Tadoba is only tiger reserve in the country that remains open during the monsoon for the tourist. TATR management had forwarded a proposal for closure of the park during monsoon this year and it has been approved with certain conditions. Orders to this effect were received at TATR office on Monday.

The proposal seeking closure of the TATR on lines of other tiger reserves was forwarded by the CCF and field director Vinaykumar Sinha earlier in May this year. However it evoked debate among the greens whether the closure would be in the interest of the park or not. While reasons like breeding and germination season for wildlife and flora respectively, hurdles created by tourist vehicle getting struck in muddy roads etc were given in favour of the closure, concerns were raised about poaching and forest theft if tourism gets closed. Even the higher-ups in forest department pondered deeply over the pros and cons of closure.

Chief wildlife warden SK Khetrapal held a meeting in Nagpur on June 21 to discuss the issue, but the subject remained undecided at that time. Khetrapal sought additional data over vehicular movement on pucca road and carrying capacity on this patch.

After scrutinizing the data provided by the TATR, Khetrapal on Saturday issued orders for partial closure of the tiger reserve from July 15 to September 30. It is for first time in over 15 years of creation of TATR, when specific tourist regulation directives have been issued for monsoon period.

CCF, TATR, Vinaykumar Sinha informed that as per orders the tourist movement on kuccha roads in the park would be completely closed during monsoon. The 19 km long pucca road between Moharli and Tadoba would remain open for tourists, but the private vehicular movement would be greatly restricted. "Only tourist 16 vehicles, i.e. eight vehicles per shift, would be allowed in the park during the day. The tourist vehicles would start from Moharli gate and travel up to Tadoba on pucca road and return through same route. All the gates other than Moharli would remain closed for the tourist during the monsoon period," he said.

At present over 120 tourist vehicles are allowed to enter into the park during a day from four different gates of tiger reserve.

Sinha however maintained that that there would be no restriction of movement of state transport's bus that moves across the tiger reserve during its passenger ferries. Similarly there would be no restriction upon the movement of villagers residing inside the park from any of the gates.

When asked about increasing security during the monsoon season after closure of tourism on internal roads, he said that TATR would observe monsoon patrolling programme devised for rainy season. "Special squads have been constituted in each forest round on the tiger reserve. These squads would move from one protection hut to other carrying out extensive patrolling and would submit daily report to the higher-ups," he said.

Welcoming the decision conservationist Bandu Dhotre, said, "It's a balanced decision and interest of tourist and wildlife and their habitat has been take care of. Restriction of tourism on internal roads would help the wildlife and their habitat to flourish. At the same time allowing the tourists on pucca road would ensure the earnings of stakeholders dependent on tourism."

MONSOON CLOSURE:
* Tourist movement on kuccha roads closed during monsoon
* Only Moharli gate will remain open, all others close
* 19-km stretch between Moharli and Tadoba will remain open
* Private vehicular movement severely restricted
* Only 16 tourist vehicles - 8 per shift - will be allowed during a day
* Special monsoon patrol squads formed
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/Tadoba-tiger-reserve-to-be-partially-closed-during-monsoon/articleshow/9105123.cms

NTCA committee on orphaned tiger cubs Vijay Pinjarkar, TNN

NAGPUR: The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has constituted a three-member committee for examining issues relating to abandoned and orphaned tiger cubs from the wild, so as to explore the feasibility of their in-situ rearing and release in low tiger density habitats. The committee members are Prof PC Tyagi, YV Jhala, both scientists with Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, and SP Yadav, deputy inspector general (DIG) of NTCA as the member convener.

Yadav said that the terms of reference (ToR) of the committee will include country-wide assessment of the wild caught orphaned and abandoned cubs; identification of low density tiger reserves; to give recommendation for rehabilitation of such cubs vis-à-vis the NTCA guidelines; to prescribe 'minimum standards' for creation of tiger safaris; and to examine feasibility of ex-situ to in-situ linkage in the context of tiger. The committee will submit its report in 60 days, Yadav said.

MoEF meet on tiger reserves: The ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) has called a meeting of field directors of all tiger reserves at Bandipur in Karnataka. The two-day meet on July 29 and 30, will be inaugurated by union environment and forest minister Jairam Ramesh. All chief wildlife wardens of tiger-bearing states have been told to attend the meeting and make presentations on status of tiger reserves in their states.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/NTCA-committee-on-orphaned-tiger-cubs/articleshow/9105095.cms

Big cats find a new home — Goa's Mhadei sanctuary -HT

Your leisure trip to Goa will soon have an added advantage — tracking wild tigers. Over 35 tigers have been found residing in Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary in north Goa, about 60 to 90 kms from hot tourism hot spot beaches such as Anjum, Bombolin and Colva. Goa was not a traditional


home for tigers but in the last few years, tigers from neighbouring Bimgad and Anshi Dandeli tiger reserves in Karnataka had visited forests areas in Sattari Taluk of north Goa because of biotic pressures.
"There is evidence to show that tigers in Goa are not merely transient animals and but are resident population as," Union environment minister Jairam Ramesh said.

Mhadei sanctuary is a contiguous tiger landscape with tiger areas in Karnataka.

In the recent few years, tiger numbers have increased in the landscape in Western Ghats pushing the tigers to look for new habitats.

"Tigers can travel long distances to find their home base and it has also happened in case of Goa," said an official of the National Tiger Conservation Authority.  

The Dehraduun-based Wildlife Institute of India has spotted 35 tigers in Mhadei, situated in Sattauri Taluk of north Goa and said the sanctuary has a good habitat for maintaining a stable tiger population.

Ramesh, in a letter to Goa chief minister Digambar Kamat said there was considerable support for the creation of a tiger reserve and wildlife conservation. "By declaring Mhadei wildlife sanctuary as a tiger reserve, we could also ensure the long-term protection of bio-diversity rich areas," he said.

The state government has been asked to submit a proposal to declare the wildlife sanctuary, which has been so far out of bounds for tourists, as a tiger reserve.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/Goa-new-home-for-tigers/Article1-716511.aspx

Tiger reserve water bodies full to the brim TNN

DALTONGANJ: Wildlife in the Palamu Tiger Reserve (PTR) can now enjoy water sport.

The good monsoon after more than three years has helped fill up the water bodies at Madhu Chuan, Bouliyya and Noohahee, inundating the PTR.

Elephants of the reserve are enjoying a "deluxe bath", said a tracker as there is sufficient water for them in the ponds. Elephants use more water for bath than any other wild animal.

The newly built 16 water turfs are also friendly to the wildlife. PTR field director S E H Kazmi said there were water turfs built in the past too, but its design was not friendly to wild animal because of its structure.

"This time the department has constructed 16 water turfs in the design of a plate, where the surface is coarse to prevent fall of any wildlife," said Kazmi. The field director is hopeful that these water will sustain this reserve in the coming summer also.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ranchi/Tiger-reserve-water-bodies-full-to-the-brim/articleshow/9091260.cms

Slot for N-E in tiger body

Guwahati, July 3: The Northeast has finally got a voice in the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), the apex body of tiger conservation in the country.

Firoz Ahmed, a wildlife biologist with Aaranyak who has carried out camera trapping in wildlife parks of Assam, has been inducted as a member of the NTCA.

Ahmed’s term is for one year and it will end in September next year. The notification for his appointment was issued in the last week of June.

“I will try to highlight the issues of the Northeast in the tiger conservation policies of the Centre,” he told The Telegraph today.

Ahmed was the team leader of the Kaziranga camera trapping exercise, which put the park on top of the world after it was found that the park had a tiger density of 32 per 100 sq km. Ahmed said though tiger reserves in the region have resources, rigorous planning was required at the management level to use the resources to their best.

He is also developing individual profile of tigers in Kaziranga, Orang, Manas and Nameri under the Tiger Informatics through Geospatial and Ecological Research (TIGER) project.

“This will assist the managers and other stakeholders with updated information on tigers of the region and create awareness among the masses,” Ahmed said.

He had recently carried out an appraisal of Dampa tiger reserve in Mizoram, one of the important landscapes in the Indo-Bangladesh border with contiguous forests in both the countries.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1110704/jsp/northeast/story_14192136.jsp

Nepal to 'fingerprint' tigers for conservation-TNN

KATHMANDU: To pinpoint the exact population of wild Bengal tigers and to combat poaching, Nepal will start "fingerprinting" its big cats from this fall, marking a switchover to hi-tech DNA profiling from the current tiger censuses conducted the old-fashioned way by using cameras and assessing pugmarks.

The two-year Nepal Tiger Genome Project, funded by the US Agency for International Development, will be conducted by Kathmandu-based Center for Molecular Dynamics Nepal (CMDN) in collaboration with the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, Virginia Tech University and the University of Idaho.

According to Dibesh Karmacharya, CMDN international director as well as the project’s principal investigator, from September-October, teams will fan out to the four national parks in Parsa, Bardiya, Chitwan and Kailali districts, the habitats of the bulk of Nepal’s big cats, and other areas where strays are found, to collect faeces. These will then be analysed at CMDN’s laboratory to create a DNA data base of Nepal’s tiger population.

As per the last tiger census, there were 155 tigers in Nepal in 2010. However, one of the big cats, Namo Buddha, who was captured, fitted with a collar to keep track of his movements and then translocated in January 2011, went missing soon after that. In June, it was officially acknowledged that he had been killed by poachers.

"The genome data base will be more accurate than pugmark spotting or camera sightings," Karmacharya told TNN. "It will also help identify carcasses found in the border areas."

With wild animals from Nepal, including elephants and rhinos, straying into Indian forests and vice versa, the DNA bank will also help Nepal assess whether tigers found killed in the border areas were from Nepal or India. Furthermore, it could lead to an assessment of favoured habitats as well as areas where poaching gangs are active and help boost security measures. The results of the project will be shared with experts worldwide through scientific publications and presentations.

This is the first time that Nepal will begin the genome-mapping of a wild, semi-extinct species. In India, scientists are already developing DNA data banks of tigers and snow leopards.
http://m.economictimes.com/environment/flora-fauna/nepal-to-fingerprint-tigers-for-conservation/articleshow/9063971.cms

Chhattisgarh asked to propose tiger reserve status for Guru Ghasidas park-PTI

The Centre has asked Chhattisgarh government to submit a proposal to National Tiger Conservation Authority to declare Guru Ghasidas National Park in the State as a tiger reserve, saying it had the potential to support a viable population of the big cat.

This national park lies between Madhya Pradesh’s Bandhavgarh and Jharkhand’s Palamau tiger reserves. It is also contiguous with Madhya Pradesh’s Sanjay-Dubri Tiger Reserve.

In a letter to Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said, “This would ensure (use of) the largest landscape within this part of Central India for tiger conservation“.

Noting that the area was surveyed by the Wildlife Institute of India last year, the Minister said, “Though the prey population in the habitat is very low at present, it has considerable diversity.”

“Therefore, with good management and protection under Project Tiger, the area has a potential for supporting a viable tiger population along with the Sanjay-Dubri Tiger Reserve,” Mr. Ramesh added.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/other-states/article2147726.ece

Use armed force to guard Simlipal: Jairam to CM

More than a year after the massacre of more than a dozen elephants in Orissa’s Simlipal Tiger Reserve, the country’s fourth biggest tiger reserve, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh has asked Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to take urgent measures to safeguard the tigers in the state’s Similipal national park.
Similipal is one of India’s first Project Tiger reserves. Spread over 845.70 sq km, it is home to many Royal Bengal Tigers and elephants.

Between April and May last year, 14 elephants were slaughtered by poachers inside the tiger reserve situated in Mayurbhanj district of Orissa. A probe team from National Tiger Conservation Authority, which found seven elephant carcasses, in its report said the staff of the tiger reserve had burnt and destroyed the carcasses.

“There was a concerted effort to destroy the remains of the elephant carcasses, which amounts to destruction of evidence without registering a case. Although there is absolutely no evidence to suggest the involvement of forest staff in the actual killing of the elephants, the destruction of evidence and the fact that the elephant deaths were not reported by the staff, should be treated as a very serious matter,” the NTCA committee said in its report.

http://daily.bhaskar.com/article/RAJ-JPR-sariskas-tale-of-woes-continues-with-sluggish-relocation-of-villagers-2231507.html

Sariska's tale of woes continues with sluggish relocation of villagers -DNA

 
 
 

Jaipur: Rehabilitating villages situated in critical tiger habitats is perhaps the most crucial task for the forest department authorities involved in tiger conservation works, however work in this regard is moving at a snail's pace in Rajasthan.

"Out of the twenty eight villages earmarked for relocation, only Bhagani village has been shifted till date. Work on shifting Umri, Sukol and Dabli villages is also on. However, the major problem we face is that these villages, after taking relocation packages, settle again in the nearby villages. So, the whole purpose of relocation is being defeated," said an official posted at Sariska Tiger Reserve.

In Sariska, relocation work at Kankwari, the village where tiger ST1 was poisoned, and Rotlyala and Kraska villages is yet to begin even after the Forest department already having the financial sanction for the work.
Situation is more or less same in Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve. Only two villages, Indala and Machanki, have been shifted out of the park so far while the relocation work in seven other villages is still pending despite financial sanctions.

In Ranthambhore, Kalighat, Bhid, Kathuli, Hindwad, Mopr Doongari, Dangra, Bheempura, Mudarhedi villages, having more than 1,500 families, are still to be shifted out of the park. Forest authorities maintain they are in the process of shifting these villages but officials don't wish to come on the record.

"The lethargic Forest department is affecting the tiger conservation work in the state as nobody in the department seems to be bothered about the growing human- animal conflict situation. In Ranthambhore, villagers leave their cattle in the jungle to graze during monsoon while forest officials turn a blind eye towards the situation. Hoards of villagers coming out with fuel wood is a very common scene every evening in Ranthambhore," said Shatrunjai Singh, a tiger conservationist. All tiger conservation efforts will go waste if the villages are not shifted out of the park soon, Singh added.

 http://daily.bhaskar.com/article/RAJ-JPR-sariskas-tale-of-woes-continues-with-sluggish-relocation-of-villagers-2231507.html

MoEF in favour of declaring Mhadei as a tiger reserve -PTI

Panaji, Jun 29 (PTI) Union Ministry of Environment and Forest's letter asking Government of Goa to prepare a proposal to declare Mhadei wildlife sanctuary as a tiger reserve will have far reaching consequences on the Iron ore mining industry there, a noted environmentalist said today.Rajendra Kerkar, who has been campaigning to notify Mhadei as a tiger reserve said, "Around 36 mines, which are active around Mhadei will be hit directly while several others will be affected once the tiger reserve is notified"."The mining activity in the areas like Pissurlem and Honda in Sattari talukas will be shut down as it will fall in the buffer zone," Kerkar said, adding currently there is no buffer zone for state's wildlife sanctuaries.Union minister for Environment and Forest Jairam Ramesh yesterday wrote a letter to Chief Minister Digambar Kamat asking him to submit a proposal to notify Mhadei wildlife sanctuary as a tiger reserve.The green activists in the state have been lobbying for several years to declare this bio-diverse hotspot in the Western Ghats as a reserve for big cats.Goa is the largest exporter of iron ore in the country with around 45 million metric tonnes of ore being extracted annually.The environmentalists had been protesting against mining activities going on within the reserve forest area and wildlife sanctuaries. Mhadei Wildlife sanctuary, spread across 208 sq km, was notified in the year 1999 and is surrounded by thickly-forested Bhimgad, Bondla, Mahaveer, Anshi-Dandeli and Sawantwadi.Goa chief wildlife warden Dr Shashi Kumar said, "It will not be difficult to prepare a proposal for the tiger reserve. But it has to be done in consultation with the locals." In case there is human habitation in the sanctuary, the state will need to take decision on their rehabilitation, he added.

http://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfeed/news/moef-in-favour-of-declaring-mhadei-as-a-tiger-reserve/742636.html

Global Tiger Day every July 29

BANGALORE: Every year July 29 will be celebrated as Global Tiger Day. This has been one of the major recommendations made at the Global Tiger Summit. BK Singh, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) told Express that Karnataka is home to more than 20 per cent of the nation’s tiger population with an estimated 300 tigers.
Majority of the tigers are confined to Bandipur, Bhadra, Nagarhole, Dandeli, Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple Wildlife Sanctuary and Kudremukh tiger reserve areas.
The State Forest Department (Wildlife) has three basic mantras. “Firstly restoring the tiger habitat, addressing the issues of human habitats on the fringes of tiger reserve areas and finally measures to prevent and control poaching and smuggling of tigers,” he added.
At the summit held at St Petersburg in Russia which was attended by heads of 12 governments, including India in November, the fact that tiger numbers and habitats have declined by 40 per cent (from about 10,0000 to below 3,500) in the past one decade, was brought out. The tiger has been one of the indicators of a healthy ecosystem and failure to reverse these trends will result in not only the loss of tigers but also a loss of biodiversity throughout the Asiatic region.
With increased coordination, the tiger range countries (India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Russia, Thailand and Vietnam) would be striving to double the number of wild tigers by 2020.

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/global-tiger-day-every-july-29/163880-60-115.html

Greens roar with delight at tigers' permanent status TNN

PANAJI: Protection of the flagship species like tiger in Mhadei wildlife sanctuary is a golden opportunity for Goa not only to conserve the big cat but also halt the spreading tentacles of destruction, say environmental activists. Carving out a tiger reserve in the eco-sensitive region will lead to focused protection of the tiger as well as the entire ecology. "This is a great opportunity for Goa to protect the region's lifeline, River Mhadei from diversion," says Bicholim-based activist, Ramesh Gawas.

Concurring with him, Sujeet Dongre, co-ordinator, centre for environmental education (CEE) said, "The status of the project tiger site will certainly enhance the level of protection even as it enjoys a certain status as a wildlife sanctuary. And the state will receive more funding for focused protection of the tiger and consequently the surrounding environment," he added. Some environmentalists are satisfied that the status of the flagship species is no longer that of a visitor to the state.

Says Clinton Vaz, co-ordinator of wild Goa, an NGO. "It is now official that they are residents of Goa," he said. Jairam Ramesh, union minister of environment and forest had referred to the resident status of the Goa tiger in his letter to chief minister Digambar Kamat. But some are aware of the Goa government's lack of seriousness in mooting a proposal for a tiger reserve. "It is very reluctant about it only because of mining interests," Gawas said. The preliminary report that the samples of tiger bones found in the Keri poaching case did not belong to the big cat was an indication of it. "Secondly, it was the Centre that had to prod the state to submit a proposal on the tiger reserve," Gawas added. Agrees Vaz, "The people have been crying hoarse for a long time that the tiger is a resident of Goa," he said. Sawant said that on-field evidence gathered by wildlife lovers suggests that Goa may have more big cats than is assumed. "Tigers have existed in Goa since time immemorial," he said.

Environmentalists believe that the next step is to work together. "Both sides (people and the forest department) are now accepting the fact that tigers are residents of Goa," says Vaz. But Siddarth Karapurkar, a Margao-based social activist said that people's protection should be woven into habitat protection. "They have lived for centuries and are better forest protectors than the forest department," he said. Activists in Bicholim and Sattari are also satisfied about Tuesday's development. "The proposal should have come much earlier, but it should not be delayed to allow further destruction," Amrut Singh of the Animal Rescue Squad said. He and various other activists said that the Swami Vivekanand Paryawaran Sanghatana, Keri, headed by Rajendra Kerkar, and the Bombay Natural History Society had contributed in creating awareness about the issue. "The government has to respond immediately as there are several benefits to the state," Gawas concluded.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/flora-fauna/Greens-roar-with-delight-at-tigers-permanent-status/articleshow/9044148.cms

Cat and mouse game over Rajasthan's tigers

Jaipur, June 29 (IANS) The Rajasthan government's failure to speed up relocation of villages inside the two tiger reserves in the state has once again raised doubts over its decisiveness to protect the majestic cats, experts say.

Since the relocation was announced in 2008, the forest department has been able to shift only three of the 92 villages falling inside the Sariska Tiger Reserve in Alwar district and the Ranthambore National Park in Sawai Madhopur district.

In 2005, the forest department had planned to shift these villages after tigers in Sariska were completely wiped out on account of poaching.

The man-animal conflict inside the reserves pose a serious threat to the wild cat, as the villagers often poison the tigers to protect their livestock and families.

According to wildlife experts, Rajasthan has around 45 tigers left.

"One village - Bhagani - has been shifted from Sariska, while Indala and Machanki have been moved from Ranthambore since 2008. The process of relocating six villages from Sariska and seven from Ranthambore is underway," a forest department officer told IANS.

However, the department is yet to start relocation of the remaining villages.

"With this pace, the government might never be able to shift all villages and this poses a serious threat for the wildlife," said Babu Lal Jaju, state incharge of NGO People for Animals.

The state government had faced widespread protests in 2004-05 when it was reported that Sariska did not have any tigers left.

A report in March 2005 by the Wildlife Institute of India confirmed that poaching had wiped out the wild cat population.

Facing flak from different quarters, the state government decided to relocate tigers from Ranthambore to Sariska. From 2008, five tigers, including two males, have been relocated to the reserve.

However, in November 2010, the first relocated tiger died due to poisoning.

Experts say lopsided land acquisition too has slowed down the relocation process, but the state government disagrees.

"We give Rs.10 lakh and land as compensation to each relocated family, but the consent of the family is required. In many cases, we don't get it, so it becomes hard for us to convince the villagers to shift," said the forest officer.

"We are discussing steps to speed up the process and will soon implement them," he added.

Ranthambore National Park, which covers an area of around 400 sq km, is one of the finest tiger reserves in the country. The park's abandoned fortress, lakes and above all, around 40 majestic tigers, have made it one of the most filmed wildlife reserves in the world.

The park is also home to animals like the jackal, mongoose, sloth bear and leopard.

Sawai Madhopur is some 175 km from state capital Jaipur.

Sariska, originally a hunting preserve of the erstwhile princely state of Alwar, was declared a wildlife reserve in 1955.

It was declared a tiger reserve in 1978. Spread over 866 sq. km, the area also has animals like leopards, jungle cats, hyenas, jackals, sambars, langurs, wild boars, four-horned deer and many species of birds.

It is located some 110 km from Jaipur.
http://mangalorean.com/news.php?newstype=local&newsid=248029
 

Cat and mouse game over Rajasthan's tigers

Jaipur, June 29 (IANS) The Rajasthan government's failure to speed up relocation of villages inside the two tiger reserves in the state has once again raised doubts over its decisiveness to protect the majestic cats, experts say.

Since the relocation was announced in 2008, the forest department has been able to shift only three of the 92 villages falling inside the Sariska Tiger Reserve in Alwar district and the Ranthambore National Park in Sawai Madhopur district.

In 2005, the forest department had planned to shift these villages after tigers in Sariska were completely wiped out on account of poaching.

The man-animal conflict inside the reserves pose a serious threat to the wild cat, as the villagers often poison the tigers to protect their livestock and families.

According to wildlife experts, Rajasthan has around 45 tigers left.

"One village - Bhagani - has been shifted from Sariska, while Indala and Machanki have been moved from Ranthambore since 2008. The process of relocating six villages from Sariska and seven from Ranthambore is underway," a forest department officer told IANS.

However, the department is yet to start relocation of the remaining villages.

"With this pace, the government might never be able to shift all villages and this poses a serious threat for the wildlife," said Babu Lal Jaju, state incharge of NGO People for Animals.

The state government had faced widespread protests in 2004-05 when it was reported that Sariska did not have any tigers left.

A report in March 2005 by the Wildlife Institute of India confirmed that poaching had wiped out the wild cat population.

Facing flak from different quarters, the state government decided to relocate tigers from Ranthambore to Sariska. From 2008, five tigers, including two males, have been relocated to the reserve.

However, in November 2010, the first relocated tiger died due to poisoning.

Experts say lopsided land acquisition too has slowed down the relocation process, but the state government disagrees.

"We give Rs.10 lakh and land as compensation to each relocated family, but the consent of the family is required. In many cases, we don't get it, so it becomes hard for us to convince the villagers to shift," said the forest officer.

"We are discussing steps to speed up the process and will soon implement them," he added.

Ranthambore National Park, which covers an area of around 400 sq km, is one of the finest tiger reserves in the country. The park's abandoned fortress, lakes and above all, around 40 majestic tigers, have made it one of the most filmed wildlife reserves in the world.

The park is also home to animals like the jackal, mongoose, sloth bear and leopard.

Sawai Madhopur is some 175 km from state capital Jaipur.

Sariska, originally a hunting preserve of the erstwhile princely state of Alwar, was declared a wildlife reserve in 1955.

It was declared a tiger reserve in 1978. Spread over 866 sq. km, the area also has animals like leopards, jungle cats, hyenas, jackals, sambars, langurs, wild boars, four-horned deer and many species of birds.

It is located some 110 km from Jaipur.
http://mangalorean.com/news.php?newstype=local&newsid=248029
 

Tiger population increases in Sathyamangalam forest

Erode (TN), Jun 29 (PTI) Population of tigers in the Sathyamangalam forest in the district has risen to 28 in 2011 as against 18 in 2009, a census by forest officials stated.
Forest officials said in 2007, there were only eight tigers. The number declined to seven in 2008 but increased to 10 in 2009 and at the end of that year there were 18 big cats in the area. In 2011, the number increased by 10.
"Camera trapping technique was followed in detecting the number of tigers," they said.
The number of elephants has increased from 815 in 2007 to a little over 900 in four years.
Officials said it was proposed to dig 75 km long trenches in Erode and Sathyamangalam forest divisions following complaints from farmers that elephants were entering their lands and damaging standing crops like banana, coconut and other fruits.
Strict vigil is being maintained to prevent poaching, they added.