The result is that tiger population figures have registered an all-time low. India has lost two-thirds of its tigers in the last eight years. Driven by greed and the money they can earn by selling tiger skin and parts to the Chinese market, India's most notorious poachers are decimating tiger populations virtually unchecked.
Friday, June 4, 2010
Tracking the tiger killers - India Today Cover
They are the people responsible for India's iconic animal being threatened with extinction, a tragedy of unimaginable proportions. Two nomadic hunting tribes, along with corrupt or incompetent forest officials, continue to hunt the tiger in its natural habitat using primitive traps.
4 MPs overseeing prime national park areas talk to hardnews.com on Tiger Conservation
Following the tiger trail, Hardnews talks to four MPs on what it takes to save the big cat
Talk of tigers and KC Singh Baba, with child-like gusto, starts narrating his encounters with the animal and how he fell in love with the great predator the first time he saw it. An MP from Nainital, Uttarakhand, some areas of Corbett Tiger Reserve (CTR) fall in his constituency and this has given Baba, a nature lover, more than one reason to preserve the flora and fauna of the CTR. On several occasions, he has voiced his opinion on how to save the tiger and its habitat. Hardnews caught up with Baba to discuss various facets of tiger conservation
Firing Near Tiger Reserve Raises Fresh Doubt
A firing incident near the entrance of the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve on Wednesday has once more brought this protected area under sharp focus. This tiger reserve in eastern Madhya Pradesh came under the scanner after a tigress was hit by a rashly driven vehicle and killed inside the core area on May 19.
When contacted, state additional chief wildlife warden T.R. Sharma verified the firing incident but refused to add anything further saying the matter is under investigation. Regarding the estimated tiger population in Madhya Pradesh, he said that according to the 2006 Wildlife Institute of India, there are about 300 tigers (236-300-364) across nine landscapes, which also include the protected areas. The latest WII figures are awaited, he said.
On being approached to comprehensively share views on steps needed to ensure long-term survival of tigers, forest and wildlife experts here expressed concern and pointed out that the tiger habitat is shrinking and declining at a rapid pace and it is time for introspection to review the outcome of what has been done in the last two or three decades for protection of tigers and go for a correction course before it is too late.
Additional principal chief conservator of forests R.N. Saxena told this correspondent that we lack a policy of comprehensive landscape management. The Satpura landscape in the North and South of the Narmada river — starting from Anuppur district in eastern Madhya Pradesh and stretching across Dindori, Mandla, Balaghat, Hoshangabad, parts of Narsinghpur, and Sehore — has three magnificent tiger reserves. They are Kanha, Pench and the Satpura National Park.
Mr Saxena said that the Satpura landscape is witnessing all kinds of fragmentation and this is having an adverse impact on the tiger territory. In fact, he said, growing population and developmental activities are having an adverse impact on the forests of central India. As an analyser of the State of Forest Report regularly brought out by the Forest Survey of India, he has found that every passing report is a reminder that our forest resources are going down on each and every count whether we talk of growing stock, density, site quality, distribution of age, current annual increment, mean annual increment, status of regeneration and susceptibility to biotic pressure. The situation gets compounded by population which is exploding at an exponential rate. At the time of Independence, our per capita forest cover was .60 hectare per person whereas now it has gone down to .06 per person.
Mr Saxena said that there are 8,000 forest beats in Madhya Pradesh and 20 per cent of these are positive for occurrence of tigers. For protection of tigers, he was emphatic in pointing out that the entry and exit in national parks and sanctuaries should be regulated and the movement inside the protected areas should be minimised because it is difficult to differentiate between a genuine resident and a criminal inside a protected area.
He also said that tourism has to be restricted on the basis of the carrying capacity of PAs because these are meant for wildlife protection and tourism is incidental. Tourism cannot be the prime reason for management of protected areas, he said.
http://www.asianage.com/india/firing-near-tiger-reserve-raises-fresh-doubts-167
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Court stays translocation of tigers
Sawai Madhopur, June 3:
A local court here has stayed translocation of tigers from the Ranthambore tiger reserve in this to the Sariska sanctuary in Alwar district till further orders.
The Standing District Lok Adalat headed by District and Session Judge Chandrakala Yadav had issued the stay yesterday on a public interest petition filed by a lawyer Bhola Shankar Sharma and Jitendra Sharma.
The petitioners pleaded that people in Sawai Madhopur district did depend for livelihood, on tourism and the trans-location of the big cats from the district is not in the interest of the tourism industry in this district.
A local court here has stayed translocation of tigers from the Ranthambore tiger reserve in this to the Sariska sanctuary in Alwar district till further orders.
The Standing District Lok Adalat headed by District and Session Judge Chandrakala Yadav had issued the stay yesterday on a public interest petition filed by a lawyer Bhola Shankar Sharma and Jitendra Sharma.
The petitioners pleaded that people in Sawai Madhopur district did depend for livelihood, on tourism and the trans-location of the big cats from the district is not in the interest of the tourism industry in this district.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Tiger poaching continues; funds misused: Conservationist
New Delhi: Tiger, the national animal of the country, is being poached regularly in almost all reserves and authorities are sitting idle, eating up the the funds meant for the animal's welfare, said a Madhya Pradesh-based tiger conservationist.
Addressing a news conference here this afternoon, Ms Shehla Masood said the tigers are being killed by the poachers and nobody is stopping them.
''Even those who have been getting paid to conserve and protect the national animal are helping tourists and well-politically connected people to kill the tigers in buffer zones,'' she alleged.
Talking about Panna reserve, she said lots of tourist facilities are coming up near the tiger reserve centres and the ''well-connected'' people have access to the restricted areas.
Displaying the photographs of a tigress, which was killed recently in Madhya Pradesh reserve, she said it was proved beyond doubt that the animal was killed at the hour when nobody is allowed in the park.
''Some minister's son was named in the killing, few officers of the park have also been suspended but nothing concrete has been done till date,'' she said showing pictures of some private vehicles in the restricted areas of the reserve jungle.
''We had asked for forensic report on those confiscated vehicles but they were let off under pressure as it would have helped reach the culprits. This was done to destroy the evidence,'' Ms Masood said.
''The tigress was killed by repeated hits by a private jeep and the killers were supported by the park authority,'' the conservationist said.
''I'm not alleging, its been proved by the photographs taken by the tiger lovers,'' Ms Masood said adding that the way postmortem was done with an axe and a knife in the open, shows how funds were being misused by the officers.
Nineteen per cent tiger population of the country is in Madhya Pradesh and people responsible for good health of the national animal are helping poachers kill them.
''Police don't even file cases of missing tigers...there is no coordination between them and the officials at various parks...and that's proving dangerous for tigers,'' she said.
No proper report was sent from Panna reserve for the past many years, they sent fake reports giving wrong information about the number of tigers there and later it was proved that no tiger was left the park since 2005..but they were still getting the money for conservation, she said.
Addressing a news conference here this afternoon, Ms Shehla Masood said the tigers are being killed by the poachers and nobody is stopping them.
''Even those who have been getting paid to conserve and protect the national animal are helping tourists and well-politically connected people to kill the tigers in buffer zones,'' she alleged.
Talking about Panna reserve, she said lots of tourist facilities are coming up near the tiger reserve centres and the ''well-connected'' people have access to the restricted areas.
Displaying the photographs of a tigress, which was killed recently in Madhya Pradesh reserve, she said it was proved beyond doubt that the animal was killed at the hour when nobody is allowed in the park.
''Some minister's son was named in the killing, few officers of the park have also been suspended but nothing concrete has been done till date,'' she said showing pictures of some private vehicles in the restricted areas of the reserve jungle.
''We had asked for forensic report on those confiscated vehicles but they were let off under pressure as it would have helped reach the culprits. This was done to destroy the evidence,'' Ms Masood said.
''The tigress was killed by repeated hits by a private jeep and the killers were supported by the park authority,'' the conservationist said.
''I'm not alleging, its been proved by the photographs taken by the tiger lovers,'' Ms Masood said adding that the way postmortem was done with an axe and a knife in the open, shows how funds were being misused by the officers.
Nineteen per cent tiger population of the country is in Madhya Pradesh and people responsible for good health of the national animal are helping poachers kill them.
''Police don't even file cases of missing tigers...there is no coordination between them and the officials at various parks...and that's proving dangerous for tigers,'' she said.
No proper report was sent from Panna reserve for the past many years, they sent fake reports giving wrong information about the number of tigers there and later it was proved that no tiger was left the park since 2005..but they were still getting the money for conservation, she said.
Task force to protect Bandipur tigers
Big cats of Bandipur Tiger Reserve can now prowl about in peace. The Karnataka government has decided to speed up its 2008 plans to set up a unique task force to protect tigers of the reserve.
But before that, they got an earful from New Delhi-based National Tiger Conservation (NCTA) and even Union Minister for Environment, Jairam Ramesh, for the deaths of eight tigers since 2009 in the reserve. Four of these deaths occurred since January this year.
In a letter to the State government, the NCTA threatened to cut funding for the tiger reserves in Karnataka if they did not take steps to care for the big cats. The State has been directed to review the monitoring and security of the tiger reserves. Such a letter was also sent to other states that had tiger reserves. Top forest officials, however, denied getting any such letter.
Nevertheless, the State government is moving fast to set up the Special Tiger Protection Force (STPF) by 2011 and plans to set aside Rs 4 crore for it. To be formed as per NCTA guidelines, it will be the first of its kind in South India.
The STPF will be entrusted with keeping a watch on tigers within the State as well as monitor the porous borders of Karnataka adjoining Kerala, where poaching has been reported of late.
The squad will be headed by an assistant conservator of forests and will comprise three range forest officers, 18 foresters and 90 guards, who will be divided into three groups. Each group will be provided a vehicle, arms and other equipment by the NTCA. Even the salary and other perks of the task force will be per the NTCA.
The recruitment process for the STPF would begin from June 13, B K Singh, Principal Chief Conservator and Chief Wildlife Warden, told Deccan Herald. “Those selected after examinations will undergo six months’ rigorous training at Yelahanka Police Training centre,” he said. It will also have a member from NCTA.
But before that, they got an earful from New Delhi-based National Tiger Conservation (NCTA) and even Union Minister for Environment, Jairam Ramesh, for the deaths of eight tigers since 2009 in the reserve. Four of these deaths occurred since January this year.
In a letter to the State government, the NCTA threatened to cut funding for the tiger reserves in Karnataka if they did not take steps to care for the big cats. The State has been directed to review the monitoring and security of the tiger reserves. Such a letter was also sent to other states that had tiger reserves. Top forest officials, however, denied getting any such letter.
Nevertheless, the State government is moving fast to set up the Special Tiger Protection Force (STPF) by 2011 and plans to set aside Rs 4 crore for it. To be formed as per NCTA guidelines, it will be the first of its kind in South India.
The STPF will be entrusted with keeping a watch on tigers within the State as well as monitor the porous borders of Karnataka adjoining Kerala, where poaching has been reported of late.
The squad will be headed by an assistant conservator of forests and will comprise three range forest officers, 18 foresters and 90 guards, who will be divided into three groups. Each group will be provided a vehicle, arms and other equipment by the NTCA. Even the salary and other perks of the task force will be per the NTCA.
The recruitment process for the STPF would begin from June 13, B K Singh, Principal Chief Conservator and Chief Wildlife Warden, told Deccan Herald. “Those selected after examinations will undergo six months’ rigorous training at Yelahanka Police Training centre,” he said. It will also have a member from NCTA.
Tigress' death shakes Madhya Pradesh into action
Bhopal, June 2 (IANS) A tigress' death due to a vehicle hit in Madhya Pradesh's Bandhavgarh tiger reserve has galvanised authorities into action. Two tourist routes inside the park have been shut down and similar moves are being planned in other tiger reserves in the state.
However, locals associated with tourism activities are alarmed and say the initiative will hit their livelihood.
The eight-year-old tigress was discovered lying in an injured condition May 19 and died a few hours later. The autopsy report said it died of haemorrhage due to internal injuries caused by a vehicle hit. Its cubs, aged around five months, are being looked after by the forest department.
The authorities have shut two of the four tourist routes inside Bandhavgarh reserve, located in Umaria district.
Other restrictions being planned to prevent such incidents include curbing the movement of vehicles inside the park, reducing the number of resorts and cutting down the number of tourist guides, according to an official.
'The Bandhavgarh National Park management has already closed down two of the four tourist routes in the park. The heat is on camps, resorts and hotels located in tiger reserves across the state as the forest department is planning to impose restrictions on their activities,' the official told IANS.
Besides Bandhavgarh, such restrictions may also be extended to other prominent tiger reserves in the state - the Pench, Kanha, Panna and Satpura national parks - the official added.
But this could hit at the root of their livelihood, say locals around Bandhavgarh who held a meeting Monday to discuss the situation.
Under the aegis of Jansabha, comprising tourist guides, drivers and resort owners, the locals have also demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the death of the tigress.
'It was a forest department vehicle that hit the big cat and it is very unfair to hit our livelihoods for something which is not our fault,' a report compiled by the Jansabha said.
'Though the officials have quizzed us and even conducted forensic tests on our vehicles, the same interest has not been shown in the case of vehicles of the forest department,' the report added.
The probe conducted by Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (PCCF) Dharmendra Shukla and the park director C.K. Patil has failed to produce any conclusive results.
Shukla, who is in charge of the probe pertaining to the tigress' death, said it is immaterial whether a tourist or a government vehicle hit the tigress.
'Unregulated vehicles in tiger reserves are a hazard. There is need for regulating their movement. Before the next tourist season commences in October, there will be a system in place that may pinch tourism, but it is necessary for the safety of the animals,' he said, adding that parks were not meant for commercial interest and have to be maintained for future generations.
The last tiger census held in January 2006 and released in 2008 put the average population of tigers in Madhya Pradesh at 300, while the total number of the big cats in the country was put at 1,411.
In the last few years, a number of poaching incidents and accidental deaths of tigers have been reported from the tiger reserves.
http://www.mynews.in/News/Tigress'_death_shakes_Madhya_Pradesh_into_action_N59274.html
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Activist pushes Jairam ministry into action on Tigress death
NTCA Secretary Rajesh Gopal released a status report on the death of a tigress inside Bandhavgarh reserve after visiting the park today. The report is a result of unrelenting pressure built up by local activists lead by Bhopal based Shehla Masood who was the first one to bring out facts related to killing of the tiger. Based on facts gathered from the visit the report clearly states the cause of death to be a vehicle hit and one that probably belongs to a local govt official. The report has suggested the state govt order a CBI enquiry into the killing.
Report available on
‘Tourism overkill endangering Corbett’
Alarmed at the uncontrolled tourist flow into the Corbett National Park, Brijendra Singh, the park’s honorary wildlife warden, has emphasised the need for the State Government to ‘act urgently’ to check tourism and ensure that it did not turn the park into a “glorified, large zoo”.
Talking to The Pioneer at Wycliffe, his residence here, on Monday, Raja Sahib (as he is popularly known) said that the State Government should constitute a committee — consisting of representatives from the fields of forest, tourism and wildlife — which should rethink on the resorts that have come up in places where corridors for animals should have been set up.
Singh said that the committee should make sure that these resorts are removed and compensation is paid to their owners. “And it should decide on the establishment of corridors,” said Singh who has been the honorary wildlife warden of the national park since 1982. “The committee should holistically look into the problems at Corbett,” he said.
Dr Rajesh Gopal, member-secretary of the National Tiger Conser-vation Authority (NTCA), and Brijendra Singh will be at Corbett from June 3 to June 5 to look into the problems arising out of ‘over tourism’ in the park. Singh said if the problems were not sorted out immediately, things would be over for Corbett and it would be reduced to a safari park. “However, all is not lost and things can be worked out even now and some corridors can still be established,” he added.
But, says Raja Sahib, if things are not taken in hand now, then saving Corbett will become a losing battle.
Brijendra Singh, who spends most of his time patrolling the Corbett Tiger Reserve and organising sting operations to nab poachers, says over tourism and lack of involvement of local villagers had been the two major problems that had affected the park.
“We need more efforts to involve the locals. Unfortunately, many locals sold their property to resort owners who came to Corbett from Mumbai and Delhi. And now these villagers, who once owned that land, are working as waiters in these resorts.”
He said it was important to involve the locals as Ramnagar was entirely dependent on tourism. “If at that time the Government had controlled the sale of land around the park, things would have been quite different now,” said Singh, who divides his time among Delhi, Corbett and Mussoorie.
Singh said another problem plaguing Corbett is the trees planted on the fire lines. “It has led to a Catch-22 situation. If these trees are not removed, we cannot have clear fire lines and if they are felled then again we will be in the wrong,” said Singh, who is the longest serving member on the Indian Board for Wildlife.
Brijendra Singh’s association with the park began as a school boy (from The Doon School) in 1957. “We used to go for our mid-term breaks from the school. Thick forests started from Haridwar itself. Corbett was a paradise.”
His love for the park grew with each visit. His active involvement with the park began with his successful campaign to stop construction of a three-star hotel at Khinnanauli by the Tourism Department of Uttar Pradesh, in 1968. This area today is the prime tiger habitat and the pride of Corbett.
Having come from a background where hunting, at the time, was a part of life, Brijendra Singh grew up as a hunter and is well-known in the hills around Mussoorie for having shot many cattle lifting and man-eater leopards in the area. Though he gave up hunting in 1970, he is still called upon by the forest department when in crisis to put away man-eater leopards, a task which he reluctantly undertakes.
Talking to The Pioneer at Wycliffe, his residence here, on Monday, Raja Sahib (as he is popularly known) said that the State Government should constitute a committee — consisting of representatives from the fields of forest, tourism and wildlife — which should rethink on the resorts that have come up in places where corridors for animals should have been set up.
Singh said that the committee should make sure that these resorts are removed and compensation is paid to their owners. “And it should decide on the establishment of corridors,” said Singh who has been the honorary wildlife warden of the national park since 1982. “The committee should holistically look into the problems at Corbett,” he said.
Dr Rajesh Gopal, member-secretary of the National Tiger Conser-vation Authority (NTCA), and Brijendra Singh will be at Corbett from June 3 to June 5 to look into the problems arising out of ‘over tourism’ in the park. Singh said if the problems were not sorted out immediately, things would be over for Corbett and it would be reduced to a safari park. “However, all is not lost and things can be worked out even now and some corridors can still be established,” he added.
But, says Raja Sahib, if things are not taken in hand now, then saving Corbett will become a losing battle.
Brijendra Singh, who spends most of his time patrolling the Corbett Tiger Reserve and organising sting operations to nab poachers, says over tourism and lack of involvement of local villagers had been the two major problems that had affected the park.
“We need more efforts to involve the locals. Unfortunately, many locals sold their property to resort owners who came to Corbett from Mumbai and Delhi. And now these villagers, who once owned that land, are working as waiters in these resorts.”
He said it was important to involve the locals as Ramnagar was entirely dependent on tourism. “If at that time the Government had controlled the sale of land around the park, things would have been quite different now,” said Singh, who divides his time among Delhi, Corbett and Mussoorie.
Singh said another problem plaguing Corbett is the trees planted on the fire lines. “It has led to a Catch-22 situation. If these trees are not removed, we cannot have clear fire lines and if they are felled then again we will be in the wrong,” said Singh, who is the longest serving member on the Indian Board for Wildlife.
Brijendra Singh’s association with the park began as a school boy (from The Doon School) in 1957. “We used to go for our mid-term breaks from the school. Thick forests started from Haridwar itself. Corbett was a paradise.”
His love for the park grew with each visit. His active involvement with the park began with his successful campaign to stop construction of a three-star hotel at Khinnanauli by the Tourism Department of Uttar Pradesh, in 1968. This area today is the prime tiger habitat and the pride of Corbett.
Having come from a background where hunting, at the time, was a part of life, Brijendra Singh grew up as a hunter and is well-known in the hills around Mussoorie for having shot many cattle lifting and man-eater leopards in the area. Though he gave up hunting in 1970, he is still called upon by the forest department when in crisis to put away man-eater leopards, a task which he reluctantly undertakes.
Stalled tigress death probe gets a leg-up
Investigations into the 11-day-old murder mystery of an eight-year-old tigress in the Bandhavgarh reserve in Madhya Pradesh gained momentum on Monday with the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) member-secretary Dr Rajesh Gopal reaching the site to probe the incident and report back to Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh.
The identity of the killer/s continues to be shrouded in mystery. Though Ramesh had sought an immediate report from MP Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, there has been no response so far.
In view of the delay, Dr Gopal reached the tiger reserve on Monday. There is speculation that a CBI probe may be ordered into the incident.
MP’s Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests Dharmendra Shukla, who was earlier probing the incident, said, “The preliminary inquiry report related to circumstances causing the incident and other factors has been submitted to the State, but the criminal investigation is still not over. The report will take some time.”
According to NTCA sources, Gopal will also decide on the rehabilitation of the three cubs after the death of their mother. The three-month-old cubs need special attention.
In another development, nearly 200 villagers under the banner of Jansabha met outside the reserve on Monday to finalise their three-point memorandum to be submitted to Dr Gopal. They are demanding a CBI inquiry, protection of the orphaned cubs and a stable tourism policy for the benefit of the local villagers who largely depend on this trade.
“We are convinced that the Forest department would not be able to do justice to the investigation as one of the officials is involved,” said Dhruv Singh, a local, who spoke to this correspondent over telephone. This, he felt, explains the inordinate delay in the submission of the report, despite the directives of the Environment Minister, adding that it should be handed over to the CBI now.
The safety of the cubs following the death of the mother was also a source of concern for the local villagers. The three cubs continue to be in the prime natural habitat area, which are inhabited by other tigresses, wolves, leopards etc. The prevailing situation may disturb the equilibrium of the habitat. However, Field Director CR Patil said, “The cubs are safe and being monitored round-the-clock. They are being fed from time to time.”
The villagers also threw light on inconsistent tourist policies. The policies change with change in field directors, they said. “They are transferred after every two-three years leaving us at crossroads”, they regretted.
The eight-year-old tigress was found dead in Jhurjhura region of the reserve close to a water source in Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve on May 19. The post-mortem report said the big cat died of multiple injuries after she was knocked down more than once by a vehicle.
The identity of the killer/s continues to be shrouded in mystery. Though Ramesh had sought an immediate report from MP Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, there has been no response so far.
In view of the delay, Dr Gopal reached the tiger reserve on Monday. There is speculation that a CBI probe may be ordered into the incident.
MP’s Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests Dharmendra Shukla, who was earlier probing the incident, said, “The preliminary inquiry report related to circumstances causing the incident and other factors has been submitted to the State, but the criminal investigation is still not over. The report will take some time.”
According to NTCA sources, Gopal will also decide on the rehabilitation of the three cubs after the death of their mother. The three-month-old cubs need special attention.
In another development, nearly 200 villagers under the banner of Jansabha met outside the reserve on Monday to finalise their three-point memorandum to be submitted to Dr Gopal. They are demanding a CBI inquiry, protection of the orphaned cubs and a stable tourism policy for the benefit of the local villagers who largely depend on this trade.
“We are convinced that the Forest department would not be able to do justice to the investigation as one of the officials is involved,” said Dhruv Singh, a local, who spoke to this correspondent over telephone. This, he felt, explains the inordinate delay in the submission of the report, despite the directives of the Environment Minister, adding that it should be handed over to the CBI now.
The safety of the cubs following the death of the mother was also a source of concern for the local villagers. The three cubs continue to be in the prime natural habitat area, which are inhabited by other tigresses, wolves, leopards etc. The prevailing situation may disturb the equilibrium of the habitat. However, Field Director CR Patil said, “The cubs are safe and being monitored round-the-clock. They are being fed from time to time.”
The villagers also threw light on inconsistent tourist policies. The policies change with change in field directors, they said. “They are transferred after every two-three years leaving us at crossroads”, they regretted.
The eight-year-old tigress was found dead in Jhurjhura region of the reserve close to a water source in Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve on May 19. The post-mortem report said the big cat died of multiple injuries after she was knocked down more than once by a vehicle.
Monday, May 31, 2010
NTCA to re-evaluate tiger reserves
LUCKNOW: National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has decided to re-evaluate the country’s tiger reserves on the basis of their efficiency in management. The move comes amid calls for revamping the Project Tiger with an increase in poaching and decline in big cat population.
‘‘The evaluation would determine whether the reserves need any change in field management,’’ said R L Singh, former Project Tiger director and chairman of one of the five committees set up to evaluate the reserves.
Singh will head a committee to evaluate Cluster-III tiger reserves - Valmiki (Bihar), Indravati, Achanakmar, Udanti-Sitanadi (Chhattisgarh), Similipal, Satkosia (Orissa), Nagarjunasagar-Srisailam (Andhra Pradesh) and Palamau (Jharkhand). The cluster comprises some reserves in Maoist-affected areas and their management would be evaluated keeping this in mind.
‘‘The evaluation would determine whether the reserves need any change in field management,’’ said R L Singh, former Project Tiger director and chairman of one of the five committees set up to evaluate the reserves.
Singh will head a committee to evaluate Cluster-III tiger reserves - Valmiki (Bihar), Indravati, Achanakmar, Udanti-Sitanadi (Chhattisgarh), Similipal, Satkosia (Orissa), Nagarjunasagar-Srisailam (Andhra Pradesh) and Palamau (Jharkhand). The cluster comprises some reserves in Maoist-affected areas and their management would be evaluated keeping this in mind.
GIS to unravel information on Manas Tiger Reserve
Guwahati, May 30 (IBNS): An unique web-based geographical information software MANTRIS that is expected to help in tiger conservation efforts in western Assam’s Manas National Park, which is covered under Project Tiger, has been unveiled.
The software has been developed by a research team of Aaranyak, a prominent scientific and industrial research organization based here, and is expected to contribute further tiger conservation efforts in protected areas of the country.
By virtue of this new software that has been dedicated to Manas Tiger Reserve, under Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) in Assam, detail information about the much celebrated tiger reserve will now be available in a single package called ‘MANTRIS’.
MANTRIS - Manas Tiger Reserve Information System— was formally handed over to the forest department of BTC through the BTC deputy chief, Kampa Borgoyari, in a function held a Kokrajhar a couple of days back, which was attended by field director of Royal Manas National Park (in Bhutan), Tenzing Wangchuk, head of forest department under BTC,G C Basumatary, Manas National Park field director Aninda Swargiary besides a host of dignitaries.
MANTRIS happens to be the first such web-based information soft ware on any of the wildlife protection areas in the North East.
A core group of researchers from Aaranyak has developed the unique information database MANTRIS in collaboration with Forest Department of BTC.
MANTRIS is basically a web-based Geographical Information System (GIS) that unravels information about varied aspects of enchanting Manas Tiger Reserve bordering Bhutan Himalayas at the click of the mouse.
MANTRIS is the first of its kind information software that will be of immense help for park managers and stakeholders besides nature and wildlife enthusiasts.
MANTRIS is designed for the entire Manas Tiger Reserve area that extends from Sankosh river in the west to Dhansiri river in the east long the India-Bhutan border. Manas Tiger Reserve comprises of 18 ranges covering a total area of over 2800 square kilometer.
MANTRIS contains detail information on almost all aspects of the picturesque tiger reserve including administrative centers, forest boundary, land use pattern, drainage, forest villages, NGO locations, roads network , ride line, elephant points, golden langur points, digital elevation model (topographic model) of tiger reserve.
This web-based and extremely user friendly information system has been developed after two years of extensive field work and research carried out by a team of Aaranyak comprising team leader Bibhuti P Lahkar, Pranjit Kr Sarma, Hillojyoti Sinha, Santanu Dey, Bipul Das, Bikram Choudhury, Arup Das, Ananta Bora, T R Marak. Aaranyak Secretary General Bibhab Talukdar guided the team.
The whole project was financially supported by Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) that focuses on conservation of bio-diversity hotspots.
The software is now available in digital format with Aaranyak which has plan to make it available in the internet subject approval of Forest Department, BTC. The digital copy of MANTRIS is available for public on request.
MANTRIS can be the basic platform for habitat linkages within Manas Tiger Reserve and other key habitats of Bhutan Biological Conservation Complex as well as North Bank Landscape.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Major fire in Valmiki Nagar tiger reserve, 10 hectares of forest gutted
BAGAHA (Bihar): A major fire broke out in Valmiki Nagar tiger reserve at Madanpur range near Indo-Nepal border, destroying about ten hectares of forest, a forest official said today.
The fire which broke out last evening continued for nearly 12 hours till this morning before forest guards could control it, forest ranger Zunaid Ali said.
He said work had already begun to assess the loss of animals and birds.
The cause of the fire was being ascertained.
The fire which broke out last evening continued for nearly 12 hours till this morning before forest guards could control it, forest ranger Zunaid Ali said.
He said work had already begun to assess the loss of animals and birds.
The cause of the fire was being ascertained.
Friday, May 28, 2010
Aurangabad police nab three for tiger skin poaching
Aurangabad Police nabbed three poachers and seized a prized skin of a tiger from them on Wednesday.
Acting on a tip off, the officials nabbed the three suspects before they could sell the tiger skin.amesh Ghorale, Assistant Commissioner of Police of Aurangabad, said: "These poachers had planned to sell the tiger skin for Rupees 2.2 million dollars.
"We got the skin of a tiger and also seized a Khukri (traditional dagger of Gorkhas of Nepal)...and one car. We also arrested three people...out of them two are from Aurangabad and one is from Jalna," he added.
Further investigation to ascertain the source of this tiger skin and also the proposed destination is in progress. (ANI)
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Bandhavgarh “Tigress was killed by Reserve vehicle ”
NEW DELHI: Who killed the Bandhavgarh tigress? While wildlife officials blamed tourist vehicles, tourists and locals are now pointing the finger at the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve's officials themselves. Locals and tourists say it was an official vehicle of the Reserve that originally hit the eight-year-old lactating tigress as she was attempting to cross the road and reach her three cubs early on the morning of May 19.
Tourist vehicles spotted the injured tigress and informed the Reserve officials. They say it finally died when she charged a vehicle of the Reserve that was sent out to investigate. Two tourists say they were harassed by officials to put the blame on their own driver.
On May 25, three Reserve officials, including an assistant director and two rangers, were suspended, according to National Tiger Conservation Authority director Rajesh Gopal. He refused to comment on who was responsible for the death, saying an enquiry was on.
Earlier reports from Wildlife Department officials and the Reserve authorities suggested several contradictory reasons for the death, including a territorial fight and a wire snare. Finally, after a post-mortem showed internal injuries caused by the impact of a hard, blunt object, the Reserve's field director said he suspected collision with a tourist vehicle. Rumours also suggested that a relative of a Madhya Pradesh Minister was involved.
Jainandni Rathore and her husband Vikramaditya Singh of Jaipur were among the first tourists at the scene, accompanied by their experienced driver and a guide. When they arrived at the water hole at 6.10 a.m., they found two other tourist vehicles already present. Together, they watched the tigress drooping near the water.
“She looked very angry and distressed…she seemed aggressive and was acting abnormally. So our driver suggested that we back off. Within seconds, she suddenly took off and came charging at us…we rushed away. I was really shook up and just wanted to get out of there, but the driver said we should stop and inform officials at the central point,” she says.
The driver also warned off other tourist vehicles heading towards the site and then informed forest rangers, who closed the route. With permission, Ms. Rathore and her husband then left the park and returned to their hotel. “Less than an hour after we reached the room, we were told two forest officials came to meet us. We thought they may want to pacify us, but they were very aggressive.”
The two officials were assistant director R.P. Pandey and range officer J.N. Shukla — both of whom were suspended — who had come to get a statement.
“They tried to pressure us to say it was our driver's mistake. Why should I tell a lie when he is innocent? In fact, I am only alive because of my driver's quick thinking,” Ms. Rathore says.
“They even threatened my husband and asked if he was driving the jeep. If we had been at fault, why would we take the trouble to come and report the tigress' condition to the authorities?”
Ms. Rathore says the officials repeatedly harassed them and came for their statement three or four times. However, when they went to complain to the director, they found their statement conveniently missing. In fact, a statement copy was only delivered to them the night before they left Bandhavgarh on May 24.
‘Animal was already hit'
Dhruv Singh — a Bandhavgarh resident representing a community organisation called Jan Sabha who was present at the post-mortem and witnessed parts of the investigation — says the tourists' information was only taken into account after a senior Mumbai police officer in one of the other vehicles submitted his statement.
Since the tigress was hit before the tourist vehicles arrived, and since only Reserve vehicles are allowed into the park before 6 a.m., investigations are now focussed around Reserve officials.
http://www.hindu.com/2010/05/27/stories/2010052762991300.htm
2 more tigers in Sariska by June
May 26: Two more tigers are being relocated to Sariska from the Ranthambore tiger reserve in the third week of June. Rajesh Gopal, member secretary of National Tiger Conservation Authority, pointed out that the next round of relocation, which will have a male tiger, should come as a boost to revive the tiger population in this sanctuary.
The earlier relocation had the tiger mate with the tigresses but that did not result in any pregnancy.
A wildlife official pointed out that there was a possibility that the earlier male tiger brought to Sariska may have had a low sperm count. But the relocation process received a boost when a translocated tigress for the first time gave birth to three cubs in Panna reserve.
The earlier relocation had the tiger mate with the tigresses but that did not result in any pregnancy.
A wildlife official pointed out that there was a possibility that the earlier male tiger brought to Sariska may have had a low sperm count. But the relocation process received a boost when a translocated tigress for the first time gave birth to three cubs in Panna reserve.
3 Bandhavgarh Officials Suspended For Cover-Up
Three forest officers have been suspended for allegedly attempting to cover up the killing of a 30-month-old tigress which died in the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh on May 19.
The tigress was crossing a road in the reserve along with her three cubs on the night of May 18 when a forest department jeep with SDO R.C. Pandey sitting in it allegedly hit it.
Without attending to the injured tigress, the officer scrambled back to his home and reported the matter to range officers Lalit Pandey and J.N. Shukla. The trio allegedly misinformed their boss, reserve field director C.K. Patil, that the tigress had been wounded by a tourist vehicle or else sustained internal injuries in a fight with another tigress over territorial rights.
The injured animal was, however, spotted at 6 am next morning by a group of tourists amongst whom was a senior police official belonging to the Maharashtra cadre who took photographs of the animal.
All the three forest officers tried putting the blame on the tourist jeep for hitting the tigress and may have succeeded in this ploy were it not for the intervention of the tell-tale photographs taken by the police official.
The local Bandhavgarh population, which is heavily dependent on tourism for their livelihood, also pressured Patil to have the forest department vehicles checked by forensic experts.
Environmentalist Dhruv Singh from Bandhavgarh told this reporter on the phone, “Patil agreed to have the vehicles checked and when he realised his own officials were involved in a cover up, he suspended them immediately.”
Mr Pandey has been accused of financial bungling and had been served with a transfer order. Mr Patil has ruled out the possibility of the tigress having been hit by the tourists jeep in the reserve.
Before the feline died, it entered a water body in Tala range, Mr Patil said, adding there was no external injury mark on the tigress’ body.
He said the post-mortem of tigress will be done as per the guidelines.
http://www.asianage.com/india/3-bandhavgarh-officials-suspended-cover-017
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
12 get three yrs RI for poaching tigers
LUCKNOW: In a judgment that will go a long way in wildlife protection in UP, Allahabad additional district judge S N Agnihotri on Tuesday awarded 12 poachers three-year rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 10,000 each under Section 51 of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. Ten of these poachers, who belong to Katni in Madhya Pradesh, are women.
Two men, Insatt and Sushil, and 10 women, including Mirsana, Sarojini, Sukhchain, Suhana, Rafeli, Meenabai, Juhi Chawla, Kiloran, Rango and Chillo , were arrested in December 2007 in Allahabad along with four traders by a team of police and Special Task Force led by Civil Lines CO Arvind Chaturvedi . The police were assisted by the Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI). All the 12 poachers belonged to the Bahelia caste and three tiger skins and 75 kg of tiger bones were seized from them.
Giving this information, Tito Joseph of WPSI told TOI: ‘‘ The court had separated the cases of Bahelia poachers and traders’’ . ‘‘ All the 12 poachers did not get bail and were lodged in jail since December 2007,’’ added lawyer Ved Prakash Mishra.
Forest department officials believe that Bawaria and Bahelia poachers are major threat to tigers in the region. Kala Sona, Black Mushroom, Kasturi, Chivi, Kumbh Boda and Safeda are just some of the code words that these poachers use to mislead the police.
Two men, Insatt and Sushil, and 10 women, including Mirsana, Sarojini, Sukhchain, Suhana, Rafeli, Meenabai, Juhi Chawla, Kiloran, Rango and Chillo , were arrested in December 2007 in Allahabad along with four traders by a team of police and Special Task Force led by Civil Lines CO Arvind Chaturvedi . The police were assisted by the Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI). All the 12 poachers belonged to the Bahelia caste and three tiger skins and 75 kg of tiger bones were seized from them.
Giving this information, Tito Joseph of WPSI told TOI: ‘‘ The court had separated the cases of Bahelia poachers and traders’’ . ‘‘ All the 12 poachers did not get bail and were lodged in jail since December 2007,’’ added lawyer Ved Prakash Mishra.
Forest department officials believe that Bawaria and Bahelia poachers are major threat to tigers in the region. Kala Sona, Black Mushroom, Kasturi, Chivi, Kumbh Boda and Safeda are just some of the code words that these poachers use to mislead the police.
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