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 http://sify.com/news/full-grown-tiger-skeletal-seized-in-guwahati-news-national-kgstEehbhjc.html | |||
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Full-grown tiger skeletal seized in Guwahati
Thursday, June 17, 2010
No African safari in tiger parks
The environment and forest ministry has decided to nip the proposal in the bud, which emanated from Madhya Pradesh, with the tourism lobby asking that a patch of forest reserve be handed over to them to run as a South Africa-style safari where rich tourists can be catered. While the Madhya Pradesh government forest department had supported the proposal pushed by a group of tour companies — Travel Operators for Tigers — the union ministry has rejected it.
The tourism lobby was keen to go beyond the one case of Madhya Pradesh and wanted a policy change to assist such exclusive enclaves in forest areas all over the country. They had demanded a national experts conference on the issue to promoted their proposal. That too, the union environment and forests ministry has refused to entertain.
Sources in the ministry said that the existing wildlife protection regulations do not provide for such commercial activities in the name of conservation so it had rejected the MP proposal as well as the demand to hold consultations on a policy change.
The pressure from the tourism lobby to open up forests to the lucrative ‘wildlife tourism’ comes even after PM Manmohan Singh, as chair of the National Board for Wildlife, had written to select states asking that the chief ministers intervene to reduce tourism pressure on high profile tiger reserves.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
VTR plans awareness tour for villagers
For this, they have decided to take a group of villagers, to be selected from amongst members of 87 eco development committees functioning in the villages located in the vicinity of VTR, either to the Jim Corbett or Kanha Tiger Reserve.
The villagers, during their visit to either of these two tiger reserves, would be shown that how the forest and wild animals have become a major source of income for locals. Both these tiger reserves attract a large number of tourists every year which leads to pumping of crores of rupees in the local economy.
"We intend to send a group of about two dozen local villagers on the exposure visit so that they could themselves be witness to the fact that how the reserve can be a very good means of livelihood for them and that too without damaging the flora and fauna of the VTR," reserve director J P Gupta told TOI. He added that a proposal in this regard would soon be sent to the state government for approval.
As has been the trend in the past, the locals have been largely dependent on the forest resources for their livelihood. This has been a matter of concern because this dependence has adversely affected the conservation and protection moves in and around the VTR. So much so, that in some extreme cases villagers have even taken recourse to retaliatory measures against the wild animals treating them as a threat to their and their's cattle lives.
"The exposure visit to other tiger reserves where locals are earning healthy sums due to promotion of eco-tourism would certainly help in overcoming such feelings and also help in inculcating a feeling of responsibility among locals towards protecting the forest and wild animals," Gupta said.
The VTR director said a group of reserve's field personnel from the rank of forest guards to range officers would also be sent on such exposure visits.
"Protection measures taken by field personnel of other tiger reserves and their role as facilitators for tourists visiting the reserves are the two main aspects we want our field personnel to learn during the exposure visit," he said.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Judge's securitymen flout forest rules
As per norms, Borde was granted security by Gondia and Bhandara district police. Before starting for morning forest safari, Borde had strictly asked securitymen to stay back at ‘Nilay' guest house where he was putting up. After Borde and his wife left in a forest department vehicle, the securitymen defied his orders and went for a safari of their own in their vehicles. Around 9 am, the cops in two Tata Sumo vehicles sighted a male tiger between ‘Nilay' and water hole number one.
The tiger was hardly 60 feet away from the road Eyewitnesses said the cops were so excited by this that some of them got out of their vehicles and headed towards the animal. Some tourists in other vehicles following them asked the cops to get back, but they did not listen. A section of tourists told TOI, some policemen also hurled stones at the tiger. Disturbed, the tiger disappeared from the spot. The 10 policemen included driver of Justice Borde.
Under the Wildlife Protection Act (WPA) 1972, firearms are strictly prohibited inside the protected area. Authorised guides are compulsory with each vehicle and one cannot get down from vehicles except at designated places. Violation of these rules invites prosecution under the Act. The securitymen were not accompanied by any guide, it is learnt.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Spotlight on tigers makes poachers shift to leopards
With the dwindling tiger population, poachers are increasingly on the prowl for the country’s other big cat. And if figures are anything to go by, the leopard will soon beat the tiger in the extinction race.
More than 70 leopards were killed across the country in the first three months of this year. And as many as 290 leopards were killed last year, nearly twice as many as the 157 in 2008 according to records available with the Wildlife Protection Society of India.
But wildlifers said the figure could be higher. Some say that up to 500 leopards are killed yearly in India, which has an estimated population of around 8,000 leopards.
“Poachers have shifted focus to leopards because they are near-perfect substitutes for tigers’s body parts,” said wildlife activist Jaswant Singh Kalair.
In UP, for example, poaching has not been restricted to a single region. Dudhwa National Park and its extended territories are the most affected.
Wildlife activists have demanded a dedicated conservation programme — on the lines of Project Tiger — for leopards. But so far, forest authorities have not taken any initiative.
“Like Project Tiger, a dedicated conservation programme for leopards is a must. Poaching of leopards needs to be checked to ensure they don’t face extinction,” said another activist.
A leopard skin sells for Rs 25,000 in the local black market. In big cities, the price goes up to Rs 50,000 and in the international market, it can fetch Rs 100,000.
Poison deaths
Nearly 30 leopards have died in Maharashtra this year, most of them by drinking water poisoned by villagers to “punish” the cats for wandering into human habitations. The human-animal conflict has dented efforts of authorities working for protection of the species in the state.
Fifteen deaths were reported in Vidarbha, mostly from the forests of Chandrapur and Gadchiroli. Four leopards were killed in Buldhana district in the last two weeks.
With its habitat degraded, the leopard wanders into human settlements and attacks cattle, dogs, goats and sometimes even humans. This results in outraged villagers bludgeoning the animal to death.
Wildlife activists insist on the need to educate villagers. “We are conducting awareness programmes in the forest villages to minimise the conflict,” said A.K. Joshi, state wildlife warden and principal chief conservator of forests (wildlife).
Two held with tiger skins in Chhattisgarh
The arrests Wednesday were made from the Sarkanda police station area, some 110 km from here.
Acting on a tip-off, Jhariram Sahu, 42 and his associate were arrested from two different localities of Bilaspur town.
Preliminary inquiries suggest that the two had poached a tiger in the Mandla forest circle in Madhya Pradesh close to the Chhattisgarh border.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Tiger kills man in Uttar Pradesh
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Monday, June 7, 2010
Tiger cub found dead from Kanha Tiger Reserve
A female tiger cub was found dead on Sunday in Sondar area of Kanha Tiger Reserve in eastern Madhya Pradesh, officials said.
"After a forest guard experienced a foul smell from the forest area, he searched and found the dead cub, possibly 22 days old in the Kisli range of the Reserve, the Park Officiating Field Director A K Nagar said.
He said that a cut has been found near the stomach of the cub, adding that it appears that some carnivorous might had killed it yesterday.
The carnivorous, possibly a jackal might have attacked the cub when it was alone, Nagar said, adding that tigress often leave cubs while going after its prey, Nagar said.
The post-mortem of the cub had been carried out according to the guidelines of the National Tiger Conservation Authority, he said, adding that autopsy report was awaited.
"We have collected the viscera of the cub for forensic test," he said.
The mortality rate of the cubs was high and half of its population is lost before attaining adulthood, he said.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/Tiger-cub-found-dead-from-Kanha-Tiger-Reserve/Article1-554049.aspx
Plan to link Dudhwa Reserve with other forest areas
For the conservation of tigers, the state Forest department and World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF-India) plan to connect the forest area of Dudhwa Tiger Reserve with the adjoining forest areas. At present, a survey is being conducted to assess the possibility of a corridor linking Dudhwa Tiger Reserve, Kishanpur Sanctuary and Katerniaghat Wildlife Reserve.
The step is being taken to facilitate easy movement of the big cat from one forest area to another in order to avoid problems of inbreeding among the tiger population. “Though no such case has been reported yet, but we are conducting the survey as our long term goal is to prevent any such problems in the future,” said Harish Guleria, Landscape Coordinator of Terai Arc Landscape (WWF-India).
“We are assessing the feasibility of the creation of the corridors between Dudhwa and its adjoining forest areas. However, the survey work is yet to be completed,” said B K Patnaik, Principal Chief Conservator of Forest of Uttar Pradesh. The corridor area being assessed is the 11-km stretch from Sathiana to Palia range connecting Dudhwa Tiger Reserve to Kishanpur Sanctuary. Similarly, around 14 km of land area along Kaudiyala river in Mohana range — connecting Dudhwa and Katerniaghat Sanctuary — is also being surveyed.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Plan-to-link-Dudhwa-Reserve-with-other-forest-areas/630301
Panicky bike riders scare away Royal Bengal
Rampada Mondal (30) who was driving his bike along the pitched dark road got the shock of his life when the headlight fell on a tiger that was standing barely 7 feet ahead of them. He slammed the brake of his motorcycle. He and his two friends screamed with all their might. To their surprise, the tiger looked at them just once, dropped the dead dog it was carrying in its mouth and jumped into the Jhingakhali river.
According to villagers, the tiger then swam down the river for almost 5 kilometres before reaching the Kalindi and crossed over to the forest across the international border.
Locals in three villages under Kalitala-IV gram panchayat have been noticing pug marks in different areas of the river bank since Wednesday. They had contacted the forest department, which put up halogen lights in the three villages. Dhakis and fire crackers had been kept ready to scare away the animal if it entered any of the villages. Forest officials have been camping in the area with tranquillisers and cages, ready to trap the tiger. It was only on Sunday that the tiger was spotted.
Though the animal did not attack any human, some villagers reported that several cattleheads had been dragged away by the big cat in the past few days. "Two goats went missing from my cattle-shed on Sunday night. Blood spots were also found near the shed, suggesting that the tiger had dragged those away," said Prabash Mondal.
Just around two weeks ago, forest officials had trapped a tiger and left in the Sunderbans later. Another tiger had entered the village in May 2009. That time too, the injured male tiger was trapped by forest officials. It was treated and then left in the Sunderbans tiger reserve area few weeks later.
Leonardo DiCaprio Wants To Save Tigers
To do true justice to the cause, Leonardo is visiting Asia to learn more about the decreasing Tiger population. “Tigers are endangered and critical to some of the world's most important ecosystems. Key conservation efforts can save the tiger species from extinction, protect some of the planet's last wild habitats and help sustain the local communities surrounding them," says Leonardo.
The organization hopes to double the population of tigers by 2022. They are taking every step to make this happen. If this comes true then it would be the biggest achievements.
Foresters, paramilitary save wildlife in Uttar Pradesh
UPFD foresters and armed SSB men jointly patrol areas along the Nepal border once a month, and with the desired effect — incidents of poaching or trapping of wild animals are virtually unheard of.
Forest officials say one of the main reasons for undertaking the special operation is that the threat to the big cat has heightened this year as China celebrates the “Year of the Tiger”.
The lucrative trade in China in tiger skins and bones, and hides of other animals, including leopard and deer, sends poachers into the protected forest area.
“It is a joint operation in true sense,” says RK Singh, divisional forest officer (DFO), Katerniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary, which is one of the three divisions of the Dudhwa Tiger Reserve (DTR), and one which boasts an impressive tiger tally of over 60.
“Our men are getting arms and ambush training from the SSB while we tell them about wildlife, poaching symptoms and modus operandi of poachers, including how traps are laid and how the dealers in skins and other animal parts operate,” says Singh.
The Katerniaghat sanctuary, which has a rich base of wildlife, falls in east UP’s Bahraich district, which has an open border of about 110 km with Nepal. In Katerniaghat, which shares a 60 km border with Nepal, the SSB has set up 18 border outposts manned by about 700 personnel.
At one time, the area was known for poaching and cross-border smuggling. But now the incident in recent memory is the trapping of a leopard in October last year just outside the sanctuary.
Just last month, two poachers, including a Nepali, were arrested with six deer skins.
The SSB commandant at Katerniaghat Somit Joshi says the joint operation is having a “major deterrent effect” on the miscreants.
“You can well understand the impact of about 200 men, both from UPFD and SSB, patrolling each and every known animal route in this sanctuary… we have tried to make the operation visible so that the message goes out loud and clear that there is zero tolerance for poachers and other criminals,” he says.
That’s easier said than done.
The sanctuary is spread over a sprawling 400 sq km, and the joint operation takes five days of toil, round-the-clock.
Groups of 30 men each in each of Katerniaghat’s six ranges patrol the sanctuary area looking for traps, besides gathering information about poachers’ movements.
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_foresters-paramilitary-save-wildlife-in-uttar-pradesh_1392796
Friday, June 4, 2010
Tracking the tiger killers - India Today Cover
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
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
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
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