Tiger Farms in China Feed Thirst for Parts- NY Times

GUILIN, China — The crowd-pleasing Year of the Tiger, which begins Sunday, could be a lousy year for the estimated 3,200 tigers that still roam the world’s diminishing forests.

With as few as 20 in the wild in China, the country’s tigers are a few gun blasts away from extinction, and in India poachers are making quick work of the tiger population, the world’s largest. The number there, around 1,400, is about half that of a decade ago and a fraction of the 100,000 that roamed the subcontinent in the early 20th century.

Shrinking habitat remains a daunting challenge, but conservationists say the biggest threat to Asia’s largest predator is the Chinese appetite for tiger parts. Despite a government ban on the trade since 1993, there is a robust market for tiger bones, traditionally prized for their healing and aphrodisiac qualities, and tiger skins, which have become cherished trophies among China’s nouveau riche.

With pelts selling for $20,000 and a single paw worth as much as $1,000, the value of a dead tiger has never been higher, say those who investigate the trade. Last month the Indian government announced a surge in killings of tigers by poachers, with 88 found dead in 2009, double the previous year. Because figures are based on carcasses found on reserves or tiger parts seized at border crossings, conservationists say the true number is far higher.

“All of the demand for tiger parts is coming from China,” said Belinda Wright, executive director of the Wildlife Protection Society of India. “Unless the Chinese change their attitude, the tiger has no future on this earth.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/13/world/asia/13tiger.html

Goa tribals killed tiger after trapping it in wire snare

The investigation into a tiger poaching case in Goa has revealed that the big cat was shot dead by tribals of Majik community after trapping it into a wire snare.

The state forest department, which is investigating the case, in its probe report has reconstructed the entire sequence of incidents that led to the killing. “Three women were amongst the half a dozen Majik community members, who witnessed the killing, which happened in February last year. While two main accused shot the tiger to death after trapping it in wire snare, others witnessed the cold-blooded killing sitting atop a tree fearing that the tiger may jump on them,” the report said.

A Royal Bengal Tiger was killed at Keri February last year and the incident was brought to light in April after a picture of the dead animal was published in a local newspaper.

“The group of villagers fearing the aftermath later burnt the tiger by dragging it for almost 250 metres in the same cashew plantation,” the probe further stated.

A senior forest department official said that the killing might not have been exposed, if not for the act of one of the local youth to click the dead tiger on his mobile.

Forest department officials stated that it took almost one-and-a-half months for the forest officials to locate the spot, which borders Mhadei wildlife sanctuary in state’s Sattari taluka.

The department officials, accompanied by volunteers, had to comb the entire area to locate the two boulders visible in the photograph. “Finally when the spot was identified the task became more arduous because there was no evidence to establish the poaching,” a senior officer stated. It was only after thorough interrogation of the accused that the sequel to the killing in the form of burning the carcass was revealed.

Forest department’s records indicate that the two accused, Ganesh and Naguesh Majik, killed the tiger. Both have however feigned innocence in the case stating that they were not involved and instead had not even visited the cashew the area on the fateful day, officials said.

Investigation records mention that nearly twenty samples like burnt bones, fur, broken lower jaw were recovered from the site.

Keywords: Keri tiger, tiger poaching, Majik tribe

http://beta.thehindu.com/news/states/other-states/article105532.ece