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

KOLKATA: A tiger strayed into Kalitala village of the Shamshernagar area in North 24-Parganas on Sunday evening. It was spotted on a village path by three youths on a motorcycle. The petrified youths' scream for help and the headlight of the bike scared the big cat, which dived into the nearby river and swam to the forest.

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.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata-/Panicky-bike-riders-scare-away-Royal-Bengal/articleshow/6018206.cms

Leonardo DiCaprio Wants To Save Tigers

Actor Leonardo DiCaprio, has started a new organization for the protection of endangered tigers. The star has joined hands with World Wildlife Fund to launch Save Tigers Now.

His organization aims at raising 13 million pounds for the cause. Tigers, the king of forest is fast depleting and thus, proper care, security and steps need to be taken, which costs a certain amount. This is a much talked about issue but not much has been done.

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.

http://living.oneindia.in/insync/2010/leonardo-save-tigers-300510.html

Foresters, paramilitary save wildlife in Uttar Pradesh

Lucknow: In a unique and rather ambitious operation, the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), a paramilitary border-guarding force, has been helping the Uttar Pradesh forest department (UPFD) save tigers and other precious wildlife in sanctuaries and reserve forest areas along the Indo-Nepal border.

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