Thursday, September 16, 2010
Two more tigresses to be translocated in Panna reserve in MP
Bhopal, Sep 15 (PTI) Two more tigresses will be translocated in Madhya Pradesh's Panna Tiger Reserve soon, sources here said. "We are going to get two more tigresses in two months in Panna," the Reserve Field Director R S Murthy told PTI today. Besides, one more tiger will be translocated later in Panna which is spread over an area of 543 sq km in eastern Madhya Pradesh. The two tigresses between age group five-six will be brought from Kanha Tiger Reserve, he said adding already they were having two translocated tigresses - one feline from Bandhavgarh and another from Kanha and a tiger from Pench Tiger Reserve. A translocated tigress in Panna gave birth to four cubs in May. As per the plan to revive big cat population, four felines and two tigers in all are to be translocated in Panna.PTI LAL ABC
Man-mauling tiger tracked in Khutar range of Shahjahanpur
LUCKNOW: Forest officials tracking a man-mauling tiger in Pilibhit and Shahjahanpur got some success when they managed to track its movements on Tuesday. The elusive big cat has been localised in Bilandapur forest area in Khutar range of Shahjahanpur forest division. It had killed a goat which was tied as a bait on Monday. A team of experts is still camping in the area to tranquillise and trap the tiger. Officials are of the opinion that the tiger could be moving within the same patch now -- in and out of Khutar and Deoria ranges as both are adjacent.
The Project Tiger team had also come visiting the area. The team had suggested to translocate the tiger to Dudhwa Tiger Reserve. But, officials who are part of the combing operation are only focussing on locating the tiger first. "It all can be decided only after we trap the tiger," said one of the officials. The constant rain and flood in the area has made combing difficult. On September 2, experts had fired a dart at the big cat but it missed the tiger by a whisker. The dart could tranquillise the big cats within two minutes, experts said. At least for 20 minutes after being hit by a dart, tiger is completely inactive. It can be trapped and tranquillised within that time.
In this case, had the dart hit the tiger, it would have been found in an inactive state in Bilandapur forest. The tiger has killed and partially eaten eight humans since May 3 in Deoria and Shahjahanpur divisions. Though there have been no more human kills in the area, the orders of the chief wildlife warden to tranquillise and capture the tiger still stand. None of the human killings have happened outside forest areas. The forest officials, therefore, have not branded the tiger a `man-eater'. The experts and officials have been able to know of the tiger only through pugmarks and camera-trappings. The tiger could be sub-adult but without any physical deformity or illness to have made him go for human kills rather than its natural prey.
When contacted, VK Singh, DFO, Pilibhit said, "we are still maintaining vigil in Deoria range". Nine teams of forest staff still guard the area. The cameras installed in Deoria range have not been removed from the place.
The Project Tiger team had also come visiting the area. The team had suggested to translocate the tiger to Dudhwa Tiger Reserve. But, officials who are part of the combing operation are only focussing on locating the tiger first. "It all can be decided only after we trap the tiger," said one of the officials. The constant rain and flood in the area has made combing difficult. On September 2, experts had fired a dart at the big cat but it missed the tiger by a whisker. The dart could tranquillise the big cats within two minutes, experts said. At least for 20 minutes after being hit by a dart, tiger is completely inactive. It can be trapped and tranquillised within that time.
In this case, had the dart hit the tiger, it would have been found in an inactive state in Bilandapur forest. The tiger has killed and partially eaten eight humans since May 3 in Deoria and Shahjahanpur divisions. Though there have been no more human kills in the area, the orders of the chief wildlife warden to tranquillise and capture the tiger still stand. None of the human killings have happened outside forest areas. The forest officials, therefore, have not branded the tiger a `man-eater'. The experts and officials have been able to know of the tiger only through pugmarks and camera-trappings. The tiger could be sub-adult but without any physical deformity or illness to have made him go for human kills rather than its natural prey.
When contacted, VK Singh, DFO, Pilibhit said, "we are still maintaining vigil in Deoria range". Nine teams of forest staff still guard the area. The cameras installed in Deoria range have not been removed from the place.
Maharashtra chief minister delivers 'Tiger promise', extends buffer zones
Mumbai: The Maharashtra chief minister has delivered on his promise made to the NDTV-Aircel Save Our Tigers campaign by extending the buffer zones around tiger reserves in the state.
Maharashtra has notified the buffer zones around Pench and Melghat which is a big step forward in securing the future of tigers in the state. This means that no commercial or industrial activities will be allowed in these areas created to separate the forests from the impact of civilisation.
The state government first got into the act in May this year when NDTV highlighted the massive impact of mines and industrial activities in the buffer zone of the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve.
Here is what Chief Minister Ashok Chavan promised when we met him with our tiger agenda.
Maharashtra has notified the buffer zones around Pench and Melghat which is a big step forward in securing the future of tigers in the state. This means that no commercial or industrial activities will be allowed in these areas created to separate the forests from the impact of civilisation.
The state government first got into the act in May this year when NDTV highlighted the massive impact of mines and industrial activities in the buffer zone of the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve.
Here is what Chief Minister Ashok Chavan promised when we met him with our tiger agenda.
India named the most dedicated country towards tiger conservation
WASHINGTON: India has been identified as the most important country for tigers with 18 source sites dedicated solely to their conservation, according to a recent study.
In a worrying discovery, the Wildlife Conservation Society and other groups have found that most of the world's last remaining tigers - long decimated by overhunting, logging, and wildlife trade - are now clustered in just six per cent of their available habitat.
In their study, the researchers have identified 42 'source sites' scattered across Asia that are now the last hope and greatest priority for the conservation and recovery of the world's largest cat.
The securing of the tiger's remaining source sites is the most effective and efficient way of not only preventing extinction but seeding a recovery of the wild tiger, say the study's authors.
The researchers also assert that effective conservation efforts focused on these sites are both possible and economically feasible, requiring an additional 35 million dollar a year for increased monitoring and enforcement to enable tiger numbers to double in these last strongholds.
"While the scale of the challenge is enormous, the complexity of effective implementation is. In the past, overly ambitious and complicated conservation efforts have failed to do the basics: prevent the hunting of tigers and their prey. With 70 per cent of the world's wild tigers in just six per cent of their current range, efforts need to focus on securing these sites as the number one priority for the species not," said Joe Walston, Director of the Wildlife Conservation Society's Asia Program and lead author of the study.
According to the paper, fewer than 3,500 tigers remain in the wild, of which only about 1,000 are breeding females.
Walston and his co-authors identified 42 tiger source sites, which were defined as sites that contain breeding populations of tigers and have the potential to seed the recovery of tigers across wider landscapes.
India was identified as the most important country for the species with 18 source sites.
Sumatra contains eight source sites, and the Russian Far East contains six.
The authors calculate the total required annual cost of effectively managing source sites to be 82 million dollars, which includes the cost of law enforcement, wildlife monitoring, community involvement, and other factors.
The authors say that in spite of decades of effort by conservationists, tigers continue to be threatened by overhunting of both tigers and their prey, and by loss and fragmentation of habitat.
Much of the decline is being driven by the demand for tiger body parts used in traditional medicines.
The study has been published online in PLoS Biology.
In a worrying discovery, the Wildlife Conservation Society and other groups have found that most of the world's last remaining tigers - long decimated by overhunting, logging, and wildlife trade - are now clustered in just six per cent of their available habitat.
In their study, the researchers have identified 42 'source sites' scattered across Asia that are now the last hope and greatest priority for the conservation and recovery of the world's largest cat.
The securing of the tiger's remaining source sites is the most effective and efficient way of not only preventing extinction but seeding a recovery of the wild tiger, say the study's authors.
The researchers also assert that effective conservation efforts focused on these sites are both possible and economically feasible, requiring an additional 35 million dollar a year for increased monitoring and enforcement to enable tiger numbers to double in these last strongholds.
"While the scale of the challenge is enormous, the complexity of effective implementation is. In the past, overly ambitious and complicated conservation efforts have failed to do the basics: prevent the hunting of tigers and their prey. With 70 per cent of the world's wild tigers in just six per cent of their current range, efforts need to focus on securing these sites as the number one priority for the species not," said Joe Walston, Director of the Wildlife Conservation Society's Asia Program and lead author of the study.
According to the paper, fewer than 3,500 tigers remain in the wild, of which only about 1,000 are breeding females.
Walston and his co-authors identified 42 tiger source sites, which were defined as sites that contain breeding populations of tigers and have the potential to seed the recovery of tigers across wider landscapes.
India was identified as the most important country for the species with 18 source sites.
Sumatra contains eight source sites, and the Russian Far East contains six.
The authors calculate the total required annual cost of effectively managing source sites to be 82 million dollars, which includes the cost of law enforcement, wildlife monitoring, community involvement, and other factors.
The authors say that in spite of decades of effort by conservationists, tigers continue to be threatened by overhunting of both tigers and their prey, and by loss and fragmentation of habitat.
Much of the decline is being driven by the demand for tiger body parts used in traditional medicines.
The study has been published online in PLoS Biology.
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