A first: UP to get exclusive force to protect wildlife

The Uttar Pradesh Forest Department will soon set up an armed force to tackle poachers and check the crime against wildlife in the state.

The Wildlife Protection Force (WPF) is being constituted on the guidelines of

National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA). The personnel will be given training at par with the state police force.

Though the main focus of the security force will be to check crime against wildlife, particularly tiger poaching, it will also check crimes like illegal cutting of trees. The forest department has sent the proposal to state home department seeking training support, and as soon as the proposal is finalised the recruitment process will kick off, said a senior forest department official.

“Wildlife poaching is a major problem in UP. The tiger reserves of Dudhwa in Lakhimpur Kheri and Katarniya Ghat in Bahraich are under constant threat from poachers. After declaring the area as critical tiger habitat, this (forming a special force) is the second step we are taking for tackling wildlife crime and managing tiger conservation in the state,” Minister for Forests and Wildlife Fateh Bahadur Singh told The Indian Express.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/A-first--UP-to-get-exclusive-force-to-protect-wildlife/684208

BBP declares emergency after death of tiger cub

While the death of four-year-old tigress Divya had sent shockwaves through the city, the death of another three-month old tigress cub was reported on Saturday morning.

This has not only put officials on the backfoot but has also forced them to declare an emergency.

The death of the cub was reported at 4am on Saturday and the carcass was taken to the Institute of Animal Health and Veterinary Biologicals (IAHVB) for a postmortem, which revealed that the cub was suffering from an e.coli infection. This led to gastroenteritis and enteritis.

The three-month-old cub was not christened. The daughter of Gowri was still suckling like her other three siblings — two sisters and a brother. Interestingly, Gowri did not have the infection and was not showing any signs of illness. However, the deceased cub had a fever on Friday night and was dull and breathed her last atam. Gowri’s cage was 500 metres away from Anu’s (Divya’s mother) cage and also away from ten other ailing tigers.

It may be noted that cultural tests, postmortem and other tests on Divya also found that the tigress was suffering from salmonella and e-coli infection. Ten other tigers in the safari were suffering from the same infection. While the condition of the eight tigers has improved, Arya and Minchu (Divya’s siblings) are showing only minor signs of improvement and minor diarrhoea. They are eating little.

Speaking to DNA, principal chief conservator of forests (wildlife) BK Singh said that the death of the cub had put all of them in a state of shock and thus as a caution an emergency has been declared. “It has been declared as the situation has become critical. All officials, including myself and other experts, are in the park and constantly monitoring the animals. The veterinarians, caretakers and officials will be attending to the animals day and night and drips will be administered,” he said.

An emergency is declared when the situation is out of control and there are chances of the bacterial infection spreading to others.

The safari area has been infected and this is posing a danger to the other animals as well, and that is something the staff has been unable to handle, say sources.

The emergency was declared at noon on Saturday, after a high-level meeting of experts, veterinarians from IAHVB, BBP and the forest department.

Sources also added that another one-month-old tiger cub has died. But the death is still not confirmed officially. It could be a natural death.

Dr BC Chittiappa, assistant director of veterinary services at the BBP said that the death was due to e-coli infection, which caused the gastroenteritis. “Since it is now possible for other tigers to get the infection, extra care is being taken and an emergency has been declared. This is like an outbreak and so we have called for more experts to leave no scope for any more untoward incidents. The health of the other tigers is improving with the new medication, but Arya and Minchu are still slow to recover and the tigers are still terrified in the presence of humans,” he said.

He added that the same had happened about five years ago, when in the same situation five tigers had died. “We are hoping that the same does not happen and the situation is under control now,” he added.

According to experts, this is a critical situation and there are chances of the disease spreading further. But the BBP officials are not prepared due to lack of infrastructure and facilities.
Speaking to DNA, IAHVB Dr C Renukaprasad said that since there was no meat in the three-month-old cub, “we suspect that the mother could be carrying the bacterial infection”. While infected chicken was the cause of salmonella, now it has been ruled out. But contaminated beef cannot be ruled out.

An independent veterinarian and specialised pathologist Dr Azim Ulla said that three important things are playing a role here — improper management, lack of bio security and lack of hygiene.
He added that since the tigers are infected with salmonella and e-coli, there could be other micro toxins which the officials need to pay attention to. The staff should also ensure that the urroundings are clean and there are no other organisms around like wild birds, rodents or any thing else so that the further spread is curtailed.

http://www.dnaindia.com/bangalore/report_bbp-declares-emergency-after-death-of-tiger-cub_1439962

Long live the tiger

BANGALORE: There are 42 source sites, including 18 in India, that hold the key to the future of tigers, which are on the brink of extinction. Around 22 leading wildlife biologists from across the globe, including Dr K Ullas Karanth from India, made this observation in a paper they published in the prestigious PLoS Biology Magazine.

At a time when Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin will be hosting the Tiger Summit to address the dwindling number of tigers across the globe, the paper has suggested pragmatic measures for the protection of this majestic animal.

It has been the Chinese Year of the Tiger, and it is this country which is the largest market for tiger parts. The summit will be held in November, where leaders of 13 tiger range states, supported by international donors, will participate.

SOURCE SITES

Approximately 1.5 million sqkm of suitable habitat still remain in Asia, where tigers are distributed heterogenously, and except in the Russian Far East, are restricted to small pockets, mostly in protected areas.

Source sites are defined as areas which have more than 25 breeding females and having a landscape with the potential to contain more than 50 breeding females. These 42 source sites are home to almost 70% of all remaining wild tigers and though disproportionate, are important for the survival of the species. Collectively, they cover 100,000 sqkm, which is less than 0.5% of their historical range, and just 6% of their current distribution. If Russia is excluded from the analysis, 74% of the world's remaining tigers live in less than 4.5% of the current tiger range.

Source sites are not evenly distributed across the tigers' range, with the most number in India (18), Sumatra (eight) and the Russian Far East (six). Based on available data, no source site was identified in Cambodia, China, Korea, or Vietnam. Surveys in Bhutan and Myanmar have been too limited for their status to be assessed.

Actively protecting tigers at source sites is feasible and pragmatic, and has been successful in many reserves across India, between 1974 and 1986. The Malnad-Mysore tiger landscape currently maintains more than 220 adult tigers, one of the greatest concentrations in the world. This is mainly due to intensive protection of source sites such as Nagarahole National Park, where tiger numbers have increased by 400%, after protection began in the early 1970s.

PRESENT SITUATION

Wild tiger numbers are at a historic low. There is no evidence of breeding populations of tigers in Cambodia, China, Vietnam, and DPR Korea. Current approaches to tiger conservation are not slowing the decline in tiger numbers, which has continued unabated over the past two decades.

The decline of the tiger continues despite much concern, and both their range and total number have collapsed: fewer than 3,500 animals now live in the wild, occupying less than 7% of their historical range. Of these, approximately 1,000 are likely to be breeding females.

Though tigers showed a remarkable recovery between 1970s and 1990s, during the era of Project Tiger, it also became clear that protection and management of many reserves remained inadequate as witnessed in the reserves of Sariska and Panna, where tigers are now extinct.

COST OF PROTECTION

Scientists feel that protecting source sites is financially attainable. The analysis estimates an average cost of protecting and monitoring tigers effectively at all 42 source sites at $82 million per year or $930 per sqkm per year. More than half of these funds are already being committed by range-state governments, and the shortfall is less than $35 million, the paper noted.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bangalore/Long-live-the-tiger/articleshow/6581657.cms

Stray tigress caught in the Sunderbans

A tigress that had strayed into a village and taken shelter in a hut in the Sunderbans created panic before it was tranquillised and caught by the authorities of the Tiger Reserve early Sunday morning.

The tigress had strayed into a village near Budhbarer Bazaar at Kumirmari in South 24-Parganas district on Saturday night. Villagers found that it had taken shelter in a hut and informed the Reserve authorities at 5 a.m., Subrat Mukherjee, STR field director, told The Hindu over telephone.

“A team was rushed to the spot and it was tranquillised and caught. The veterinarian has certified the animal to be fit for release, so it shall be freed in Baghmara, which is deeper in the forest, after being kept in observation for 24 hours,” Mr. Mukherjee added.

Mr. Mukherjee said that a radio collar will not be affixed to the animal as the reserve authorities were still awaiting the Wildlife Institute of India to send the equipment which was expected to come by the end of the month.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/article699220.ece

Tiger skin seized from post parcel at airport

CHENNAI: In a first, air customs officers at airport on Friday seized a tiger skin sent from London as parcel.

The tiger skin was 8 feet long from head to tail and 6 feet wide from leg to leg. The body was 2.10 feet in width, said a customs press release.

The parcel was detained by the air intelligence unit of customs under suspicion that it might contain contraband. But it turned out to be a tiger skin when the parcel was opened. The parcel was addressed to a person in Chennai.

Wild Life Crime Control Bureau has confirmed that the skin and skull is genuine and that it belonged to an Indian tiger.

Customs Commissioner R Periasami said the skin was seized after we found that it is a violation of wildlife protection Act. Investigation is on to trace the person who sent it. It might have been sent abroad from India years ago, he said.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/Tiger-skin-seized-from-post-parcel-at-airport/articleshow/6581763.cms