Karnataka to get a Fifth Tiger Reserve

South India with its large number of National Parks and wildlife sanctuaries has a very good number of the endangered Royal Bengal Tigers roaming its forest. Now the tiger has one additional area of land reserved for its protection. The Centre has approved Karnataka’s proposal to protect Biligiri Ranganatha Temple Sanctuary as a Tiger Reserve.

Tigers have been frequently spotted in this area which consists of an ancient temple dedicated to Sri Ranganatha. The temple is surrounded by wild forest and many wild animals can be seen roaming around here. Hyderabad based Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology had seen about 29 tigers during their survey in 2005. Being a forested area the tiger even has a good prey base and hence the sanctuary’s potential as a tiger habitat was highly recommended. The frequent spotting of tigers thus led to the proposal to protect this area for the big striped cats.

Originally Biligiri Ranganatha Temple Sanctuary was spread over 539 sq kms. The new Tiger Reserve will consist of 580 sq km of core area where tigers are generously spotted and over all Biligiri Ranganatha Temple Tiger Reserve will be spread over 800 sq km.

Biligiri Ranganatha Temple Sanctuary is located in Chamrajanagar district of Karntaaka and once notified as a Tiger Reserve, will be Karnataka’s fifth Tiger Reserve. The other Tiger Reserves of Karnataka include Nagarhole Tiger Reserve, Bandipur Tiger Reserve, Dandeli-Anshi Tiger Reserve and Bhadra Tiger Reserve.

Biligiri Ranganatha Temple Sanctuary is named after Biligirirangan Hills and is an important link between the Eastern and Western Ghats. The sanctuary was set up in 1987. "It is a good step to ensure better conservation of not only endangered tigers but also other wildlife in the Western Ghats. The area has a rich prey-base and is habitat of important flora and fauna," said Qamar Qureshi of Wildlife Institute of India in Dehradun.

Along with Biligiri Ranganatha Temple Tiger Reserve, four other new Tiger Reserves were to be formed around the country and were approved by the Centre. These include Sunabeda Tiger Reserve in Orissa, Shahyadri Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra, Pilibhit Tiger Reserve in Uttar Pradesh and Ratapani Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh. Proposals for all the four tiger reserves are submitted by their respective state governments, but the Union Ministry for Forest and Environment is still to confirm their eligibility for funds from Project tiger.

As per the last census there are just 1411 tigers in the country. The reservation of forest areas to protect this species contributes a long way in increasing their population through breeding.

http://www.rang7.com/news/national-park/karnataka-get-fifth-tiger-reserve-677.htm

Two more tigers critical at Biological Park

BANGALORE: Two more tigers at the Bannerghatta Biological Park are critical.

Big cats, Arya and Minchu, are suffering from Escherichia coli (Ecoli).

Veterinarians treating them said Arya and Minchu were suffering from liver and kidney dysfunctions and the creatinine level in them had also dropped making chances of their survival very thin.

The biological park reported five deaths - three tigers (King, Divya and a cub) and two lions (Laxman and Shankar) - last week.

The officials of the park have now categorised the remaining animals in three. Arya, a sevenyearold male white tiger, and Minchu, female sibling of the dead female tigress Divya, have been put under the first category.

On condition of anonymity, a senior official of the park said the creatinine level of Minchu was around 9.5 whereas the normal level is 2.

The female tigress has had a kidney failure due to the bacterial infection and there are thin chances of her survival.

Same is the case of Arya which is suffering from liver dysfunction and dehydration, the official said.

Director of the Institute of Animal Health and Veterinarian Biologicals (IAHVB) C Renukaprasad said though the animals were suffering from liver and kidney dysfunctions, they were hopeful that Arya would survive.

"We have put the animals on the new drug Imepenem," he said. "We are hoping that they will recover."

Veterinarian at the park B C Chittiappa said Minchu was still not out of danger. "We are making the best of efforts," he said.

Tigress Anu, mother of the dead tigress Divya, and another tigress Gowri and her four cubs have been placed in the second category.

Rani, an 11yearold tigress and Lava, a 12 yearold tiger, have been put in the third category.

Both of them haven't eaten for the past three days, the park officials said.

Following the autopsy report, the park has banned chicken meat for big cats. The report has pointed out that chicken meat was the possible source of bacteria that led to the death of these animals.

http://expressbuzz.com/cities/bangalore/two-more-tigers-critical-at-biological-park/208611.html

Karnataka first state to form dedicated tiger protection squad

New Delhi, Sept 21 (PTI) Karnataka has become the first state in the country to form a first of its kind dedicated armed squad for protecting endangered tigers. The personnel of the Special Tiger Protection Force (STPF) have already been deployed in Bandipur reserve, Karnataka Chief Wildlife Warden BK Singh said. The STPF is being set up under the guidelines of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) according to which the company should comprise 18 foresters and 90 guards. The Force will be commanded by an Assistant Conservator of Forest (ACF) with three tiger force range officers under him. "We have appointed 18 foresters and 63 frontline guards who are being given training in forestry from September 15. It will take almost an year to complete the training," Singh said. After that they will be given rigorous training in the police and paramilitary courses, a protocol for which is being prepared by the NTCA. Members of the STPF will be armed with modern weapons and facility of telecom network. "We plan to appoint 30 per cent of the total forest guards (90) from among the locals to ensure better conservation," he said. The NTCA will also provide vehicles, arms and other equipment to the STPF personnel which will be entrusted with keeping a watch on tigers within the state as well as monitor the porous borders to keep the poachers at bay. Spread over an area of around 874 sq km, Bandipur sanctuary has been chosen out of Karnataka's four tiger reserves because it has a rich landscape. The vulnerability of the Waynad-Bandipur zone has also been taken into account. States like Uttarakhand and Rajasthan have issued notification declaring their intentition to set up the STPF which the Centre hopes will help in better protection of the endangered tigers.

http://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfeed/news/karnataka-first-state-to-form-dedicated-tiger-protection-squad/340902.html