Tiger found dead in MP's Kanha reserve

BHOPAL: A tiger was found dead in Khapa range of Madhya Pradesh's famous Kanha Tiger Reserve, a top forest department official said.

"The tiger was found dead with a deep wound around its neck yesterday near a drain in Khapa range of Kanha, situated in eastern Madhya Pradesh," State additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests T R Sharma said.

The tiger, who was about 10 to 12-year-old, possibly, had sustained injury to his neck in a territorial fight with another tiger some days back, he added.

The body of the tiger was disposed off after post-mortem was carried out under the guidelines of National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) in Kanha though the post-mortem report is yet to be received by the department.

This was the fourth death of a tiger being attributed to territorial fights in the last one year in Kanha Tiger Reserve spread over an area of 2000 sq km, sources said.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/flora-fauna/Tiger-found-dead-in-MPs-Kanha-reserve/articleshow/6705390.cms

tTwo more tigresses to be translocated in Panna reserve

Bhopal, Oct 6 (PTI) Two more tigresses will be translocated in Madhya Pradesh's Panna Tiger Reserve in November, an official said today. "Two more tigresses from Kanha will translocated in Panna next month," Panna Reserve Field Director R S Murthy told PTI. "These felines are semi-wild given that they were reared by humans as their mother died shortly after giving birth," he said. The tigresses are aged five to six years, Murthy said. Two translocated tigresses and one tiger are already in the wild of Panna, an area spread over 543 sq km in eastern Madhya Pradesh. The tigresses, one from Bandhavgarh and another from Kanha Tiger Reserve, were moved in Panna on March 6 and March 9 last year, after the park became devoid of the striped animal population. A tiger from Pench reserve was put in the wild of Panna on November 14 last year. A translocated tigress in Panna gave birth to four cubs in April.

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Encroachments and mining endangering wildlife: Bhardwaj

Karnataka Governor H. R. Bhardwaj today said that rampant encroachments of forest land and mining in these areas had endangered wildlife in the country.

“Encroachments of forest land and mining in such areas in the country is a major threat to wildlife and has endangered it to a great extent,” Mr. Bhardwaj said while addressing the 56th Wildlife Week Celebrations here.

While rampant mining has brought down tiger population in Sariska, Panna and Ranthambore reserves in MP and Rajasthan respectively, mining and quarrying activities in Karwar, Chamarajnagar and Sandur in Karnataka’s Bellary district had adversely affected wildlife, he said.

There was an urgent need not only to conserve wildlife but also protect it from man-made threats, he said.

Ace cricketer and vice-chairman of the state Wildlife Board, Anil Kumble said “according to a recent tiger census, Karnataka will hopefully be number one in tiger population.”

He said the Board would soon launch a website that would enable wildlife enthusiasts to interact with forest officials.

State forest minister C. H. Vijayashankar said the department was aiming at increasing the forest cover in the state to 33 per cent from the present 23 per cent.

He announced that the 57th Wildlife Week celebrations will be held in Bannerghatta National Park.

Touching upon the important issues relating to wildlife conservation in the state, Chief Wildlife Warden B. K. Singh said one of the major challenges facing the department today is to minimise the human-animal conflicts.

Many wild animals especially elephants and leopards are killed in such conflicts.

Foot patrolling by forest personnel at strategic locations in protected areas have paid rich dividends, he said, adding prompt and timely action has also proved effective in this regard.

http://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfeed/news/two-more-tigresses-to-be-translocated-in-panna-reserve/384103.html

NTCA panel to visit Bander project on Friday Read more: NTCA panel to visit Bander project on Friday

NAGPUR: The three-member NTCA committee of experts will examine the proposed Bandar Coal Mining Project by the Bander Coal Company Private Limited (BCCPL), Mumbai, in Chimur tehsil of Chandrapur district on Friday.

The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) on July 2 this year had appointed experts Urmila Pingle, Kishor Rithe and GN Vankhede to do a site appraisal of coal sector, thermal power project proposals vis-Ã -vis the buffer-corridor areas of tiger reserves in Central India. However, Bander was left out that time. The same panel was also asked to examine proposed Bander mines.

Pingle has communicated her inability to participate due to other assignments. However, Vankhede and Rithe would be conducting the site visit on October 8 at 10am. The members will consult officials, stakeholders and project proponent at Chandrapur. The panel will later visit the proposed site.

On Saturday, the members will reach Chhindwara at 10am and examine proposed sites of Tandsi III and Tandsi III extension underground coal mine project (0.4 MTPA) of Mideast Integrated Steels Ltd in Chhindwara district. The project is coming up in 326 hectares.

A lot of hue and cry was raised after Bander coal blocks, near Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR), were not included for inspection in the 15 projects in Chandrapur district and Chhindwara that were examined by the NTCA panel two months ago.

The BCCPL was allotted coal blocks for Bander underground and opencast mines on May 29, 2009 to extract 175.110 million tonnes of coal. Although the proposed mining area falls in Brahmapuri Forest Division, the underground and opencast mine are 7.5km and 9km from the TATRboundary
.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/NTCA-panel-to-visit-Bander-project-on-Friday/articleshow/6703552.cms

'Maneater' on loose gives Hardoi the jitters

LUCKNOW/JAIPUR: Even as forest officials continued to comb fields and villages around Mathura in search of the elusive tiger that has strayed into the area, another tiger scare emerged. A big cat — this one said to be a maneater — has been hiding in a sugarcane field in Lakhua village of Hardoi district, some 120km from Lucknow.

On Wednesday, Hardoi officials were on the job trying to tranquillize the tiger, which, according to forest officials, has killed eight humans in Pilibhit and Shahjahanpur districts since May. ''It is currently hiding in a sugarcane field,'' said R K Tripathi, DFO, Hardoi. The combing operations were on in Lakhua village, Hardoi.

The big cat has been on the run since May 3 when it claimed its first human kill. The orders to tranquillize and trap the tiger were given by chief wildlife warden of UP this month after resentment among locals ran high in Shahjahanpur and Deoria over eight human killings. The tiger had entered Kheri and injured a man there before it shifted location to Hardoi.

Meanwhile, forest officials from Rajasthan and UP continue to comb the Mathura refinery region in search of the tiger that strayed from Ranthambore National Park
.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Maneater-on-loose-gives-Hardoi-the-jitters/articleshow/6703382.cms