JAIPUR: Close on the heels of the birth of two new cubs at the Ranthambore tiger reserve in the recent past, there could be some more good news in store. Indications are that another big cat may have given birth to some cubs. Though officials did not confirm it, pugmarks of cubs are said to have been seen in the area.
"The tigress was recently sighted in the Kachida area and it seems she has given birth to some cubs. The inference gained credence after pugmarks of some cubs were also sighted in the area."
The tigress may be the T-5, said to be the mother of male tigers T-6 and T-7. The area also houses the T-8 tigress. But sources say that all the three big cats are out of the area currently and so there will not be any threat to the new born cubs.
Officials of the forest department, however, refuted the claims on the grounds that there were no scientific evidences suggesting the birth of the cubs. But what officials have done is to fit camera traps in a large portion of the reserve to take pictures of the cubs and tigers.
"We have about 30 camera traps and we have borrowed some from the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) in Dehradun. These have been fixed at the park. But this is not for taking pictures of the cubs. This is an annual thing that scientists of the WII are doing. It would take about 20 days to cover the entire park," said RP Gupta, DFO Ranthambore.
Sources also said that the T-5 tigress was seen mating during the monsoon and the forest department has been expecting the birth of these cubs. "Tiger cubs come out in the open only after about four months of their birth. And till there is actual sighting or a picture, we cannot say that cubs have been born, and in this case we have neither," officials added.
The birth of the cubs would be a big respite for officials of the state forest department that has been fighting hard to explain numerous tigers straying away from the Ranthambore tiger reserve. Added to that, the death of the first relocated tiger ST-1 to Sariska has been a big jolt.
Moreover, there has been a lull at Ranthambore after 2008 that saw the birth of some cubs. The next two years failed to see any new born allegedly due to a skewed sex ratio at the park.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Tourism in Madhya Pradesh at the cost of the tigers?
While the "warning" to tiger conservationists against the PIL might seem puzzling, it has long been an open secret that many conservationists run highly profitable tourism enterprises.
A recent email written by the Chief Wildlife Warden (CWLW) of Madhya Pradesh, asking tour operators to “take whatever steps you think will be appropriate to protect your interests” in the core areas of the tiger reserves of the State, has brought the forest department's conservation efforts under scrutiny.
The email was written by CWLW H.S. Pabla on November 14, five days after a public interest litigation (PIL), filed in the Madhya Pradesh High Court by Ajay Dube of Prayatna, an environment group, sought, among other things, a complete ban on tourism in core areas of tiger reserves.
The email asks international wildlife tour organisations to make sure the PIL “does not succeed” by impleading themselves as affected parties. Subsequently, a number of intervention applications have been filed in the High Court by the tour operators “concerned” as affected parties.
The addressees who have been asked to protect their interests include representatives of the Taj Hotels and those of Travel Operators For Tigers (TOFT), an international wildlife tour organisation, among others.
TOFT was reportedly instrumental in getting the State forest department to push a proposal in the Ministry of Environment and Forests to allow for patches of forest reserves to be handed over to them to be run as South African-style safaris where rich tourists could be catered to. The Ministry rejected the proposal.
CONSERVATIONISTS' ROLE
The list includes renowned tiger experts and conservationists Dhruv Singh and Hashim Tyabji, with one of them holding top positions at TOFT and being owner-partners of Baghvan, a tourist resort in the Pench Tiger Reserve, the scenic backdrop of Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book.
While the “warning” to tiger conservationists against the PIL might seem puzzling, it has long been an open secret that many conservationists run highly profitable tourism enterprises.
Tourist activities in core areas have been clearly stated as inimical to tiger conservation under Section 38V (4) (i) of the Wild Life Protection Act, and under the revised guidelines (2008, para 4.17) of Project Tiger, the Centrally sponsored tiger conservation scheme launched in 1972.
The NTCA's response to the PIL maintains this stand while defining the word inviolate to mean “any disturbance by humans” and emphasising that the word needs to be read in toto following the 2006 amendment to the Wildlife Protection Act 1972.
The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) response also states that the amendment has “strengthened the hands of the Chief Wildlife Warden to achieve the same.”
While sources in the NTCA maintain that the CWLW's actions are in direct conflict with his role as the chief conservationist of the State, Mr. Pabla clarified to The Hindu that as a professional, he had to maintain correspondence with all stakeholders in such matters, but refused to comment further since the matter was sub judice.
The sources told The Hindu that senior officials of the Madhya Pradesh forest department and several other retired and serving senior bureaucrats had interests in tourism activities in and around the Panna, Kanha and Pench Tiger Reserves.
When asked, Mr. Pabla refuted such allegations. “Neither I, nor any relative of mine anywhere in the world, have any interests in tourism activities in core areas, and to the best of my knowledge, none of the forest officials in M.P. does,” he said.
‘We like tourism'
“We like tourism — it gets us revenue and supports conservation. The State government will be opposing the PIL officially,” a senior forest official told The Hindu.
The Madhya Pradesh government has consistently maintained a pro-tourism stand for the core areas of tiger reserves. It recently gave the ‘Tourism Friendly Forester' award to Mr. Pabla, who was instrumental in launching the ‘Patrolling the Tiger land' initiative, allowing tourists to visit core areas of tiger reserves from October.
Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh had expressed shock at the initiative and requested the State government to stop it. However, forest officials maintain that the initiative is “suspended temporarily.”
“We don't want to throttle tourism, but it needs to be regulated and gradually phased out of core areas in keeping with the Wildlife Protection Act,” NTCA member secretary Rajesh Gopal told The Hindu.
Keywords: tiger reserves, National Tiger Conservation Authority, Madhya Pradesh tourism
A recent email written by the Chief Wildlife Warden (CWLW) of Madhya Pradesh, asking tour operators to “take whatever steps you think will be appropriate to protect your interests” in the core areas of the tiger reserves of the State, has brought the forest department's conservation efforts under scrutiny.
The email was written by CWLW H.S. Pabla on November 14, five days after a public interest litigation (PIL), filed in the Madhya Pradesh High Court by Ajay Dube of Prayatna, an environment group, sought, among other things, a complete ban on tourism in core areas of tiger reserves.
The email asks international wildlife tour organisations to make sure the PIL “does not succeed” by impleading themselves as affected parties. Subsequently, a number of intervention applications have been filed in the High Court by the tour operators “concerned” as affected parties.
The addressees who have been asked to protect their interests include representatives of the Taj Hotels and those of Travel Operators For Tigers (TOFT), an international wildlife tour organisation, among others.
TOFT was reportedly instrumental in getting the State forest department to push a proposal in the Ministry of Environment and Forests to allow for patches of forest reserves to be handed over to them to be run as South African-style safaris where rich tourists could be catered to. The Ministry rejected the proposal.
CONSERVATIONISTS' ROLE
The list includes renowned tiger experts and conservationists Dhruv Singh and Hashim Tyabji, with one of them holding top positions at TOFT and being owner-partners of Baghvan, a tourist resort in the Pench Tiger Reserve, the scenic backdrop of Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book.
While the “warning” to tiger conservationists against the PIL might seem puzzling, it has long been an open secret that many conservationists run highly profitable tourism enterprises.
Tourist activities in core areas have been clearly stated as inimical to tiger conservation under Section 38V (4) (i) of the Wild Life Protection Act, and under the revised guidelines (2008, para 4.17) of Project Tiger, the Centrally sponsored tiger conservation scheme launched in 1972.
The NTCA's response to the PIL maintains this stand while defining the word inviolate to mean “any disturbance by humans” and emphasising that the word needs to be read in toto following the 2006 amendment to the Wildlife Protection Act 1972.
The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) response also states that the amendment has “strengthened the hands of the Chief Wildlife Warden to achieve the same.”
While sources in the NTCA maintain that the CWLW's actions are in direct conflict with his role as the chief conservationist of the State, Mr. Pabla clarified to The Hindu that as a professional, he had to maintain correspondence with all stakeholders in such matters, but refused to comment further since the matter was sub judice.
The sources told The Hindu that senior officials of the Madhya Pradesh forest department and several other retired and serving senior bureaucrats had interests in tourism activities in and around the Panna, Kanha and Pench Tiger Reserves.
When asked, Mr. Pabla refuted such allegations. “Neither I, nor any relative of mine anywhere in the world, have any interests in tourism activities in core areas, and to the best of my knowledge, none of the forest officials in M.P. does,” he said.
‘We like tourism'
“We like tourism — it gets us revenue and supports conservation. The State government will be opposing the PIL officially,” a senior forest official told The Hindu.
The Madhya Pradesh government has consistently maintained a pro-tourism stand for the core areas of tiger reserves. It recently gave the ‘Tourism Friendly Forester' award to Mr. Pabla, who was instrumental in launching the ‘Patrolling the Tiger land' initiative, allowing tourists to visit core areas of tiger reserves from October.
Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh had expressed shock at the initiative and requested the State government to stop it. However, forest officials maintain that the initiative is “suspended temporarily.”
“We don't want to throttle tourism, but it needs to be regulated and gradually phased out of core areas in keeping with the Wildlife Protection Act,” NTCA member secretary Rajesh Gopal told The Hindu.
Keywords: tiger reserves, National Tiger Conservation Authority, Madhya Pradesh tourism
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