There could be a good news for the wildlife lovers as the preliminary analysis of the ongoing census of tigers in the forests of Uttar Pradesh indicates that their numbers might have increased.
The tiger census, which is presently going on through the camera-trap-method has shown an upward trend, though the complete results will be available in March only, chief conservator of forests, Uttar Pradesh BK Patnaik said.
The census work in Dudhwa national park and Pilibhit is complete, while it was underway in Katariyaghat and Kishunpur and as per the reports available, the number of the wild cats appears to be on the rise, he said.
As per the 2007 census, there were 110 tigers and 208 leopards in the state forests, while the number of tigers in the country stood at 1,400.
The tiger density in Uttar Pradesh is one tiger per 25 sq kms, as against around 10 to 11 sq kms in Uttarakhand, sources said, attributing this difference mainly to better forest cover ensuring easy availability of herbivores.
Sources in the state forest department said that the camera trap method is likely to give a more accurate number of tigers present in the forests.
Cameras are installed at strategic points, like water bodies in the forest area, where the tigers go for water, in their respective territories and a computer analysis is carried out to ascertain their presence.
Though there has been concern over the rise in the cases of man-animal conflict in Uttar Pradesh forest areas, with at least three cases reported this year itself from around the Katarniyaghat wildlife sanctuary, efforts are on to take the help of people living on the fringes of forests, besides NGOs to create awareness.
As many as 16 human lives have lost in these conflicts since the beginning of 2010.
Because of rising incidents of man-animal conflict, the department is also working on constant monitoring, grassland development management and means to minimise human/ cattle presence in the forest areas by providing alternate sources of energy and livelihood to the people residing on the fringes of forests, he said.
The 70 kms long railway track running through Dudhwa and Katarniyaghat forests has brought in more trouble to the tigers. Several cases of the wild cats being run over by trains have been reported in the past years, though the speed limit has been fixed at 30 KMPH.
The department has been writing to the Railways to find out a permanent solution for it but to little avail till now, sources added.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Tiger reserve tag for BRT Wildlife Sanctuary stirs up a hornet's nest
MYSORE: The declaration of the Biligiri Ranganathaswamy Temple (BRT) Wildlife Sanctuary as a “tiger reserve” by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) on January 24 has stirred up a hornet's nest.
Sources in the BRT Wildlife Sanctuary said that the official communication was received on January 27, and the total area of the tiger reserve will be 574.82 sq km. The area will be free of human habitation in view of protecting the endangered cat and funds will be released by the Centre.
The tiger reserve, according to conservationists, will help in protecting the estimated 35 tigers that inhabit the sanctuary, but the new status to the sanctuary has become a cause of concern for the 16,204 Soliga tribal people whose lives have for centuries been inextricably linked to this forest.
Thousands of Soligas were allegedly evicted forcibly when the area was declared as BRT Wildlife Sanctuary in 1974.Now, over 1,500 Soliga tribal people will be forced to make way for the tiger reserve.
According to sources, a 373-sq km zone in the heart of the forest has been declared a critical tiger habitat and eight ‘podus' (tribal hamlets) that fall within this radius will be relocated to a village outside the forest. Upset with the development, the tribal community is all set to launch an agitation.
They have planned to launch an indefinite strike in front of the office of the Deputy Commissioner in Chamarajanagar from February 15 and fight till the Minister for Forests promises that they will not be evacuated from “their land”. Speaking to The Hindu, secretary of the Zilla Budakattu Abhivruddhi Sangha, C. Made Gowda said that regardless of their objection, the NTCA had declared BRT Wildlife Sanctuary a tiger reserve and nothing had been clarified on the future of the 1,500 Soliga tribal people, who according to forest officials, had to make way for the reserve.
“Forest officials who earlier assured us of not evacuating us from our podus are now saying that podus that fall within the tiger reserve will be relocated outside the forest. This is nothing but hoodwinking the tribal people,” he noted.
He regretted that though environmentalists, non-governmental organisations and rights groups in a petition to Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) proposed to manage BRT Wildlife Sanctuary as a “Community Based Tiger Conservation Area”, the Ministry was not prepared to accept the proposal.
Sources in the BRT Wildlife Sanctuary said that the official communication was received on January 27, and the total area of the tiger reserve will be 574.82 sq km. The area will be free of human habitation in view of protecting the endangered cat and funds will be released by the Centre.
The tiger reserve, according to conservationists, will help in protecting the estimated 35 tigers that inhabit the sanctuary, but the new status to the sanctuary has become a cause of concern for the 16,204 Soliga tribal people whose lives have for centuries been inextricably linked to this forest.
Thousands of Soligas were allegedly evicted forcibly when the area was declared as BRT Wildlife Sanctuary in 1974.Now, over 1,500 Soliga tribal people will be forced to make way for the tiger reserve.
According to sources, a 373-sq km zone in the heart of the forest has been declared a critical tiger habitat and eight ‘podus' (tribal hamlets) that fall within this radius will be relocated to a village outside the forest. Upset with the development, the tribal community is all set to launch an agitation.
They have planned to launch an indefinite strike in front of the office of the Deputy Commissioner in Chamarajanagar from February 15 and fight till the Minister for Forests promises that they will not be evacuated from “their land”. Speaking to The Hindu, secretary of the Zilla Budakattu Abhivruddhi Sangha, C. Made Gowda said that regardless of their objection, the NTCA had declared BRT Wildlife Sanctuary a tiger reserve and nothing had been clarified on the future of the 1,500 Soliga tribal people, who according to forest officials, had to make way for the reserve.
“Forest officials who earlier assured us of not evacuating us from our podus are now saying that podus that fall within the tiger reserve will be relocated outside the forest. This is nothing but hoodwinking the tribal people,” he noted.
He regretted that though environmentalists, non-governmental organisations and rights groups in a petition to Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) proposed to manage BRT Wildlife Sanctuary as a “Community Based Tiger Conservation Area”, the Ministry was not prepared to accept the proposal.
Tiger reserve tag for BRT Wildlife Sanctuary stirs up a hornet's nest
MYSORE: The declaration of the Biligiri Ranganathaswamy Temple (BRT) Wildlife Sanctuary as a “tiger reserve” by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) on January 24 has stirred up a hornet's nest.
Sources in the BRT Wildlife Sanctuary said that the official communication was received on January 27, and the total area of the tiger reserve will be 574.82 sq km. The area will be free of human habitation in view of protecting the endangered cat and funds will be released by the Centre.
The tiger reserve, according to conservationists, will help in protecting the estimated 35 tigers that inhabit the sanctuary, but the new status to the sanctuary has become a cause of concern for the 16,204 Soliga tribal people whose lives have for centuries been inextricably linked to this forest.
Thousands of Soligas were allegedly evicted forcibly when the area was declared as BRT Wildlife Sanctuary in 1974.Now, over 1,500 Soliga tribal people will be forced to make way for the tiger reserve.
According to sources, a 373-sq km zone in the heart of the forest has been declared a critical tiger habitat and eight ‘podus' (tribal hamlets) that fall within this radius will be relocated to a village outside the forest. Upset with the development, the tribal community is all set to launch an agitation.
They have planned to launch an indefinite strike in front of the office of the Deputy Commissioner in Chamarajanagar from February 15 and fight till the Minister for Forests promises that they will not be evacuated from “their land”. Speaking to The Hindu, secretary of the Zilla Budakattu Abhivruddhi Sangha, C. Made Gowda said that regardless of their objection, the NTCA had declared BRT Wildlife Sanctuary a tiger reserve and nothing had been clarified on the future of the 1,500 Soliga tribal people, who according to forest officials, had to make way for the reserve.
“Forest officials who earlier assured us of not evacuating us from our podus are now saying that podus that fall within the tiger reserve will be relocated outside the forest. This is nothing but hoodwinking the tribal people,” he noted.
He regretted that though environmentalists, non-governmental organisations and rights groups in a petition to Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) proposed to manage BRT Wildlife Sanctuary as a “Community Based Tiger Conservation Area”, the Ministry was not prepared to accept the proposal.
Sources in the BRT Wildlife Sanctuary said that the official communication was received on January 27, and the total area of the tiger reserve will be 574.82 sq km. The area will be free of human habitation in view of protecting the endangered cat and funds will be released by the Centre.
The tiger reserve, according to conservationists, will help in protecting the estimated 35 tigers that inhabit the sanctuary, but the new status to the sanctuary has become a cause of concern for the 16,204 Soliga tribal people whose lives have for centuries been inextricably linked to this forest.
Thousands of Soligas were allegedly evicted forcibly when the area was declared as BRT Wildlife Sanctuary in 1974.Now, over 1,500 Soliga tribal people will be forced to make way for the tiger reserve.
According to sources, a 373-sq km zone in the heart of the forest has been declared a critical tiger habitat and eight ‘podus' (tribal hamlets) that fall within this radius will be relocated to a village outside the forest. Upset with the development, the tribal community is all set to launch an agitation.
They have planned to launch an indefinite strike in front of the office of the Deputy Commissioner in Chamarajanagar from February 15 and fight till the Minister for Forests promises that they will not be evacuated from “their land”. Speaking to The Hindu, secretary of the Zilla Budakattu Abhivruddhi Sangha, C. Made Gowda said that regardless of their objection, the NTCA had declared BRT Wildlife Sanctuary a tiger reserve and nothing had been clarified on the future of the 1,500 Soliga tribal people, who according to forest officials, had to make way for the reserve.
“Forest officials who earlier assured us of not evacuating us from our podus are now saying that podus that fall within the tiger reserve will be relocated outside the forest. This is nothing but hoodwinking the tribal people,” he noted.
He regretted that though environmentalists, non-governmental organisations and rights groups in a petition to Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) proposed to manage BRT Wildlife Sanctuary as a “Community Based Tiger Conservation Area”, the Ministry was not prepared to accept the proposal.
Uttarakhand Wildlife department defends killing of Tiger
Dehra Dun: Under attack from various quarters for killing a tiger in the Corbett tiger reserve, the Uttarakhand Wildlife Department today strongly defended its action, saying the big cat was a "man-eater" which killed at least four persons.
The tiger was shot dead at Kosi river range area of the park on Thursday last on suspicion of killing a 27-year-old man after agitating villagers demanded immediate elimination of the feline.
Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank has ordered a probe into the killing of the tiger, while Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh is understood to have sought a report from the state government on the incident.
"We have evidences like old bullet wounds to prove that it was the same tiger which killed four persons in Sunderkhal area of the Corbett tiger reserve," S K Chandola, Chief Wildlife Warden, Uttarakhand, said.
He was responding to criticism from various quarters that the department acted in haste to kill the tiger, which had let loose a reign of terror in the area.
BJP MP Tarun Vijay had also condemned the incident and asked the state government to create a "buffer zone" to facilitate the free movement of big cats.
"When the first time tiger was shot on Jan 11, we presumed that it was a tigress due to its pug marks and broad hind portion. But the postmortem report found the old bullet wound of January 11 in the tiger killed on January 27," he said.
This clearly indicates it was the same tiger, he said, adding that human flesh has been found in the stomach of the tiger, which was killed.
In addition to this, the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) in its report has stated that the blood samples of the wounded tiger collected on January 11 were of a male tiger and not of the tigress, he said.
Chandola also said the department followed all the guidelines of the Wildlife Protection Act (1972) while declaring an animal as man-eater.
"We strictly acted under the section 11 of the wildlife protection act of 1972 which clearly gives mandate to the chief wildlife warden to declare an animal as man-eater in case it becomes dangerous for the human beings," Chandola said.
he said there were several other evidences which clearly suggested that the tiger in Sunderkhal area had become a man-eater.
In the case of the last killing of January 26 where a 27-year-old man was devoured, the tiger had returned to the half-eaten body in the area.
"As the tiger approached the dead body, we ordered the killing," Chandola said.
On being asked as to why the tiger was not tranquilised, he said it was very difficult to tranquilise tigers which are highly elusive animals.
The tiger was shot dead at Kosi river range area of the park on Thursday last on suspicion of killing a 27-year-old man after agitating villagers demanded immediate elimination of the feline.
Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank has ordered a probe into the killing of the tiger, while Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh is understood to have sought a report from the state government on the incident.
"We have evidences like old bullet wounds to prove that it was the same tiger which killed four persons in Sunderkhal area of the Corbett tiger reserve," S K Chandola, Chief Wildlife Warden, Uttarakhand, said.
He was responding to criticism from various quarters that the department acted in haste to kill the tiger, which had let loose a reign of terror in the area.
BJP MP Tarun Vijay had also condemned the incident and asked the state government to create a "buffer zone" to facilitate the free movement of big cats.
"When the first time tiger was shot on Jan 11, we presumed that it was a tigress due to its pug marks and broad hind portion. But the postmortem report found the old bullet wound of January 11 in the tiger killed on January 27," he said.
This clearly indicates it was the same tiger, he said, adding that human flesh has been found in the stomach of the tiger, which was killed.
In addition to this, the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) in its report has stated that the blood samples of the wounded tiger collected on January 11 were of a male tiger and not of the tigress, he said.
Chandola also said the department followed all the guidelines of the Wildlife Protection Act (1972) while declaring an animal as man-eater.
"We strictly acted under the section 11 of the wildlife protection act of 1972 which clearly gives mandate to the chief wildlife warden to declare an animal as man-eater in case it becomes dangerous for the human beings," Chandola said.
he said there were several other evidences which clearly suggested that the tiger in Sunderkhal area had become a man-eater.
In the case of the last killing of January 26 where a 27-year-old man was devoured, the tiger had returned to the half-eaten body in the area.
"As the tiger approached the dead body, we ordered the killing," Chandola said.
On being asked as to why the tiger was not tranquilised, he said it was very difficult to tranquilise tigers which are highly elusive animals.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Ramesh orders inquiry into Uttarakhand tiger killing
Uttarakhand government is in dock for pumping over 25 bullets in a tiger at Corbett national park with environment minister Jairam Ramesh seeking a report and BJP MP from the state Tarun Vijay expressing "displeasure". A tiger, declared as man-eater, was killed near Sunder Khat village on January 27, in a second encounter after being shot about 16 days ago. In between, no effort was made to track down the elderly tiger and tranquilize him, as required under the National Tiger Conservation Authority guidelines.
"I have sought a report on the incident," Ramesh told HT, when asked about the concern expressed by wildlife experts over the barbaric manner in which the tiger was killed.
P K Sen, a NCTA member and former director of Project Tiger said, no effort was made to understand why the animal had turned man-eater and tranquilize him. A tiger in Pilibhit range, who had killed eight people in 2010, had stopped attacking humans after returning to his natural habitat. The World Wide Fund for nature had tracked the entire journey on 20 cameras put in the range.
"The drastic act Corbett was under political and local pressure," Sen said, which was confirmed to some extent by S Chondolia, Chief Wildlife Warden of the state. "The victims were from poor families and disadvantaged. We could not have allowed it to continue," Chondolia told HT.
But, BJP Rajya Sabha member Tarun Vijay had branded these 342 families as encroachers on land for tigers, which the state government had failed to vacate. "The Corbett was not about man-animal conflict but human selfishness and greed in conflict with peace-loving and solitude-seeking tigers," he said on Friday.
Tiger experts also pointed out that the killing took place with the help of experts and the animal was left in pain for over 15 days. "The first bullet on January 11 had damaged the testicles of the animal but no effort was made to end the agony fast," said Brijendra Singh, an NCTA member. No specialized hunters were called and forest department guards shot the tiger.
Ramesh has asked NCTA member secretary Rajesh Gopal to conduct an inquiry and submit a report after experts said that the authorities protocol was not followed while killing the animal.
"Section 11 of the Wildlife Protection Act gives power to the Chief Wildlife Warden to declare an animal a beast and destroy it," Chandolia said, claiming that the NCTA guidelines for fully followed.
Man-animal conflict is in rise in Uttarakhand where tiger population is believed to have increased by about 15% since the last census in 2007 and their habitat shrunk. "Our maps show that corridors which helped tigers to move from one habitat to another and their buffer areas have either been destroyed or encroached," said a ministry official.
"I have sought a report on the incident," Ramesh told HT, when asked about the concern expressed by wildlife experts over the barbaric manner in which the tiger was killed.
P K Sen, a NCTA member and former director of Project Tiger said, no effort was made to understand why the animal had turned man-eater and tranquilize him. A tiger in Pilibhit range, who had killed eight people in 2010, had stopped attacking humans after returning to his natural habitat. The World Wide Fund for nature had tracked the entire journey on 20 cameras put in the range.
"The drastic act Corbett was under political and local pressure," Sen said, which was confirmed to some extent by S Chondolia, Chief Wildlife Warden of the state. "The victims were from poor families and disadvantaged. We could not have allowed it to continue," Chondolia told HT.
But, BJP Rajya Sabha member Tarun Vijay had branded these 342 families as encroachers on land for tigers, which the state government had failed to vacate. "The Corbett was not about man-animal conflict but human selfishness and greed in conflict with peace-loving and solitude-seeking tigers," he said on Friday.
Tiger experts also pointed out that the killing took place with the help of experts and the animal was left in pain for over 15 days. "The first bullet on January 11 had damaged the testicles of the animal but no effort was made to end the agony fast," said Brijendra Singh, an NCTA member. No specialized hunters were called and forest department guards shot the tiger.
Ramesh has asked NCTA member secretary Rajesh Gopal to conduct an inquiry and submit a report after experts said that the authorities protocol was not followed while killing the animal.
"Section 11 of the Wildlife Protection Act gives power to the Chief Wildlife Warden to declare an animal a beast and destroy it," Chandolia said, claiming that the NCTA guidelines for fully followed.
Man-animal conflict is in rise in Uttarakhand where tiger population is believed to have increased by about 15% since the last census in 2007 and their habitat shrunk. "Our maps show that corridors which helped tigers to move from one habitat to another and their buffer areas have either been destroyed or encroached," said a ministry official.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
More tiger cubs bring cheer to Ranthambore
JAIPUR: Ranthambore, which lost 10 tigers recently due to deaths or straying, may have got back its count with at least nine cubs being sighted in the park.
Since last September, five cubs have been caught on camera while forest guards spotted two more tigress which are said to be lactating, park sources said.
A trap camera caught three cubs recently. Though the news of the birth of the cubs came sometime back, forest officials could not confirm it as pictures were not available. "Now since we have pictures of the cubs we are sure," said R N Mehrotra , Rajasthan's principal chief conservator of forests.
Since last September, five cubs have been caught on camera while forest guards spotted two more tigress which are said to be lactating, park sources said.
A trap camera caught three cubs recently. Though the news of the birth of the cubs came sometime back, forest officials could not confirm it as pictures were not available. "Now since we have pictures of the cubs we are sure," said R N Mehrotra , Rajasthan's principal chief conservator of forests.
Space crunch triggering man-tiger conflicts
Article
Comments
Tags:Villagers|Kaziranga National Park|Conflicts
KAZIRANGA: Over 2,000 rhinos, 1,292 elephants, 1,400 wild buffaloes and about 700 swamp deer are already jostling for space in the 430 sq km area of Kaziranga National Park. Add to it about 80-odd tigers. Kaziranga National Park, which boasts of highest tiger density in the world, has virtually run out of space. And the worst sufferers, it seems, are the tigers they stray out of the protected area in search of prey and run into the risk of getting engaged in fatal conflicts with fringe villagers.
Kaziranga Park authorities admit to the problem. "The need of the hour is to add new areas under the park's administration. Even as the process to add new areas is over, these areas are yet to be handed over to us," Kaziranga National Park director Surajit Dutta said.
"Regaining the sand islands on the Brahmaputra which are used as natural corridors by tigers is of utmost importance for proper conservation of the big cats and ensuring their safety. Most of these island are either encroached by human beings or are being used by them to set up cattle sheds. This increases human-tiger conflicts," he added.
A park official said if one combines the total number of big mammals in the park area, it only reveals a terrible space shortage. "Incidents of straying out by tigers and conflicts with locals living in villages along the park are rampant. We have to extend our management beyond the existing area of the park," an official observed.
"Whenever a tiger strays out, it preys on livestock. This triggers conflicts. In fact, human-tiger conflict has posed a challenge for us. However, in collaboration with WWF-India, we are making all efforts to mitigate the conflict by providing compensation to owners as early as possible," Dutta said.
A joint study by Aaranyak and WWF-India, in collaboration with the forest department, has confirmed that over 100 sand islands dotting the Brahmaputra between Kaziranga national park and Orang national park are frequently used by tigers for their movement.
Spotting tigers in places like Koliabor, Naltali and Dhakuakhana within the Kaziranga-Orang Riverine Landscape has confirmed that big cats are using the islands for establishing new home ranges once they move out of the protected areas.
The trend of more and more tigers straying out of Kaziranga is also a cause of concern for the fringe villagers. "Last monsoon, I lost three cows in tiger attacks. They sneak into our village and prey upon our cattle. Our cattle sheds are not well-protected ones," said 75-year-old Hemai Tokbi, the village headman of Inglem Pathar, a non-descript hamlet bang opposite the Kohora range of the national park.
Though Tokbi claimed that residents of Inglem Pathar have never tried to kill a tiger, he could not vouch the same for people of other villages surrounding Kaziranga. "It's a difficult question. Don't ask me that," was his curt reply.
P J Bora, programme coordinator of WWF-India's Kaziranga-Karbi Anglong Landscape Programme (KALP), said: "We provide these villagers with immediate relief whenever there's report of tiger depredation. For proper conservation of the tigers, managing the park and the firing villages is of utmost importance. One should always remember that the human and wildlife interface in an area like Kaziranga is quite diffused that there is constant interaction, sometime fierce, and close relationship among both the parties."
The 185 km long Kaziranga-Orang Riverine Landscape (KORL) comprises the protected areas of Kaziranga, Orang, Laokhowa Wildlife Sanctuary, Burachapori Wildlife Sanctuary and a number of reserve forests. The study said KORL served as a major gateway for movement of other animals including deer the major prey base for tigers.
Comments
Tags:Villagers|Kaziranga National Park|Conflicts
KAZIRANGA: Over 2,000 rhinos, 1,292 elephants, 1,400 wild buffaloes and about 700 swamp deer are already jostling for space in the 430 sq km area of Kaziranga National Park. Add to it about 80-odd tigers. Kaziranga National Park, which boasts of highest tiger density in the world, has virtually run out of space. And the worst sufferers, it seems, are the tigers they stray out of the protected area in search of prey and run into the risk of getting engaged in fatal conflicts with fringe villagers.
Kaziranga Park authorities admit to the problem. "The need of the hour is to add new areas under the park's administration. Even as the process to add new areas is over, these areas are yet to be handed over to us," Kaziranga National Park director Surajit Dutta said.
"Regaining the sand islands on the Brahmaputra which are used as natural corridors by tigers is of utmost importance for proper conservation of the big cats and ensuring their safety. Most of these island are either encroached by human beings or are being used by them to set up cattle sheds. This increases human-tiger conflicts," he added.
A park official said if one combines the total number of big mammals in the park area, it only reveals a terrible space shortage. "Incidents of straying out by tigers and conflicts with locals living in villages along the park are rampant. We have to extend our management beyond the existing area of the park," an official observed.
"Whenever a tiger strays out, it preys on livestock. This triggers conflicts. In fact, human-tiger conflict has posed a challenge for us. However, in collaboration with WWF-India, we are making all efforts to mitigate the conflict by providing compensation to owners as early as possible," Dutta said.
A joint study by Aaranyak and WWF-India, in collaboration with the forest department, has confirmed that over 100 sand islands dotting the Brahmaputra between Kaziranga national park and Orang national park are frequently used by tigers for their movement.
Spotting tigers in places like Koliabor, Naltali and Dhakuakhana within the Kaziranga-Orang Riverine Landscape has confirmed that big cats are using the islands for establishing new home ranges once they move out of the protected areas.
The trend of more and more tigers straying out of Kaziranga is also a cause of concern for the fringe villagers. "Last monsoon, I lost three cows in tiger attacks. They sneak into our village and prey upon our cattle. Our cattle sheds are not well-protected ones," said 75-year-old Hemai Tokbi, the village headman of Inglem Pathar, a non-descript hamlet bang opposite the Kohora range of the national park.
Though Tokbi claimed that residents of Inglem Pathar have never tried to kill a tiger, he could not vouch the same for people of other villages surrounding Kaziranga. "It's a difficult question. Don't ask me that," was his curt reply.
P J Bora, programme coordinator of WWF-India's Kaziranga-Karbi Anglong Landscape Programme (KALP), said: "We provide these villagers with immediate relief whenever there's report of tiger depredation. For proper conservation of the tigers, managing the park and the firing villages is of utmost importance. One should always remember that the human and wildlife interface in an area like Kaziranga is quite diffused that there is constant interaction, sometime fierce, and close relationship among both the parties."
The 185 km long Kaziranga-Orang Riverine Landscape (KORL) comprises the protected areas of Kaziranga, Orang, Laokhowa Wildlife Sanctuary, Burachapori Wildlife Sanctuary and a number of reserve forests. The study said KORL served as a major gateway for movement of other animals including deer the major prey base for tigers.
A website that has different tales of tigers
A website based on the tigers of Bandhavgarh National Park in Umaria district not only identifies the big cats belonging to a particular zone by their pet names, but also traces their family tree. landofthewild.com, created by Sachin Rai, a wildlife
photographer, traces the family tree of tigers, describes their traits and has stories associated with them.
"Wildlife photography is a passion for me," Rai told PTI, when asked about the website and his hobby. "I used to visit Bandhavgarh at least three times a year and spend a fortnight each in the park to capture images and gather information about the tigers," he said.
The tigers in the family tree are identified with their names like B2, Bokha, Bamera Male, Kallu, Chakradhara, Jhujhura, Chorbehra, Mahaman, Banbehi and Mirchaini.
"Best part of the website is that the moment you click on B2, Mahaman or any other tiger, you get to see the actual
big cat in the wild," the awarding-winning lensman said.
Referring to B2, the website says, "a legend on his own, this tiger is probably the most photographed wild tiger in the world. Ruling more than half the tourism area for almost eight years now, he has fathered lots of cubs who have
been instrumental in shaping the future of Bandhavgarh."
"B2 has fathered Jhujura, one of the most bold and successful mothers. She had raised two healthy litters and was
taking care of her third one which consisted of three cubs (six-month-old). She was run over by a Forest Department
vehicle on May 19, 2010," it claimed.
photographer, traces the family tree of tigers, describes their traits and has stories associated with them.
"Wildlife photography is a passion for me," Rai told PTI, when asked about the website and his hobby. "I used to visit Bandhavgarh at least three times a year and spend a fortnight each in the park to capture images and gather information about the tigers," he said.
The tigers in the family tree are identified with their names like B2, Bokha, Bamera Male, Kallu, Chakradhara, Jhujhura, Chorbehra, Mahaman, Banbehi and Mirchaini.
"Best part of the website is that the moment you click on B2, Mahaman or any other tiger, you get to see the actual
big cat in the wild," the awarding-winning lensman said.
Referring to B2, the website says, "a legend on his own, this tiger is probably the most photographed wild tiger in the world. Ruling more than half the tourism area for almost eight years now, he has fathered lots of cubs who have
been instrumental in shaping the future of Bandhavgarh."
"B2 has fathered Jhujura, one of the most bold and successful mothers. She had raised two healthy litters and was
taking care of her third one which consisted of three cubs (six-month-old). She was run over by a Forest Department
vehicle on May 19, 2010," it claimed.
Was the wrong tiger killed in Kumaon?
LUCKNOW: A day after Uttarakhand forest officials shot a tiger claiming it had killed six people in and around Kumaon's Corbett Reserve, doubts are being raised if the big cat felled on Thursday was a man-eater.
The Corbett authorities who had earlier claimed that the man-eater was a tigress, on Friday said the feline shot by Ramnagar forest officials was a "rare specimen with female characterstics". With deformity in both its hind claws, the pug marks of the tiger made them look like that of a tigress. "Whatever doubts have arisen, could be because of this assumption of ours," said Corbett park warden U C Tiwari on Friday adding, "it was a tiger with female characteristics."
The contention was outrightly rejected by wildlife experts. "The pug mark impressions are very distinct and are impressions of paws and not claws," said former director of Dudhwa G C Mishra. He added that this leaves little chance of a goof up. "We are yet to come across a tiger with "female characteristics," he said.
"If they have killed a wrong tiger and a man-eater is still at large, killings (of men) will take place in some 15-20 days," he warned.
Former director, Project Tiger, R L Singh said: "I agree that pug marks are misleading evidence, but I have never ever come across a tiger with any of its claws like that of a female. Though the cubs can have their claws look like that of a female, the Corbett tiger was an old one."
The Corbett authorities who had earlier claimed that the man-eater was a tigress, on Friday said the feline shot by Ramnagar forest officials was a "rare specimen with female characterstics". With deformity in both its hind claws, the pug marks of the tiger made them look like that of a tigress. "Whatever doubts have arisen, could be because of this assumption of ours," said Corbett park warden U C Tiwari on Friday adding, "it was a tiger with female characteristics."
The contention was outrightly rejected by wildlife experts. "The pug mark impressions are very distinct and are impressions of paws and not claws," said former director of Dudhwa G C Mishra. He added that this leaves little chance of a goof up. "We are yet to come across a tiger with "female characteristics," he said.
"If they have killed a wrong tiger and a man-eater is still at large, killings (of men) will take place in some 15-20 days," he warned.
Former director, Project Tiger, R L Singh said: "I agree that pug marks are misleading evidence, but I have never ever come across a tiger with any of its claws like that of a female. Though the cubs can have their claws look like that of a female, the Corbett tiger was an old one."
Friday, January 28, 2011
Forest officials gun down Corbett man-eater
LUCKNOW: Ramanagar forest official shot down a man-eating tiger near Corbett Tiger Reserve on Thursday afternoon. The animal had reportedly killed and eaten a 27-year-old youth in the morning. Forest officials launched an extensive combing to trace the man-eater after mutilated remains of the youth -- sixth victim since November -- was found and killed the animal around 2.30 pm.
In the beginning, there was confusion whether this is the same tiger which has been a terror in the area for the past three months. But, Uttarakhand forest officials went on record on Thursday evening claiming that the tiger shot by them was the one which was killing humans in Corbett area since November. "We can not say that man-eating is over in Corbett forever but in this area it has ended for sure," said S Chandola, chief wildlife warden, Uttarakhand.
The tiger received multiple wounds in neck and thighs. "But I have found the an old wound as well. Though it had distinctly healed," said Chandola. The big cat was shot at on January 11 by forest officers when it was eating human flesh. "I had predicted that the wound to be on its shoulder," said the official. The same wound, he said, was found on the carcass of the tiger.
When asked about the earlier reports, confirmed even by local forest officials, that it was a tigress which was killing and eating humans in the area since November, Chandola said, "these were only deductions. It's a wild environment and a feline can not be expected to lift its paws to show if it is a male or female."
Earlier in the day, the locals went berserk after the remains of Puran Chand were recovered from Sunderkhal area in Ramnagar forest division. On Wednesday, Puran, son of Bhopal Ram, resident of Maldhan village, Ramnagar, went missing. According to a forest officer, Puran had left his motorcycle on the outskirts and ventured inside the forest area at around 1.00pm. It is common for the local people to cross the forest on foot to reach human settlements on the other side.
When Puran could not be traced till 7.00pm, locals approached Ramnagar officers and requested them to comb the area. His motorcycle was found parked. The locals had gheraoed the area and that probably did not allow the tiger to move out. On Thursday morning, the youth's legs were recovered from Sunderkhal forest area. The tiger had eaten the rest of the body. This triggered a large-scale protest in the area.
The forest officers had to call in police to control the mob which had blocked Ranikhet-Ramnagar highway. "We also called in three elephants for the combing," said Ramnagar DFO Ravindra Juyal. The tiger was finally spotted in Sunderkhal area and was shot. Its carcass has been brought to Ramnagar. There was a huge crowd in Ramanagr to have a look at the dead tiger.
In the beginning, there was confusion whether this is the same tiger which has been a terror in the area for the past three months. But, Uttarakhand forest officials went on record on Thursday evening claiming that the tiger shot by them was the one which was killing humans in Corbett area since November. "We can not say that man-eating is over in Corbett forever but in this area it has ended for sure," said S Chandola, chief wildlife warden, Uttarakhand.
The tiger received multiple wounds in neck and thighs. "But I have found the an old wound as well. Though it had distinctly healed," said Chandola. The big cat was shot at on January 11 by forest officers when it was eating human flesh. "I had predicted that the wound to be on its shoulder," said the official. The same wound, he said, was found on the carcass of the tiger.
When asked about the earlier reports, confirmed even by local forest officials, that it was a tigress which was killing and eating humans in the area since November, Chandola said, "these were only deductions. It's a wild environment and a feline can not be expected to lift its paws to show if it is a male or female."
Earlier in the day, the locals went berserk after the remains of Puran Chand were recovered from Sunderkhal area in Ramnagar forest division. On Wednesday, Puran, son of Bhopal Ram, resident of Maldhan village, Ramnagar, went missing. According to a forest officer, Puran had left his motorcycle on the outskirts and ventured inside the forest area at around 1.00pm. It is common for the local people to cross the forest on foot to reach human settlements on the other side.
When Puran could not be traced till 7.00pm, locals approached Ramnagar officers and requested them to comb the area. His motorcycle was found parked. The locals had gheraoed the area and that probably did not allow the tiger to move out. On Thursday morning, the youth's legs were recovered from Sunderkhal forest area. The tiger had eaten the rest of the body. This triggered a large-scale protest in the area.
The forest officers had to call in police to control the mob which had blocked Ranikhet-Ramnagar highway. "We also called in three elephants for the combing," said Ramnagar DFO Ravindra Juyal. The tiger was finally spotted in Sunderkhal area and was shot. Its carcass has been brought to Ramnagar. There was a huge crowd in Ramanagr to have a look at the dead tiger.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Tiger kills another man in Corbett
LUCKNOW: A man was killed by a tiger in Ramnagar forest division. This is the fifth human killing in Corbett by a big cat. The forest officers have reached the spot, said a forest staff at Ramnagar forest division.
The man was killed on Wednesday evening, said the staff. The officers, on the other hand, said they could share more about the incident once the primary investigation gets over.
The big cat killing humans in Corbett is an adult tigress. The tigress is a man-eater. It has killed three humans since November in Sarpduli range under Garjia forest area of Corbett national park.
The officers, however, were not sure whether the fourth human, whose body was found about 5-6 kms away from Garjia forest was also killed by the tigress.
The tigress was shot at on January 11 by forest officers. The feline was injured in the operation. The officers said that blood stains at the spot made them believe that the tigress was injured.
The Sarpduli range of Garjia forest area has considerable human interference. The presence of Garjia temple near Corbett national park also makes it a busy place.
The locals have already risen in resentment against the park authorities after the killings.
On the other hand, tigress has completely lost the fear for humans. That is evident from the time period which kept on reducing between the killings. The second killing came more than a month after the first one. The third killing was made after a gap of just a week.
Read more: Tiger kills another man in Corbett - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/lucknow/Tiger-kills-another-man-in-Corbett/articleshow/7371811.cms#ixzz1CEupSgUa
The man was killed on Wednesday evening, said the staff. The officers, on the other hand, said they could share more about the incident once the primary investigation gets over.
The big cat killing humans in Corbett is an adult tigress. The tigress is a man-eater. It has killed three humans since November in Sarpduli range under Garjia forest area of Corbett national park.
The officers, however, were not sure whether the fourth human, whose body was found about 5-6 kms away from Garjia forest was also killed by the tigress.
The tigress was shot at on January 11 by forest officers. The feline was injured in the operation. The officers said that blood stains at the spot made them believe that the tigress was injured.
The Sarpduli range of Garjia forest area has considerable human interference. The presence of Garjia temple near Corbett national park also makes it a busy place.
The locals have already risen in resentment against the park authorities after the killings.
On the other hand, tigress has completely lost the fear for humans. That is evident from the time period which kept on reducing between the killings. The second killing came more than a month after the first one. The third killing was made after a gap of just a week.
Read more: Tiger kills another man in Corbett - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/lucknow/Tiger-kills-another-man-in-Corbett/articleshow/7371811.cms#ixzz1CEupSgUa
Tigers could triple in Asia
WASHINGTON: Asian tiger reserves could support more than 10,000 wild tigers, or three times the current number, if core breeding sites are protected, say the world's leading conservationists.
The study, co-authored by World Wildlife Fund (WWF) scientists, is the first assessment of the commitment made by all 13 countries at a summit in November that vowed to double tiger population in Asia by 2022.
The study finds that it will take a global effort to ensure that core breeding reserves are connected via habitat corridors, the journal Conservation Letters reports.
"We absolutely need to stop the bleeding, the poaching of tigers and their prey in core breeding areas, but we need to go much further and secure larger tiger landscapes before it is too late," said Eric Dinerstein, chief scientist at WWF and study co-author, according to a WWF statement.
Wild tiger numbers have declined from about 100,000 in the early 1900s to as few as 3,200 today due to poaching of tigers and their prey, habitat destruction and human/tiger conflict.
Most of the remaining tigers are scattered in small, isolated pockets across 13 Asian countries.
"By saving the tiger, we save all the plants and animals that live under the tiger's umbrella," said study co-author John Seidensticker of the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in the US.
The authors found that the 20 priority tiger conservation landscapes with the highest probability of long-term tiger survival could support more than 10,500 tigers, including about 3,400 breeding females.
The study, co-authored by World Wildlife Fund (WWF) scientists, is the first assessment of the commitment made by all 13 countries at a summit in November that vowed to double tiger population in Asia by 2022.
The study finds that it will take a global effort to ensure that core breeding reserves are connected via habitat corridors, the journal Conservation Letters reports.
"We absolutely need to stop the bleeding, the poaching of tigers and their prey in core breeding areas, but we need to go much further and secure larger tiger landscapes before it is too late," said Eric Dinerstein, chief scientist at WWF and study co-author, according to a WWF statement.
Wild tiger numbers have declined from about 100,000 in the early 1900s to as few as 3,200 today due to poaching of tigers and their prey, habitat destruction and human/tiger conflict.
Most of the remaining tigers are scattered in small, isolated pockets across 13 Asian countries.
"By saving the tiger, we save all the plants and animals that live under the tiger's umbrella," said study co-author John Seidensticker of the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in the US.
The authors found that the 20 priority tiger conservation landscapes with the highest probability of long-term tiger survival could support more than 10,500 tigers, including about 3,400 breeding females.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
In Bangalore Tiger kills leopard, experts say it’s a rare case
A leopard aged about two-and-half-years was found dead in Muthodi range of Bhadra tiger reserve on Monday morning. Forest officials said the death was the result of a tiger attack. This is a rare case because the two don’t usually engage in fights.
However, experts pointed out that it does happen rarely.Principal chief conservator of forests (wildlife) BK Singh pointed out that the postmortem reports revealed that the cause of the leopard’s death was due to a tiger attack.
“Such things are not common as leopards are swift and the tigers cannot reach them,” he said. “However, in this case, the leopard did have a fight with the tiger,” he added.
The leopard had bled profusely and was injured in the liver. There were pounce marks on the carcass and injuries on its back and abdomen.
The report revealed that the leopard was aged around two-and-half years and was a female. Though the tiger had not killed the leopard, there were signs of fight in the vicinity of the carcass.
Noted tiger scientist and director of Centre for Wildlife Studies, K Ullas Karanth, said, “There have been cases in the past where a lion or a tiger have killed a leopard. This happens due to inter-specific competition. Usually a tiger finds it hard to catch a leopard as the latter climbs trees and escape. But once it gets hold of a leopard, the tiger kills it. This is because the leopards are 3-4 times smaller than tigers. Similar killings have been spotted in Khana and Ranthambore. Once a Y radio-collared tigress had held a leopard on a tree for an entire night, and the next day the leopard was found dead.”
About 20 tigers and 40 leopards are estimated to habituate the Bhadra tiger reserve.
However, experts pointed out that it does happen rarely.Principal chief conservator of forests (wildlife) BK Singh pointed out that the postmortem reports revealed that the cause of the leopard’s death was due to a tiger attack.
“Such things are not common as leopards are swift and the tigers cannot reach them,” he said. “However, in this case, the leopard did have a fight with the tiger,” he added.
The leopard had bled profusely and was injured in the liver. There were pounce marks on the carcass and injuries on its back and abdomen.
The report revealed that the leopard was aged around two-and-half years and was a female. Though the tiger had not killed the leopard, there were signs of fight in the vicinity of the carcass.
Noted tiger scientist and director of Centre for Wildlife Studies, K Ullas Karanth, said, “There have been cases in the past where a lion or a tiger have killed a leopard. This happens due to inter-specific competition. Usually a tiger finds it hard to catch a leopard as the latter climbs trees and escape. But once it gets hold of a leopard, the tiger kills it. This is because the leopards are 3-4 times smaller than tigers. Similar killings have been spotted in Khana and Ranthambore. Once a Y radio-collared tigress had held a leopard on a tree for an entire night, and the next day the leopard was found dead.”
About 20 tigers and 40 leopards are estimated to habituate the Bhadra tiger reserve.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Tiger pugmarks found near Anjunem dam
ANJUNEM: The pugmarks of a tigress and a cub were recently found again in the vicinity of the Anjunem Irrigation Project (AIP) reservoir indicating the presence of the big cat in the Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary.
Assistant engineer of water resources department (WRD), associated with the AIP dam, M P Hudelgaddi said, "Our workers noticed the pugmarks of the big cats in the area on the left bank of the reservoir." Parshuram Kambli, a worker involved in water proofing work at the Anjunem dam, noticed the pugmarks.
In the last week of December 2010, when Pandurang Gawas and his father from Ghoteli no 2 of Sattari were returning from Chorla, they saw a tiger majestically crossing the road in the jungle of Ponsuli in the Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary.
Security guards at the dam said, "For the last fortnight, specially during the nights, we are living under grave fear as the tiger comes repeatedly in the vicinity of the reservoir. We heard the roaring of the tiger during these days."
In the last week, Harishchandra Narayan Gawas from Halitwada-Keri who was on a morning walk, had to return halfway from his destination since he heard the tiger roar.
Hudelgaddi informed the deputy conservator of forests, North Goa division, G T Kumar about the pugmarks of the big cat. Keri range forest officer Deepak Betkikar said, "Our officials will document these pugmarks and necessary action in the matter will be taken."
Parshuram Kambli said, "Early in the morning and late in evening, the jungle here witnesses the sounds of herbivorous animals like bison, barking deer and other deer. During this time carnivorous animals like tigers come out in search of prey. Beside the pugmarks of a tigress and a cub, the area has the pugmarks of deer also."
In 2009, assistant conservator of forests, Ponda, Subhash Henrique, had noticed the pugmarks of a tigress and a cub in the vicinity of AIP reservoir. In 2010, the tiger census conducted by the forest department had recorded the pugmarks of the tiger in the submerged Kelavade village.
Assistant engineer of water resources department (WRD), associated with the AIP dam, M P Hudelgaddi said, "Our workers noticed the pugmarks of the big cats in the area on the left bank of the reservoir." Parshuram Kambli, a worker involved in water proofing work at the Anjunem dam, noticed the pugmarks.
In the last week of December 2010, when Pandurang Gawas and his father from Ghoteli no 2 of Sattari were returning from Chorla, they saw a tiger majestically crossing the road in the jungle of Ponsuli in the Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary.
Security guards at the dam said, "For the last fortnight, specially during the nights, we are living under grave fear as the tiger comes repeatedly in the vicinity of the reservoir. We heard the roaring of the tiger during these days."
In the last week, Harishchandra Narayan Gawas from Halitwada-Keri who was on a morning walk, had to return halfway from his destination since he heard the tiger roar.
Hudelgaddi informed the deputy conservator of forests, North Goa division, G T Kumar about the pugmarks of the big cat. Keri range forest officer Deepak Betkikar said, "Our officials will document these pugmarks and necessary action in the matter will be taken."
Parshuram Kambli said, "Early in the morning and late in evening, the jungle here witnesses the sounds of herbivorous animals like bison, barking deer and other deer. During this time carnivorous animals like tigers come out in search of prey. Beside the pugmarks of a tigress and a cub, the area has the pugmarks of deer also."
In 2009, assistant conservator of forests, Ponda, Subhash Henrique, had noticed the pugmarks of a tigress and a cub in the vicinity of AIP reservoir. In 2010, the tiger census conducted by the forest department had recorded the pugmarks of the tiger in the submerged Kelavade village.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Cameras in Ranthambore National Park Spot Two New Tiger Cubs
A small but significant boost to tiger numbers has been received with the news of two new born cubs being spotted in Ranthambore National Park in Rajasthan. The two cubs believed to be born to a tigress last year were spotted in Sawai Madhopur district of the National Park.
"Cameras installed in the Indala range shot pictures of the cubs but they are not very clear. We believe they are newborn and we are verifying it further," Principal Chief Wild Life Warden, HM Bhatia said.
Ranthambore National Park has seen a mixture of good and bad tiger news since the past few months. While news of new cubs has been reported often, there has also been news of death of adult tigers, mainly due to internal fights among the big cats.
Ranthambore National Park located close to the capital Jaipur is a popular National Park visited by wildlife enthusiast throughout the year. Tourists in most cases have been fortunate to spot tigers on a safari in the National Park. A new rule enforced at the National Park now makes it compulsory for all tourists to carry their identification card, before being allowed to enter the National Park. Also in a bid to protect the eco sensitive environment of the National Park, the park’s petrol run jeeps which take tourist on the safaris inside the park will be replaced with diesel run vehicles.
The state government has also taken steps to protect the tigers in the National Park. Often tigers stray from the park to the villages situated close on the periphery of the park, which results in killings of cattle by the big cats. The villagers then poison the big cats to revenge their loss. In order to prevent such incidents, the state government has now taken a decision to double the compensation of the villagers for the loss of their cattle, thus sparing the wild and endangered species of the Royal Bengal Tigers a circumstance of an unfortunate death.
"Cameras installed in the Indala range shot pictures of the cubs but they are not very clear. We believe they are newborn and we are verifying it further," Principal Chief Wild Life Warden, HM Bhatia said.
Ranthambore National Park has seen a mixture of good and bad tiger news since the past few months. While news of new cubs has been reported often, there has also been news of death of adult tigers, mainly due to internal fights among the big cats.
Ranthambore National Park located close to the capital Jaipur is a popular National Park visited by wildlife enthusiast throughout the year. Tourists in most cases have been fortunate to spot tigers on a safari in the National Park. A new rule enforced at the National Park now makes it compulsory for all tourists to carry their identification card, before being allowed to enter the National Park. Also in a bid to protect the eco sensitive environment of the National Park, the park’s petrol run jeeps which take tourist on the safaris inside the park will be replaced with diesel run vehicles.
The state government has also taken steps to protect the tigers in the National Park. Often tigers stray from the park to the villages situated close on the periphery of the park, which results in killings of cattle by the big cats. The villagers then poison the big cats to revenge their loss. In order to prevent such incidents, the state government has now taken a decision to double the compensation of the villagers for the loss of their cattle, thus sparing the wild and endangered species of the Royal Bengal Tigers a circumstance of an unfortunate death.
24X7 protection for tigers in Karnataka soon
Jan. 23: Tigers roaming in the dense forests of Karnataka will get watchdogs for their protection round-the-clock soon. The much awaited 112-member Special Tiger Protection Force (STPF), is likely to take guard in another five months, and become the first full-fledged STPF to be rolled out in India.
The State Forest Department has speeded up the training, after receiving a pat on the back from the Central government, which accorded tiger reserve status to Biligiriranga Wildlife Sanctuary (BRT). With this addition, flora-fauna rich Karnataka, has the highest number of tiger reserves in South India, and is next only to Madhya Pradesh in the country.
The forest department has decided to extend the purview of STPF to BRT. Initially, the plan was to test the STPF in Bandipur and Nagarhole tiger reserves, which are one of the sensitive and pristine forest covers in India today, and later extend it to other tiger reserves like Bhadra and Dandeli Anshi.
Ravishankar, DCF (Wildlife), BRT, told the Deccan Chronicle that STPF was currently undergoing training at six forest guard training schools, and would later get three-month special training from the state police department, and central paramilitary forces, based on a syllabus for skill development, to combat poaching, and to enable intelligence-based enforcement in a forest terrain.
He added, “The office of STPF would come up in Gundlupet taluk in Chamarajanagar, which is the strategic point to access all three reserves BRT, Bandipur, and Nagarhole”.
Top official sources said that National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) would set up its regional office in Bengaluru in about a month, further boosting the conservation efforts of the department.
On the other hand, the 112-member STPF has no one from the region, though the plan was to have a mix of forest guards and local tribes. Sources said that tribals were not interested in the job despite offer of healthy salaries, and the majority were upset with the department over rehabilitation. People from Belgaum, Gulbarga, and Bijapur, who have no familiarity with forest terrain, are in the STPF.
The State Forest Department has speeded up the training, after receiving a pat on the back from the Central government, which accorded tiger reserve status to Biligiriranga Wildlife Sanctuary (BRT). With this addition, flora-fauna rich Karnataka, has the highest number of tiger reserves in South India, and is next only to Madhya Pradesh in the country.
The forest department has decided to extend the purview of STPF to BRT. Initially, the plan was to test the STPF in Bandipur and Nagarhole tiger reserves, which are one of the sensitive and pristine forest covers in India today, and later extend it to other tiger reserves like Bhadra and Dandeli Anshi.
Ravishankar, DCF (Wildlife), BRT, told the Deccan Chronicle that STPF was currently undergoing training at six forest guard training schools, and would later get three-month special training from the state police department, and central paramilitary forces, based on a syllabus for skill development, to combat poaching, and to enable intelligence-based enforcement in a forest terrain.
He added, “The office of STPF would come up in Gundlupet taluk in Chamarajanagar, which is the strategic point to access all three reserves BRT, Bandipur, and Nagarhole”.
Top official sources said that National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) would set up its regional office in Bengaluru in about a month, further boosting the conservation efforts of the department.
On the other hand, the 112-member STPF has no one from the region, though the plan was to have a mix of forest guards and local tribes. Sources said that tribals were not interested in the job despite offer of healthy salaries, and the majority were upset with the department over rehabilitation. People from Belgaum, Gulbarga, and Bijapur, who have no familiarity with forest terrain, are in the STPF.
Park to curb tourist flow - Move in aid of animals to hit kaziranga business
Kaziranga, Jan. 23: Business and wildlife are on a collision course at Kaziranga National Park with park authorities wanting to impose regulations on tourist flow.
The restrictions are likely to hit the tourism industry, including business ventures such as luxury resorts and jeep safaris, hard.
The owners of several luxury resorts near the park have opposed the move, fearing that the restrictions might lead to fewer tourists.
“We make a living off Kaziranga. If restrictions are imposed on tourists, we will be doomed,” an owner of a resort near the park told this correspondent.
Businesses associated with the park make huge profits. The Jeep Safari Association of the park earned a revenue of Rs 10 lakh in November last year. The park remains open for tourists from November to April every year.
Known worldwide as the abode of one-horned rhinos, Kaziranga was declared a tiger reserve in 2006. Since then, there has been pressure from the Centre to impose restrictions on the flow of tourists to the national park.
The Royal Bengal tiger is given top priority in the conservation list at Kaziranga since funds from the Centre come only for protection of the tiger. Earlier, central funds were also released for protection of the rhinos. However, the aid stopped once the rhino population reached a safe zone with the last count pegging it at 2,200.
With Project Tiger came a set of new guidelines that implied restrictions on the flow of tourists. The park authorities have so far failed to the follow the guidelines as it affects businesses.
However, Project Tiger being the only source of funds for the park, the authorities are now forced to implement these guidelines.
Park director Surajeet Dutta said 70 tigers were found in a census carried out by camera-trapping method in half the portion of the national park recently. “We are expecting about 120 tigers in Kaziranga,” he said.
In a separate census conducted by an NGO a couple of years ago, Kaziranga was found to have the highest density of tigers in the world. Dutta said the 430 square km area of the national park would be declared a core area very soon and the flow of tourists would be restricted.
Construction of new hotels and restaurants near the park area has also been banned.
“There has been a tremendous pressure on the animals with a large number of tourists visiting the park regularly. We need to restrict the tourist flow as it has an impact on the animals. Moreover, mushrooming of hotels and resorts has also harmed the animals since most of these are built on areas where animals visit frequently,” Dutta told this correspondent.
“The rhinos at Mihimukh in the Kohora range are almost used to humans. This is not a good sign at all,” he said.
According to norms, not more than 50 vehicles are allowed inside the park on a particular day.
Dutta said the authorities had made other plans for tourists. Jeep and elephant safaris would be introduced in the newly-added areas of the national park to reduce pressure on the core area.
The park has been extended to about 860 square km with new areas being added in recent times. “This year itself, we have opened four entry points for tourists. We are also thinking of starting boat safaris in some areas very soon,” he said.
The restrictions are likely to hit the tourism industry, including business ventures such as luxury resorts and jeep safaris, hard.
The owners of several luxury resorts near the park have opposed the move, fearing that the restrictions might lead to fewer tourists.
“We make a living off Kaziranga. If restrictions are imposed on tourists, we will be doomed,” an owner of a resort near the park told this correspondent.
Businesses associated with the park make huge profits. The Jeep Safari Association of the park earned a revenue of Rs 10 lakh in November last year. The park remains open for tourists from November to April every year.
Known worldwide as the abode of one-horned rhinos, Kaziranga was declared a tiger reserve in 2006. Since then, there has been pressure from the Centre to impose restrictions on the flow of tourists to the national park.
The Royal Bengal tiger is given top priority in the conservation list at Kaziranga since funds from the Centre come only for protection of the tiger. Earlier, central funds were also released for protection of the rhinos. However, the aid stopped once the rhino population reached a safe zone with the last count pegging it at 2,200.
With Project Tiger came a set of new guidelines that implied restrictions on the flow of tourists. The park authorities have so far failed to the follow the guidelines as it affects businesses.
However, Project Tiger being the only source of funds for the park, the authorities are now forced to implement these guidelines.
Park director Surajeet Dutta said 70 tigers were found in a census carried out by camera-trapping method in half the portion of the national park recently. “We are expecting about 120 tigers in Kaziranga,” he said.
In a separate census conducted by an NGO a couple of years ago, Kaziranga was found to have the highest density of tigers in the world. Dutta said the 430 square km area of the national park would be declared a core area very soon and the flow of tourists would be restricted.
Construction of new hotels and restaurants near the park area has also been banned.
“There has been a tremendous pressure on the animals with a large number of tourists visiting the park regularly. We need to restrict the tourist flow as it has an impact on the animals. Moreover, mushrooming of hotels and resorts has also harmed the animals since most of these are built on areas where animals visit frequently,” Dutta told this correspondent.
“The rhinos at Mihimukh in the Kohora range are almost used to humans. This is not a good sign at all,” he said.
According to norms, not more than 50 vehicles are allowed inside the park on a particular day.
Dutta said the authorities had made other plans for tourists. Jeep and elephant safaris would be introduced in the newly-added areas of the national park to reduce pressure on the core area.
The park has been extended to about 860 square km with new areas being added in recent times. “This year itself, we have opened four entry points for tourists. We are also thinking of starting boat safaris in some areas very soon,” he said.
Assam No 2 in tiger mortality
: The tiger doesn't seem to be burning bright anymore in India. The country, once home to 40,000 tigers, is left with just 1,200-1,500 big cats, according to the last census (2008) by the National Tiger Conservation Authority. If that isn't bad enough, Wildlife Protection Society of India's (WPSI) wildlife crime database has even more depressing news for officials. According to the 2010 WPSI study, 58 tigers died under various circumstances and Assam ranks second in tiger mortality index, just behind Madhya Pradesh. Of the 58 deaths, 30 (51%) were poaching and seizure-related.
Assam, which was in the news days ago after the Kaziranga reserve reported the highest tiger density in the world, lost nine tigers last year. "Skeletons of two tigers were seized, one was a confirmed poaching case, four tigers were found dead, one man-eater was shot dead and another tiger died from reported infighting. Of the nine tigers, five were from Kaziranga. The origin of the two tiger skeletons is not known," said WPSI executive director Belinda Wright.
According to Biswajit Roy Chowdhury of Nature Environment and Wildlife Society, Assam is the gateway for smuggling activities towards southeast Asia. "Smugglers reach China via Arunachal and Myanmar from Assam. Tibet is also accessible on this route. That's why poaching is rampant in Assam," he said.
Md Firoz Ahmed, wildlife biologist with a Guwahati-based conservation organisation Aaranyak, told TOI: "The tiger density in Kaziranga is too high given its 500 sqkm core area. In terms of prey base, it can support a density of 30 tigers per 100 sqkm, but area-wise it may not be able to sustain the population." According to him, relocation will not be a solution. "Orang is already populated with big cats. Retaliation deaths are being reported from Nameri and Manas."
The WPSI database also shows that of the 58 deaths in 2010, while 15 tigers (25.86%) were found dead, 10 died from reported infighting (17.24%). One tiger was shot by the forest department, while another was killed in a road accident.
Assam, which was in the news days ago after the Kaziranga reserve reported the highest tiger density in the world, lost nine tigers last year. "Skeletons of two tigers were seized, one was a confirmed poaching case, four tigers were found dead, one man-eater was shot dead and another tiger died from reported infighting. Of the nine tigers, five were from Kaziranga. The origin of the two tiger skeletons is not known," said WPSI executive director Belinda Wright.
According to Biswajit Roy Chowdhury of Nature Environment and Wildlife Society, Assam is the gateway for smuggling activities towards southeast Asia. "Smugglers reach China via Arunachal and Myanmar from Assam. Tibet is also accessible on this route. That's why poaching is rampant in Assam," he said.
Md Firoz Ahmed, wildlife biologist with a Guwahati-based conservation organisation Aaranyak, told TOI: "The tiger density in Kaziranga is too high given its 500 sqkm core area. In terms of prey base, it can support a density of 30 tigers per 100 sqkm, but area-wise it may not be able to sustain the population." According to him, relocation will not be a solution. "Orang is already populated with big cats. Retaliation deaths are being reported from Nameri and Manas."
The WPSI database also shows that of the 58 deaths in 2010, while 15 tigers (25.86%) were found dead, 10 died from reported infighting (17.24%). One tiger was shot by the forest department, while another was killed in a road accident.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Tiger census in Pilibhit and Dudhwa over
LUCKNOW: The census exercise for tigers is over in Pilibhit and Dudhwa National Park. But it has to be taken up in Kishenpur sanctuary. The results for tiger census might take time to come. The forest department has already taken to an intensive technology used to count the number of tigers.
In Uttar Pradesh, out of the total forested habitat 3,175 sq km constitutes potential tiger habitat. In census 2008, tigers were found to occupy 2,766 sq km of forest with an estimated population of 109 (91-127) in UP. Will the scale tip to right or left of this count, is still to come.
Within UP, tigers are distributed in one major population and three smaller populations. Sporadic occupancy is reported in Sonbhadra forests. The major population is constituted by DTR comprising Dudhwa National Park, Kishenpur Wildlife Sanctuary, Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary and forests of Pilibhit, north and south Kheri Forest Divisions.
The 2008 census also found smaller population in the west in Bijnor forests covering an area of about 221 sq km and maintained by dispersing tigers from Corbett Tiger Reserve. The two smaller eastern populations were located in Suhelwa wildlife sanctuary with a tiger occupancy of 490 sq km and Sohagibarwa wildlife sanctuary having a tiger occupancy of 139 sq km in two separate blocks. The current census, however, will throw light on changes in distribution of tigers, from the last time, in the state. "The census is taking place only for source population of tigers," said sources in the department. The cameras were installed within forest area. The transient population of tigers in sugarcane fields might have therefore missed the count this time again.
The transient tigers are those which mostly stray and try to establish their own territory.
In Uttar Pradesh, out of the total forested habitat 3,175 sq km constitutes potential tiger habitat. In census 2008, tigers were found to occupy 2,766 sq km of forest with an estimated population of 109 (91-127) in UP. Will the scale tip to right or left of this count, is still to come.
Within UP, tigers are distributed in one major population and three smaller populations. Sporadic occupancy is reported in Sonbhadra forests. The major population is constituted by DTR comprising Dudhwa National Park, Kishenpur Wildlife Sanctuary, Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary and forests of Pilibhit, north and south Kheri Forest Divisions.
The 2008 census also found smaller population in the west in Bijnor forests covering an area of about 221 sq km and maintained by dispersing tigers from Corbett Tiger Reserve. The two smaller eastern populations were located in Suhelwa wildlife sanctuary with a tiger occupancy of 490 sq km and Sohagibarwa wildlife sanctuary having a tiger occupancy of 139 sq km in two separate blocks. The current census, however, will throw light on changes in distribution of tigers, from the last time, in the state. "The census is taking place only for source population of tigers," said sources in the department. The cameras were installed within forest area. The transient population of tigers in sugarcane fields might have therefore missed the count this time again.
The transient tigers are those which mostly stray and try to establish their own territory.
Tribal skins electrocuted tiger
HYDERABAD: At a time when the Centre is mobilizing all possible resources to save the big cat, a bizarre incident of electrocution of a tiger has come to light in Kagaznagar in Adilabad district.
According to sources, the state forest department officials in Kagaznagar arrested Madavi Anand Rao, a Kolan tribal, who reportedly admitted to killing the tiger unintentionally and later skinning and passing on its hide to one of his relatives in Maharashtra to sell it. Tiger skin fetches Rs one to Rs 3 lakh in the domestic market and four times more in the international market.
Anand Rao, 32, reportedly told investigating forest officials that he had put up an electric fence around his field in Vempalli village which is located in the reserve forest on January 2 to save his crop from wild boar menace. When he went to the field the next morning, he found a tiger electrocuted. Instead of informing the forest officials or the police, he decided to make some money. He peeled off the skin which was burnt in parts, stuffed it in a gunny bag and went to the nearby Sonapur village in Chandrapur district of Maharashtra. He contacted his brother-in-law Seedam Bheem Rao and asked him to find a customer for the tiger skin. Even as Bheem Rao was trying to sell the skin, he, along with five others were arrested by the Maharashtra police.
On interrogation they gave away the name of the relative. The Maharashtra police alerted senior forest officials in Adilabad district. Anand Rao was arrested on January 7. Based on his confession three forest officials, M A Mabood, DFO, G Ravinder, sub-DFO and range officer Zahid Ali went to the field where he had buried the carcass. It was exhumed and sent for postmortem.
The tiger was one of the four big cats found in Kagaznagar. It was an eight-year-old male. Now only the female along with her two cubs are said to be left in the forest which once boasted of scores of big cats.
A senior official expressed surprised at the electrocution of the tiger and blamed it on bad monitoring of the forest. "There are 30 base camps in the district with strike force and several trackers. It is unfortunate that such an event takes place in spite of having so many people on keeping a watch on the forest,'' he said.
DFO Mabood said, "On the face of it, the crime does not appear to be a handiwork of an organized gang. However, the accused have been sent for judicial custody and investigations are on. We are not ruling out any angle at this level.''
According to sources, the state forest department officials in Kagaznagar arrested Madavi Anand Rao, a Kolan tribal, who reportedly admitted to killing the tiger unintentionally and later skinning and passing on its hide to one of his relatives in Maharashtra to sell it. Tiger skin fetches Rs one to Rs 3 lakh in the domestic market and four times more in the international market.
Anand Rao, 32, reportedly told investigating forest officials that he had put up an electric fence around his field in Vempalli village which is located in the reserve forest on January 2 to save his crop from wild boar menace. When he went to the field the next morning, he found a tiger electrocuted. Instead of informing the forest officials or the police, he decided to make some money. He peeled off the skin which was burnt in parts, stuffed it in a gunny bag and went to the nearby Sonapur village in Chandrapur district of Maharashtra. He contacted his brother-in-law Seedam Bheem Rao and asked him to find a customer for the tiger skin. Even as Bheem Rao was trying to sell the skin, he, along with five others were arrested by the Maharashtra police.
On interrogation they gave away the name of the relative. The Maharashtra police alerted senior forest officials in Adilabad district. Anand Rao was arrested on January 7. Based on his confession three forest officials, M A Mabood, DFO, G Ravinder, sub-DFO and range officer Zahid Ali went to the field where he had buried the carcass. It was exhumed and sent for postmortem.
The tiger was one of the four big cats found in Kagaznagar. It was an eight-year-old male. Now only the female along with her two cubs are said to be left in the forest which once boasted of scores of big cats.
A senior official expressed surprised at the electrocution of the tiger and blamed it on bad monitoring of the forest. "There are 30 base camps in the district with strike force and several trackers. It is unfortunate that such an event takes place in spite of having so many people on keeping a watch on the forest,'' he said.
DFO Mabood said, "On the face of it, the crime does not appear to be a handiwork of an organized gang. However, the accused have been sent for judicial custody and investigations are on. We are not ruling out any angle at this level.''
Friday, January 21, 2011
Tiger spotted in Sahyadri reserve
For decades, the presence of tigers in the Sahyadri wildlife sanctuary had remained, at best, only speculation. No more, though. A report from the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) in Hyderabad has confirmed the presence of a tiger, proof finally that tigers exist in Sahyadri sanctuary
To save the tiger, save jungle
Without a holistic approach nothing can protect India's wildlife from human greed and bestiality. If we don’t act now, the tiger, leopard, elephant, deer and even marine and avian species will face extinction
Last Tuesday it was Gurgaon. On Wednesday, it happened on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar. On Thursday, it was near Guwahati. By the time January is out, the toll can only be anticipated to multiply. On an average three to four leopards are mercilessly beaten to death every week by bloodthirsty villagers. Some die in accidents such as the cub that got run over by a train in Assam. But mostly the big cats are mauled to death by gruesome methods. Having encircled and trapped the terrified creature that may have strayed into human habitation in search of food, villagers pelt them with stones; beat them with iron rods and in a few instances are known to have even gouged their eyes out in an orgy of bestiality.
Eyewitnesses say that a carnival atmosphere prevails while the hapless cat cries out in pain. People congregate with drums as if to celebrate victory in battle. Cunningly, the carcass is dragged outside village precincts, sprayed with kerosene and set alight to remove traces of the crime. By the time forest officials or the police arrive, if at all they do, the deed is done. If confronted, belligerent villagers dare the officers to act. Outnumbered, enforcers of the law beat a hasty retreat and file a report blaming unknown persons for the murder. Few are prosecuted; leave alone punished.
In recent years the supposed man-animal conflict has become a one-sided affair with a variety of wild creatures being regularly bludgeoned to death. A recent report said that enraged by the alleged depredations of a herd of elephants, villagers managed to catch hold of a two-year-old calf that got left behind and beat it to death the same way as they often do with leopards. Fearful of the tiger, people don’t venture to kill them in frontal combat, but have increasingly started to use poison with which they lace a bait and wait for the unwary beast to consume it to die a slow, painful death. This has been reported particularly from Rajasthan and eastern Uttar Pradesh where incidents of tigers straying from sanctuaries have risen markedly. There are two worrisome facets to these developments. First, the Government’s much-hyped conservation efforts are being defeated at the grassroots by villagers unconvinced of the need to preserve the country’s dwindling wildlife. Second, steady encroachment of animal habitats is resulting in migration out of sanctuaries, enhancing the chances of more frequent confrontations between villagers and animals in desperate search of food. Even more than encroachment, the disappearance of animal corridors in Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan, the construction or expansion of highways running through Reserved Forests and the grant of mining leases in protected forest areas has led to the sharpening of the problem.
The tiger is to India’s conservation efforts what cricket is to sport. While Government and private efforts at tiger conservation have heightened consciousness about the majestic creature, the bulk of attention and finances are routed to projects related to it. No doubt, the effort is most laudable and let us hope that the next tiger census (currently underway), conducted by the more scientific camera trap method, will show a rise in numbers beyond the paltry 1,141 that the last headcount revealed. Organisations like NDTV, sponsors like Aircel and others must be complimented for the recent daylong Telethon in which I was honoured to be a participant. So, it is certainly not my case that the tiger is receiving undue attention or funds.
However, I believe that the tiger cannot be protected without a holistic policy towards environment and wildlife. For example, if streams in the jungle dry up because of rampant extraction of groundwater and bottling plants being set up at source, the tigers’ prey too cannot survive. If deer are forced to migrate out of forests or die of thirst, tigers and other predators like leopards would be compelled to move towards human habitations in search of food and water. If forest cover declines or degenerates, wildlife would find less and less greens to forage and over time their reproductive capacity too would be adversely affected. An ecological balance involving forest cover, water sources, prey base for big cats is essential for wildlife to prosper. It is not possible to ensure a significant rise in tiger numbers merely by pumping in funds or relocating some to reserves from which they were eliminated through poaching or inhospitable environs.
Leopards and elephants are at a huge risk in India because of human incursions close to their traditional habitats. The leopard, being a smaller cat compared to the tiger is endangered by the steady decline in its prey base in the jungles. Besides, by nature they live on the outskirts of forests rather than the deep interiors. On the periphery of Mumbai, for instance, leopard sightings were fairly common till recently, just as the Aravali highlands close to Delhi-Gurgaon was the leopards’ terrain not before long. As townships and industrial complexes are built in these areas with mounting speed, the leopard is seriously threatened and compelled to abandon protective jungle cover to hunt for food. The accident last year in which two young leopards were run over by a speeding vehicle on the Delhi-Jaipur Highway (NH 8) is a telling example of the leopards’ predicament. Unfortunately, there is no quick-fix solution to this, except a long-term policy regarding the peripheries of reserved forests or shrub lands in the Aravalis that are the leopards’ natural habitat. How much encroachment can be allowed to builders of housing colonies, shopping malls and entertainment parks in the neighbourhood of our burgeoning metros? As far as I know, the frenetic expansion of human settlement around Gurgaon, which began in the 1990s, never had any form of environmental clearance whatsoever. Instead of maximising habitation within existing colonies, builders are in the business of promoting golf courses, artificial lakes, sprawling villas and other attractive features to draw high-end buyers to housing and farmhouse complexes being built on lands that were once traversed by a variety of wildlife.
The abuse of areas peripheral to National Parks is so rampant that it hardly bears recalling. With over 700 resorts in operation just outside the perimeter of Corbett National Park, the discomfort caused to and consequent dislocation of wildlife has assumed serious dimensions. While I feel Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh’s heart is in the right place, he has failed miserably to curb human intrusion into tiger reserves. Has anybody thought of the disturbance caused to wildlife by the relentless foray of tourists on jeep safaris in Ranthambhore? As it is, the park is overcrowded, but unchecked movement of people inside the sanctuary must be among the reasons that forced tigress T 13 with her two hungry eight-month-old cubs to venture out of the park, risking death by poisoning or starvation.
Last Tuesday it was Gurgaon. On Wednesday, it happened on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar. On Thursday, it was near Guwahati. By the time January is out, the toll can only be anticipated to multiply. On an average three to four leopards are mercilessly beaten to death every week by bloodthirsty villagers. Some die in accidents such as the cub that got run over by a train in Assam. But mostly the big cats are mauled to death by gruesome methods. Having encircled and trapped the terrified creature that may have strayed into human habitation in search of food, villagers pelt them with stones; beat them with iron rods and in a few instances are known to have even gouged their eyes out in an orgy of bestiality.
Eyewitnesses say that a carnival atmosphere prevails while the hapless cat cries out in pain. People congregate with drums as if to celebrate victory in battle. Cunningly, the carcass is dragged outside village precincts, sprayed with kerosene and set alight to remove traces of the crime. By the time forest officials or the police arrive, if at all they do, the deed is done. If confronted, belligerent villagers dare the officers to act. Outnumbered, enforcers of the law beat a hasty retreat and file a report blaming unknown persons for the murder. Few are prosecuted; leave alone punished.
In recent years the supposed man-animal conflict has become a one-sided affair with a variety of wild creatures being regularly bludgeoned to death. A recent report said that enraged by the alleged depredations of a herd of elephants, villagers managed to catch hold of a two-year-old calf that got left behind and beat it to death the same way as they often do with leopards. Fearful of the tiger, people don’t venture to kill them in frontal combat, but have increasingly started to use poison with which they lace a bait and wait for the unwary beast to consume it to die a slow, painful death. This has been reported particularly from Rajasthan and eastern Uttar Pradesh where incidents of tigers straying from sanctuaries have risen markedly. There are two worrisome facets to these developments. First, the Government’s much-hyped conservation efforts are being defeated at the grassroots by villagers unconvinced of the need to preserve the country’s dwindling wildlife. Second, steady encroachment of animal habitats is resulting in migration out of sanctuaries, enhancing the chances of more frequent confrontations between villagers and animals in desperate search of food. Even more than encroachment, the disappearance of animal corridors in Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan, the construction or expansion of highways running through Reserved Forests and the grant of mining leases in protected forest areas has led to the sharpening of the problem.
The tiger is to India’s conservation efforts what cricket is to sport. While Government and private efforts at tiger conservation have heightened consciousness about the majestic creature, the bulk of attention and finances are routed to projects related to it. No doubt, the effort is most laudable and let us hope that the next tiger census (currently underway), conducted by the more scientific camera trap method, will show a rise in numbers beyond the paltry 1,141 that the last headcount revealed. Organisations like NDTV, sponsors like Aircel and others must be complimented for the recent daylong Telethon in which I was honoured to be a participant. So, it is certainly not my case that the tiger is receiving undue attention or funds.
However, I believe that the tiger cannot be protected without a holistic policy towards environment and wildlife. For example, if streams in the jungle dry up because of rampant extraction of groundwater and bottling plants being set up at source, the tigers’ prey too cannot survive. If deer are forced to migrate out of forests or die of thirst, tigers and other predators like leopards would be compelled to move towards human habitations in search of food and water. If forest cover declines or degenerates, wildlife would find less and less greens to forage and over time their reproductive capacity too would be adversely affected. An ecological balance involving forest cover, water sources, prey base for big cats is essential for wildlife to prosper. It is not possible to ensure a significant rise in tiger numbers merely by pumping in funds or relocating some to reserves from which they were eliminated through poaching or inhospitable environs.
Leopards and elephants are at a huge risk in India because of human incursions close to their traditional habitats. The leopard, being a smaller cat compared to the tiger is endangered by the steady decline in its prey base in the jungles. Besides, by nature they live on the outskirts of forests rather than the deep interiors. On the periphery of Mumbai, for instance, leopard sightings were fairly common till recently, just as the Aravali highlands close to Delhi-Gurgaon was the leopards’ terrain not before long. As townships and industrial complexes are built in these areas with mounting speed, the leopard is seriously threatened and compelled to abandon protective jungle cover to hunt for food. The accident last year in which two young leopards were run over by a speeding vehicle on the Delhi-Jaipur Highway (NH 8) is a telling example of the leopards’ predicament. Unfortunately, there is no quick-fix solution to this, except a long-term policy regarding the peripheries of reserved forests or shrub lands in the Aravalis that are the leopards’ natural habitat. How much encroachment can be allowed to builders of housing colonies, shopping malls and entertainment parks in the neighbourhood of our burgeoning metros? As far as I know, the frenetic expansion of human settlement around Gurgaon, which began in the 1990s, never had any form of environmental clearance whatsoever. Instead of maximising habitation within existing colonies, builders are in the business of promoting golf courses, artificial lakes, sprawling villas and other attractive features to draw high-end buyers to housing and farmhouse complexes being built on lands that were once traversed by a variety of wildlife.
The abuse of areas peripheral to National Parks is so rampant that it hardly bears recalling. With over 700 resorts in operation just outside the perimeter of Corbett National Park, the discomfort caused to and consequent dislocation of wildlife has assumed serious dimensions. While I feel Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh’s heart is in the right place, he has failed miserably to curb human intrusion into tiger reserves. Has anybody thought of the disturbance caused to wildlife by the relentless foray of tourists on jeep safaris in Ranthambhore? As it is, the park is overcrowded, but unchecked movement of people inside the sanctuary must be among the reasons that forced tigress T 13 with her two hungry eight-month-old cubs to venture out of the park, risking death by poisoning or starvation.
Cubs clicked at R'bore, tigress unseen
JAIPUR: There may be fresh addition to the tiger population at the Ranthambore National Park. Two cubs were clicked by a camera trap at the park recently.
However, officials of the forest department are not sure as to who is the mother of these cubs as her picture was not available on the camera trap. The cubs were clicked at the Indala area of the forest.
According to H M Bhatia, chief wildlife warden, Rajasthan, "We have clicked the picture of two cubs. These are fresh addition to the tiger population in the park. But since the camera trap was not able to a photo of the mother we are not sure which tiger has littered. There were two or three expecting tigresses."
R P Gupta, DFO, Ranthambore, said "As of now it is just T-13 that has given birth. Though currently she is in a different area it might just be that the cubs are hers and therefore are not a fresh addition to the population. Till we have the picture of the mother we cannot say anything for certain," he said.
The birth of the cubs will 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 for the department.
Moreover, there has been a lull in the birth of cubs at Ranthambore since 2008 for almost two years till T-13 gave birth last year some time in September.
However, officials of the forest department are not sure as to who is the mother of these cubs as her picture was not available on the camera trap. The cubs were clicked at the Indala area of the forest.
According to H M Bhatia, chief wildlife warden, Rajasthan, "We have clicked the picture of two cubs. These are fresh addition to the tiger population in the park. But since the camera trap was not able to a photo of the mother we are not sure which tiger has littered. There were two or three expecting tigresses."
R P Gupta, DFO, Ranthambore, said "As of now it is just T-13 that has given birth. Though currently she is in a different area it might just be that the cubs are hers and therefore are not a fresh addition to the population. Till we have the picture of the mother we cannot say anything for certain," he said.
The birth of the cubs will 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 for the department.
Moreover, there has been a lull in the birth of cubs at Ranthambore since 2008 for almost two years till T-13 gave birth last year some time in September.
Study says India most vulnerable to tiger skin, parts trade
NAGPUR: From 40,000 tigers hundred years ago, today India is down to just 1,411. No wonder. Latest study by Traffic International, the wildlife trade network in 11 of the 13 tiger range countries, reveals that India is most vulnerable when it comes to tiger skin and body parts trade.
The study 'Reduced to skin and bones', an analysis of tiger seizures from 11 tiger range countries in a decade (2000-2010), reveals that in addition to habitat loss and degradation, human encroachment, excessive poaching of key prey species and illegal trade in tiger parts were greatly contributing to the rapid decline of tigers in the wild.
"The study included all seizure information available from January 2000 to April 30, 2010. No data were recorded from Cambodia and Bhutan and hence these countries were omitted," said Samir Sinha, head, Traffic India. A total of 481 seizures were analysed, suggesting a minimum of 1,069 (annual average 104.2) and maximum of 1,220 (annual average 118.9) tigers killed for their parts and derivatives. The vast majority of these seizures took place in India (276), followed by China (40), Nepal (39), Indonesia (36) and Vietnam (28).
"Owing to the illicit nature of the trade, it must be assumed that the 1069-1220 tigers implicated in this analysis are fewer than the actual number of tigers killed and their parts trafficked around the world," the study says. Parts seized in tiger range countries were most commonly in the form of skins (480), bones and skeletons (1253.53 kg), dead individuals (197) and claws (1,313).
The study 'Reduced to skin and bones', an analysis of tiger seizures from 11 tiger range countries in a decade (2000-2010), reveals that in addition to habitat loss and degradation, human encroachment, excessive poaching of key prey species and illegal trade in tiger parts were greatly contributing to the rapid decline of tigers in the wild.
"The study included all seizure information available from January 2000 to April 30, 2010. No data were recorded from Cambodia and Bhutan and hence these countries were omitted," said Samir Sinha, head, Traffic India. A total of 481 seizures were analysed, suggesting a minimum of 1,069 (annual average 104.2) and maximum of 1,220 (annual average 118.9) tigers killed for their parts and derivatives. The vast majority of these seizures took place in India (276), followed by China (40), Nepal (39), Indonesia (36) and Vietnam (28).
"Owing to the illicit nature of the trade, it must be assumed that the 1069-1220 tigers implicated in this analysis are fewer than the actual number of tigers killed and their parts trafficked around the world," the study says. Parts seized in tiger range countries were most commonly in the form of skins (480), bones and skeletons (1253.53 kg), dead individuals (197) and claws (1,313).
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Villages around tiger reserve safe havens for Naxals
DALTONGANJ: Villages around Palamu Tiger Reserve (PTR) are safe havens for CPI (Maoist) where the Maoists run their writ. One such village is Ukamar under Project Tiger division while another is Ghaseedag village.
At Mandal village, a superintending engineer of north koyal Baijnath Mishra was killed in the late 90s and a small portion of the Mandal dam was also damaged by extremists belonging to Mazdoor Kissan Sangharsh Samiti.
At Kolpurwa village, security forces battled with the Maoists. Hehegara is a village of this tiger division which hit the national news stand not for any sighting of tigers but for the Naxals repeated assault on the rail tracks here.
According to directorate Project Tiger records, there are 199 villages in and around Palamu Tiger Reserve. Villages like Kaer and Labher areNaxal dens where Naxals trigger land mines as easily as children explode crackers, said a tracker of the Betla National Park, who refused to be identified.
The member of the National Tiger Conservation Authority Management Effective Evaluation East and North East D S Srivastava agreed that infestation of Naxals is here in majority of 199 villages here.
Srivastava reminded that Naxals had restored five huge tusks stolen by thieves to the authority in the mid 90s here. Five huge tusks were stolen from the Nature Interpretation Centre in Betla which were later recovered by the Naxals in which top functionaries of the Palamu Tiger Project had also participated.
Srivastava wanted project officials to strike an emotional chord with these villages and their people for a better co ordination. The director, P Upadhaya, has gone on record to say that a large segment of the total 30 segments of the Tiger Reserve here are unwatched because of the infestations of the extremists.
At Mandal village, a superintending engineer of north koyal Baijnath Mishra was killed in the late 90s and a small portion of the Mandal dam was also damaged by extremists belonging to Mazdoor Kissan Sangharsh Samiti.
At Kolpurwa village, security forces battled with the Maoists. Hehegara is a village of this tiger division which hit the national news stand not for any sighting of tigers but for the Naxals repeated assault on the rail tracks here.
According to directorate Project Tiger records, there are 199 villages in and around Palamu Tiger Reserve. Villages like Kaer and Labher areNaxal dens where Naxals trigger land mines as easily as children explode crackers, said a tracker of the Betla National Park, who refused to be identified.
The member of the National Tiger Conservation Authority Management Effective Evaluation East and North East D S Srivastava agreed that infestation of Naxals is here in majority of 199 villages here.
Srivastava reminded that Naxals had restored five huge tusks stolen by thieves to the authority in the mid 90s here. Five huge tusks were stolen from the Nature Interpretation Centre in Betla which were later recovered by the Naxals in which top functionaries of the Palamu Tiger Project had also participated.
Srivastava wanted project officials to strike an emotional chord with these villages and their people for a better co ordination. The director, P Upadhaya, has gone on record to say that a large segment of the total 30 segments of the Tiger Reserve here are unwatched because of the infestations of the extremists.
Forest officials refute presence of tiger near Gondia
GONDIA: Wildlife experts have now said that the pugmarks spotted in village Temni near Gondia on January 8 are not of a tiger, but most probably of a hyena.
For the last month or so, rumours have been doing the rounds of Gondia and Goregaon that a tiger is being sighted by nearby villagers. On January 8, the tiger was reportedly seen in village Temni, about 5km from Gondia. The pugmarks of the tiger were also reported to have been recorded and some experts had confirmed that they were of an adult tiger.
However, subdivisional forest officer of Gondia AS Khune said he has studied the four pugmarks and in three of them the nails of the animal could be seen. He said that the nails of the tiger are never seen in a pugmark, so this animal cannot be a tiger. Speaking to TOI, Khune said that there had been rumours of a tiger frequenting this region for the last month or so. However, there have not been any reports of tiger kills in this area. Khune said he had been doubtful about this rumour, and was now sure that it was not a tiger after studying the pugmarks.
For the last month or so, rumours have been doing the rounds of Gondia and Goregaon that a tiger is being sighted by nearby villagers. On January 8, the tiger was reportedly seen in village Temni, about 5km from Gondia. The pugmarks of the tiger were also reported to have been recorded and some experts had confirmed that they were of an adult tiger.
However, subdivisional forest officer of Gondia AS Khune said he has studied the four pugmarks and in three of them the nails of the animal could be seen. He said that the nails of the tiger are never seen in a pugmark, so this animal cannot be a tiger. Speaking to TOI, Khune said that there had been rumours of a tiger frequenting this region for the last month or so. However, there have not been any reports of tiger kills in this area. Khune said he had been doubtful about this rumour, and was now sure that it was not a tiger after studying the pugmarks.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Man accused of killing tiger rearrested
PTI | 02:01 PM,Jan 19,2011
Alwar, Jan 19 (PTI) A person, who had escaped from the custody of forest officials after being nabbed for allegedly killing a tiger, was today rearrested, forest department officials said here. "Kailash Gujjar was arrested from near a village early this morning. He had escaped yesterday from the custody of the forest officials in Sariska on the pretext of going to toilet," an official said. Bhagwanya and Kailash Gujjar were involved in the killing of ST-1 tiger in November last year. They were nabbed near Tehla village on Monday. ST-1, one of the five tigers trans located to the reserve, was poisoned to death and the carcass of the big cat was found on the night on November 14 in Sariska. The forest officials had last month arrested the main accused, Parsadi Gujjar.
Alwar, Jan 19 (PTI) A person, who had escaped from the custody of forest officials after being nabbed for allegedly killing a tiger, was today rearrested, forest department officials said here. "Kailash Gujjar was arrested from near a village early this morning. He had escaped yesterday from the custody of the forest officials in Sariska on the pretext of going to toilet," an official said. Bhagwanya and Kailash Gujjar were involved in the killing of ST-1 tiger in November last year. They were nabbed near Tehla village on Monday. ST-1, one of the five tigers trans located to the reserve, was poisoned to death and the carcass of the big cat was found on the night on November 14 in Sariska. The forest officials had last month arrested the main accused, Parsadi Gujjar.
Villages around tiger reserve safe havens for Naxals Read more: Villages around tiger reserve safe havens for Naxals - The Times of India http://time
DALTONGANJ: Villages around Palamu Tiger Reserve (PTR) are safe havens for CPI (Maoist) where the Maoists run their writ. One such village is Ukamar under Project Tiger division while another is Ghaseedag village.
At Mandal village, a superintending engineer of north koyal Baijnath Mishra was killed in the late 90s and a small portion of the Mandal dam was also damaged by extremists belonging to Mazdoor Kissan Sangharsh Samiti.
At Kolpurwa village, security forces battled with the Maoists. Hehegara is a village of this tiger division which hit the national news stand not for any sighting of tigers but for the Naxals repeated assault on the rail tracks here.
According to directorate Project Tiger records, there are 199 villages in and around Palamu Tiger Reserve. Villages like Kaer and Labher areNaxal dens where Naxals trigger land mines as easily as children explode crackers, said a tracker of the Betla National Park, who refused to be identified.
The member of the National Tiger Conservation Authority Management Effective Evaluation East and North East D S Srivastava agreed that infestation of Naxals is here in majority of 199 villages here.
Srivastava reminded that Naxals had restored five huge tusks stolen by thieves to the authority in the mid 90s here. Five huge tusks were stolen from the Nature Interpretation Centre in Betla which were later recovered by the Naxals in which top functionaries of the Palamu Tiger Project had also participated.
Srivastava wanted project officials to strike an emotional chord with these villages and their people for a better co ordination. The director, P Upadhaya, has gone on record to say that a large segment of the total 30 segments of the Tiger Reserve here are unwatched because of the infestations of the extremists.
Read more: Villages around tiger reserve safe havens for Naxals - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ranchi/Villages-around-tiger-reserve-safe-havens-for-Naxals/articleshow/7314846.cms#ixzz1BTOdraNJ
At Mandal village, a superintending engineer of north koyal Baijnath Mishra was killed in the late 90s and a small portion of the Mandal dam was also damaged by extremists belonging to Mazdoor Kissan Sangharsh Samiti.
At Kolpurwa village, security forces battled with the Maoists. Hehegara is a village of this tiger division which hit the national news stand not for any sighting of tigers but for the Naxals repeated assault on the rail tracks here.
According to directorate Project Tiger records, there are 199 villages in and around Palamu Tiger Reserve. Villages like Kaer and Labher areNaxal dens where Naxals trigger land mines as easily as children explode crackers, said a tracker of the Betla National Park, who refused to be identified.
The member of the National Tiger Conservation Authority Management Effective Evaluation East and North East D S Srivastava agreed that infestation of Naxals is here in majority of 199 villages here.
Srivastava reminded that Naxals had restored five huge tusks stolen by thieves to the authority in the mid 90s here. Five huge tusks were stolen from the Nature Interpretation Centre in Betla which were later recovered by the Naxals in which top functionaries of the Palamu Tiger Project had also participated.
Srivastava wanted project officials to strike an emotional chord with these villages and their people for a better co ordination. The director, P Upadhaya, has gone on record to say that a large segment of the total 30 segments of the Tiger Reserve here are unwatched because of the infestations of the extremists.
Read more: Villages around tiger reserve safe havens for Naxals - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ranchi/Villages-around-tiger-reserve-safe-havens-for-Naxals/articleshow/7314846.cms#ixzz1BTOdraNJ
Tiger killing accused escapes from custody
Alwar, Jan 18 (PTI) One of the two persons who werearrested for their alleged involved in the killing of a tigerin Sarisaka escaped from the custody of forest officials heretoday
"Kailash Gujjar escaped on the pretext of going to thetoilet. Both the accused were being interrogated in connectionwith the killing of ST-1 tiger at that time," an officialsaid.
"We have dispatched the search parties to look for him.
Prima facie, laxity of the staff is behind the incident andthose found guilty will be punished," he said.
Bhagwanya and Kailash Gujjar were involved in the killingof ST-1 in November last year. They were nabbed near Tehlavillage yesterday.
ST-1, one of the five tigers translocated to the reserve,was poisoned to death and the carcass of the big cat was foundon the night on November 14 in Sariska.
The forest officials had last month arrested the mainaccused, Parsadi Gujjar.
"Kailash Gujjar escaped on the pretext of going to thetoilet. Both the accused were being interrogated in connectionwith the killing of ST-1 tiger at that time," an officialsaid.
"We have dispatched the search parties to look for him.
Prima facie, laxity of the staff is behind the incident andthose found guilty will be punished," he said.
Bhagwanya and Kailash Gujjar were involved in the killingof ST-1 in November last year. They were nabbed near Tehlavillage yesterday.
ST-1, one of the five tigers translocated to the reserve,was poisoned to death and the carcass of the big cat was foundon the night on November 14 in Sariska.
The forest officials had last month arrested the mainaccused, Parsadi Gujjar.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Two arrested in tiger''s killing at Sariska
PTI | 10:01 PM,Jan 17,2011
Alwar, Jan 17 (PTI) Two more persons were today arrested by a forest deapartment team in Sariska for their alleged involvment in the killing of a translocated tiger in the national park last year. "Bhagwanya and Kailash Gujjar were involved in the killing of ST-1 in November last year. They were caught from near Tehla village," an official said, adding the duo were being interrrogated. ST-1, one of the five tigers translocated to the reserve, was poisoned to death and the carcass of the big cat was found on the night on Novermber 14 in Sariska. The forest officials had earlier arrested the main accused, Parsadi Gujjar, last month.
Alwar, Jan 17 (PTI) Two more persons were today arrested by a forest deapartment team in Sariska for their alleged involvment in the killing of a translocated tiger in the national park last year. "Bhagwanya and Kailash Gujjar were involved in the killing of ST-1 in November last year. They were caught from near Tehla village," an official said, adding the duo were being interrrogated. ST-1, one of the five tigers translocated to the reserve, was poisoned to death and the carcass of the big cat was found on the night on Novermber 14 in Sariska. The forest officials had earlier arrested the main accused, Parsadi Gujjar, last month.
CCIS: 1801 Sub-adult tiger killed by another tiger near Chanda
Chandrapur: The death of yet another tiger cub in the district has alarmed forest officials. The dead body of a sub-adult tiger cub, aged around 15 months, was recovered from the protected forest under Saoli range on Monday morning. Forest officials have said that the cub was killed in a fight with an adult tiger. This is the third incident of tiger death in the district within a span of just two months.
As per reports, a shepherd from village Sajhagad in Saoli tehsil went in search of his missing cattle and discovered the dead body of the tiger cub. A partially eaten cattle carcass was also recovered near the dead body of the cub. The shepherd informed forest officials about the incident.
Forest department staffers immediately reached the spot and took control of the dead body. CF, Chandrapur forest circle, GRK Rao confirmed the death of a tiger cub and said a fight among tigers was the cause of death. He said that the place is located close to village Sajhagad in compartment no. 1,718 under Saoli forest range.
Rao dismissed the possibility of poaching since all the organs of the dead cub were intact and there was no signs of poisoning of the cattle carcass found there. "It was a male tiger cub aged around 15 months. There were deep injury marks made by canines on the skull and vertebra, while right femur bone was found fractured. Moreover, we have seen signs of a fight between tigers including pugmarks of an adult male tiger at the spot, which corroborates the findings of autopsy," said Rao.
He said that a tigress with two cubs and an adult male tiger are known to frequent this particular forest area. The tiger had made a cattle kill on Sunday evening in Sajhagad beat of the forest. The tigress with two cubs apparently reached there to grab a share, which sparked the fight between one of the cubs and the tiger. While the tigress and one cub were able to escape, the other cub was killed by the adult tiger, Rao speculated.
He said that after the incident the tiger went towards the village lake, where they found its pugmarks. Villagers too claimed to have heard growls during the night, added Rao. He informed that the dead body of the tiger cub was cremated before witnesses on the spot after necessary inquest and post mortem formalities.
Notably, it is the first case of tiger death during this year and third in the span of just 50 days in the district. On November 28, 2010, carcass of a full-grown tiger was found in FDCM Junona range. Later, on December 6, 2010, a tiger cub was found dead in Moharli (territorial) forest range at the outskirt of Tadoba Andhari tiger reserve. Interestingly, all three tigers were killed in fights with other tigers.
Read more: CCIS: 1801 Sub-adult tiger killed by another tiger near Chanda - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/CCIS-1801-Sub-adult-tiger-killed-by-another-tiger-near-Chanda/articleshow/7308129.cms#ixzz1BMH8q900
As per reports, a shepherd from village Sajhagad in Saoli tehsil went in search of his missing cattle and discovered the dead body of the tiger cub. A partially eaten cattle carcass was also recovered near the dead body of the cub. The shepherd informed forest officials about the incident.
Forest department staffers immediately reached the spot and took control of the dead body. CF, Chandrapur forest circle, GRK Rao confirmed the death of a tiger cub and said a fight among tigers was the cause of death. He said that the place is located close to village Sajhagad in compartment no. 1,718 under Saoli forest range.
Rao dismissed the possibility of poaching since all the organs of the dead cub were intact and there was no signs of poisoning of the cattle carcass found there. "It was a male tiger cub aged around 15 months. There were deep injury marks made by canines on the skull and vertebra, while right femur bone was found fractured. Moreover, we have seen signs of a fight between tigers including pugmarks of an adult male tiger at the spot, which corroborates the findings of autopsy," said Rao.
He said that a tigress with two cubs and an adult male tiger are known to frequent this particular forest area. The tiger had made a cattle kill on Sunday evening in Sajhagad beat of the forest. The tigress with two cubs apparently reached there to grab a share, which sparked the fight between one of the cubs and the tiger. While the tigress and one cub were able to escape, the other cub was killed by the adult tiger, Rao speculated.
He said that after the incident the tiger went towards the village lake, where they found its pugmarks. Villagers too claimed to have heard growls during the night, added Rao. He informed that the dead body of the tiger cub was cremated before witnesses on the spot after necessary inquest and post mortem formalities.
Notably, it is the first case of tiger death during this year and third in the span of just 50 days in the district. On November 28, 2010, carcass of a full-grown tiger was found in FDCM Junona range. Later, on December 6, 2010, a tiger cub was found dead in Moharli (territorial) forest range at the outskirt of Tadoba Andhari tiger reserve. Interestingly, all three tigers were killed in fights with other tigers.
Read more: CCIS: 1801 Sub-adult tiger killed by another tiger near Chanda - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/CCIS-1801-Sub-adult-tiger-killed-by-another-tiger-near-Chanda/articleshow/7308129.cms#ixzz1BMH8q900
Man attacked by tiger, escapes
CHAMARAJNAGAR: Even as locals and tribals are demanding that Biligiri Ranganathswamy Hills be declared a tiger reserve, one person sustained injuries in an attack by the big cat.
G Vasantharaju, a resident of a tribal hamlet, was travelling downhill on his two-wheeler, when the tiger attacked him. But he escaped with minor injuries and is admitted to hospital at Yelandur. This is first time that a human has come under attack by the big cat at the forested area, once dominated by slain brigand Veerappan. Some one year ago, a tiger had killed a person at Gopalswamy hills near Bandipur national park.
But wildlife activists said there is no need to worry about tiger attacks, terming Vasantharaju's incident an isolated case. There is no history of humans being attacked by tigers at B R Hills, said H P Ashwin, a wildlife activist working on a tiger project in the forest area. Tribals are in the forested area but there are no instances of any attack, he pointed out, adding that they do not face any threat.
They said tigers generally don't become man hunters unless they are too infirm and can't hunt.
Read more: Man attacked by tiger, escapes - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mysore/Man-attacked-by-tiger-escapes/articleshow/7306663.cms#ixzz1BMH1Hv4k
G Vasantharaju, a resident of a tribal hamlet, was travelling downhill on his two-wheeler, when the tiger attacked him. But he escaped with minor injuries and is admitted to hospital at Yelandur. This is first time that a human has come under attack by the big cat at the forested area, once dominated by slain brigand Veerappan. Some one year ago, a tiger had killed a person at Gopalswamy hills near Bandipur national park.
But wildlife activists said there is no need to worry about tiger attacks, terming Vasantharaju's incident an isolated case. There is no history of humans being attacked by tigers at B R Hills, said H P Ashwin, a wildlife activist working on a tiger project in the forest area. Tribals are in the forested area but there are no instances of any attack, he pointed out, adding that they do not face any threat.
They said tigers generally don't become man hunters unless they are too infirm and can't hunt.
Read more: Man attacked by tiger, escapes - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mysore/Man-attacked-by-tiger-escapes/articleshow/7306663.cms#ixzz1BMH1Hv4k
Monday, January 17, 2011
Two more tiger reserves likely in Maharashtra
PUNE: The state forest department has started the process to turn the Nagzira wildlife sanctuary in Bhandara district and the Navegaon national park in Gondia district into tiger reserves. A proposal for the Nagzira tiger reserve has already been sent to the principal chief conservator of forests (PCCF), Wildlife, for approval.
At present, Maharashtra has four tiger reserves - Melghat, Tadoba-Andhari, Pench and Sahyadri.
A K Saxena, chief conservator of forest, Nagpur (Wildlife), told TOI on Sunday that the forest department has prepared a proposal to make the Nagzira wildlife sanctuary a tiger reserve and sent it to the PCCF for approval. "The proposal for the Navegaon tiger reserve is being prepared," he said.
The move came after the state forest department was asked by the Union ministry of environment and forests to send proposals to declare the two sanctuaries as tiger reserves. The idea was to ensure gene flow of tigers and strengthen tiger conservation, said Saxena.
He said that both Nagzira and Navegoan are protected areas. The sanctuaries are potential areas for tiger habitat and prey species. "Once declared as tiger reserves, we can get more funds, help from experts, and plan better strategies for overall conservation," he explained.
"To declare them as tiger reserves, more areas have to be merged into the existing protected areas. In case of the Nagzira wildlife sanctuary, the area of the sanctuary will be expanded from the current 152.58 square km to approximately 350 square km," Saxena said.
He pointed out that a notification of buffer zones for these two protected areas will follow the proposals. A buffer zone is a protective area around the reserve and is necessary for tiger habitats in the country. A 2006 amendment to the Wildlife Conservation Act mandated creation of buffer zones for conservation. No mining or industrial projects are permitted in these buffer zones.
Underlining the importance of these locations, experts point out that the two reserves are near to each other and contain source population of tiger. They are also linked with the Pench-Tadoba corridor.
In another boost to tiger conservation efforts in the state, the Union ministry of environment and forest recently approved the creation of four posts of the rank of inspector general of forests for the three regional offices and the headquarters of the National Tiger Conservation Authority(NTCA) that are going to be set up in Nagpur, Guwahati and Bangalore.
Saxena said that the Nagpur office will not only cater to the needs of Maharashtra but cover all the 39 tiger reserves falling in the 17 tiger states. "It aims at decentralisation of the process of monitoring the conservation of tigers. At present, for all needs and issues pertaining to the tiger reserves, one has to go to NTCA's office in Delhi. With an office in Nagpur, it will be easier and speedier to start process,'' he said.
At present, Maharashtra has four tiger reserves - Melghat, Tadoba-Andhari, Pench and Sahyadri.
A K Saxena, chief conservator of forest, Nagpur (Wildlife), told TOI on Sunday that the forest department has prepared a proposal to make the Nagzira wildlife sanctuary a tiger reserve and sent it to the PCCF for approval. "The proposal for the Navegaon tiger reserve is being prepared," he said.
The move came after the state forest department was asked by the Union ministry of environment and forests to send proposals to declare the two sanctuaries as tiger reserves. The idea was to ensure gene flow of tigers and strengthen tiger conservation, said Saxena.
He said that both Nagzira and Navegoan are protected areas. The sanctuaries are potential areas for tiger habitat and prey species. "Once declared as tiger reserves, we can get more funds, help from experts, and plan better strategies for overall conservation," he explained.
"To declare them as tiger reserves, more areas have to be merged into the existing protected areas. In case of the Nagzira wildlife sanctuary, the area of the sanctuary will be expanded from the current 152.58 square km to approximately 350 square km," Saxena said.
He pointed out that a notification of buffer zones for these two protected areas will follow the proposals. A buffer zone is a protective area around the reserve and is necessary for tiger habitats in the country. A 2006 amendment to the Wildlife Conservation Act mandated creation of buffer zones for conservation. No mining or industrial projects are permitted in these buffer zones.
Underlining the importance of these locations, experts point out that the two reserves are near to each other and contain source population of tiger. They are also linked with the Pench-Tadoba corridor.
In another boost to tiger conservation efforts in the state, the Union ministry of environment and forest recently approved the creation of four posts of the rank of inspector general of forests for the three regional offices and the headquarters of the National Tiger Conservation Authority(NTCA) that are going to be set up in Nagpur, Guwahati and Bangalore.
Saxena said that the Nagpur office will not only cater to the needs of Maharashtra but cover all the 39 tiger reserves falling in the 17 tiger states. "It aims at decentralisation of the process of monitoring the conservation of tigers. At present, for all needs and issues pertaining to the tiger reserves, one has to go to NTCA's office in Delhi. With an office in Nagpur, it will be easier and speedier to start process,'' he said.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
'Man-mauling tigers still in area of attack'
LUCKNOW: The man-mauling tigers of Katarniaghat have been localised. The fresh pugmarks show that big cats are present in the same area, where they had made the killings. Three men have been killed in feline attacks in Katarniaghat between January 6 and 11. The men were killed at different spots and at different points of time.
"There have been no killings after that. We have got fresh pugmarks at the place and can say that tigers are still present in the same area," said a forest officer. The pugmark impression pads have been made in the area to track the movement of tigers. And on the basis of pugmarks obtained, officials said that tigers might have not moved to a new area.
The monitoring is on. The experts from WTI and tiger biologists are present at the spot. The first human killing was reported from Sadar beat of Katarniaghat range on January 6. The man was killed by a feline when he had gone to the sugarcane field in the morning. His body was recovered about 50 metres away from boundary of jungle. The body was intact and not eaten.
The second killing came a day after that and body was recovered from the dense part of forest in the same range. The left foot was missing. There was no way to prove if the body was eaten by the tiger or any other animal. The spot was 12 kms away from the place where the first killing took place. The last killing was made on January 11 in Nishangadha range.
The forest officers at the spot shared that in two cases it could be the tigress which killed the men. "If they are same or different is difficult to say but so far it appears that there are three different tigers," said an officer. Patrolling is on in the area. Elephants have been called for combing operations. Locals are being constantly told to be cautious.
Katarniaghat wildlife sanctuary spread over some 400 sq km has a good tiger population. In the last census, 58 tigers were reported to be present here. The increasing biotic pressure has been a constant problem even in this part of the forest.
Meanwhile, officers denied that any of these man-mauling tigers could also be man-eaters. Though the tigers have not struck after January 11, officers have not even found any natural prey killed by tigers in the area where they have been localised.
"There have been no killings after that. We have got fresh pugmarks at the place and can say that tigers are still present in the same area," said a forest officer. The pugmark impression pads have been made in the area to track the movement of tigers. And on the basis of pugmarks obtained, officials said that tigers might have not moved to a new area.
The monitoring is on. The experts from WTI and tiger biologists are present at the spot. The first human killing was reported from Sadar beat of Katarniaghat range on January 6. The man was killed by a feline when he had gone to the sugarcane field in the morning. His body was recovered about 50 metres away from boundary of jungle. The body was intact and not eaten.
The second killing came a day after that and body was recovered from the dense part of forest in the same range. The left foot was missing. There was no way to prove if the body was eaten by the tiger or any other animal. The spot was 12 kms away from the place where the first killing took place. The last killing was made on January 11 in Nishangadha range.
The forest officers at the spot shared that in two cases it could be the tigress which killed the men. "If they are same or different is difficult to say but so far it appears that there are three different tigers," said an officer. Patrolling is on in the area. Elephants have been called for combing operations. Locals are being constantly told to be cautious.
Katarniaghat wildlife sanctuary spread over some 400 sq km has a good tiger population. In the last census, 58 tigers were reported to be present here. The increasing biotic pressure has been a constant problem even in this part of the forest.
Meanwhile, officers denied that any of these man-mauling tigers could also be man-eaters. Though the tigers have not struck after January 11, officers have not even found any natural prey killed by tigers in the area where they have been localised.
Expert raises ecology doubt on tiger park
G.S. MUDUR
Habitat under doubt
New Delhi, Jan. 15: A government move to declare a wildlife sanctuary in southern Karnataka as a new tiger reserve is unscientific and reflects arbitrary decision-making on tiger reserves, a leading wildlife scientist has said.
The Union cabinet in principle approved on Friday the creation of five new tiger reserves — the Biligiri Ranganatha Temple (BRT) sanctuary in Karnataka, Ratapani in Madhya Pradesh, Sunpeda inOrissa, Pilibhit in Uttar Pradesh, and Mukundara hills in Rajasthan.
“The choice defies ecology-based science,” said Ulhas Karanth, director of the Centre for Wildlife Studies, Bangalore, who has conducted research on the ecology of tigers and prey-predator population ecology in several parts of the country.
India’s tiger conservation programme launched in 1972-73 with nine reserves covering about 1,400sqkm has expanded over the years, and now has 39 reserves over an area of 46,390sqkm.
Project Tiger is believed to have helped increase the tiger population from less than 1,000 in the early-1970s to about 1,400 as estimated in 2008.
“This process of continuous expansion of tiger reserve areas appears to have become rather ad hoc,” Karanth said. “You can’t just go on adding areas. Some areas might also need to be deleted from the list of tiger reserves.”
Karanth said areas now devoid of tigers such as Panna in Madhya Pradesh or Sariska in Rajasthan or remote forests such as Indravati in Chhattisgarh, located in areas of civil unrest where wildlife staff do not venture, remain labelled as tiger reserves.
A tiger reserve gets significant extra funds through Project Tiger — and sections of wildlife researchers appear concerned that listing areas with unviable tiger populations or areas that cannot be adequately managed only allows scarce conservation resources to be spent on areas that are unlikely to actually benefit tigers.
Karanth said the move to declare the Biligiri Ranganatha Temple hills sanctuary as a new tiger reserve is an example of arbitrary decision-making that has ignored strong ecological arguments in favour of Kudremukh, also in Karnataka.
The proposed BRT hills reserve is adjacent to Bandipur and Nagarahole — two reserves with high density of tiger population. Kudremukh, on the other hand, is located at a distance in Karnataka’s central Western Ghat region. “Instead of having all tigers in a single corner of the state, it makes better sense to have them in different areas,” Karanth said.
The Biligiri Ranganatha Temple hill area is also ecologically similar to Bandipur-Nagarahole, which has deciduous forests, while Kudremukh has tropical evergreen forests that are also rich in other species. A tiger reserve in Kudremukh would also help conserve its biodiversity, he said.
But wildlife officials and other conservation scientists say demarcating new areas as tiger reserves only helps increase the level of protection to already existing tiger populations in those areas. “We have to take a long-term view,” said a conservation scientist.
“The Biligiri Ranganatha Temple hills sanctuary already has an estimated population of about 35 tigers and appears able to support double the number,” said Milind Pariwakam, a manager of tiger conservation initiatives with the Wildlife Trust of India, a non-government organisation.
Habitat under doubt
New Delhi, Jan. 15: A government move to declare a wildlife sanctuary in southern Karnataka as a new tiger reserve is unscientific and reflects arbitrary decision-making on tiger reserves, a leading wildlife scientist has said.
The Union cabinet in principle approved on Friday the creation of five new tiger reserves — the Biligiri Ranganatha Temple (BRT) sanctuary in Karnataka, Ratapani in Madhya Pradesh, Sunpeda inOrissa, Pilibhit in Uttar Pradesh, and Mukundara hills in Rajasthan.
“The choice defies ecology-based science,” said Ulhas Karanth, director of the Centre for Wildlife Studies, Bangalore, who has conducted research on the ecology of tigers and prey-predator population ecology in several parts of the country.
India’s tiger conservation programme launched in 1972-73 with nine reserves covering about 1,400sqkm has expanded over the years, and now has 39 reserves over an area of 46,390sqkm.
Project Tiger is believed to have helped increase the tiger population from less than 1,000 in the early-1970s to about 1,400 as estimated in 2008.
“This process of continuous expansion of tiger reserve areas appears to have become rather ad hoc,” Karanth said. “You can’t just go on adding areas. Some areas might also need to be deleted from the list of tiger reserves.”
Karanth said areas now devoid of tigers such as Panna in Madhya Pradesh or Sariska in Rajasthan or remote forests such as Indravati in Chhattisgarh, located in areas of civil unrest where wildlife staff do not venture, remain labelled as tiger reserves.
A tiger reserve gets significant extra funds through Project Tiger — and sections of wildlife researchers appear concerned that listing areas with unviable tiger populations or areas that cannot be adequately managed only allows scarce conservation resources to be spent on areas that are unlikely to actually benefit tigers.
Karanth said the move to declare the Biligiri Ranganatha Temple hills sanctuary as a new tiger reserve is an example of arbitrary decision-making that has ignored strong ecological arguments in favour of Kudremukh, also in Karnataka.
The proposed BRT hills reserve is adjacent to Bandipur and Nagarahole — two reserves with high density of tiger population. Kudremukh, on the other hand, is located at a distance in Karnataka’s central Western Ghat region. “Instead of having all tigers in a single corner of the state, it makes better sense to have them in different areas,” Karanth said.
The Biligiri Ranganatha Temple hill area is also ecologically similar to Bandipur-Nagarahole, which has deciduous forests, while Kudremukh has tropical evergreen forests that are also rich in other species. A tiger reserve in Kudremukh would also help conserve its biodiversity, he said.
But wildlife officials and other conservation scientists say demarcating new areas as tiger reserves only helps increase the level of protection to already existing tiger populations in those areas. “We have to take a long-term view,” said a conservation scientist.
“The Biligiri Ranganatha Temple hills sanctuary already has an estimated population of about 35 tigers and appears able to support double the number,” said Milind Pariwakam, a manager of tiger conservation initiatives with the Wildlife Trust of India, a non-government organisation.
Tiger strays into human habitation, alert sounded in lakhimpur
An alert was sounded today in Mailani range of South Kheri division after a tiger strayed into human habitations.
"The alert has been sounded due to the presence of a tiger in human habitat", A K Singh, Ranger, Mailani, said.
The tiger, while chasing a deer, strayed into the human habitation where some labourers were engaged in constructing a check dam.
"The residents of four villages living in the vicinity of the area have been cautioned about the movement of the tiger", Singh said.
He ruled out any imminent man-animal conflict, describing the incident of the tiger's killing the deer as a natural phenomenon.
"The alert has been sounded due to the presence of a tiger in human habitat", A K Singh, Ranger, Mailani, said.
The tiger, while chasing a deer, strayed into the human habitation where some labourers were engaged in constructing a check dam.
"The residents of four villages living in the vicinity of the area have been cautioned about the movement of the tiger", Singh said.
He ruled out any imminent man-animal conflict, describing the incident of the tiger's killing the deer as a natural phenomenon.
Bombay HC comes to aid of Koyna wildlife reserve
MUMBAI: The Bombay high court has now come to the rescue of Koyna Wildlife Sanctuary, which forms part of the only tiger reserve in western Maharashtra.
Hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) about illegal felling of trees and setting up of unauthorized windmills and resorts in the sanctuary, the court earlier this month issued notice to the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) after allowing it to be added as a party. The court also extended its deadline for the state government to submit its report on the sanctuary by February 22, 2011.
The high court, in October 2010, had directed the state not to allow new windmills or new structures, including resorts in the sanctuary. The authorities were also asked to consider issuing eviction notices to persons who have constructed unauthorized structures inside the sanctuary.
Koyna Wildlife Sanctuary and its neighbouring Chandoli National Park together form the Sahyadri Tiger Reserve, the first tiger reserve western Maharashtra created in January 2010. The reserve, spread over 741 sq km, is home to nine tigers and 66 leopards, besides other birds and wild animals and even a unique species of toad-Bufo koyanansis.
The other three tiger reserves in the state are all in Vidarbha-Melghat, Tadoba and Pench (see box).
The PIL was filed by Satara resident Nana Khamkar, who alleged that state was illegally permitting windmills to be set up and trees to be felled inside the sanctuary. Khamkar relied on information provided under the Right to Information (RTI) Act by the range forest officer (wildlife), Koyna, who stated that around 550 trees were felled in a three-hectare area in the sanctuary.
Further, around 215 windmills and 10 resorts have come up in the sanctuary without any permission from Indian Wildlife Board.
The RTI reply also mentioned that offences were registered against 159 windmills way back in 2001-02 and inquiry was still on.
Khamkar pointed out that the authorities were also trying to have Koyna Wildlife Sanctuary declared as a Unesco Heritage site and the presence of windmills, resorts and encroachments would affect its bid.
The high court in October had asked the chief secretary to hear the petitioners and other parties in the case and submit a report to the court.
The judges had directed the state to ensure that necessary police protection was given to the range forest officer to carry out the high court's orders.
The high court has scheduled further hearing of the case on February 24, 2011.
Hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) about illegal felling of trees and setting up of unauthorized windmills and resorts in the sanctuary, the court earlier this month issued notice to the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) after allowing it to be added as a party. The court also extended its deadline for the state government to submit its report on the sanctuary by February 22, 2011.
The high court, in October 2010, had directed the state not to allow new windmills or new structures, including resorts in the sanctuary. The authorities were also asked to consider issuing eviction notices to persons who have constructed unauthorized structures inside the sanctuary.
Koyna Wildlife Sanctuary and its neighbouring Chandoli National Park together form the Sahyadri Tiger Reserve, the first tiger reserve western Maharashtra created in January 2010. The reserve, spread over 741 sq km, is home to nine tigers and 66 leopards, besides other birds and wild animals and even a unique species of toad-Bufo koyanansis.
The other three tiger reserves in the state are all in Vidarbha-Melghat, Tadoba and Pench (see box).
The PIL was filed by Satara resident Nana Khamkar, who alleged that state was illegally permitting windmills to be set up and trees to be felled inside the sanctuary. Khamkar relied on information provided under the Right to Information (RTI) Act by the range forest officer (wildlife), Koyna, who stated that around 550 trees were felled in a three-hectare area in the sanctuary.
Further, around 215 windmills and 10 resorts have come up in the sanctuary without any permission from Indian Wildlife Board.
The RTI reply also mentioned that offences were registered against 159 windmills way back in 2001-02 and inquiry was still on.
Khamkar pointed out that the authorities were also trying to have Koyna Wildlife Sanctuary declared as a Unesco Heritage site and the presence of windmills, resorts and encroachments would affect its bid.
The high court in October had asked the chief secretary to hear the petitioners and other parties in the case and submit a report to the court.
The judges had directed the state to ensure that necessary police protection was given to the range forest officer to carry out the high court's orders.
The high court has scheduled further hearing of the case on February 24, 2011.
Tiger was poached in Andhra Pradesh
CHANDRAPUR: The mystery of the poached tiger whose skin was seized during raids by the local crime branch recently at Gadchandur, has been finally resolved. Investigations have revealed that the tiger was poached on the outskirts of Vempalli village in Kagaznagar range of Andhra Pradesh. Forest officials of Kagaznagar range have arrested the accused Anandrao Madavi who poached the tiger and had recovered the carcass buried in the nullah close to Vempali village.
Acting on a tip-off given by Wildlife Protection Society of India ( WPSI), a joint team of LCB and Gadchandur cops seized a tiger skin from the possession of six couriers on January 6.
The accused revealed that one of their relatives had poached the tiger on the outskirts of Vempalli village in Adilabad district of AP and brought the skin here to seek customers. Following the seizure of the tiger skin, officials of Central Chanda forest division took up the matter and informed their counterparts in Andhra Pradesh. Accordingly, a team of forest officials from Kagaznagar range reached Gadchandur and took details of the case from the police.
Following the information, forest officials of Kagaznagar carried out raids in Vempalli village and arrested the main accused, Anandrao Madavi (32).
"Madavi had put electrified wire to prevent intrusion of wild animals into his farm in the jungle. However, a fully grown tiger got electrocuted by the wire and died on the spot. Madavi then skinned the animal and buried the carcass in the nullah passing through the outskirts of his farm," said ACF, Rajura, KD Kove.
Taking cognizance of the incident, assistant director of Wildlife Crime Control Bureau, a central government agency, Shaik Karimulla visited Vempalli with Kove and inspected the spot where the poaching took place. Kove explained that Madavi might have put the wire to prevent intrusion of herbivores and got enticed by the skin of the tiger died of electrocution.
Madavi allegedly traveled over 40 km on bicycle and brought the skin to his brother-in-law Bhimrao Sidam at Ambezari village in Jiwti tehsil of Maharashtra to seek a customer.
Kove praised the efforts of Kazaznagar forest officials to arrest the accused from the highly Naxal-infested area in AP.
"The poaching was carried out around three weeks prior to the arrest of six couriers. The remains of the tiger unearthed from the ground were fresh, but stinking. Accused Madavi had chopped the skinned carcass into pieces before burying it in the nullah," said Kove. He said that accused Madavi has been sent into magisterial custody remand after Kagaznagar forest officials produced him before the local court.
Police officials from Gadchandur are trying to seek his custody and are likely to approach the authorities in Andhra Pradesh next Monday to fetch him. Meanwhile, the six accused arrested with the tiger skin were sent to magisterial custody remand by Rajura court after their three-day long police custody remand ended on Saturday.
Acting on a tip-off given by Wildlife Protection Society of India ( WPSI), a joint team of LCB and Gadchandur cops seized a tiger skin from the possession of six couriers on January 6.
The accused revealed that one of their relatives had poached the tiger on the outskirts of Vempalli village in Adilabad district of AP and brought the skin here to seek customers. Following the seizure of the tiger skin, officials of Central Chanda forest division took up the matter and informed their counterparts in Andhra Pradesh. Accordingly, a team of forest officials from Kagaznagar range reached Gadchandur and took details of the case from the police.
Following the information, forest officials of Kagaznagar carried out raids in Vempalli village and arrested the main accused, Anandrao Madavi (32).
"Madavi had put electrified wire to prevent intrusion of wild animals into his farm in the jungle. However, a fully grown tiger got electrocuted by the wire and died on the spot. Madavi then skinned the animal and buried the carcass in the nullah passing through the outskirts of his farm," said ACF, Rajura, KD Kove.
Taking cognizance of the incident, assistant director of Wildlife Crime Control Bureau, a central government agency, Shaik Karimulla visited Vempalli with Kove and inspected the spot where the poaching took place. Kove explained that Madavi might have put the wire to prevent intrusion of herbivores and got enticed by the skin of the tiger died of electrocution.
Madavi allegedly traveled over 40 km on bicycle and brought the skin to his brother-in-law Bhimrao Sidam at Ambezari village in Jiwti tehsil of Maharashtra to seek a customer.
Kove praised the efforts of Kazaznagar forest officials to arrest the accused from the highly Naxal-infested area in AP.
"The poaching was carried out around three weeks prior to the arrest of six couriers. The remains of the tiger unearthed from the ground were fresh, but stinking. Accused Madavi had chopped the skinned carcass into pieces before burying it in the nullah," said Kove. He said that accused Madavi has been sent into magisterial custody remand after Kagaznagar forest officials produced him before the local court.
Police officials from Gadchandur are trying to seek his custody and are likely to approach the authorities in Andhra Pradesh next Monday to fetch him. Meanwhile, the six accused arrested with the tiger skin were sent to magisterial custody remand by Rajura court after their three-day long police custody remand ended on Saturday.
To save the tiger, save jungle
Without a holistic approach nothing can protect India's wildlife from human greed and bestiality. If we don’t act now, the tiger, leopard, elephant, deer and even marine and avian species will face extinction
Last Tuesday it was Gurgaon. On Wednesday, it happened on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar. On Thursday, it was near Guwahati. By the time January is out, the toll can only be anticipated to multiply. On an average three to four leopards are mercilessly beaten to death every week by bloodthirsty villagers. Some die in accidents such as the cub that got run over by a train in Assam. But mostly the big cats are mauled to death by gruesome methods. Having encircled and trapped the terrified creature that may have strayed into human habitation in search of food, villagers pelt them with stones; beat them with iron rods and in a few instances are known to have even gouged their eyes out in an orgy of bestiality.
Eyewitnesses say that a carnival atmosphere prevails while the hapless cat cries out in pain. People congregate with drums as if to celebrate victory in battle. Cunningly, the carcass is dragged outside village precincts, sprayed with kerosene and set alight to remove traces of the crime. By the time forest officials or the police arrive, if at all they do, the deed is done. If confronted, belligerent villagers dare the officers to act. Outnumbered, enforcers of the law beat a hasty retreat and file a report blaming unknown persons for the murder. Few are prosecuted; leave alone punished.
In recent years the supposed man-animal conflict has become a one-sided affair with a variety of wild creatures being regularly bludgeoned to death. A recent report said that enraged by the alleged depredations of a herd of elephants, villagers managed to catch hold of a two-year-old calf that got left behind and beat it to death the same way as they often do with leopards. Fearful of the tiger, people don’t venture to kill them in frontal combat, but have increasingly started to use poison with which they lace a bait and wait for the unwary beast to consume it to die a slow, painful death. This has been reported particularly from Rajasthan and eastern Uttar Pradesh where incidents of tigers straying from sanctuaries have risen markedly.
There are two worrisome facets to these developments. First, the Government’s much-hyped conservation efforts are being defeated at the grassroots by villagers unconvinced of the need to preserve the country’s dwindling wildlife. Second, steady encroachment of animal habitats is resulting in migration out of sanctuaries, enhancing the chances of more frequent confrontations between villagers and animals in desperate search of food. Even more than encroachment, the disappearance of animal corridors in Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan, the construction or expansion of highways running through Reserved Forests and the grant of mining leases in protected forest areas has led to the sharpening of the problem.
The tiger is to India’s conservation efforts what cricket is to sport. While Government and private efforts at tiger conservation have heightened consciousness about the majestic creature, the bulk of attention and finances are routed to projects related to it. No doubt, the effort is most laudable and let us hope that the next tiger census (currently underway), conducted by the more scientific camera trap method, will show a rise in numbers beyond the paltry 1,141 that the last headcount revealed. Organisations like NDTV, sponsors like Aircel and others must be complimented for the recent daylong Telethon in which I was honoured to be a participant. So, it is certainly not my case that the tiger is receiving undue attention or funds.
However, I believe that the tiger cannot be protected without a holistic policy towards environment and wildlife. For example, if streams in the jungle dry up because of rampant extraction of groundwater and bottling plants being set up at source, the tigers’ prey too cannot survive. If deer are forced to migrate out of forests or die of thirst, tigers and other predators like leopards would be compelled to move towards human habitations in search of food and water. If forest cover declines or degenerates, wildlife would find less and less greens to forage and over time their reproductive capacity too would be adversely affected. An ecological balance involving forest cover, water sources, prey base for big cats is essential for wildlife to prosper. It is not possible to ensure a significant rise in tiger numbers merely by pumping in funds or relocating some to reserves from which they were eliminated through poaching or inhospitable environs.
Leopards and elephants are at a huge risk in India because of human incursions close to their traditional habitats. The leopard, being a smaller cat compared to the tiger is endangered by the steady decline in its prey base in the jungles. Besides, by nature they live on the outskirts of forests rather than the deep interiors. On the periphery of Mumbai, for instance, leopard sightings were fairly common till recently, just as the Aravali highlands close to Delhi-Gurgaon was the leopards’ terrain not before long. As townships and industrial complexes are built in these areas with mounting speed, the leopard is seriously threatened and compelled to abandon protective jungle cover to hunt for food. The accident last year in which two young leopards were run over by a speeding vehicle on the Delhi-Jaipur Highway (NH 8) is a telling example of the leopards’ predicament.
Unfortunately, there is no quick-fix solution to this, except a long-term policy regarding the peripheries of reserved forests or shrub lands in the Aravalis that are the leopards’ natural habitat. How much encroachment can be allowed to builders of housing colonies, shopping malls and entertainment parks in the neighbourhood of our burgeoning metros? As far as I know, the frenetic expansion of human settlement around Gurgaon, which began in the 1990s, never had any form of environmental clearance whatsoever. Instead of maximising habitation within existing colonies, builders are in the business of promoting golf courses, artificial lakes, sprawling villas and other attractive features to draw high-end buyers to housing and farmhouse complexes being built on lands that were once traversed by a variety of wildlife.
The abuse of areas peripheral to National Parks is so rampant that it hardly bears recalling. With over 700 resorts in operation just outside the perimeter of Corbett National Park, the discomfort caused to and consequent dislocation of wildlife has assumed serious dimensions. While I feel Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh’s heart is in the right place, he has failed miserably to curb human intrusion into tiger reserves. Has anybody thought of the disturbance caused to wildlife by the relentless foray of tourists on jeep safaris in Ranthambhore? As it is, the park is overcrowded, but unchecked movement of people inside the sanctuary must be among the reasons that forced tigress T 13 with her two hungry eight-month-old cubs to venture out of the park, risking death by poisoning or starvation.
Arguably, decades of neglect and unconcern cannot be reversed overnight. But in the absence of holistic thinking the tiger, leopard, elephant, deer and even marine and avian species will become critically endangered in the next few years. So, the cheetah can wait while something concrete is done on a war footing to save our existing, diverse wildlife
Last Tuesday it was Gurgaon. On Wednesday, it happened on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar. On Thursday, it was near Guwahati. By the time January is out, the toll can only be anticipated to multiply. On an average three to four leopards are mercilessly beaten to death every week by bloodthirsty villagers. Some die in accidents such as the cub that got run over by a train in Assam. But mostly the big cats are mauled to death by gruesome methods. Having encircled and trapped the terrified creature that may have strayed into human habitation in search of food, villagers pelt them with stones; beat them with iron rods and in a few instances are known to have even gouged their eyes out in an orgy of bestiality.
Eyewitnesses say that a carnival atmosphere prevails while the hapless cat cries out in pain. People congregate with drums as if to celebrate victory in battle. Cunningly, the carcass is dragged outside village precincts, sprayed with kerosene and set alight to remove traces of the crime. By the time forest officials or the police arrive, if at all they do, the deed is done. If confronted, belligerent villagers dare the officers to act. Outnumbered, enforcers of the law beat a hasty retreat and file a report blaming unknown persons for the murder. Few are prosecuted; leave alone punished.
In recent years the supposed man-animal conflict has become a one-sided affair with a variety of wild creatures being regularly bludgeoned to death. A recent report said that enraged by the alleged depredations of a herd of elephants, villagers managed to catch hold of a two-year-old calf that got left behind and beat it to death the same way as they often do with leopards. Fearful of the tiger, people don’t venture to kill them in frontal combat, but have increasingly started to use poison with which they lace a bait and wait for the unwary beast to consume it to die a slow, painful death. This has been reported particularly from Rajasthan and eastern Uttar Pradesh where incidents of tigers straying from sanctuaries have risen markedly.
There are two worrisome facets to these developments. First, the Government’s much-hyped conservation efforts are being defeated at the grassroots by villagers unconvinced of the need to preserve the country’s dwindling wildlife. Second, steady encroachment of animal habitats is resulting in migration out of sanctuaries, enhancing the chances of more frequent confrontations between villagers and animals in desperate search of food. Even more than encroachment, the disappearance of animal corridors in Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan, the construction or expansion of highways running through Reserved Forests and the grant of mining leases in protected forest areas has led to the sharpening of the problem.
The tiger is to India’s conservation efforts what cricket is to sport. While Government and private efforts at tiger conservation have heightened consciousness about the majestic creature, the bulk of attention and finances are routed to projects related to it. No doubt, the effort is most laudable and let us hope that the next tiger census (currently underway), conducted by the more scientific camera trap method, will show a rise in numbers beyond the paltry 1,141 that the last headcount revealed. Organisations like NDTV, sponsors like Aircel and others must be complimented for the recent daylong Telethon in which I was honoured to be a participant. So, it is certainly not my case that the tiger is receiving undue attention or funds.
However, I believe that the tiger cannot be protected without a holistic policy towards environment and wildlife. For example, if streams in the jungle dry up because of rampant extraction of groundwater and bottling plants being set up at source, the tigers’ prey too cannot survive. If deer are forced to migrate out of forests or die of thirst, tigers and other predators like leopards would be compelled to move towards human habitations in search of food and water. If forest cover declines or degenerates, wildlife would find less and less greens to forage and over time their reproductive capacity too would be adversely affected. An ecological balance involving forest cover, water sources, prey base for big cats is essential for wildlife to prosper. It is not possible to ensure a significant rise in tiger numbers merely by pumping in funds or relocating some to reserves from which they were eliminated through poaching or inhospitable environs.
Leopards and elephants are at a huge risk in India because of human incursions close to their traditional habitats. The leopard, being a smaller cat compared to the tiger is endangered by the steady decline in its prey base in the jungles. Besides, by nature they live on the outskirts of forests rather than the deep interiors. On the periphery of Mumbai, for instance, leopard sightings were fairly common till recently, just as the Aravali highlands close to Delhi-Gurgaon was the leopards’ terrain not before long. As townships and industrial complexes are built in these areas with mounting speed, the leopard is seriously threatened and compelled to abandon protective jungle cover to hunt for food. The accident last year in which two young leopards were run over by a speeding vehicle on the Delhi-Jaipur Highway (NH 8) is a telling example of the leopards’ predicament.
Unfortunately, there is no quick-fix solution to this, except a long-term policy regarding the peripheries of reserved forests or shrub lands in the Aravalis that are the leopards’ natural habitat. How much encroachment can be allowed to builders of housing colonies, shopping malls and entertainment parks in the neighbourhood of our burgeoning metros? As far as I know, the frenetic expansion of human settlement around Gurgaon, which began in the 1990s, never had any form of environmental clearance whatsoever. Instead of maximising habitation within existing colonies, builders are in the business of promoting golf courses, artificial lakes, sprawling villas and other attractive features to draw high-end buyers to housing and farmhouse complexes being built on lands that were once traversed by a variety of wildlife.
The abuse of areas peripheral to National Parks is so rampant that it hardly bears recalling. With over 700 resorts in operation just outside the perimeter of Corbett National Park, the discomfort caused to and consequent dislocation of wildlife has assumed serious dimensions. While I feel Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh’s heart is in the right place, he has failed miserably to curb human intrusion into tiger reserves. Has anybody thought of the disturbance caused to wildlife by the relentless foray of tourists on jeep safaris in Ranthambhore? As it is, the park is overcrowded, but unchecked movement of people inside the sanctuary must be among the reasons that forced tigress T 13 with her two hungry eight-month-old cubs to venture out of the park, risking death by poisoning or starvation.
Arguably, decades of neglect and unconcern cannot be reversed overnight. But in the absence of holistic thinking the tiger, leopard, elephant, deer and even marine and avian species will become critically endangered in the next few years. So, the cheetah can wait while something concrete is done on a war footing to save our existing, diverse wildlife
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Tiger poisoned to death in Kaziranga
GUWAHATI: Barely a fortnight after a tiger was poisoned to death in Assam's Orang National Park, a full-grown tigress was killed allegedly in a similar fashion at Kaziranga National Park on Thursday. Forest guards found the carcass of the adult tigress floating on the Brahmaputra near Hoflot forest camp of the park.
"We got information about the tigress floating on the river. It was a tigress, aged about seven," Kaziranga National Park director Surajit Dutta said. Park authorities have conducted a postmortem of the tigress and sent some samples to the state forensic laboratory and wildlife institute to discern the actual cause of its death.
"Our doctors have done the postmortem of the tigress and sent samples for confirmation of the actual cause of death," said Dutta. The director said the big cat might have been killed by some locals of the Char area, who were troubled by the animal for some time. "Four veterinarians conducted the autopsy of the tigress in the presence of officials from National Tiger Conservation Authority, Kaziranga director and other top forest officials at the park. The samples have been sent for forensic tests," said divisional forest officer (Kaziranga) Dibyadhar Gogoi.
He added, "We have found the carcass of an adult female Royal Bengal Tiger near Hoflot forest camp under the northern range (Biswanath ghat) of the park. The area in which the carcass was found was under the newly-proposed sixth addition of the park."
He said, "Although the cause of the animal's death is yet to be determined, from the preliminary investigation by veterinarians and Kaziranga forest officials, it is suspected the tigress died due to consumption of some toxic substance. However, the actual cause would be ascertained after the forensic laboratory test."
The divisional forest officer said, "We have conducted an intensive investigation among all concerned forest range officers and other staff in the sixth addition area of the park to find out if any miscreants were involved in the killing. As there are more than 70 cattle farms in the area, we suspect the tigress might have been killed in retaliation by some cattle farmers whose livestock were killed by the animal."
Gogoi, however, ruled out the possibility of poaching in case of the tiger death and said, "From the circumstantial evidence, we can say it was not an incident relating to poaching." Kaziranga witnessed five tiger deaths last year. Of five tiger deaths in 2010, one was killed in an attack by wild buffalos, while three died in territorial fights. One died due to old age ailments.
On December 27, a five-year-old tigress was poisoned to death at the Rajiv Gandhi Orang National Park by villagers from the Panchnoi area of the forest.
"We got information about the tigress floating on the river. It was a tigress, aged about seven," Kaziranga National Park director Surajit Dutta said. Park authorities have conducted a postmortem of the tigress and sent some samples to the state forensic laboratory and wildlife institute to discern the actual cause of its death.
"Our doctors have done the postmortem of the tigress and sent samples for confirmation of the actual cause of death," said Dutta. The director said the big cat might have been killed by some locals of the Char area, who were troubled by the animal for some time. "Four veterinarians conducted the autopsy of the tigress in the presence of officials from National Tiger Conservation Authority, Kaziranga director and other top forest officials at the park. The samples have been sent for forensic tests," said divisional forest officer (Kaziranga) Dibyadhar Gogoi.
He added, "We have found the carcass of an adult female Royal Bengal Tiger near Hoflot forest camp under the northern range (Biswanath ghat) of the park. The area in which the carcass was found was under the newly-proposed sixth addition of the park."
He said, "Although the cause of the animal's death is yet to be determined, from the preliminary investigation by veterinarians and Kaziranga forest officials, it is suspected the tigress died due to consumption of some toxic substance. However, the actual cause would be ascertained after the forensic laboratory test."
The divisional forest officer said, "We have conducted an intensive investigation among all concerned forest range officers and other staff in the sixth addition area of the park to find out if any miscreants were involved in the killing. As there are more than 70 cattle farms in the area, we suspect the tigress might have been killed in retaliation by some cattle farmers whose livestock were killed by the animal."
Gogoi, however, ruled out the possibility of poaching in case of the tiger death and said, "From the circumstantial evidence, we can say it was not an incident relating to poaching." Kaziranga witnessed five tiger deaths last year. Of five tiger deaths in 2010, one was killed in an attack by wild buffalos, while three died in territorial fights. One died due to old age ailments.
On December 27, a five-year-old tigress was poisoned to death at the Rajiv Gandhi Orang National Park by villagers from the Panchnoi area of the forest.
Hunt on for Corbett's wounded tigress
Jim Corbett Tiger Reserve: At the Jim Corbett Tiger Reserve, a hunt is on for a wounded tigress that has killed four women since November. What's worse, the maneater was shot on Tuesday but couldn't be tracked down since then.
''A search is on for the man-eating tigress... we have built special machans and cages to trap it... we are trying to get the situation under control,'' said Rajesh Gopal, member, National Tiger Conservation Authority who is at the site to take stock of the situation.
The inability of the Forest Department to nab the tigress has incensed the villagers making the wildlife in this area vulnerable to man-animal conflict.
The adult tigress in question had proved to be a menace for all villagers from Dhikuli area adjoining the park. The four women who died were also from the same village and had entered the forest to
Even though it can, over a period of time, recover from a single-bullet injury on its own, the fact that it remains untraceable is worrisome for not just the villagers but also the authorities. And now, that the tigress is injured and in pain, it can only prove more dangerous.
''We need some time to identify the tigress... we don't want to make any mistakes,'' said Shrikant Chandola, the Chief Wildlife Warden of Uttarakhand.
Despite mobilising dog squads, searches on elephants and placing various kinds of baits, the tigress has not been spotted. Yet, wildlife authorities do not want to push harder because camera traps show presence of four tigers in the area and they don't want to hurt the wrong one.
''A search is on for the man-eating tigress... we have built special machans and cages to trap it... we are trying to get the situation under control,'' said Rajesh Gopal, member, National Tiger Conservation Authority who is at the site to take stock of the situation.
The inability of the Forest Department to nab the tigress has incensed the villagers making the wildlife in this area vulnerable to man-animal conflict.
The adult tigress in question had proved to be a menace for all villagers from Dhikuli area adjoining the park. The four women who died were also from the same village and had entered the forest to
Even though it can, over a period of time, recover from a single-bullet injury on its own, the fact that it remains untraceable is worrisome for not just the villagers but also the authorities. And now, that the tigress is injured and in pain, it can only prove more dangerous.
''We need some time to identify the tigress... we don't want to make any mistakes,'' said Shrikant Chandola, the Chief Wildlife Warden of Uttarakhand.
Despite mobilising dog squads, searches on elephants and placing various kinds of baits, the tigress has not been spotted. Yet, wildlife authorities do not want to push harder because camera traps show presence of four tigers in the area and they don't want to hurt the wrong one.
Tiger pelts put cops in a quandary
MYSORE: Police arrested a youth in possession of tiger pelts and a tusk in the city on Friday. But they have a real task on hand: to confirm if pelts and tusk are genuine.
While Aadil Pasha, 20, of Kalyanagirinagara is booked under the Wildlife Protection Act, police are awaiting confirmation from experts on the recovered products. He is remanded to judicial custody. Pasha was caught when he was trying to dispose of four tiger pelts and a tusk at Sunni Chowk.
Preliminary investigation has revealed that Pasha, a security agency employee, procured it from a person in Shimoga for Rs 15,000 two weeks ago. But he didn't reveal the identity of that person.
DCP (L&O) Basavaraj Malagatti told reporters that he suspects if it is the real tiger skin. "Miscreants could have painted tiger stripes on cattle skin and sold it to Pasha who wanted to make quick bucks," he said.
While Aadil Pasha, 20, of Kalyanagirinagara is booked under the Wildlife Protection Act, police are awaiting confirmation from experts on the recovered products. He is remanded to judicial custody. Pasha was caught when he was trying to dispose of four tiger pelts and a tusk at Sunni Chowk.
Preliminary investigation has revealed that Pasha, a security agency employee, procured it from a person in Shimoga for Rs 15,000 two weeks ago. But he didn't reveal the identity of that person.
DCP (L&O) Basavaraj Malagatti told reporters that he suspects if it is the real tiger skin. "Miscreants could have painted tiger stripes on cattle skin and sold it to Pasha who wanted to make quick bucks," he said.
Big cat collar beeps at Manas
The tiger with radio collar at Manas National Park. Picture by Jimmy Bora
Jorhat, Jan. 14: Forest officials heaved sigh of relief when a Royal Bengal tiger, captured in Sivasagar district after being embroiled in man-animal conflict and released at Manas National Park after being fitted with a radio collar about eight months ago, was located a couple of days back.
This was the first tiger in the state to have been fitted with a radio collar.
The radio collar was fitted by the International Fund for Animal Welfare-Wildlife Trust of India (IFAW-WTI).
“We have been trying to track the tiger for several months now but in vain. However, the tiger was caught on camera a few days back. It’s safe and looks healthy,” the forest official told The Telegraph.
The adult male tiger was tranquillised and captured from a human settlement by the forest department with assistance from the IFAW-WTI in March last year. It had killed two persons in Sivasagar district.
After short-listing three potential areas, Manas National Park was decided on as the most suitable place for the tiger. Accordingly, it was radio-collared for post-release monitoring and released at Manas.
Although the post-release monitoring continued, no signals were received from the tiger’s collar after a month from its release.
“We began receiving the signal again since mid-November, after a long gap. It was photo-captured on camera traps placed by Aaranyak, ATREE and WWF-India at Manas only a few days back. We are continuing to track it, though the signals received are inconsistent as the battery on the radio collar is dying. The radio collar is expected to drop off any time now,” Bhaskar Choudhury, an official of the WTI, said.
He said the best part, however, was the fact that there has no reports of direct conflict between the tiger and people residing near Manas. “There are no reports of the tiger killing any cattle in the last few months,” Choudhury said.
With no reports of attacks on humans reported since the tiger was released at Manas, translocation of a conflict tiger at a different location promises to strengthen the case for rehabilitation of tigers that accidentally come into contact with people.
“The photographs acquired through camera-traps indicate its survival in the wild. And there has been no report of attacks on people by this tiger since its release, presenting hope that rehabilitation can be a viable option for tigers involved in conflicts,” another official of the WTI said.
He said generally tigers involved in killing of humans are sent to zoos after being captured and in most cases these animals are killed.
“When tigers involved in conflict are captured, a nagging fear of further conflict sways the decision against these animals; they are put away ‘safely’ in zoos. Additionally, adult males have a ‘homing’ tendency, raising doubts on the success of such translocation. However, in this case, the authorities took a call in favour of giving the animal another chance and it has paid off,” the official said.
Jorhat, Jan. 14: Forest officials heaved sigh of relief when a Royal Bengal tiger, captured in Sivasagar district after being embroiled in man-animal conflict and released at Manas National Park after being fitted with a radio collar about eight months ago, was located a couple of days back.
This was the first tiger in the state to have been fitted with a radio collar.
The radio collar was fitted by the International Fund for Animal Welfare-Wildlife Trust of India (IFAW-WTI).
“We have been trying to track the tiger for several months now but in vain. However, the tiger was caught on camera a few days back. It’s safe and looks healthy,” the forest official told The Telegraph.
The adult male tiger was tranquillised and captured from a human settlement by the forest department with assistance from the IFAW-WTI in March last year. It had killed two persons in Sivasagar district.
After short-listing three potential areas, Manas National Park was decided on as the most suitable place for the tiger. Accordingly, it was radio-collared for post-release monitoring and released at Manas.
Although the post-release monitoring continued, no signals were received from the tiger’s collar after a month from its release.
“We began receiving the signal again since mid-November, after a long gap. It was photo-captured on camera traps placed by Aaranyak, ATREE and WWF-India at Manas only a few days back. We are continuing to track it, though the signals received are inconsistent as the battery on the radio collar is dying. The radio collar is expected to drop off any time now,” Bhaskar Choudhury, an official of the WTI, said.
He said the best part, however, was the fact that there has no reports of direct conflict between the tiger and people residing near Manas. “There are no reports of the tiger killing any cattle in the last few months,” Choudhury said.
With no reports of attacks on humans reported since the tiger was released at Manas, translocation of a conflict tiger at a different location promises to strengthen the case for rehabilitation of tigers that accidentally come into contact with people.
“The photographs acquired through camera-traps indicate its survival in the wild. And there has been no report of attacks on people by this tiger since its release, presenting hope that rehabilitation can be a viable option for tigers involved in conflicts,” another official of the WTI said.
He said generally tigers involved in killing of humans are sent to zoos after being captured and in most cases these animals are killed.
“When tigers involved in conflict are captured, a nagging fear of further conflict sways the decision against these animals; they are put away ‘safely’ in zoos. Additionally, adult males have a ‘homing’ tendency, raising doubts on the success of such translocation. However, in this case, the authorities took a call in favour of giving the animal another chance and it has paid off,” the official said.
Friday, January 14, 2011
16 killed by tigers in Uttar Pradesh in 10 months
The increasing human-animal conflict due to shrinking habitat for wildlife has led to killing of 16 people by tigers over the past 10 months in Uttar Pradesh, wildlife officials said on Thursday. Attributing the deaths to "unabated human infiltration in the core wildlife areas", chief wildlife
conservator B K Patnaik said: "Increase in the human population and their enhanced penetration into forests is largely responsible for the rise in this conflict that had also left 22 people wounded over the same period."
"The situation has become alarming in Katarniaghat wildlife park, where three killings had occurred over the past one week alone," he said.
With as many as 36 villages in and around Katarniaghat core forest area, human conflict had been on the rise there, Patnaik added. Katarniaghat is in Bahraich district, 130 km from Lucknow.
Ruling out the presence of any man-eater, Patnaik said: "What was worse that each of the three killings appeared to have been done by three different tigers, which speaks volumes about the rising menace."
However, other than setting up four special teams to monitor movement of the state's 110 tigers and 208 leopards in the state's three core tiger areas - Dudhwa National Park, Katarniaghat and Pilibhit Forest Reserve - there was precious little that the government was able to do so far.
"In addition to these four teams that were keeping a watch in each of the tiger areas, a special tranquilising team was also camping here to get into action wherever the need arises", Patnaik said.
"But let me tell you, this is much more than what we were able to do until three years back, when we were terribly short of resources as well as trained manpower," he added.
Patnaik was however of the view that much was still needed to counter the menace.
"Firstly there is need to expand the grasslands in the core forest areas so that we could enhance the availability of food for the herbivorous animals, which in turn form prey for the wild cats and secondly there is need to provide alternative sources of fuel as well as avenues of employment to tribals and other living in villages in and around the core wildlife areas," he stressed.
Claiming that measures taken by the wildlife department had brought down the incidence of poaching, Patnaik emphasised the need for better cooperation by other government departments, "who were totally indifferent to the cause of preservation of wildlife in the state".
He cited the case of the railways that had not paid any heed to repeated demand of the wildlife department for diverting some 70 km of railway track that was passing through core forest areas of the state.
"We have been writing to the rail authorities for the past 30 years but to no avail," the chief wildlife conservator lamented.
conservator B K Patnaik said: "Increase in the human population and their enhanced penetration into forests is largely responsible for the rise in this conflict that had also left 22 people wounded over the same period."
"The situation has become alarming in Katarniaghat wildlife park, where three killings had occurred over the past one week alone," he said.
With as many as 36 villages in and around Katarniaghat core forest area, human conflict had been on the rise there, Patnaik added. Katarniaghat is in Bahraich district, 130 km from Lucknow.
Ruling out the presence of any man-eater, Patnaik said: "What was worse that each of the three killings appeared to have been done by three different tigers, which speaks volumes about the rising menace."
However, other than setting up four special teams to monitor movement of the state's 110 tigers and 208 leopards in the state's three core tiger areas - Dudhwa National Park, Katarniaghat and Pilibhit Forest Reserve - there was precious little that the government was able to do so far.
"In addition to these four teams that were keeping a watch in each of the tiger areas, a special tranquilising team was also camping here to get into action wherever the need arises", Patnaik said.
"But let me tell you, this is much more than what we were able to do until three years back, when we were terribly short of resources as well as trained manpower," he added.
Patnaik was however of the view that much was still needed to counter the menace.
"Firstly there is need to expand the grasslands in the core forest areas so that we could enhance the availability of food for the herbivorous animals, which in turn form prey for the wild cats and secondly there is need to provide alternative sources of fuel as well as avenues of employment to tribals and other living in villages in and around the core wildlife areas," he stressed.
Claiming that measures taken by the wildlife department had brought down the incidence of poaching, Patnaik emphasised the need for better cooperation by other government departments, "who were totally indifferent to the cause of preservation of wildlife in the state".
He cited the case of the railways that had not paid any heed to repeated demand of the wildlife department for diverting some 70 km of railway track that was passing through core forest areas of the state.
"We have been writing to the rail authorities for the past 30 years but to no avail," the chief wildlife conservator lamented.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)