Will the Sunderkhal tigress at Corbett Tiger Reserve be terminated?
Differences have cropped up between Union Forest & Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh and the Uttarakhand Forest Department on a directive issued by the latter to eliminate the big cat following reporters of three human kills.
Chief Wildlife Warden S Chandola confirmed to The Pioneer that the order to terminate the tigress was issued on December 30. At the same time, Ramesh told this correspondent that the tigress would be tranquillised and relocated in the core area.
The tigress has been active in Sundarkhal, Garjia and Dhikuli ranges and has killed three persons during the past one-and-a-half months.
According to Corbett Tiger Reserve field director Ranjan Mishra, the tigress killed two women — Nandi Devi and Devki Devi — in the area on November 12 and December 29, respectively. One Kalpana Devi was killed on November 12, in Chukum area, under Ramnagar Forest Division.
He added, “The nature of killings indicates that her actions had been intentional. In such a situation, the Forest Department has to address grievances of the local population. Hence, the order (to shoot her) has been passed.”
Mishra said the tigress had not been sighted in the past two to three days, though five teams are searching for her. “A team of hunters has been sent to the jungles to kill the big cat,” he noted.
The Corbett field director was of the opinion that it is not possible to tranquillise a moving tiger.
Warden Chandola pointed out that after a tiger is found with human kill, there is no way out but to terminate it. In this case, the tigress was identified through pug impression pads (PIP) made by preparing a layer of fine soil about 2 cm thick on forest paths and animal tracks. Her pugmarks have been discovered near the human kill, according to him.
Experts, however, observed that PIP is an obsolete method of tracking. “Sunderkhal is a very important corridor area, at the periphery of Corbett and connecting Almora and Nainital Forest Divisions. The passage is often used by animals, including carnivores. In such a situation, it is important to identify animals actually responsible for the killings,” said one expert.
The more scientific DNA tests should be adopted in such cases, they opined.
Further, they pointed out that there had been no tiger chart mapping done to identify big cats in their respective territories. With another tiger in the same territory, how can it be said with certainty that the same tigress has made all three kills?
Locals also noted that the affected village — placed as it is in the periphery of the reserve — is an encroachment and the cat’s termination order, politically motivated. “The Forest Department should come out with long term plans to check increasing man-animal conflicts in the region. Merely killing a tigress will not solve the problem,” said an expert.
All may well not be over yet. On the basis of statements made by Ramesh, sources in the Ministry of Environment & Forest gave indications that the tigress would eventually be tranquillised and relocated in the forest. “After all, political pressures in the periphery of the forest have to be pacified… so the termination order was issued,” a source added.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Tiger protection force may be delayed
Jan. 3: The much- awaited Tiger Protection Force (TPF), formed under the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), which will be deployed at Tiger Reserves in the State, is suffering from a financial crunch. By mid-2011, around 50 members of the TPF will be deployed in Nagarhole and Bandipur Tiger Reserves and in the next few months, the officers recruited under the new Force will be given weapons training.
Senior forest officials say that the Force will swing into action by June this year, provided the Central government releases funds on time. “We are awaiting the Centre’s funds for purchasing weapons for the recruited officers, who will soon be ready to be deployed.
The weapons training will be organized with the help of the Karnataka Police and the officers will be put on the job in the Tiger Reserves,” said a senior officer. According to forest officials, even before the first batch of TPF can complete its nine-month training, 20 guards and four foresters have withdrawn their applications.
At present, 44 guards and 14 foresters are undergoing training. The officials are now hoping for an early release of funds so that the weapons and communication command centre inside the Protected Areas (PAs) can be established.
Senior forest officials say that the Force will swing into action by June this year, provided the Central government releases funds on time. “We are awaiting the Centre’s funds for purchasing weapons for the recruited officers, who will soon be ready to be deployed.
The weapons training will be organized with the help of the Karnataka Police and the officers will be put on the job in the Tiger Reserves,” said a senior officer. According to forest officials, even before the first batch of TPF can complete its nine-month training, 20 guards and four foresters have withdrawn their applications.
At present, 44 guards and 14 foresters are undergoing training. The officials are now hoping for an early release of funds so that the weapons and communication command centre inside the Protected Areas (PAs) can be established.
Forest Gujjars get quota in tiger force
Welcome sign
Lucknow, Jan. 3: Van Gujjars, the mountain gypsies ousted from their camping sites in the Corbett and Rajaji national parks in the mid-nineties, have been granted 30 per cent reservation as forest guards force, while their plains counterparts in Rajasthan are agitating for a state job quota.
Unlike the Gujjars of Rajasthan, who are Hindus, Van Gujjars are Muslims.
The forest dwellers, who are vegetarians, will get 30 per cent reservation in a new tiger protection force being set up to check poaching in the Corbett reserve.
The Van Gujjars, numbering over 25,000 according to estimates by NGOs, resided in the Shivalik mountain range near the Jim Corbett National Park for over a century. Their caravans moving from the Doon Valley to the higher areas of the Himalayas in search of forest patches with their cattle in summer made for a curious sight to the people of Dehra Dun. Their food was mostly honey and fruits collected from the forests and the milk from their cattle.
But in the mid-nineties, the Van Gujjars were given government land near Hardwar and told to give up their forest life on suspicion that they were colluding with poachers to kill tigers.
However, when the central government last year approved the setting up of the Corbett tiger force, it asked forest officials to use the Van Gujjars’ knowledge of the forests effectively as they are familiar with the 520 sqkm Corbett park which now has 112 tigers.
The Uttarakhand cabinet okayed the proposal last week to make provision for the quota.
The tiger force will have a similar role like police with power under Section 197 of the criminal procedure code to register a case after a magisterial inquiry in cases of poaching.
Three platoons will be raised for Corbett, each with 30 personnel. Each platoon will be headed by a ranger, said M.H. Khan, secretary, forests and wildlife, in Dehra Dun today.
Khan said 27 posts would be reserved for the Van Gujjars. The force will employ more Gujjars when Rajaji National Park is included.
The forest and environment ministry has sanctioned a budget of Rs 4 crore a year for the force.
“Immediately, the project will be employed for the security of the Corbett Park but it may later be extended to other forest areas,” said another state forest official.
“This decision will help the Gujjars regain their self-respect after being branded poachers by government officials,” said A. Kaushal of the Rural Litigation and Entitlement Kendra, an NGO that was fighting for the rights of the Van Gujjars to dwell in the forests.
The Van Gujjars are traditionally vegetarians and they should not have been targeted for the poaching in Corbett, said Shiva Tyagi, another rights activist.
In Rajasthan, the Gujjars, who are farmers, have been agitating for nearly 14 days now over the job quota demand.
Lucknow, Jan. 3: Van Gujjars, the mountain gypsies ousted from their camping sites in the Corbett and Rajaji national parks in the mid-nineties, have been granted 30 per cent reservation as forest guards force, while their plains counterparts in Rajasthan are agitating for a state job quota.
Unlike the Gujjars of Rajasthan, who are Hindus, Van Gujjars are Muslims.
The forest dwellers, who are vegetarians, will get 30 per cent reservation in a new tiger protection force being set up to check poaching in the Corbett reserve.
The Van Gujjars, numbering over 25,000 according to estimates by NGOs, resided in the Shivalik mountain range near the Jim Corbett National Park for over a century. Their caravans moving from the Doon Valley to the higher areas of the Himalayas in search of forest patches with their cattle in summer made for a curious sight to the people of Dehra Dun. Their food was mostly honey and fruits collected from the forests and the milk from their cattle.
But in the mid-nineties, the Van Gujjars were given government land near Hardwar and told to give up their forest life on suspicion that they were colluding with poachers to kill tigers.
However, when the central government last year approved the setting up of the Corbett tiger force, it asked forest officials to use the Van Gujjars’ knowledge of the forests effectively as they are familiar with the 520 sqkm Corbett park which now has 112 tigers.
The Uttarakhand cabinet okayed the proposal last week to make provision for the quota.
The tiger force will have a similar role like police with power under Section 197 of the criminal procedure code to register a case after a magisterial inquiry in cases of poaching.
Three platoons will be raised for Corbett, each with 30 personnel. Each platoon will be headed by a ranger, said M.H. Khan, secretary, forests and wildlife, in Dehra Dun today.
Khan said 27 posts would be reserved for the Van Gujjars. The force will employ more Gujjars when Rajaji National Park is included.
The forest and environment ministry has sanctioned a budget of Rs 4 crore a year for the force.
“Immediately, the project will be employed for the security of the Corbett Park but it may later be extended to other forest areas,” said another state forest official.
“This decision will help the Gujjars regain their self-respect after being branded poachers by government officials,” said A. Kaushal of the Rural Litigation and Entitlement Kendra, an NGO that was fighting for the rights of the Van Gujjars to dwell in the forests.
The Van Gujjars are traditionally vegetarians and they should not have been targeted for the poaching in Corbett, said Shiva Tyagi, another rights activist.
In Rajasthan, the Gujjars, who are farmers, have been agitating for nearly 14 days now over the job quota demand.
MANAS reserve SHOWS SIGNS OF RECOVERY
A tiger in Manas National Park (Courtesy: T Ganesh)
A decade ago, Manas National Park in Assam, a natural world heritage site (WHS), was reeling from political turmoil which damaged habitat and wildlife. In 1992, UNESCO declared the park a heritage site in danger; seven years after it was inscribed in the WHS list.
The decline in violence following the 2003 agreement between the Indian government and Bodo leaders has benefited Manas. UNESCO has shown interest in removing it from the endangered list. But lack of reliable scientific data on the major wildlife populations has proved to be a hurdle. In the absence of such data, it was difficult to prepare heritage site management plan.
Our study conducted between 2006 and 2008 provided baseline information about the major wildlife populations. Using scientific techniques of population estimation, we found the presence of tigers in low abundance. But interestingly there was a marked improvement in signs that indicated tigers’ presence, like pugmarks. In the absence of previous estimates of the carnivore and prey base, we tried comparing tiger and prey densities of Manas with that of other tiger reserves.
After analysis, we found that while Manas still has the lowest abundance of both tiger and prey compared to other four tiger reserves, it has a fairly good prey population that can potentially sustain more tigers. The study was carried out in one range of the National Park; the park has three ranges.
Several organisations including the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWFIndia program), Aaranyak and ATREE/UNESCO are collaborating to provide technical support to government efforts at estimating wildlife population in Manas.
T GANESH
Senior fellow, Suri Sehgal Centre for Conservation Science Ashoka Trust for Researc
A decade ago, Manas National Park in Assam, a natural world heritage site (WHS), was reeling from political turmoil which damaged habitat and wildlife. In 1992, UNESCO declared the park a heritage site in danger; seven years after it was inscribed in the WHS list.
The decline in violence following the 2003 agreement between the Indian government and Bodo leaders has benefited Manas. UNESCO has shown interest in removing it from the endangered list. But lack of reliable scientific data on the major wildlife populations has proved to be a hurdle. In the absence of such data, it was difficult to prepare heritage site management plan.
Our study conducted between 2006 and 2008 provided baseline information about the major wildlife populations. Using scientific techniques of population estimation, we found the presence of tigers in low abundance. But interestingly there was a marked improvement in signs that indicated tigers’ presence, like pugmarks. In the absence of previous estimates of the carnivore and prey base, we tried comparing tiger and prey densities of Manas with that of other tiger reserves.
After analysis, we found that while Manas still has the lowest abundance of both tiger and prey compared to other four tiger reserves, it has a fairly good prey population that can potentially sustain more tigers. The study was carried out in one range of the National Park; the park has three ranges.
Several organisations including the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWFIndia program), Aaranyak and ATREE/UNESCO are collaborating to provide technical support to government efforts at estimating wildlife population in Manas.
T GANESH
Senior fellow, Suri Sehgal Centre for Conservation Science Ashoka Trust for Researc
Finally, officials call meet to discuss Mansinghdeo
NAGPUR: A meeting to discuss modalities and various issues related to the newly created Mansinghdeo Wildlife Sanctuary adjoining Pench Tiger Reserve will be held on January 5.
Even though the sanctuary notification was issued on November 2, the government did not make any efforts as to who would take over the management of the sanctuary. TOI, on Monday, reported that handing over of Mansinghdeo is being delayed. On Monday, A K Saxena, chief conservator of forests (CCF) for Nagpur Wildlife Circle, and Krishna Mohan, CCF for Nagpur Territorial Circle held discussions and decided to call a meeting.
The meeting will be attended by regional manager of Forest Development Corporation of Maharashtra (FDCM), conservator of forests for Nagpur Division and the two circle heads.
Sources said officials will discuss legal process to hand over the sanctuary to Pench Tiger Reserve. The other issues include existing staff strength, area, boundaries, and rights among a host of other things.
This is the first meeting after two months the notification has been issued. It's an indication that official process to give shape to the 183 sq km Mansinghdeo sanctuary has started.
Even though the sanctuary notification was issued on November 2, the government did not make any efforts as to who would take over the management of the sanctuary. TOI, on Monday, reported that handing over of Mansinghdeo is being delayed. On Monday, A K Saxena, chief conservator of forests (CCF) for Nagpur Wildlife Circle, and Krishna Mohan, CCF for Nagpur Territorial Circle held discussions and decided to call a meeting.
The meeting will be attended by regional manager of Forest Development Corporation of Maharashtra (FDCM), conservator of forests for Nagpur Division and the two circle heads.
Sources said officials will discuss legal process to hand over the sanctuary to Pench Tiger Reserve. The other issues include existing staff strength, area, boundaries, and rights among a host of other things.
This is the first meeting after two months the notification has been issued. It's an indication that official process to give shape to the 183 sq km Mansinghdeo sanctuary has started.
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