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.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)