Friday, February 11, 2011
Tiger census result to be out on March 26
New Delhi, Feb 10 (PTI) The results of the much-awaited scientific census of tigers, currently underway, will be made public at the end of next month, Environment and Forests Minister Jairam Ramesh said here today. "It is on 26th March," Ramesh said when asked when is the results of the census of the big cat are expected. Tigers are there in "protected areas" -- tiger reserves, national parks and wildlife sanctuaries -- in 19 states in the country. The census is being carried out by installing cameras at strategic points, like water bodies in the forests where the tigers go for water, in their respective territories and a computer analysis is being done to ascertain their presence. Though preliminary analysis of the ongoing census of tigers in the forests indicates that their numbers might have increased, there has been concern over the rise in the cases of man-animal conflict. Forest officials had killed a "man-eater" tiger in January after a half-eaten human body was recovered in Corbett National Park in Uttarakhand. A tigress, suspected of killing four women in two weeks, was also shot by hunters in January. The 2007 census had shown a sharp fall in the number of tigers in the country. According to it, India had only 1,411 wild cats left in its forests.
Cubs of T-5 tigress spotted Anindo Dey, TNN
JAIPUR: The two cubs of T-5, which died in Ranthambore on Wednesday, have been spotted by forest department officials on Thursday.
Both cubs are in good health and are spotted on a hilltop, officials said. "They consumed some dressed meat and water. But when we tried to catch them, they ran way. We will not be chasing them now as it might scare them away from the area and make it more difficult to catch them. We will wait for them instead," a forest official said.
"We have designed a special cage for the cubs in which we hope to keep them after we catch them. But plans thereafter are yet to be framed," state chief wildlife warden H M Bhatia said.
He said the department is in consultation with the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) to take care of the cubs, which have also been caught by a trap camera.
R N Mehrotra, principal chief conservator of forest and head of forest forces, however, ruled out the possibility of keeping the cubs in a zoo. "There is no point keeping them in a zoo. It has been ruled out," he said.
Officials said the best place for the cubs would be the already existing enclosure at the Sariska reserve. "Safety of the cubs is our prime concern and Sariska promises to be a better place for them than Ranthambore. We will hand raise them for some years in a protected cage. After that whether we leave them in Sariska or bring them back to Ranthambore will be decided," an official said.
He said raising the two cubs would be a difficult task but the Ranthambore staff had already looked after at least two cubs in the past. "The Guda tigress had died around September 1, 2007 leaving behind two cubs. These cubs, later renamed T-36 and T-37, were hand raised by the staff at Ranthambore.
"Of course, the cubs then were about one or two moths older than these ones. We brought them up till they were two years old and then released them. I remember their first kill was a goat and though they were not good at all then but nature slowly taught them. The T-36 tiger is still alive and is with the T-42 male in the Quwalji area," the official said.
"In 2001-02, the Bairda tigress, too, had died and her cubs were raised by our staff Ranjit, who is still serving with us. He may be assigned the task for these cubs too. The Ranthambore staff are experienced in such cases and they can do a good job," he added.
T-5, popularly known as Kachida tigress, died on Wednesday. She underwent an emergency surgery recently at the Ranthambore National Park after tourism minister Bina Kak spotted it with a wound on its rear.
Both cubs are in good health and are spotted on a hilltop, officials said. "They consumed some dressed meat and water. But when we tried to catch them, they ran way. We will not be chasing them now as it might scare them away from the area and make it more difficult to catch them. We will wait for them instead," a forest official said.
"We have designed a special cage for the cubs in which we hope to keep them after we catch them. But plans thereafter are yet to be framed," state chief wildlife warden H M Bhatia said.
He said the department is in consultation with the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) to take care of the cubs, which have also been caught by a trap camera.
R N Mehrotra, principal chief conservator of forest and head of forest forces, however, ruled out the possibility of keeping the cubs in a zoo. "There is no point keeping them in a zoo. It has been ruled out," he said.
Officials said the best place for the cubs would be the already existing enclosure at the Sariska reserve. "Safety of the cubs is our prime concern and Sariska promises to be a better place for them than Ranthambore. We will hand raise them for some years in a protected cage. After that whether we leave them in Sariska or bring them back to Ranthambore will be decided," an official said.
He said raising the two cubs would be a difficult task but the Ranthambore staff had already looked after at least two cubs in the past. "The Guda tigress had died around September 1, 2007 leaving behind two cubs. These cubs, later renamed T-36 and T-37, were hand raised by the staff at Ranthambore.
"Of course, the cubs then were about one or two moths older than these ones. We brought them up till they were two years old and then released them. I remember their first kill was a goat and though they were not good at all then but nature slowly taught them. The T-36 tiger is still alive and is with the T-42 male in the Quwalji area," the official said.
"In 2001-02, the Bairda tigress, too, had died and her cubs were raised by our staff Ranjit, who is still serving with us. He may be assigned the task for these cubs too. The Ranthambore staff are experienced in such cases and they can do a good job," he added.
T-5, popularly known as Kachida tigress, died on Wednesday. She underwent an emergency surgery recently at the Ranthambore National Park after tourism minister Bina Kak spotted it with a wound on its rear.
Cubs of T-5 tigress spotted Anindo Dey, TNN
JAIPUR: The two cubs of T-5, which died in Ranthambore on Wednesday, have been spotted by forest department officials on Thursday.
Both cubs are in good health and are spotted on a hilltop, officials said. "They consumed some dressed meat and water. But when we tried to catch them, they ran way. We will not be chasing them now as it might scare them away from the area and make it more difficult to catch them. We will wait for them instead," a forest official said.
"We have designed a special cage for the cubs in which we hope to keep them after we catch them. But plans thereafter are yet to be framed," state chief wildlife warden H M Bhatia said.
He said the department is in consultation with the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) to take care of the cubs, which have also been caught by a trap camera.
R N Mehrotra, principal chief conservator of forest and head of forest forces, however, ruled out the possibility of keeping the cubs in a zoo. "There is no point keeping them in a zoo. It has been ruled out," he said.
Officials said the best place for the cubs would be the already existing enclosure at the Sariska reserve. "Safety of the cubs is our prime concern and Sariska promises to be a better place for them than Ranthambore. We will hand raise them for some years in a protected cage. After that whether we leave them in Sariska or bring them back to Ranthambore will be decided," an official said.
He said raising the two cubs would be a difficult task but the Ranthambore staff had already looked after at least two cubs in the past. "The Guda tigress had died around September 1, 2007 leaving behind two cubs. These cubs, later renamed T-36 and T-37, were hand raised by the staff at Ranthambore.
"Of course, the cubs then were about one or two moths older than these ones. We brought them up till they were two years old and then released them. I remember their first kill was a goat and though they were not good at all then but nature slowly taught them. The T-36 tiger is still alive and is with the T-42 male in the Quwalji area," the official said.
"In 2001-02, the Bairda tigress, too, had died and her cubs were raised by our staff Ranjit, who is still serving with us. He may be assigned the task for these cubs too. The Ranthambore staff are experienced in such cases and they can do a good job," he added.
T-5, popularly known as Kachida tigress, died on Wednesday. She underwent an emergency surgery recently at the Ranthambore National Park after tourism minister Bina Kak spotted it with a wound on its rear.
Both cubs are in good health and are spotted on a hilltop, officials said. "They consumed some dressed meat and water. But when we tried to catch them, they ran way. We will not be chasing them now as it might scare them away from the area and make it more difficult to catch them. We will wait for them instead," a forest official said.
"We have designed a special cage for the cubs in which we hope to keep them after we catch them. But plans thereafter are yet to be framed," state chief wildlife warden H M Bhatia said.
He said the department is in consultation with the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) to take care of the cubs, which have also been caught by a trap camera.
R N Mehrotra, principal chief conservator of forest and head of forest forces, however, ruled out the possibility of keeping the cubs in a zoo. "There is no point keeping them in a zoo. It has been ruled out," he said.
Officials said the best place for the cubs would be the already existing enclosure at the Sariska reserve. "Safety of the cubs is our prime concern and Sariska promises to be a better place for them than Ranthambore. We will hand raise them for some years in a protected cage. After that whether we leave them in Sariska or bring them back to Ranthambore will be decided," an official said.
He said raising the two cubs would be a difficult task but the Ranthambore staff had already looked after at least two cubs in the past. "The Guda tigress had died around September 1, 2007 leaving behind two cubs. These cubs, later renamed T-36 and T-37, were hand raised by the staff at Ranthambore.
"Of course, the cubs then were about one or two moths older than these ones. We brought them up till they were two years old and then released them. I remember their first kill was a goat and though they were not good at all then but nature slowly taught them. The T-36 tiger is still alive and is with the T-42 male in the Quwalji area," the official said.
"In 2001-02, the Bairda tigress, too, had died and her cubs were raised by our staff Ranjit, who is still serving with us. He may be assigned the task for these cubs too. The Ranthambore staff are experienced in such cases and they can do a good job," he added.
T-5, popularly known as Kachida tigress, died on Wednesday. She underwent an emergency surgery recently at the Ranthambore National Park after tourism minister Bina Kak spotted it with a wound on its rear.
Traumatized tigress suffers miscarriage- Vijay Pinjarkar /, TNN
Nagpur: Foresters offered prayers at the popular Tekdi Ganesh temple on Wednesday for the well-being of the Katlabodi tigress that was rescued from a 35-foot dry well, 40 kms from here, on Monday. It didn't go unanswered as the tigress seems to be on the road to recovery.
However, the severe shock and trauma of having fallen into the well led to a miscarriage with the tigress, which is expected to be less than six years old, delivering three stillborn cubs on Tuesday afternoon. Though disheartening news, the tragedy quelled rumours of its cubs moving in the Katlabodi forest area.
The traumatized tigress was brought to the Deer Park at Seminary Hills around 9.30pm on Monday night and was kept in isolation. On Tuesday around 11am, the forest staff monitoring the tigress was surprised to see something unusual in the cage.
The tigress had delivered two stillborn cubs. The third cub was noticed after the cage was shifted to the forest guesthouse around 1.30pm. The cages were completely covered with green net and late in the evening when the animal was being put in the squeeze cage, the staff saw one more stillborn cub.
Of the three premature cubs, two are female while one is a male. Tiger experts, who did not want to be quoted, said pregnancy in the tigers is not obvious to the eye for the first two and half months, but becomes noticeable only in the last 10-12 days.
"The tigress looked healthy but its genitalia were normal and hence the pregnancy could not be detected. The gestation period for tigers ranges from 93 to 111 days. It can have a litter of between 1 and 7 blind cubs, the norm being 2 to 4," an expert vet told TOI.
In the case of Katlabodi tigress, the cubs had developed body organs like whiskers, nails, ears, legs and tail. The coat and teeth were missing. Doctors of the government veterinary college here are trying to ascertain age of the cubs.
The dead cubs will be used for educational purpose for vet students. Chief wildlife warden DC Pant, who was on tour and could not be contacted, has apparently given his OK to this plan.
Conservationists say the miscarriage might be perhaps one of the reasons why the tigress took so long on Tuesday evening to enter the treatment cage. "She must have been unable to bear the trauma of three dead cubs around her and hence the reluctance to move into the other cage," they said.
The staff and forest officials felt that the tigress was not moving due to an internal injury after the fall. However, at night, after the noise and traffic came to a standstill, the wildcat entered the treatment cage.
On Wednesday morning, a team of Dr NP Dakshinkar, professor of medicine at Nagpur Veterinary College, and assistant professor Dr Gautam Bhojane started treatment of the tigress. Its blood, urine, scat samples were tested and all the reports appear to be normal. The vets have prescribed some medicines.
Staff monitoring the tigress saw the tigress moving and also standing on all four legs, indicating that her the hind ones were responding and the spinal cord was all right.
Though miscarriage is an unusual phenomena among tigers, experts TOI spoke to said it's also quite normal. "Due to great fall, it went into physical and mental shock. Due to pressure on its abdomen it must have bled from inside and aborted the cubs," said PM Lad, the ex-principal chief conservator of forests of Madhya Pradesh.
His wife Dr Kamal Lad, a gynaecologist who had raised a tiger cub for seven months in 1983, said the case is very similar to humans. "Self abortion is rare in tigers. But any stressful situation can lead to miscarriage," she said.
"It may also happen when the predator is surrounded by so many humans. Although having no option but to capture and cage the animal, it causes irritation and stress leading to such a situation," said a Chennai-based wildlife expert.
However, the severe shock and trauma of having fallen into the well led to a miscarriage with the tigress, which is expected to be less than six years old, delivering three stillborn cubs on Tuesday afternoon. Though disheartening news, the tragedy quelled rumours of its cubs moving in the Katlabodi forest area.
The traumatized tigress was brought to the Deer Park at Seminary Hills around 9.30pm on Monday night and was kept in isolation. On Tuesday around 11am, the forest staff monitoring the tigress was surprised to see something unusual in the cage.
The tigress had delivered two stillborn cubs. The third cub was noticed after the cage was shifted to the forest guesthouse around 1.30pm. The cages were completely covered with green net and late in the evening when the animal was being put in the squeeze cage, the staff saw one more stillborn cub.
Of the three premature cubs, two are female while one is a male. Tiger experts, who did not want to be quoted, said pregnancy in the tigers is not obvious to the eye for the first two and half months, but becomes noticeable only in the last 10-12 days.
"The tigress looked healthy but its genitalia were normal and hence the pregnancy could not be detected. The gestation period for tigers ranges from 93 to 111 days. It can have a litter of between 1 and 7 blind cubs, the norm being 2 to 4," an expert vet told TOI.
In the case of Katlabodi tigress, the cubs had developed body organs like whiskers, nails, ears, legs and tail. The coat and teeth were missing. Doctors of the government veterinary college here are trying to ascertain age of the cubs.
The dead cubs will be used for educational purpose for vet students. Chief wildlife warden DC Pant, who was on tour and could not be contacted, has apparently given his OK to this plan.
Conservationists say the miscarriage might be perhaps one of the reasons why the tigress took so long on Tuesday evening to enter the treatment cage. "She must have been unable to bear the trauma of three dead cubs around her and hence the reluctance to move into the other cage," they said.
The staff and forest officials felt that the tigress was not moving due to an internal injury after the fall. However, at night, after the noise and traffic came to a standstill, the wildcat entered the treatment cage.
On Wednesday morning, a team of Dr NP Dakshinkar, professor of medicine at Nagpur Veterinary College, and assistant professor Dr Gautam Bhojane started treatment of the tigress. Its blood, urine, scat samples were tested and all the reports appear to be normal. The vets have prescribed some medicines.
Staff monitoring the tigress saw the tigress moving and also standing on all four legs, indicating that her the hind ones were responding and the spinal cord was all right.
Though miscarriage is an unusual phenomena among tigers, experts TOI spoke to said it's also quite normal. "Due to great fall, it went into physical and mental shock. Due to pressure on its abdomen it must have bled from inside and aborted the cubs," said PM Lad, the ex-principal chief conservator of forests of Madhya Pradesh.
His wife Dr Kamal Lad, a gynaecologist who had raised a tiger cub for seven months in 1983, said the case is very similar to humans. "Self abortion is rare in tigers. But any stressful situation can lead to miscarriage," she said.
"It may also happen when the predator is surrounded by so many humans. Although having no option but to capture and cage the animal, it causes irritation and stress leading to such a situation," said a Chennai-based wildlife expert.
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