BHOPAL: A tigress was killed and eaten by another tigress after a territorial fight in Madhya Pradesh's Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve, officials said.
The carcass of 9-year-old tigress Laxmi, who also had two cubs, was recovered from Salatekari area at Tala Range of the Reserve, in Umaria district on Saturday, a top forest official said.
Laxmi was killed and eaten by another tigress named Kankati (4), after a possible fight over territory, Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve's Field Director C K Patil said, adding, Kankati had sustained an eye injury.
Forest guards on Saturday saw Kankati eating the slain tigress, he said, adding, Laxmi and Kankati had fought in the past too.
This was probably the first instance of a tiger killing and eating someone of its own species in Bandhavgarh, spread over an area of 700 sq km in eastern Madhya Pradesh.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Tigress-killed-eaten-by-another-in-MP/articleshow/7643713.cms
Monday, March 7, 2011
Tiger experts meet today
A meeting of top global experts on tiger is being held in New Delhi on Monday to discuss the “new way forward” in tiger conservation efforts. Those participating in the meeting include George Shaller, Alan Rabinowitz and Joe Smith from Panthera, an American non-profit organisation, Belinda Wright, Bittu Sahgal and Valmik Thapar from India. Environment and Forests Minister Jairam Ramesh will chair the meet.
Ahead of the meeting a brainstorming session was held on Sunday.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Tiger-experts-meet-today/758666/
Ahead of the meeting a brainstorming session was held on Sunday.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Tiger-experts-meet-today/758666/
Tiger reserves ignoring local communities Vijay Pinjarkar, TNN
NAGPUR: Improving protected areas (PAs) management by involving communities with eco-development as one of its components is the best tiger conservation strategy but the tiger reserves in Vidarbha do not appear to believe in it. Disturbingly, all three tiger reserves in Vidarbha - Tadoba-Andhari, Melghat and Pench - have fared badly on community development work in recent evaluation of tiger reserves conducted by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).
The administration of three tiger reserves seems to have only now woken up to this aspect. The reserves, while giving emphasis on resettlement of villages from the core, also focused on protection but failed to concentrate on eco-development works in the villages in buffer zones. "Village eco-development was aimed at reducing negative impacts of locals on parks. This asks for participatory micro-planning of activities at the village level to help the forest department and villages decide on set reciprocal promises," says wildlife conservationist Prafulla Bhamburkar.
"It is sad yet true that our tiger reserves have not focused on systematic community development works," admits Kishor Rithe, member, National Board for Wild Life (NBWL). To ensure tiger reserves in Vidarbha get funds from NTCA for community development work under Eco-development Programme (EDP) and villagers employment through conservation works, on December 15, 2007, Rithe's Satpuda Foundation had submitted a proposal to the chief wildlife warden for preparing village micro plans around Melghat, TATR and Pench. However, nothing happened. The Foundation again submitted the proposal on January 2011, to the present chief wildlife warden who responded positively but no action resulted.
"We are doing a lot of community-based conservation work on our own around the tiger reserves but it does not get any place in official records and hence the parks could not fetch points allotted on this count," lamented Satpuda Foundation executive director Giri Venkatesan.
TATR field director V K Sinha admitted there was need to set up eco-development committees (EDCs) on the lines of joint forest management committees (JFMs). There is an administration order on EDCs but there is no formal government resolution (GR), on providing benefits to stakeholders. Conservationists say the tiger reserves should take the remark of NTCA evaluation committee seriously and learn lessons.
Nature Conservation Society Amravati (NCSA), which has developed a good community-based conservation model in buffer zone of MTR, stated that field directors really needed to count communities living in the buffer areas. "Earlier, field directors used to participate in the community meetings organized by NCSA and resolve many issues. However, the practice has stopped now," said Nishikant Kale, ex-president of NCSA. Officials have even started ignoring health initiatives started by NCSA exclusively for buffer villages since 2005, Kale added.
Kale said wildlife wing officials needed to learn from tiger reserves like Kalakad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve (KMTR) in Tamil Nadu where park administration was working with the communities and reducing biotic pressure on reserves. The NTCA evaluation of tiger reserves in Maharashtra put MTR at the eighth spot, ahead of high-profile tiger reserves like Corbett and Ranthambore and Tadoba and Pench at 14th and 15th spot.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/Tiger-reserves-ignoring-local-communities/articleshow/7643363.cms
The administration of three tiger reserves seems to have only now woken up to this aspect. The reserves, while giving emphasis on resettlement of villages from the core, also focused on protection but failed to concentrate on eco-development works in the villages in buffer zones. "Village eco-development was aimed at reducing negative impacts of locals on parks. This asks for participatory micro-planning of activities at the village level to help the forest department and villages decide on set reciprocal promises," says wildlife conservationist Prafulla Bhamburkar.
"It is sad yet true that our tiger reserves have not focused on systematic community development works," admits Kishor Rithe, member, National Board for Wild Life (NBWL). To ensure tiger reserves in Vidarbha get funds from NTCA for community development work under Eco-development Programme (EDP) and villagers employment through conservation works, on December 15, 2007, Rithe's Satpuda Foundation had submitted a proposal to the chief wildlife warden for preparing village micro plans around Melghat, TATR and Pench. However, nothing happened. The Foundation again submitted the proposal on January 2011, to the present chief wildlife warden who responded positively but no action resulted.
"We are doing a lot of community-based conservation work on our own around the tiger reserves but it does not get any place in official records and hence the parks could not fetch points allotted on this count," lamented Satpuda Foundation executive director Giri Venkatesan.
TATR field director V K Sinha admitted there was need to set up eco-development committees (EDCs) on the lines of joint forest management committees (JFMs). There is an administration order on EDCs but there is no formal government resolution (GR), on providing benefits to stakeholders. Conservationists say the tiger reserves should take the remark of NTCA evaluation committee seriously and learn lessons.
Nature Conservation Society Amravati (NCSA), which has developed a good community-based conservation model in buffer zone of MTR, stated that field directors really needed to count communities living in the buffer areas. "Earlier, field directors used to participate in the community meetings organized by NCSA and resolve many issues. However, the practice has stopped now," said Nishikant Kale, ex-president of NCSA. Officials have even started ignoring health initiatives started by NCSA exclusively for buffer villages since 2005, Kale added.
Kale said wildlife wing officials needed to learn from tiger reserves like Kalakad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve (KMTR) in Tamil Nadu where park administration was working with the communities and reducing biotic pressure on reserves. The NTCA evaluation of tiger reserves in Maharashtra put MTR at the eighth spot, ahead of high-profile tiger reserves like Corbett and Ranthambore and Tadoba and Pench at 14th and 15th spot.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/Tiger-reserves-ignoring-local-communities/articleshow/7643363.cms
To appease VIP tourists, officials flout norms in Ranthambore Anindo Dey, TNN
JAIPUR: For Ranthambore National Park, VIP tourists and flouting of norms seem to go hand in hand. Recently a park official, while escorting a VIP tourist, chose to meander off the safari track on hot trail of a tiger, much to the amazement of others. The official, a ranger, choose to enter no-go areas in zone number 4 in Lakarda to please his tourist friends, said a witness.
"The patrol vehicle the ranger was in, along with his friends, spotted a tiger and started following it. The vehicle then went off the safari tracks into the grass much to the amazement of other tourists who were in the same area then," he said.
"Seeing the vehicle follow the tiger, an American tourist who was close by also wanted his guides to go in the same direction. But the guides explained it was against the rules. The American enquired as to why the other jeep had gone that way and he had to be told that there was an official in it and so he was free' to do what he wanted," he said.
The tourist then clicked a picture of the jeep and intimated wildlife activists. "How do you propose to impose laws and rules to such places where the rulers themselves are unruly? If officials of the department flout rules of conservation, then what do you expect from ordinary people?" asked an activist.
In August last year, even when the park remained on its annual closure, 40 tourists aboard luxury train Palace on Wheels were allowed to go inside the park for tiger-sighting.
In October last year, during the wedding of British comedian Russell Brand and US pop singer Katy Perry, complaints of noise pollution and the couple entering the park premises with commodities which are strictly banned were reported.
"Not just this, officials often choose to take their guests to prime zones even if they do not get it by default. According to the rules, the zones are allotted on a rotational basis. But rules just apply to commoners and not the VIPs or officials," said a source.
However, officials of the department denied the allegations. "All rules are strictly adhered to by one and all. In the event someone has done something wrong, we will look into it and act suitably," said an official.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/jaipur/To-appease-VIP-tourists-officials-flout-norms-in-Ranthambore/articleshow/7643023.cms
"The patrol vehicle the ranger was in, along with his friends, spotted a tiger and started following it. The vehicle then went off the safari tracks into the grass much to the amazement of other tourists who were in the same area then," he said.
"Seeing the vehicle follow the tiger, an American tourist who was close by also wanted his guides to go in the same direction. But the guides explained it was against the rules. The American enquired as to why the other jeep had gone that way and he had to be told that there was an official in it and so he was free' to do what he wanted," he said.
The tourist then clicked a picture of the jeep and intimated wildlife activists. "How do you propose to impose laws and rules to such places where the rulers themselves are unruly? If officials of the department flout rules of conservation, then what do you expect from ordinary people?" asked an activist.
In August last year, even when the park remained on its annual closure, 40 tourists aboard luxury train Palace on Wheels were allowed to go inside the park for tiger-sighting.
In October last year, during the wedding of British comedian Russell Brand and US pop singer Katy Perry, complaints of noise pollution and the couple entering the park premises with commodities which are strictly banned were reported.
"Not just this, officials often choose to take their guests to prime zones even if they do not get it by default. According to the rules, the zones are allotted on a rotational basis. But rules just apply to commoners and not the VIPs or officials," said a source.
However, officials of the department denied the allegations. "All rules are strictly adhered to by one and all. In the event someone has done something wrong, we will look into it and act suitably," said an official.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/jaipur/To-appease-VIP-tourists-officials-flout-norms-in-Ranthambore/articleshow/7643023.cms
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)