“The region is one of the best potential tiger habitats in the Western Ghats”
It's better known for its formula of “Sun, sea and sand,” but the State of Goa could soon get its first tiger reserve.
While the small coastal State may have only one resident tigress — who recently gave birth to cubs — it is located next to forests with larger tiger populations in Karnataka and Maharashtra. The Centre hopes that declaring this area as a protected reserve for the big cat will also stymie the rampant exploitation of mining resources.
In a letter to Chief Minister Digambar Kamat, Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh suggested that the State submit a proposal to have the Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary declared as a tiger reserve.
“There is evidence to show that tigers in Goa are not merely transient animals but are a resident population as well,” said Mr. Ramesh.
Conservationists in the area have been advocating a tiger reserve in north Goa for years, and Mr. Ramesh noted that there is “considerable local community support” for the proposal.
He added that Mhadei is a contiguous tiger landscape to Karnataka’s Bhimgad Wildlife Sanctuary and Anshi Dandeli Tiger Reserve which has 35 tigers. A 2008 study by the Wildlife Institute of India pointed out that this interstate region is one of the best potential tiger habitats in the Western Ghats.
Mr. Ramesh suggested that the State government could even expand the proposed tiger reserve beyond the existing boundaries of the Mhadei sanctuary in a bid to “ensure the long term protection of biodiversity-rich areas”.
“The region is one of the best potential tiger habitats in the Western Ghats”
It's better known for its formula of “Sun, sea and sand,” but the State of Goa could soon get its first tiger reserve.
While the small coastal State may have only one resident tigress — who recently gave birth to cubs — it is located next to forests with larger tiger populations in Karnataka and Maharashtra. The Centre hopes that declaring this area as a protected reserve for the big cat will also stymie the rampant exploitation of mining resources.
In a letter to Chief Minister Digambar Kamat, Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh suggested that the State submit a proposal to have the Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary declared as a tiger reserve.
“There is evidence to show that tigers in Goa are not merely transient animals but are a resident population as well,” said Mr. Ramesh.
Conservationists in the area have been advocating a tiger reserve in north Goa for years, and Mr. Ramesh noted that there is “considerable local community support” for the proposal.
He added that Mhadei is a contiguous tiger landscape to Karnataka’s Bhimgad Wildlife Sanctuary and Anshi Dandeli Tiger Reserve which has 35 tigers. A 2008 study by the Wildlife Institute of India pointed out that this interstate region is one of the best potential tiger habitats in the Western Ghats.
Mr. Ramesh suggested that the State government could even expand the proposed tiger reserve beyond the existing boundaries of the Mhadei sanctuary in a bid to “ensure the long term protection of biodiversity-rich areas”.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2142214.ece
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Mohini smiles at forest officials' goof-up in trap camera picture -DNA
Jaipur: Serendipity can at times be embarrassing. At least it was with the forest officials when they got the first trap camera picture of the footloose tiger Mohan after months of efforts and it turned out to be a tigress's, or Mohini's, if the big cat allows us to christen her so!
After meticulously following the Ranthambhor tiger T47, nicknamed Mohan, for months, which kept wandering from as far as Dholpur, Baseri, Bari in Rajasthan to Bhind-Morena in Madhya Pradesh, and finally settling in Ghanteshwar valley in Keoladeo Sanctuary; the forest officials were in for a rude shock when the first trap camera picture of the big cat turned out to be a tigress's. The embarrassing turn of events not only puts in question the efficacy of officials but also draws a blank on what actually happened to T47, if this one is a tigress.
"We are still examining that this big cat is Mohan or not. It seems a tigress from the picture we got, so we are also examining whether this is the same big cat which has roamed as far as Bhind in MP," said YK Sahoo, field director at Ranthambhore National Park (RNP). Forest officials may not be sure of tiger being Mohan or Mohini, but experts who have seen the picture confirm that the big cat photographed is a tigress. "This big cat does not have any ruff on its face, the characteristic of a male tiger, and also her head is not as big as a male tiger's. So in all probability, this big cat is tigress for sure," said Divya Bhanu Singh Chawda, member, National Board of Wildlife, and cat specialist group of World Conservation Union (IUCN).
http://daily.bhaskar.com/article/RAJ-JPR-mohini-smiles-at-forest-officials-goof-up-in-trap-camera-picture-2228912.html
After meticulously following the Ranthambhor tiger T47, nicknamed Mohan, for months, which kept wandering from as far as Dholpur, Baseri, Bari in Rajasthan to Bhind-Morena in Madhya Pradesh, and finally settling in Ghanteshwar valley in Keoladeo Sanctuary; the forest officials were in for a rude shock when the first trap camera picture of the big cat turned out to be a tigress's. The embarrassing turn of events not only puts in question the efficacy of officials but also draws a blank on what actually happened to T47, if this one is a tigress.
"We are still examining that this big cat is Mohan or not. It seems a tigress from the picture we got, so we are also examining whether this is the same big cat which has roamed as far as Bhind in MP," said YK Sahoo, field director at Ranthambhore National Park (RNP). Forest officials may not be sure of tiger being Mohan or Mohini, but experts who have seen the picture confirm that the big cat photographed is a tigress. "This big cat does not have any ruff on its face, the characteristic of a male tiger, and also her head is not as big as a male tiger's. So in all probability, this big cat is tigress for sure," said Divya Bhanu Singh Chawda, member, National Board of Wildlife, and cat specialist group of World Conservation Union (IUCN).
http://daily.bhaskar.com/article/RAJ-JPR-mohini-smiles-at-forest-officials-goof-up-in-trap-camera-picture-2228912.html
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