Camera trap images of three tiger cubs and an adult female at the site of a cattle kill in the Nagarjunasagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve (NSTR) in Andhra Pradesh have come as a boost to conservationists who hope to see recovery of the big cat population in an extensive area.
The photos, taken by cameras that are triggered off by sensors during the movement of tigers and other animals, show in sequence the scenes that biologists look for as evidence of breeding tigers - a mother and three cubs at a kill.
Preliminary analysis of the images taken at night on July 6 and 7 indicate that the cubs are four or five months old. The site is about a kilometre from the office of the Field Director of the NSTR.
The “India Tiger Estimate 2010” of the Ministry of Environment and Forests records an overall decrease in the tiger population in reserves of Andhra Pradesh among protected areas of Central India and the Eastern Ghats. Madhya Pradesh is another State with a recorded decline, while others in the region are either stable or have recorded an increase.
Among the key conservation points that the India Tiger Estimate report highlights is the need to secure corridors between source sites, to improve the prospects for tiger persistence outside reserves and sanctuaries.
The 3,568 sq km Nagarjunasagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve, located in the Nallamalai Hills of the Eastern Ghats, is the largest among the 40 tiger reserves in the country. It is adjacent the large Gundla-Brahmeswara Wildlife Sanctuary. It is also home to the historic Srisailam Shiva temple.
A note sent by the Nagarjunasagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve points out that though the area came under Project Tiger in 1982-83, the NSTR has been a conflict-ridden landscape owing to left-wing extremism for well over a decade. The MoEF found it a challenge to protect it. With left-wing extremist activities in the area waning in recent times, concerted efforts by the Centre and the State resulted in the gradual revival of the ecosystem. The local management team led by Field Director Ajay Naik came up with an innovative strategy, to deploy the local Chenchu tribes for protection duties. As many as 250 young Chenchus have been engaged by the Forest Department to protect forests and wildlife.
Union Minister for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh said, "To me the involvement of Chenchus in tiger protection is very significant and is a model we want to replicate elsewhere. The habitat is tough but the field director and his staff are doing an outstanding job."
The outcome has been an improvement in the spatial occupancy of tigers in the reserve. The recent estimation by the NTCA and the Wildlife Institute of India in 2010 indicated a population of 60 tigers (lower limit 53, upper limit 66). The management is using as many as 30 pairs of camera traps to monitor tiger presence, besides collection of other evidence in the field during day-to-day patrolling. The reported presence of around 20 tiger cubs in the reserve is an indication of habitat recovery.
Research scientists have pointed to the benefits of carrying out camera trapping in all reserves on a continuous basis, as this would provide a more accurate picture of the national tiger population. Camera trap images also help identify individual tigers, since the stripe markings are unique for the big cat.
http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/article2211406.ece
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Re-notification issued for tiger, peacock as national symbols
New Delhi, Jul 11 (PTI) With the notification of tiger and peacock as India''s national animal and bird not making into official records, the Ministry of Environment and Forests today issued a re-notification for this purpose.
"The Government of India had notified tiger and peacock as national animal and national bird respectively.
However, the said notifications are not forthcoming in the official records of the Ministry of Environment and Forests for quite some time," a government release said here.
"In view of this, the MoEF re-notifies the tiger as the national animal and peacock as the national bird of India," Additional Director General of Forests (Wildlife) Jagdish Kishwan was quoted as saying in the release.
http://news.in.msn.com/national/article.aspx?cp-documentid=5281718
"The Government of India had notified tiger and peacock as national animal and national bird respectively.
However, the said notifications are not forthcoming in the official records of the Ministry of Environment and Forests for quite some time," a government release said here.
"In view of this, the MoEF re-notifies the tiger as the national animal and peacock as the national bird of India," Additional Director General of Forests (Wildlife) Jagdish Kishwan was quoted as saying in the release.
http://news.in.msn.com/national/article.aspx?cp-documentid=5281718
Activists roar for tiger reserve as Goa drags feet
Panaji, July 11 (IANS) Even as the Goa government is dragging its feet over drafting a proposal to set up the Mhadei tiger reserve in a wildlife sanctuary ringed by iron ore mining leases, a green activist in Goa has already launched a petition campaign to speed up the process.
The online petition seeking to expedite the process of setting up the tiger reserve at Mhadei wildlife sanctuary, located 70 km from here, was launched by activist Tallulah D'Silva Monday.
"We the undersigned, residents of Goa, nature lovers and wildlife enthusiasts, admirers especially of the tiger, are writing to you as we are aware that Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh has requested the Goa government to send the proposal for a tiger reserve at Mhadei region," reads the petition, which will be submitted to Chief Minister Digambar Kamat.
"We write this to highlight the need to protect and conserve an intrinsic part of our Western Ghats, its forests and biodiversity. There is a dire need to protect and conserve our tiger habitats," it says.
The online petition comes against the backdrop of a sluggish response from the forest department as well as the state forest minister, after Jairam Ramesh last month wrote to Kamat asking the state government to submit a proposal to upgrade the Mhadei wildlife sanctuary to a tiger reserve.
While Goa's chief wildlife warden Shashi Kumar has said that there "are a lot of local factors yet to be taken into account, before setting up of a tiger reserve", according to state Forest Minister Filipe Neri Rodrigues, the Mhadei tiger reserve would take some time coming.
"We have to first take the local legislators into confidence, then we have to talk to the local people as to whether they want it or not. How can a decision be taken soon?" Rodrigues told IANS.
According to Tallulah, who started a similar campaign last year, the Mhadei tiger reserve would be a critical habitat which would serve multiple purposes.
"That they are dragging their feet over the issue is obvious because of mining interests. Declaration of a tiger reserve will ensure protection to the catchment areas of important rivers like the Mhadei, Malaprabha, Pandhari...and will address the water security issues for Goa, Karnataka and Maharasthra for posterity," she said.
"There is a strong indication that the floater population (young adults in search of territories) of tigers from neighbouring Anshi Tiger Reserve (Karnataka) are moving into areas of Bhimgad forests (also in Karnataka) and adjoining Mahdei Wildlife sanctuary," Tallulah said.
"This also indicates that the area has a substantial prey base and additional protection as a tiger reserve will help augment this prey base due to additional forestry and conservation initiatives," she said.
Wildlife expert Rajendra Kerkar, who has been campaigning for the setting up of a tiger reserve in Goa for the last 20 years, says that mining leases which surround the Mhadei wildlife sanctuary were discouraging the government from taking active steps towards setting up of the reserve.
"It is beyond doubt that these forests are a home for tigers. However, if the state's handful sanctuaries are notified as tiger reserves, mining - illegal and legal - around these, carried out with the blessings of the politicians and state administration would have to cease," he said.
Goa's Rs.6,000 crore mining open cast iron, manganese and bauxite industry is located in the state's hinterland, nestled in the ecologically sensitive Western Ghats.
http://mangalorean.com/news.php?newstype=local&newsid=250566
The online petition seeking to expedite the process of setting up the tiger reserve at Mhadei wildlife sanctuary, located 70 km from here, was launched by activist Tallulah D'Silva Monday.
"We the undersigned, residents of Goa, nature lovers and wildlife enthusiasts, admirers especially of the tiger, are writing to you as we are aware that Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh has requested the Goa government to send the proposal for a tiger reserve at Mhadei region," reads the petition, which will be submitted to Chief Minister Digambar Kamat.
"We write this to highlight the need to protect and conserve an intrinsic part of our Western Ghats, its forests and biodiversity. There is a dire need to protect and conserve our tiger habitats," it says.
The online petition comes against the backdrop of a sluggish response from the forest department as well as the state forest minister, after Jairam Ramesh last month wrote to Kamat asking the state government to submit a proposal to upgrade the Mhadei wildlife sanctuary to a tiger reserve.
While Goa's chief wildlife warden Shashi Kumar has said that there "are a lot of local factors yet to be taken into account, before setting up of a tiger reserve", according to state Forest Minister Filipe Neri Rodrigues, the Mhadei tiger reserve would take some time coming.
"We have to first take the local legislators into confidence, then we have to talk to the local people as to whether they want it or not. How can a decision be taken soon?" Rodrigues told IANS.
According to Tallulah, who started a similar campaign last year, the Mhadei tiger reserve would be a critical habitat which would serve multiple purposes.
"That they are dragging their feet over the issue is obvious because of mining interests. Declaration of a tiger reserve will ensure protection to the catchment areas of important rivers like the Mhadei, Malaprabha, Pandhari...and will address the water security issues for Goa, Karnataka and Maharasthra for posterity," she said.
"There is a strong indication that the floater population (young adults in search of territories) of tigers from neighbouring Anshi Tiger Reserve (Karnataka) are moving into areas of Bhimgad forests (also in Karnataka) and adjoining Mahdei Wildlife sanctuary," Tallulah said.
"This also indicates that the area has a substantial prey base and additional protection as a tiger reserve will help augment this prey base due to additional forestry and conservation initiatives," she said.
Wildlife expert Rajendra Kerkar, who has been campaigning for the setting up of a tiger reserve in Goa for the last 20 years, says that mining leases which surround the Mhadei wildlife sanctuary were discouraging the government from taking active steps towards setting up of the reserve.
"It is beyond doubt that these forests are a home for tigers. However, if the state's handful sanctuaries are notified as tiger reserves, mining - illegal and legal - around these, carried out with the blessings of the politicians and state administration would have to cease," he said.
Goa's Rs.6,000 crore mining open cast iron, manganese and bauxite industry is located in the state's hinterland, nestled in the ecologically sensitive Western Ghats.
http://mangalorean.com/news.php?newstype=local&newsid=250566
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