Madhya Pradesh confident of reclaiming its 'tiger state' tag in next census: State forest minister

Bagish K Jha, TNN | Jun 27, 2013, 07.15 PM IST According to the last tiger census, there were only 257 tigers left in Madhya Pradesh's six tiger reserves- Bandhavgarh, Kanha, Panna, Bori-Satpura, Sanjay Dubri, and Pench. RELATED Portion of wall in Vidhana Soudha allegedly demolished by forest mini...​Madhya Pradesh tigers to head for Sariska sanctuaryHC issues notice to state forest ministerImplement social security schemes promptly: Forest ministerMadhya Pradesh unsuitable for big cats: Study INDORE: Madhya Pradesh that is in loggerhead with Gujarat over translocation of lions is now confident to reclaim its 'tiger state' tag in the next census. Forest minister of Madhya Pradesh Sartaj Singh on Thursday said numbers of tigers have increased significantly and state is all set to emerge number one in terms of tigers. Minister claims that he is getting reports of encouraging increase in number of tigers at Panna and Kanha Tiger reservers, the number of tiger cubs in other reserves across the state is also looking up. He further said total number of tigers in state might go close to 300 in next census. According to the last tiger census there were only 257 tigers left in the state's six tiger reserves- Bandhavgarh, Kanha, Panna, Bori-Satpura, Sanjay Dubri, and Pench. Minister said they had objected to the figures last census released by WII and National Tiger Conservation Authourity (NTCA). He said that WII and NTCA had admitted their mistake after conducting re-counting in Kanha Tiger Reserve. "But they said figure can not be changed now after it being released," said Singh adding that even the figure of 300 tiger in Karnataka was not correct. So they are very confident about reclaiming tag of 'tiger state'. On the allegation of poaching being one the main reason behind decline in number of tigers, minister said Madhya Pradesh was at number four in terms of tiger death in 2012. Maharashtra, Karnataka and Uttarakhand are leading the list. Last year nearly 12 tigers died many of them died natural deaths or accidents because most of the cases carcases were found. He added that poachers do not leave body behind. An NGO has submitted its report to Gujarat forest department that has stated that lions should not be translocated to Kuno as Madhya Pardesh is known to be a major poaching ground and the state has lost 453 tigers out of 710 (63% loss) in a decade. The state as per the 2011 census has only 257 tigers. The loss of tiger in Madhya Pradesh was 50 per cent of the total loss of the tigers across the world. Minister said these figures are inflated and they object it in SC. "We have one very basic argument one species should be restrict to only one geographical area. So lion should be translocated to other area and several surveys were done before finalising Kuno as second home of lion," said minister. Minister said to oppose translocation NGO report has calimed that Sheopur district has 4800 fire arm licenses for a population of six lakh and the sanctuary area was once a hub of dacoits from Chambal. "First there is need to cross check the statistics of report, second does it mean that everyone with gun license is waiting with their gun to kill lion," said minister. He further said concentration of one species at one place is good for that particular species. "For this very purpose we are translocating Barasingha from Kanha to Satpura," said minister. Right now Barashinga are only at Kanha forest department want to spread it to other areas also. It applies on lion too. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/flora-fauna/Madhya-Pradesh-confident-of-reclaiming-its-tiger-state-tag-in-next-census-State-forest-minister/articleshow/20799570.cms

Madhya Pradesh confident of reclaiming its 'tiger state' tag in next census: State forest minister

Bagish K Jha, TNN | Jun 27, 2013, 07.15 PM IST According to the last tiger census, there were only 257 tigers left in Madhya Pradesh's six tiger reserves- Bandhavgarh, Kanha, Panna, Bori-Satpura, Sanjay Dubri, and Pench. RELATED Portion of wall in Vidhana Soudha allegedly demolished by forest mini...​Madhya Pradesh tigers to head for Sariska sanctuaryHC issues notice to state forest ministerImplement social security schemes promptly: Forest ministerMadhya Pradesh unsuitable for big cats: Study INDORE: Madhya Pradesh that is in loggerhead with Gujarat over translocation of lions is now confident to reclaim its 'tiger state' tag in the next census. Forest minister of Madhya Pradesh Sartaj Singh on Thursday said numbers of tigers have increased significantly and state is all set to emerge number one in terms of tigers. Minister claims that he is getting reports of encouraging increase in number of tigers at Panna and Kanha Tiger reservers, the number of tiger cubs in other reserves across the state is also looking up. He further said total number of tigers in state might go close to 300 in next census. According to the last tiger census there were only 257 tigers left in the state's six tiger reserves- Bandhavgarh, Kanha, Panna, Bori-Satpura, Sanjay Dubri, and Pench. Minister said they had objected to the figures last census released by WII and National Tiger Conservation Authourity (NTCA). He said that WII and NTCA had admitted their mistake after conducting re-counting in Kanha Tiger Reserve. "But they said figure can not be changed now after it being released," said Singh adding that even the figure of 300 tiger in Karnataka was not correct. So they are very confident about reclaiming tag of 'tiger state'. On the allegation of poaching being one the main reason behind decline in number of tigers, minister said Madhya Pradesh was at number four in terms of tiger death in 2012. Maharashtra, Karnataka and Uttarakhand are leading the list. Last year nearly 12 tigers died many of them died natural deaths or accidents because most of the cases carcases were found. He added that poachers do not leave body behind. An NGO has submitted its report to Gujarat forest department that has stated that lions should not be translocated to Kuno as Madhya Pardesh is known to be a major poaching ground and the state has lost 453 tigers out of 710 (63% loss) in a decade. The state as per the 2011 census has only 257 tigers. The loss of tiger in Madhya Pradesh was 50 per cent of the total loss of the tigers across the world. Minister said these figures are inflated and they object it in SC. "We have one very basic argument one species should be restrict to only one geographical area. So lion should be translocated to other area and several surveys were done before finalising Kuno as second home of lion," said minister. Minister said to oppose translocation NGO report has calimed that Sheopur district has 4800 fire arm licenses for a population of six lakh and the sanctuary area was once a hub of dacoits from Chambal. "First there is need to cross check the statistics of report, second does it mean that everyone with gun license is waiting with their gun to kill lion," said minister. He further said concentration of one species at one place is good for that particular species. "For this very purpose we are translocating Barasingha from Kanha to Satpura," said minister. Right now Barashinga are only at Kanha forest department want to spread it to other areas also. It applies on lion too. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/flora-fauna/Madhya-Pradesh-confident-of-reclaiming-its-tiger-state-tag-in-next-census-State-forest-minister/articleshow/20799570.cms

Unhappy with non-compliance, IG calls off tiger cell meet

Vijay Pinjarkar, TNN | Jun 28, 2013, 01.27 AM IST NAGPUR: The 15th divisional tiger cell meeting called on Thursday in the backdrop of a series of tiger poaching cases in the region ended abruptly after Rajendra Singh, the special inspector general (Nagpur Zone) who is also chairman of the cell, expressed displeasure over non-compliance of wildlife related issues by the forest department. The meeting started at 3.35pm at Van Sabhagruha. When minutes of the last meeting in February were being read out by PK Mahajan, the member-secretary of the cell and Nagpur deputy conservator of forests (DyCF), Singh sought information on action taken on covering of open wells, data on patrolling, creation of paths near electric lines etc. But the forest officials remained mum. Hence, a displeased Singh called off the meeting. All SPs, forest officials and their representatives from five districts and NGOs were present. "These are internal matters which I cannot tell you," was all Singh told TOI. Admitting that the deadline of July 30 has been set to comply with decisions taken in earlier meetings, Mahajan said that the meeting did not proceed. The next meeting will be held in the first week of August. FCR for 2 poachers till July 3 Tiger poachers Barsul and Yarlen, who were arrested by Jabalpur forest officials and brought here on Tuesday, were granted forest custody remand (FCR) until July 3 by a JMFC on Thursday. Badlu, Chika and Siri, the other poachers, are already under MCR till July 3. Badlu (Mamru), one the three arrested poachers for killing a tiger in East Melghat, in his statement had said that Barsul was involved in killing a tiger in Akot wildlife division. But Melghat wildlife officials have denied poaching in their area. The JMFC denied permission to hand over the poaching case to Melghat owing to technical reasons. A senior magistrate will have to take a decision on this. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/Unhappy-with-non-compliance-IG-calls-off-tiger-cell-meet/articleshow/20806032.cms

Tiger's body parts found from sarpanch's house

Hitesh Chavda, TNN | Jun 28, 2013, 04.28 AM IST NADIAD: The state forest department officials recovered body parts of tiger from former sarpanch of Kadi village in Mahuda taluka on Thursday. The officials impersonated as potential customers to catch the sarpanch after forest conversator PK Raval got a tip-off about three weeks back. Raval first contacted the sarpanch Jashu Patel on June 12 as a customer and agreed to buy tiger's skin and other body parts for Rs. 3.5 lakh. Patel was caught in possession of tiger's skin, head, nails and teeth. The operation was carried with the help of local police. A case has been registered against Patel under the Wildlife Act. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/vadodara/Tigers-body-parts-found-from-sarpanchs-house/articleshow/20807801.cms