Rehabilitation process of Navegaon village begins

TNN | Apr 19, 2012, 02.46AM IST CHANDRAPUR: The rehabilitation of village Navegaon (Ramdegi) located inside Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) practically kicked off on Tuesday after plots were distributed among the beneficiary families. In a programme held under supervision of Warora SDO Ghanshyam Bhugaonkar, a total of 111 beneficiaries picked up their plots through lottery system in the village. After Navegaon villagers agreed for relocation out of tiger reserve, administration identified in all 220 beneficiaries in town under the Centre's 10 lakh rehabilitation package. The villagers were given separate options of cash compensation and rehabilitation. Under option-I, beneficiaries take cash compensation and move out of village on their own, while under option-II, government arranges for beneficiary's rehabilitation on the site selected by villagers. In Navegaon, a total of 119 beneficiaries, including 100 land owners and 19 landless beneficiaries, opted for option-I, while remaining 111 beneficiaries, including 101 land owners and 10 landless beneficiaries, have opted for option-II. "The beneficiaries of Navegaon have selected their rehabilitation site in compartment no. 29 of Chimur tehsil. The land has been cleared of the forest and plots marked. Tenders of the road have been finalized and construction will begin soon. Construction of water supply tank is under progress, while laying of pipeline will begin soon. Two handpumps have also been installed on the relocation site," claimed ex-deputy sarpanch, Azhar Sheikh, who is a representative of villagers to oversee rehabilitation procedure. Officials said that while villagers have decided to build their homes themselves, government will provide them land along with sum for house construction. Apart from this, the government will build amenities like water supply scheme, bus stand, weekly market, gram panchayat, police station, post office, dispensary, water reservoir, primary and high school, play ground and leave open space for community programmes. As plots on rehabilitation site were marked, the gram sabha of the village forwarded a proposal to the administration asking for distribution of plots through lottery system. Therefore, a programme was organized in Navegaon on Tuesday to distribute the plots to 111 beneficiaries of rehabilitation. Landowner beneficiaries were entitled for plot of 371 sq metre each, while landless beneficiaries were entitled for plot of 185 sq metre each. However, those having five or more members in family were given plots with some additional land. The plot distribution started in presence of SDO Ghanshyam Bhugaonkar, Chimur tehsildar Dilip Akhade, Bramhapuri division ACF AN Dhote, Chimur range RFO LM Belekar and president of NGO Eoc-Pro orgnaisation Bandu Dhotre, appointed by high court to facilitate smooth rehabilitation. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/Rehabilitation-process-of-Navegaon-village-begins/articleshow/12723924.cms

Forest officers on pugmark chase to nab runaway tiger near Lucknow

TNN Apr 18, 2012, 03.51AM IST LUCKNOW: It was another day gone in vain at Rahmankhera. The big cat made its appearance in the area by way of its pugmarks only. The tracking team, however, kept waiting for the big cat near a partially-eaten bait, on Tuesday. The team had to intensively search for the tiger as in the morning there was no trace of the feline, giving the apprehension that it could have changed location, specially after the Monday incident. Sources said on Monday the tiger and the combing elephants came face to face. The tracking team had set a half-eaten carcass as bait near the deep pit which has been dug by the team at Rahmankhera to trap the tiger. The tiger had dragged the flesh to the patch of forest and was eating it when one of the elephants combing the area went close it. And as the tiger resisted the forward movement of the elephant, even the jumbo got aggressive. The other two elephants, which were also combing the area, too became aggressive. Seeing the three elephants ganging up against it, the tiger made a quick escape. It wasn't spotted till late Tuesday morning. It was only later in the day that the team could locate its pugmarks. While the tracking team is still focusing on luring the tiger to the bait tied close to the deep pit, this time around the team has also done some fencing around the pit. Experts, however, said the Monday incident shows the big cat can charge if put under pressure. "The tiger is a tiger and the operation has to be handled keeping the fact in time," said Kaushlendra Singh, a wildlife enthusiast. http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-04-18/lucknow/31360792_1_partially-eaten-tiger-big-cat

Tiger found dead in Melghat reserve

Vijay Pinjarkar, TNN | Apr 18, 2012, 06.15AM IST NAGPUR: At a time when Melghat Tiger Reserve (MTR) has come out of the red with improved tiger sightings due to better protection, death of a tiger has come as a big blow to the reserve. With this, the death toll of tigers in Maharashtra in the past five months (since November 3, 2011) has mounted to eight. Maharashtra lost 7 tigers - 5 in Chandrapur district and 2 in Tipeshwar - in the past. A full-grown tiger was found dead 100 metres away from a water hole in Chourakund forest range in Sipna wildlife division of MTR on Monday, around 9pm by the patrolling staff. The last report of a tiger death in Melghat was seven years ago, officials said. "The foul smell led the staff to the putrefied carcass of the tiger. Over 40% body parts including claws and teeth were intact indicating there was no element of poaching," said AK Mishra, chief conservator of forests (CCF) and field director of Melghat. "The carcass is 8 to 10 days old and seems to have been eaten by small carnivores," he added. Mishra said that the tiger seems to have died due to old age as its canines showed wear and tear. He also ruled out poisoning as cause of death. "There is regular monitoring of water holes by the field staff and they were already on the job when they traced the tiger," he said. However, the post-mortem report will only reveal the exact cause of death. The park authorities were not sure whether to go for DNA testing to know whether the dead tiger was a male or female. The panchnama and post-mortem was performed in the presence of Sipna deputy conservator of forests, S Yuvraj and Amravati honorary district wildlife warden, Vishal Bansod who was present as the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) representative. Death of a tiger * Sipna tiger died due to old age, canines showed wear and tear * Carcass is 8-10 days old * 7 years ago last tiger death was reported in Melghat * State has lost eight tigers in last five months http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/12711902.cms

Intensive hunt on to trap tiger

TNN | Apr 18, 2012, 03.51AM IST LUCKNOW: It was another day gone in vain at Rahmankhera. The big cat made its appearance in the area by way of its pugmarks only. The tracking team, however, kept waiting for the big cat near a partially-eaten bait, on Tuesday. The team had to intensively search for the tiger as in the morning there was no trace of the feline, giving the apprehension that it could have changed location, specially after the Monday incident. Sources said on Monday the tiger and the combing elephants came face to face. The tracking team had set a half-eaten carcass as bait near the deep pit which has been dug by the team at Rahmankhera to trap the tiger. The tiger had dragged the flesh to the patch of forest and was eating it when one of the elephants combing the area went close it. And as the tiger resisted the forward movement of the elephant, even the jumbo got aggressive. The other two elephants, which were also combing the area, too became aggressive. Seeing the three elephants ganging up against it, the tiger made a quick escape. It wasn't spotted till late Tuesday morning. It was only later in the day that the team could locate its pugmarks. While the tracking team is still focusing on luring the tiger to the bait tied close to the deep pit, this time around the team has also done some fencing around the pit. Experts, however, said the Monday incident shows the big cat can charge if put under pressure. "The tiger is a tiger and the operation has to be handled keeping the fact in time," said Kaushlendra Singh, a wildlife enthusiast. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/lucknow/Intensive-hunt-on-to-trap-tiger/articleshow/12710976.cms

Tiger monitoring to get more intensive

The Hindu Camera traps, line transects and scat DNA will be used for a more reliable population estimate. File photo: M.A. Sriram The monitoring of tiger numbers, densities and their prey is about to get more rigorous in the 17 States that form the big cat's habitat. Phase IV of the tiger estimation programme embarked on by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) will use a combination of tools — camera traps, line transects and scat DNA — to arrive at a more reliable estimate of tiger population in each reserve. This phase of monitoring has begun in Karnataka and Assam. The protocol calls for a greater intensity of monitoring, over a larger area in a shorter period, and will offer a complete handle on at least 90 per cent of the source (breeding) population of tigers every year, said Ullas Karanth, Director, Wildlife Conservation Society (India Program). “It will also for the first time trace individual tigers over time and help arrive at the animal's survival rate.” EVERY 4 TO 5 SQ KM A pair of camera traps will be installed every 4 to 5 sq km of the tiger landscape for a timeframe not longer than 40 to 60 days to avoid over-estimation of numbers. A digital camera trap tiger photo database will be prepared for the reserve with location ID, date and time stamps. While an emphasis has been given to camera traps to arrive the tiger population size, line transects will be used to estimate prey densities. And where camera trapping is not possible, scat DNA samples will be collected over the entire tiger reserve to estimate the minimum tiger numbers in reserves. SCIENTIFIC COLLABORATION “Each patrolling team will be equipped with a GPS unit and a digital camera besides the regular equipment (e.g. firearms, wireless, torch, etc),” says the NTCA protocol. COLLABORATION “The new protocols will enable State Forest Departments to formally collaborate with qualified scientists, and enable them to move up a ladder of technical progress, from estimating minimum number of tigers to robust estimates of population density, change in numbers over time, survival and other crucial parameters,” said Prof. Karanth. http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/karnataka/article3323905.ece

Tiger and python skins seized in Erode

TNN | Apr 17, 2012, 06.02AM IST COIMBATORE: Three people were arrested by forest officials at Kanchikovil near Perundurai in Erode district late on Sunday night while trying to smuggle tiger and python skins said to worth about Rs 4 crore. Forest officials began conducting a check of vehicles in the area following information from Chennai that some people were attempting to sell skins of protected wild animals and reptiles, Erode forest conservator D Arun told TOI. A special team comprising assistant conservator of forest D Chandran and range forest officer K Ravichandran checked a vehicle on the Erode-Coimbatore Highway and interrogated those travelling in it. The officials seized tiger and python skins from a bag kept inside the vehicle. The arrested have been identified as L Ashwin (22), a resident of Chennai, and Vincent Babu Raj (47) and Balamurugan(35), both from Tirupur. The arrested were produced on Monday in a Perundurai court which remanded them in judicial custody. The forest department officials have sent the seized skins to a laboratory in Chennai. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/coimbatore/Tiger-and-python-skins-seized-in-Erode/articleshow/12698113.cms

Birthday of tiger cubs celebrated in Panna reserve

PTI | 10:04 PM,Apr 16,2012 Panna(MP), Apr 16(PTI)Panna Tiger Reserve celebrated the birthday of four tiger cubs today who were born here two years ago after successfully translocating a tiger and few tigresses from different reserves. A tigress gave birth to four cubs on April 16, 2010 after successful translocation of a tiger and few tigresses from other reserves, an official release said. Since then, their birthday has been celebrated by the reserve management every year on April 16. A male tiger and four tigresses were already translocated to the Panna reserve while one more tiger will be shifted after some time, it said. Of the four tigresses, two are wild while the remaining two are reared in semi-wild conditions. Out of these four tigresses, three successfully gave birth to tiger cubs four times. A total of 14 cubs were born so far in the reserve out of which two died in September 2010, the release said. One of the cubs was recently deserted by the tigress identified as T-1 following which the animal was being kept under the close watch of forest officials in captivity. Remaining cubs are learning the art of hunting with their mothers in wild areas of the reserve. An experiment was also successfully carried out to make two tigresses wild from semi-wild conditions. These two tigresses were identified as T-4 and T-5 and T-4 recently gave birth to two cubs, the release added.

Baby boom in Ranthambore, two new tiger cubs spotted

HT Correspondent, Hindustan Times Ranthambore is witnessing a baby boom. Two new tiger cubs were recently sighted in the national park, taking the number of cubs born at the tiger reserve in the last 10 months to 20. The total number of tigers in Ranthambore in southeast Rajasthan has now gone up to 46 - 26 adults (12 male, 14 female) and 20 cubs. Of these, two cubs delivered by tigress T13 have been missing for a while. The new cubs were delivered by tigress T9 in Zone 5, which is close to Padra village. The inhabitants of the village were recently shifted out of the park to allow more space for the big cats. “This is a success of the rehabilitation of villagers from the core tiger habitat. We need to protect the natural habitat so that the big cats survive on their own," said Dharmendra Khandal, conservation biologist at Tiger Watch, an NGO, in Ranthambhore. Another village, Kathuli, will also be shifted out of the park soon. Conservationists believe more areas need to be developed as tiger habitats. http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/Jaipur/Baby-boom-in-Ranthambore-two-new-tiger-cubs-spotted/Article1-841635.aspx

Water crisis: Tigers travel miles to quench thirst

TNN | Apr 17, 2012, 02.26AM IST HYDERABAD: It's not denizens alone who seem to be reeling under a severe water crisis this summer. Even animals in the state's largest tiger belt, the Nagarjunasagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve (NSTR), are hit by the shortage with only a handful of manually filled 'saucer pits' to quench their thirst. The smaller lakes in the tiger reserve, with a tiger population estimated between 52 and 67, have dried up. Experts note that the tigers usually travel the 25 km distance to reach Krishna river in search of water and could be doing the same now. While the shortage of water seems to be most severe this time around, experts note that the NSTR belt has always been a parched region. Tigers in the belt, they say, are often forced to travel to the Krishna to quench their thirst. "This belt, which is a plateau, is known for water crises. The poor monsoon has aggravated the situation this time," said R K Rao, a former forest officer who has worked extensively in this area during his tenure. The area received just about 70 mm rainfall last monsoon as against the average rainfall of 650 mm it records every year. Adding to the woes of the animals is the rising mercury level that has dried up half a dozen small lakes and streams dotting the reserve forest. Tribals manually fill the handful of 'saucer pits' every alternate day. But that isn't enough considering the large cattle population in the area. "These saucer pits are often emptied by cattle grazing there. Water is barely left for the wild animals," said Farida Tamal, state director of World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF-India) that has now joined hands with the AP forest department to set up solar pumps in this belt. The pumps, Tampal explains, will help fill percolation pits within the forest area and thereby restrict the movement of tigers apart from addressing the water shortage. The pumps are expected to be installed over the next few weeks. Experts stress on the need to address the problem soon as they fear that the shortage might compel tigers to venture into dangerous terrain, increasing the number of man-animal conflicts. "When there is no water available in the vicinity, animals tend to cross the forest limits to reach water bodies or other sources of water (like a hand pump or borewell) located close to habitations. This is perilous," Tampal said. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Water-crisis-Tigers-travel-miles-to-quench-thirst/articleshow/12696573.cms

No evacuations near Kawal Sanctuary

Express News Service HYDERABAD: Even as the tribes living surrounding the Kawal Wildlife Sanctuary (KWS) in the Jannaram forests of Adilabad district are up in arms against the proposed development of the sanctuary, the state forest department has made it clear that no rehabilitation package will be provided to the local communities as the proposed project would not affect any individual or community in the area. Many rumours on KWS and evacuation of local communities are doing the rounds. Some political leaders are spreading it for their own benefits. Government would not provide any special package for the local communities, said A Shankaran, deputy conservator of forests. He said there is no truth in the allegations that many tribal families will be shifted out of Tiger Reserve by giving rehabilitation packages. “There is no need to evacuate 45 enclosures in the tiger reserve as livelihood of tribes will not be affected. Moreover, the government has not announced that every family around the KWS would be given `10 lakh as compensation,” Shankaran said. This is only a rumour that the Centre has sanctioned `45 crore for the tiger reserve, he said. The KWS is being contemplated to protect, restore, manage and maintain representative biodiversity of the Deccan Plateau in Sahyadri mountain ranges. The project is also aiming at conservation of ecological processes and wild gene pool with focus on tigers. http://ibnlive.in.com/news/no-evacuations-near-kawal-sanctuary/249398-60-114.html

Highways through Indian tiger reserves will destroy habitat

Last Updated: Monday, April 16, 2012, 12:04 0 New Delhi: As India strives hard to protect its big cats, a study in a tiger reserve has found that busy highways and excessive road expansion will destroy wildlife populations and their habitats in the long term, as large mammals avoid such areas. The study, a copy of which is available with IANS, comes at a time when there are just 1,706 tigers left in the country and a debate is on over according the green nod to construction of highways through various tiger reserves. The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and the Centre for Wildlife Studies carried out a preliminary study examining the impact of vehicular traffic on the usage of road edges by large mammals -- elephants, chital (spotted deer), tiger, leopard, gaur (Indian bison) and wild pigs -- along a highway passing through Nagarahole Tiger Reserve in Karnataka. The team of experts estimated large mammal encounter rates using remotely triggered camera traps on two consecutive sections -- one closed to vehicular traffic and the other open to vehicles only during daytime -- of the Mysore-Mananthavadi Highway, passing through the tiger reserve. "We observed lower encounter rates of chital, gaur and elephants at camera traps in the highway segment with higher vehicular traffic density, suggesting that these species avoided busy highways," said Sanjay Gubbi of WCS-India programme. In all, a total of 681 animal trails intersected the highway. "The density of animal trails along the highway closed to traffic was over 40 percent higher than the one open to vehicular movement, suggesting a greater use of road edges by animals in the nearly vehicle-free segment," said Gubbi. For species such as the wild pig, tiger and leopard, the photo-capture rates were zero-inflated and a more sustained monitoring overtime may enable a better assessment of how these species respond to vehicular traffic along highways. The study pointed out that while there are legally mandated assessments of the potential ecological impacts of such infrastructure projects prior to implementation, rarely are there post-implementation assessments of their real ecological impacts. "Despite the fact that roads could affect numerous endangered wildlife species, there have been virtually no studies assessing their impacts, especially on large-bodied animals. As a result, the impact of roads and vehicular traffic on larger endangered species remains poorly understood in India," the study said. Based on our findings, the study emphasises the importance of continued ecological impact assessments of development projects to identify and mitigate unforeseen impacts. "Further, an approach to development planning that integrates conservation concerns, especially where development projects coincide with ecologically critical areas, is urgently needed in India," it said. The study said sustaining India's growth story is possible only if ecological safeguards, such as environment impact assessment, are not forsaken in the pursuit of economic growth and human development. "If India is serious about achieving this balance, there is no escape but to invest in a more holistic process of development planning that includes - rather than ignores - the conservation of its priceless natural heritage," it added. IANS http://zeenews.india.com/news/eco-news/highways-through-indian-tiger-reserves-will-destroy-habitat_770181.html

Tadoba locals get share in tourism money

Vijay Pinjarkar, TNN | Apr 16, 2012, 03.41AM IST NAGPUR: Two years ago, when the buffer zone to Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) was to be notified, villagers in the area opposed the move. They thought the decision would put restrictions on them. Instead, tigers are bringing money for these very villages in the buffer zone of TATR. The TATR has recently released Rs 27 lakh to 53 villages in the periphery of TATR. Besides, Rs 1.30 crore has also been released under Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) for various developmental works. "The money was collected by us from tourism receipts in the last two years and deposited in the tiger conservation foundation (TCF)," said V K Sinha, chief conservator of forests (CCF) & field director of TATR. "This is one of the reasons why we increased gate fee to Rs 500," he added. This is for the first time that buffer villages have got their share in tourism money. The amount was deposited in the bank accounts of eco-development committees (EDCs), joint forest management committees (JFMCs) and forest protection committees (FPCs). Of the 53 villages, 16 have EDCs while others have JFMC and FPCs. "We have fulfilled our promise made last year to the villagers," said Sinha. It is learnt that business majors BILT and Western Coalfields Limited (WCL) have also offered help to villages in buffer. Notifying buffer zones around tiger reserves has become mandatory under the tiger conservation plan (TCP) after amendments in Section 38V of the Wildlife Protection Act (1972) on September 4, 2006. The TCP aims at protection of tiger reserve and providing site specific habitat inputs for a viable population of tigers, co-predators and prey animals. The villages include Bhagwanpur in Mul where Botezari and part of Kolsa villages inside TATR have been resettled. "There was a demand for solar lights in Bhagwanpur. The amount will be utilised for that," said Sinha. Most of the amount will be spent on procuring cooking gas as these villages put huge biotic pressure on forests for firewood. These villages are in the process of finalizing their micro plans after which more aid is expected. An amount of Rs 3.50 lakh has also been granted under the centrally sponsored scheme (CSS) to repair gobar gas units in villages around Tadoba. These units were non-functional for years together for want of spare parts. "It's not a big amount but symbolic to send a message that buffer zone is bringing money. If not much, Rs 51,000 can help at least 17 villagers procure cooking gas. We've asked the committees not to make any discrimination while preparing list of beneficiaries. More money from other government sources will flow in," Sinha told TOI. Bandu Dhotre, founder of wildlife protection NGO Eco-Pro, hailed the move. "It will ensure integrity of TATR and promote co-existence between wildlife and human activity," Dhotre said. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/Tadoba-locals-get-share-in-tourism-money/articleshow/12682262.cms

Adivasis up in arms against Kawal Tiger Project

Nagaraju Koppula HYDERABAD: Tribal organisations and Adivasi leaders are up in arms against the government’s recent declaration on Kawal Wildlife Sanctuary in the Jannaram forests of Adilabad district, and are planning protest rallies and awareness meeting from April 20. Ever since the government announced on April 11 that the sanctuary would be developed, tribal leaders with their respective communities conducted meetings on the issue across the state, and decided to intensify the agitation against development of KWS, according to Midiam Babu Rao, former CPM MP and state president of Girijana Sangham. "We are going to form a group with NGOs working for tribal rights in the state, and will launch rallies and campaigns against the tiger reserve project. Rallies will be held first in the four mandals of Jannaram, Kadem, Gutnoor and Mancherial in Adilabad district. Simultaneously, campaigns will be launched in nine Integrated Tribal Development Agencies in the state,'' he said. The Adivasi leaders demand immediate withdrawal of the government's plan on the sanctuary. “If government wants to work on KWS, it has to hold gram sabhas, conduct socio-economic survey and find out the net present value (NPV) of individuals and tribals in villages which will be affected. We will allow the sanctuary project if the government fulfils our demands and provide reasonable compensation, resettlement and rehabilitation to the tribals,” Babu Rao said, recalling a “bitter'' experience with regard to RR package for the Srisailam tiger reserve and the elephant park in Srikakulam and Vizianagaram districts. “This time the government cannot cheat us,'' he said. The Kawal Wildlife sanctuary will be the second tiger reserve in the state and the 41st in the country. It is being contemplated to protect, manage and maintain representative biodiversity of the Deccan plateau of Sahyadri mountain ranges along with ecological processes and conservation of wild gene pool with focus on the tiger. About 800 families in 42 tribal habitations around the project site have been dependent on the forest. Adivasis argue that they will face livelihood problem and lose their constitutional safeguards if they are evacuated from the forest. But forest department officials discount the fears. They say the tribals can continue to lead their life as they have been. There will be no relocation of any villager as no village will be affected by the project, says B Ramakrishna Rao, divisional forest officer (wildlife), Jannaram. The government will definitely provide alternative means to those who depend on forests for livelihood. Those who depend on collection of firewood will be given subsidised gas connection. Cattle grazing will continue in modules to be created for the purpose and small-scale industries will be set up to create employment for tribes, he assures. http://ibnlive.in.com/news/adivasis-up-in-arms-against-kawal-tiger-project/249098-60-121.html

National Tiger Conservation Authority adopts refined tiger estimation protocols

Vijay Pinjarkar, TNN | Apr 16, 2012, 03.38AM IST NAGPUR: Starting today the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) adopted new refined protocols for intensive monitoring of tiger source populations under the phase IV exercise of national tiger estimation. K Ullas Karanth, director, Wildlife Conservation Society-India, and Centre for Wildlife Studies (CWS), Bangalore, and his colleagues were working with NTCA and Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun, in a supportive technical role, in developing these protocols since 2009. "When implemented fully, these refinements will put India's tiger monitoring programme well ahead of any other monitoring programme for big cats, anywhere in the world," Karanth said. Karnataka and Maharashtra are already implementing the new protocols. In this regard, the spirit of innovation was also shown by Rajesh Gopal, member secretary of NTCA, and PR Sinha, director of WII, in the complex process of balancing science, involved in introducing these refinements, the conservation zoologist said. Karanth said that the new protocols will enable state forest departments to formally collaborate with qualified scientists, and enable them to move up a ladder of technical progress, from estimating minimum number of tigers to robust estimates of population density, change in number over time, survival and other crucial parameters. Relevant parts of the protocol specify strict standards for conduct of camera trap and fecal DNA surveys of important source populations of tigers as well as conduct of line transect surveys of prey. These protocols will work in tandem with a national tiger photographic data base repository to be developed and maintained at NTCA. The collaborative process envisaged in the monitoring process is also expected to bring wider participation of qualified scientists as well as greater transparency and rigour to the tasks of data collection and analyses. The tiger reserves in Maharashtra are following the new protocol. AK Mishra, chief conservator of forests (CCF) & field director of Melghat Tiger Reserve (MTR), said the protocol was discussed between NTCA and field directors of reserves in a series of meetings since August 2011. The new protocol has two major procedures viz. transect walking over transects of two-three km each with a view to assess prey densities but actual number of prey animals is not the objective. And secondly, to estimate the minimum number of tigers by using camera traps. "In MTR transect process was completed in February. The camera traps have been put in the field since March 10, 2012. The underlying objective is to get all the possible photos of tigers from high probability areas of the reserve. At the end all these photos will be analysed to assess minimum number of tigers and assign a name to each tiger," said Mishra. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/National-Tiger-Conservation-Authority-adopts-refined-tiger-estimation-protocols/articleshow/12682238.cms

Demand for Khandesh tiger reserve heats up

Vijay Pinjarkar, TNN | Apr 16, 2012, 02.57AM IST NAGPUR: With the state government notifying three new sanctuaries adjoining Navegaon, Nagzira and Bor recently, a demand for Khandesh tiger reserve in Jalgaon has cropped up by combining Yawal wildlife sanctuary and adjoining Vadoda forest range, which is brimming with tigers. On March 22, a tiger was found in a camera trap in Vadoda range of Jalgaon division. On September 7, TOI had reported how tigers have come back in Jalgaon district after a long gap. This forest enclave provides a habitat to several endangered species like leopards, sloth bear, blackbucks and other herbivores. Records show that a tigress delivered 3 cubs on January 2001 in Dolarkheda. In December 2007, two more cubs and a tigress was reportedly spotted. In 2011, pugmarks of tiger cubs were found. "The Vadoda range lies under the direct drainage of Hatnur dam on Tapi river. Hatnur's backwaters have turned into a good habitat with dense forests, natural vegetation and sufficient water. Tigers inhabit here as this area is well protected and undistributed," said Rajendra Nannaware, convenor of Satpuda Bachao Kriti Samiti, which is pushing for the Khandesh tiger reserve. He added, tigers move from Wan-Ambabarwa-Yawal towards Western Ghats. Nannaware said the samiti's future action plan includes conducting a ground level survey in Vadoda and Yawal sanctuary and publish a white paper on tiger habitat in the region. "We also plan to organise a state level tiger conference from October 24 to 26 in Jalgaon," he said. The camera trap picture was also shared with National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA). S P Yadav, deputy inspector general (DIG), NTCA, has said that he will take up the issue with state authorities. Satpuda ranges in Khandesh are known for its tall mountains and rich bio-diversity. The topology is ideal for wildlife, with rare species of flora and fauna nestling here. Yawal is 177.50 sq km while Vadoda range is 145 sq km. Khandesh is a low rainfall area and much of the district's water comes from forests of Satpuda ranges to the north. Yawal and its adjoining forests are sources to vital rivers, the largest being Sukkin and Aner, on which dams have been constructed in Jalgaon and Dhulia districts respectively. Water conservation is also key issue in Satpuda ranges. The samiti is a network of environmental organisations in Khandesh. With the initiative of School of Environment and Khandesh Nature Conservation Society (KNCS), this network is handling various environmental issues of the region. "We are working on impact of Forest Right Act (FRA) on forest and tiger conservation in Satpuda. We are claiming presence of tigers in the region for past several years, but forest authorities believed it only after sightings," said Nannaware. Some Facts Of The Matter - There were 14 cattle kills by tigers in Yawal between 1994-95 and 2003-04. Yawal is under threat from encroachments - On August 26, 2011, DR Patil, range forest officer (RFO), Vadoda, accepted presence of tigress with cubs in his area and demanded additional funds for conservation - Jalgaon district collector Dnyaneshwar Rajurkar formally announced presence of tigers in Vadoda on July 25, 2011 - Between March 18, 2011, movement of tiger was found in Savkheda near Pal forest in Raver taluka - On December 5, 2010 movement of two tigers was found near Bahipur in Nandurbar district. The spot is between Aner and Toranmal sanctuary of Khandesh http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/Demand-for-Khandesh-tiger-reserve-heats-up/articleshow/12681801.cms

'I want legal status for tiger capital'

Vijay Pinjarkar, TNN | Apr 16, 2012, 03.01AM IST NAGPUR: Seven-time Congress MP Vilas Muttemwar seems to be very passionate about tigers. He is perhaps the only politician who has volunteered to talk about forests and tigers and their conservation while promoting tourism. With tigers beaming in Vidarbha, TOI had launched the 'Waghpur' campaign in 2011 which led to former union minister for environment & forests Jairam Ramesh declaring Nagpur as the 'Gateway to tiger country'. However, Muttemwar has gone a step ahead and proposed Nagpur as the 'Tiger Capital of the World'. He has even written to prime minister Manmohan Singh, MoEF Jayanthi Natarajan and chief minister Prithviraj Chavan. He also raised the issue in Lok Sabha. TOI talked to Muttemwar on his plans and ideas on the issue. Excerpts from an interview... Q. What is your opinion about 'Waghpur' and the idea behind declaring Nagpur as the 'Tiger capital of the world'? A. Waghpur was TOI's campaign aimed at tiger tourism and conservation, but let me tell you I was the first to raise the issue with Jairam Ramesh on August 3, 2009. The basic idea is Nagpur, with its tiger population of 300-odd tigers and sanctuaries within 270km radius, can be put at an international level. Half of this tiger population is in Vidarbha. These areas are frequented by tourists because of better connectivity from Nagpur. On an average, 8 million foreign tourists visit India annually. If we could divert even one-tenth of them here, Vidarbha's economy could get a big boost. Q. Do you have any concrete proposal on the world capital status? A. Vidarbha's rich biodiversity, wildlife and many historical places themselves are its big strengths. Adventure tourism also has big scope. The state has to play a proactive role if it really wants to take the tiger capital idea forward. It will have to do strong marketing at the global level, develop better roads and accommodation facilities for visitors. I had written to union tourism minister Subodh Kant Sahay in March to include Vidarbha in 'Incredible India'. The campaign shows Ganga, Banaras etc but misses on Vidarbha's tourism potential. I will once again push for it. It is true that tourism is confined to Ajanta and Ellora and Vidarbha is neglected but again the state should target foreigners, many of whom come scouting for tigers. I'm sorry to state that the region's coal potential is exploited but not tourism. Just as Taj Mahal is being explored, tiger tourism should also be promoted here. Q. There is a suggestion to incorporate small steps like announcements at airport, railway station and setting up of a separate Vidarbha Tourism Development Corporation (VTDC) to promote the tiger capital? A. I feel these are small steps that won't make any big difference. Nagpur as the tiger capital will flourish only when it gets a legal sanctity. The aim of promoting the tiger capital is not only tourism but also to make it a safe haven for tigers. There should be the conservation angle to tourism. It needs to be supplemented by protecting corridors, steps like relocation of villages in reserves for which I've sought Rs 100 crore in one go. Funds in piecemeal will delay the process. Another issue is poaching which needs to be tackled are by setting up a special task force for reserves as well as outside. In the last five months, 7 tigers died in Maharashtra, which is alarming. Many resorts are coming up near Tadoba and are blocking the corridor. These resorts should be 10km away from the reserve. Q. Do you think we should look beyond sanctuaries and tiger reserves to promote tourism? A. Yes. There is a point. Tourism in parks like Tadoba and Nagzira have reached a flash point. It's high time areas like Bor, Mansingdeo, Tipeshwar and Melghat and buffer areas around protected areas (PAs) are promoted. The three new sanctuaries around Bor, Nagzira and Navegaon should be developed soon. Besides, Umred-Karangla where there are tigers should be expedited as sanctuary to ease pressure on Tadoba. Our PA network in Vidarbha may stretch up to 4,000 sq km but the area outside these PAs may be five times more to be developed for tourism. Areas outside Tadoba and Nagzira too have tigers. Q. What is your interest in Nagpur as tiger capital? A. Those who say I'm doing it for publicity think it's cheap. It's true that the tiger increases popularity but I'm serious about what I'm saying. I don't run an NGO or a travel agency to think about tourism commercially. I remember the dialogue of superstar Amitabh Bachchan in 'Deewar' - "Mere pass maa hai." I'm also proud to say: "Mere pass sheer hai." I have requested Natarajan to organize a brainstorming session in Nagpur involving NTCA, stakeholders, officials, experts, tour operators and others to boost ecotourism in the region. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/I-want-legal-status-for-tiger-capital/articleshow/12681834.cms

Save the tiger

TNN | Apr 16, 2012, 06.41AM IST The Shri Ram School, Moulsari Campus, hosted the annual Kids for Tigers Fest on April 13. The event saw the participation of over 20 schools across the NCR. A number of activities were conducted, including Nukkad Natak, Kabbad se Juggad and Music from Junk. The day started off with the inauguration ceremony, which introduced the Tiger Ambassadors appointed by the Sanctuary Magazine. Each school was given a food and games stall to set up and run, the proceeds of which will be used for the development of the villages around Ranthambore. Younger children participated in the fancy dress event where they each dressed up as endangered animals and delivered monologues urging the audience to save the species. An eco-fashion show was also held where participants sported outfits made out of scrap and recyclable materials. Senior students took part in Nukkad Natak. Each team presented a street play revolving around various environmental issues such as conservation, the impact of industrialisation and pollution. Recycling was at its best in the events Kubbad se Juggad and Music from Junk. The teams arrived with designs for their various projects such as periscopes to be made out of junk. In the musical display, the rhythms and harmonies created, using a variety of scrap objects were innovative and imaginative. The event was organised by a representative of KFT, Sharmistha Adyanathya, along with the student organisers , the TSRS Head of Environmental Initiatives, Sarthak Malhotra and his team. Although chaotic, food, fun and cheer prevailed while the school buzzed with excitement, celebrating a renewed zest and spirit for saving the tiger. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/education/news/Save-the-tiger/articleshow/12683638.cms

Forest staff come close to catching elusive big cat

TNN | Apr 13, 2012, 03.22AM IST LUCKNOW: In the first positive development at Rahmankhera, the strategy to dig a deep pit to trap the tiger, has worked. The big cat fell into the pit on Wednesday night. Though it escaped, it has given the tracking team a hope that the idea would work. The forest department has dug up a 10 feet deep pit at the spot where the feline has made kills and covered it. A bait has been tied close to the pit to lure the tiger. The tiger tracking operation has been continuing at Rahmankhera for past three months. The earlier attempts to trap the trap proved futile. The tracking team will continue with the practice of tying a bait close to the pit. The suggestion to dig a pit was made by wildlife enthusiasts, who have been following the Rahmankhera operation. "Had they dug a bigger pit, the tiger might have been trapped," said Sanjay Narayan, secretary, Tiger and Terrain. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/lucknow/Forest-staff-come-close-to-catching-elusive-big-cat/articleshow/12643947.cms

Kawal Sanctuary notified as Tiger Reserve

Express News Service HYDERABAD: Much to the delight of animal-lovers and environmentalists, the state government on Tuesday notified the Kawal Wildlife Sanctuary in Adilabad district as Tiger Reserve. About 893 sqkm of the wildlife sanctuary has been notified as core area, while another 1,123 sqkm area has been declared buffer zone for the tiger reserve. Each tiger reserve has a core area where no development activity is allowed and the buffer zone also has restrictions on the developmental works. Though the Centre gave its nod for the tiger reserve in June last year, it was delayed due to various reasons. Kawal is the 42nd tiger reserve in the country. By declaring Kawal a tiger reserve, the government expects an increase in the number of tigers, especially in central Indian landscape. Currently, the wildlife sanctuary has about 20 tigers as per an unofficial count. India's tiger population has increased from 1,411 in 2006 to 1,706 in 2010 but their habitat area shrunk by about 22 per cent. With the earning of 'Tiger reserve' tag, the Kawal Sanctuary will be provided more funds through the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) to help Kawal grow as a tiger habitat. Better security will be provided to bring down poaching and felling of trees that would help in improving herbivorous population leading to better tiger breeding. The main objective for the declaration of Kawal Tiger Reserve is ''to protect, restore, manage and maintain representative biodiversity of Deccan plateau of Sahyadri Mountain Ranges along with ecological processes and conservation of wild gene pool with a focus on Tiger." Kawal Tiger Reserve represents the typical floral and fauna of the Deccan Plateau. The reserve with dense Teak (Tectona grandis) and bamboo (Dendrocalmus strictus) forests is enriched with 673 other species of plants. It is also abode for a variety of wild animals including 23 insect species, 10 species of amphibians, 34 reptile species, 267 bird species and 75 species of mammals like Royal Bengal Tiger, Gaur, wild dog and Sloth bear. http://ibnlive.in.com/news/kawal-sanctuary-notified-as-tiger-reserve/247688-60-114.html

Madhya Pradesh: a decade full of tiger deaths and just two convictions?

MAHIM PRATAP SINGH A view of the Panna Tiger Reserve. File photo: R. Sreenivasa Murthy Madhya Pradesh, once famous as the “tiger state”, lost 453 tigers over the last decade. And how many culprits did the state government manage to bring to book? Just two. Recently accessed documents reveal only two cases of tiger poaching reached the logical conclusion of conviction. Sample the facts: according to the tiger conservation programme “Project Tiger”, the tiger population in Madhya Pradesh in 2001-02 stood at 710. However, the 2011 tiger census revealed there were only 257 tigers left in the State's six tiger reserves — Bandhavgarh, Kanha, Panna, Bori-Satpura, Sanjay Dubri, and Pench. This means the State lost 453 tigers between 2001 and 2011. Yet, the State forest department could manage only two convictions during this period, as of March 2012. According to information accessed by wildlife activist Ajay Dube under the Right to Information act, two cases of tiger poaching were punished with three years rigorous imprisonment along with a fine of Rs. 10,000 each. While one of the cases was from the Umaria forest division that covers the Bandhavgarh tiger reserve, the other was from the Sehora division covering the Kanha Tiger Reserve. Besides the two convictions for tiger poaching, the forest department got three convictions for the poaching of four leopards in three separate cases. The decadal decline in the big cat population in the state is alarming. At 453, it is almost half the number of tigers lost globally (1069) over the last decade (2000 to 2010), according to a recent report by TRAFFIC international, a wildlife trade monitoring network (http://www.traffic.org/species-reports/traffic_species_mammals60.pdf) “The prosecution is so weak that poachers have no fear of the law and they know that they would eventually get away,” says wildlife activist Ajay Dube. Last year's census figures resulted in Madhya Pradesh losing the “Tiger state” sobriquet to Karnataka, which recorded over 300 big cats. Madhya Pradesh's tiger conservation efforts were exposed for the first time in 2009, when it was suddenly revealed that Panna, one of the State's premier tiger reserves, had lost its entire big cat population. Later, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan faced fire from conservationists after he announced there would be no buffer zone for the Panna Tiger Reserve and that the proposed Ratapani Tiger Reserve would not be established as both developments would cause the displacement of a large number of people. However, official sources have repeatedly confirmed to The Hindu that both developments were being delayed to protect the interests of the powerful mining lobby in the two regions. Further doubts on the State's conservation efforts were cast by a confidential report of the Panna Tiger Reserve's field director, who claimed forest officials were acting in collusion with poachers, thus maintaining a consistent threat to the revival of tiger population in the reserve. http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/article3287696.ece

Tiger carcass found 10 days after death

HT Correspondent, Hindustan Times Dehradun, April 08, 2012 Forest officials recovered the carcass of a 10-year-old male tiger at the Corbett Tiger Reserve in Uttarakhand on Sunday. The carcass, which seemed to be around 10 days old, was found near a drain in the Bijrani Range of the national park. Wildlife activists have accused Corbett officials of negligence and questioned the reserve’s patrolling operations. “The tiger carcass was lying near Savalde drain for 10 days and no one came to know about it. Such carelessness could have proved profitable for animal part smugglers,” said Rajendra Agarwal, state head of Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI), a Delhi-based NGO. The tiger’s body parts were intact and a post-mortem carried out according to National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) protocol confirmed it was a natural death. “The possibility of poaching has been ruled out,” CK Kavidayal, deputy director the reserve, told HT. http://www.hindustantimes.com/News-Feed/Uttarakhand/Tiger-carcass-found-10-days-after-death/Article1-837559.aspx

SC orders states to notify tiger reserve buffer zone in 3 months

TNN | Apr 4, 2012, 02.15AM IST NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the state governments to demarcate and notify buffer zone around each tiger reserves within three months, an order that would regulate commercialization of revenue land around these tiger habitats to help preserve the endangered species. A bench of Justices Dalveer Bhandari and Dipak Misra passed this order after the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) informed that about 15 tiger reserves were yet to have the benefit of buffer zone to be notified by the state governments under the Wild Life (Protection) Act. The Act defines buffer zone as the area peripheral to the critical tiger habitat or core area providing supplementary habitat for dispersing tigers, besides offering scope for co-existence of human activity. The limits of the buffer/ peripheral areas are to be determined on the basis of scientific and objective criteria in consultation with the Gram Sabha and an Expert Committee constituted for the purpose. A petition by conservationist Ajay Dubey had demanded removal commercial tourism activities out of core or critical tiger habitat in the tiger reserves. The bench felt the purpose would be served by asking the states to compulsorily declare the "core" and "buffer" areas. Though many states had complied with the core area notification, the buffer zone notification was missing in key tiger reserves of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Bihar. Issuing notice to the defaulting states, the bench said, "We direct all concerned states to notify the buffer/peripheral area as required under the Act as expeditiously as possible and in all event within a period of three months." The erring tiger reserves included Ranthambore (Rajasthan), Panna (Madhya Pradesh), Sariska (Rajasthan), Dudhwa (Uttar Pradesh), Palamau (Jharkhand), Anamalai, Mudumalai and Kalakad-Mudanthurai (Tamil Nadu), Nagarhole (Karnataka), Sahyadri (Maharashtra), Valmiki (Bihar), and Pakke (Arunachal Pradesh). The Court noted that an expert committee of NTCA under the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) is expected to submit a report on framing of guidelines relating to eco-tourism in and around tiger reserves. The committee is expected to cover issues related to restrictions on tourism-related activities to be carried out in the buffer areas while keeping core tiger habitat "inviolate". NTCA's advocate Wasim A Quadri said the committee would submit a report by May 16. The matter was posted for hearing next on July 10. Welcoming the SC order, senior advocate Raj Panjwani, who was assisting as amicus curiae, said it would go a long way in protection and preservation of tiger reserves. By this order, the states were required to delineate the fringe/buffer area around the core zones of tiger reserves, and submit a tiger conservation plan as required under Section 38V of the Wild Life Protection Amendment Act, 2006, to ensure wildlife conservation while addressing the livelihood issues of local people. The buffer zone constituted of fringe areas of tiger reserve up to a radial distance of 10 km, which had in the past witnessed large scale construction of hotels, mass tourism, and night safaris - all disturbing the roaming of wild animals at night in search of corridors. The National Tiger Conservation Authority had said that the fringe areas had corridor value and their ecological sustainability was important to prevent the area from becoming ecological sinks on account of overuse of resources and unwise land use. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/developmental-issues/SC-orders-states-to-notify-tiger-reserve-buffer-zone-in-3-months/articleshow/12525438.cms

Camera trapping reveals 35 species in Namdhapa Sanctuary

Last Updated: Wednesday, April 04, 2012, 13:04 0 Tags: Namdhapa Sanctuary, Tiger reserve, Arunachal Pradesh Itanagar: Despite unabated poaching of tigers in the Namdapha Wildlife Sanctuary & Tiger Reserve in Changlang district of Arunachal Pradesh, a recent camera trapping exercise has revealed existence of 35 species of various animals, including tigers and leopards. The exercise was carried out by a Guwahati-based NGO Aaranyak with the logistic support provided by the NWSTR from the first week of February to March 29 last for a detailed report on tigers and their prey base animals, field director S J Jongsam said in a report. Four camp sites at Happy Valley, Hornbill Farm base with base camp at Deban were set up inside the Tiger Reserve for the purpose. Eighty cameras were installed on multiple locations in the reserve identified as potential tiger habitats covering almost 25 per cent of the total geographical area of the Tiger Reserve. “The consistent efforts of the team finally paid off when cameras sighted tiger pugmarks. Thirteen scat samples, thought to be of tiger origin, have been sent for an analysis to the genetic laboratory of Aaranyak at Guwahati,” Jongsam disclosed. The entire observation drill cost around Rs 19 lakh, which included procurement of stationeries, camp equipment, ration and payment of wages to porters who were engaged for transportation of material to the various base camps, Jongsam said. The camera trapping exercise did not go smoothly, though. On several occasions the frontline staff and members of Aaranyak were fired upon at Bulbulia and Kodboi areas and their base camps destroyed by suspected poachers. One of the major threats faced by the authorities is the organised poaching of tigers by 84 Lisu families living in the core area of the reserve. They were suspected to have fired upon a high level team led by PCCF (wildlife & biodiversity) J L Singh on February 28, besides recovery of a few iron-made Burmese traps set up all along the routes that had pug marks of tigers. They were also suspected to have stolen 24 memory cards and eight of the 80 cameras set up on a 300 square km area, Jongsam said. Jongsam said that in order to tackle the activities of miscreants and poachers and to save the tiger population and its prey base, a well-equipped and regular Tiger Protection Force is essential for the park. The reserve, having nearly 2000 sq km of area, has only about 60 employees to administer, monitor and protect it. Capacity building and equipment upgradation continue to remain key concerns of the reserve's management. Namdapha, one of India’s major biosphere reserves and a national park, came under Project Tiger in 1983 and is spread over 1,985 sq kms with a core area of 1,808 sq kms. It is the only reserve in India that is home to four big cats. The 2010 tiger census which had projected only 25 tigers 11 in NWSTR and 14 in Pakke Tiger Reserve (PTR) in East Kameng district has partially changed with PTR already recording 17 individual big cats till the last count. PTI

Lineman injured in tiger attack

TNN | Apr 3, 2012, 05.48AM IST BAHRAICH: A lineman was injured in tiger attack while clearing the signal line at Murtiha railway station under Katarniaghat wildlife sanctuary. He was admitted to railway hospital. Reporteldy Gokul Express down train number 15316 was about to arrive at Murtiha railway station from Mathura. Lineman Rauf Ahmad (56) with his colleague Jagdamba was going to the west end of the railway station to clear the signal. Jagdamba stopped in the midway for some reason while Rauf went ahead meanwhile a tiger came out of the forest and attacked on Rauf. The train also arrived there and the tiger fled to forest after hearing the horn of the train. Assistant station master Noorul Hasan was informed and Rauf was admitted to railway hospital Gonda by Gokul Express. His condition was stated to be serious. Forest ranger of Murtiha range PL Rai said that the attack of tigers was confirmed on the basis of pug marks and the injured Rauf would be provided financial relief by the forest department. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/allahabad/Lineman-injured-in-tiger-attack/articleshow/12512987.cms

Foresters beaten up by villagers in Sariska

TNN | Apr 3, 2012, 05.44AM IST ALWAR/JAIPUR: The Sariska Tiger Reserve continued to be at the receiving end of villagers agitation for the fifth day on Monday. While the gate to the reserve and resorts near it remained shut for visitors, at least four foresters were beaten by a mob of these villagers near Nangalheri under the Talvriksh range. This despite the fact that a majority of the people, protesting under the banner of the Bharatia Kisan Union, had shifted their focus to the collectorate in Alwar. Nearly 200 persons on Monday gathered near Roopbas, and after a meeting, took out a procession to the collectorate in Alwar. The gathering included a number of villagers from the periphery of the forests. They were demanding rights for registration of villagers' land and a repair of the state highway passing through the reserve. The protestors later met Alwar collector Ashutosh A.T. However, with the collector unable to meet their demands, some of the protestors decided to stay at the collectorate for the night while the remaining ones continued with their protest at the reserve. Their demands are something that has to be addressed by the Centre. The Section 20 of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972 prevents registration of land within forest areas and there are guidelines set by the Supreme Court that has to be complied with before the road can be repaired," said the collector. As per the orders of the Supreme Court on state highway number 13, between Bhartrahari and Thanagazi, plying of commercial vehicles is to be stopped totally and other vehicles can ply only from sunset to sunrise. Along with this, plying of all vehicles has to be stopped on state highway number 29A between Sariska and Tehla via Kalighati before any repair on the above road sections. However, the forest authorites tried to execute this order for commercial vehicles in 2009 but could not succeed due to opposition by locals. Since then the traffic has been going on unrestricted and the roads have worn out. "None of the issues that the villagers are demanding is in our hands. For registration of land, the law has to be changed. And so it is useless that the villagers protest in this manner and block the gates to the reserve inconveniencing tourists to it. Most unreasonable is the fact that four of my people were beaten up. We are lodging an FIR in this regard," said RS Shekhawat, field director, Sariska. But be that as it may, Bhupat Baliya, who is leading the agitation, warned, "If our demands are not met we will soon bring in supporters of the union from Uttar Pradesh and intensify our stir." http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/jaipur/Foresters-beaten-up-by-villagers-in-Sariska/articleshow/12512944.cms

Salinity of river makes Royal Bengal tiger lose its sheen and weight

TAGS: Salinity of river makes Royal Bengal tiger lose sheen | India | Sunderban delta | West Bengal | Kolkata | South 24 Parganas district | Bangladesh A Royal Bengal tiger that had strayed being relocated to the Sunderbans. Excess of salt is bad for your health and for India's national animal as well. The once regal Royal Bengal tiger is losing its sheen - literally. And the salinity of the river water in West Bengal's Sunderban delta, which has been its home for centuries, is to be blamed for this. Recent observations by state wildlife experts have revealed serious physiological changes in this endangered cat, considered Bengal's pride. These include weight loss, shrinking size and fading lustre. Experts believe this is because of climatic change and increased salinity in the water. While the average weight of an adult Royal Bengal tiger in other parts of India is over 180kg, in the Sunderban region it has fallen to around 110kg. And it hasn't just lost weight. The length of a Sunderban tiger has come down from over 9 feet to about 8 feet. "We have noticed a huge difference in the weight of an adult Sunderban tiger as compared to other parts of the country," Pranabesh Sanyal, a retired director of the reserve forest, said. "The lustre of its coat is also fading because of the increased salinity in the river water," Sanyal, who has been working on the tiger habitation in the mangrove forest since the early 1980s, added. In 2010, the state forest department had managed to trap and weigh six tigers after they had sneaked into human habitation. The weight of all six tigers was found to be between 100 and 110kg. The tiger's weight loss is being attributed to its consumption of saline water as the number of fresh water ponds inside the core area of Sunderbans has gone down drastically because of rising salinity. Currently, the average salinity in Sunderbans is more than 21 parts per thousand (ppt), which touches 25 ppt during winter. Experts claim that the salinity level in the mangrove forest has increased 15 per cent in the last two decades. Food shortage is believed to be another reason for this weight loss. "Due to the shortage of natural fodder, a tiger has to spend more time trying to catch its prey. We have noticed a significant migration of tigers from the core area to the buffer zones because of the unavailability of food," Sanyal said. The unique feature of the Sunderban tiger is that it can swim. Located in Kolkata's neighbouring South 24 Parganas district, the Sunderbans is part of the world's largest delta formed at the confluence of the rivers Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna. It is spread over a vast area of 4,262 sq km with a major portion lying in Bangladesh. The deltaic belt, which houses a vast tract of forest and saltwater swamp, is located in the lower part of the Ganges. It extends 260km along the Bay of Bengal from the Hooghly river estuary in India to the Meghna river in Bangladesh. Shanki Ranjan Banerjee, an honorary director of Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI), also thinks food shortage to be one of the major reasons that the Royal Bengal tiger is losing its weight. "The tigers in the Sunderban delta are facing a shortage of natural fodder. Over a period of time we have also noticed that it is losing weight. It is also shrinking in size and losing its lustre," Banerjee said. He urged the West Bengal government to address this food shortage. "According to the records available with the World Wildlife Fund, there seemed to be very few tigers left in the Sunderbans. That means there should be enough number of boars and deer for the tigers to feed on," Banerjee added. But the reality seems to be far from truth. "I remember an interesting incident that dates back to 2009, when a Royal Bengal tiger ate a cobra and died in Netidhopani village of the Sunderbans. The post-mortem revealed that the tiger had died of snake venom. It happened only because of food shortage," Banerjee pointed out. Experts urged the West Bengal government to set up fresh water ponds inside the core area of the Sunderbans to stop tigers from drinking saline water. Currently, there is only one fresh water pond in the forest area. They feel the government should also encourage wild boar farming in the mangrove forests so that the tigers can get their food easily and don't have to wander into human habitation. Sources said there was a wild boar farm at Jharkhali village in the late 1980s. But it had to be closed down by the state forest department because of inept handling. With West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee busy making life difficult for the UPA government at the Centre, one wonders whether she would have time for the tigers. Read more at: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/salinity-river-royal-bengal-tiger-lose-sheen-weight/1/182549.html http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/salinity-river-royal-bengal-tiger-lose-sheen-weight/1/182549.html

Tiger tracking renewed after minister’s nudge

Express news service Posted: Apr 02, 2012 at 0323 hrs IST Lucknow The forest department is renewing its efforts to tranquilise a tiger in the Rehmankheda jungles near Lucknow, following instructions from Minister of State for Zoological Garden Shiv Pratap Yadav. While department officials are arranging for more equipment and help for the operation, experts are worried about the pressure the haste might exert on the beast. The officials are also in a dilemma over the best strategy to capture the big cat, which has been roaming in the forest for the past three months but without hurting humans. Yadav had visited the forest on Thursday and seen the tiger. According to a government press release Yadav had said that the people involved in the operation were not fully trained. He ordered officials to arrange for the required equipment to capture the tiger as soon as possible. The forest department is planning to call two more elephants from Dudhwa National Park to track the tiger. “We have asked for two more elephants so that the three teams, which are taking turns for round-the-clock surveillance in the forest, will have one elephant each,” said J S Asthana, Chief Wildlife Warden, UP. As of now, only one elephant in being used to traverse the forest. “We are also trying to rope in another expert from the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, but he is busy with another operation,” he said. Before this, the department had already called Nawab Shafath Ali Khan, the hunter who killed the Faizabad tigress in 2009 when she turned maneater, as well as K L Purohit, Assistant Director of Nandan Kanan Zoological Park, Orissa, for the operation but to no avail. Experts believe that three elephants might create pressure on the tiger, which has been living peacefully in the forest. This may prove detrimental as the tiger may venture out to human habitat. The department is also planning to add two more rope nets to trap the beast. The team has just one rope net, apart from three cages for the beast. “The rope net can cover a larger area, can be easily be shifted,” said a forest official. The caging, otherwise, tends to hurt the animal and makes it impossible for their returned to their original habitat. http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/tiger-tracking-renewed-after-ministers-nudge/931465/

Closed for outsiders, but minister latest visitor at tiger territory

TNN Mar 31, 2012, 03.37AM IST LUCKNOW: The tiger-tracking operation in Rahmankhera is at a stage where it has to get more concentrated and intensive. However, the presence of a minister and his entourage can always hamper the already sluggish momentum of the operation. Shiv Pratap Yadav, minister of state for zoological parks, UP, had visited Rahmankhera on Thursday. He was accompanied by his entourage too. The pictures taken at the spot show minister mounted on an elephant, with his men and tracking team, combing the area. A day after, even forest officials sound clueless as to what made the minister visit the spot, which the department has kept closed for 'outsiders'. Besides, nobody in the forest department is sure if he has the charge of wildlife. "He might have been sent by the CM," is only what highly-placed sources in the UP forest department could say about his visit. "He is a minister and can't be questioned," said sources, but at the same time, they do not deny that the spot should have least disturbance. The efforts to tranquilise and trap the tiger have been on in Rahmankhera for the last three months now. From January 9 till now, the tracking team, comprising forest officers and Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) personnel, has been missing every opportunity to either tranquilise or trap the tiger. The only good thing about the entire operation is that tiger has become localised around the campus of Central Institute of Subtropical Horticulture (CISH). However, VIP visits like the one on Thursday could drive the tiger away from the spot, a possibility that forest department officials do not deny. Such visits in the area will hamper the success of the operation. The minister is still an 'outsider' to the operation, and considering that he has no expertise in wildlife, his presence at ground zero can jeopardise the safety of the humans as well as the feline. If sources are to be believed, there were shots fired in the air on Thursday to turn the tiger away from the spot where minister was present. So far, the forest department has not even allowed the staff and scientists of CISH to go close to the area where it conducts the combing operation, despite the fact that it has been hampering the work at the institute. Even the wildlife experts who have been offering help to the department in safely trapping the tiger have been kept away from the spot. But ministerial visits, even the sources in the department agree, are difficult to keep off. "In such a situation like this, if anything goes amiss, it's the tiger which will be shot down," said one of the wildlife experts, wishing not to be quoted. http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-03-31/lucknow/31266971_1_tiger-forest-ministerial-visits

Glaring shortcomings noticed in tiger sanctuaries

Vijay Pinjarkar, TNN Mar 30, 2012, 01.42AM IST NAGPUR: Under criticism for its passive role post-inauguration, regional office of National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) in Nagpur is now steadily coming up. Initially set up to look after 15 tiger reserves in four states of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Odisha, the Nagpur office is at present handling more than 50% tiger reserves in the country. "Of the 41 tiger reserves in India, Nagpur is looking after 25 in 10 states," said Ravikiran Govekar, assistant inspector general (AIG). As there is no official posted in Guwahati regional office yet, the 10 tiger reserves in Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal and Assam are also being looked after by city office. Nagpur NTCA office was opened by then union environment minister Jairam Ramesh and chief minister Prithviraj Chavan on April 27, 2011. The regional offices in Guwahati and Bengaluru were also opened during the same time. While opening office at Nagpur, Ramesh had promised that an inspector general (IG) would be in place along with ministerial staff of eight persons in three months but the staff has still not been appointed. "Some applications for IG's post have been received and screening process is on," said Govekar. However, he adds, lack of staff doesn't mean NTCA office here is dormant. Since July 2011, of the 25 reserves, Govekar has visited 17 and submitted evaluation reports to NTCA at Delhi. "It's very hectic and I'm out on official tours for almost 27 days in a month," says Govekar. As per norms, an AIG is required to make at least three supervisory visits in a year to each tiger reserve. The visits are basically to look into protection initiatives, surveillance, rate of wildlife crime, status of prey and predators, implementation of centrally sponsored scheme (CSS), staff position, relocation of villages, and monitor annual plan of operations (APO). Strategically, all problem reserves like Sahyadri in Maharashtra, Udanti and Indravati in Chhattisgarh and Similipal in Odisha were taken up. The visits have led to discovery of an array of good and bad management practices. During a visit to Sahyadri in October-November last, bauxite mining was observed just 800 metres from the reserve's boundary. There were two-wheelers moving inside the reserve. NTCA higher-ups have taken a serious note of these violations. Tiger reserve visits have no more remained joy tours and from the feedback of Nagpur office, NTCA at Delhi has been writing to chief wildlife wardens of the states about shortcomings and need to rectify them. http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-03-30/nagpur/31260602_1_tiger-reserves-national-tiger-conservation-authority-tiger-sanctuaries

MP gets ready to regain lost TIGER STATE tag

SUNDAY, 01 APRIL 2012 23:56 ZAFAR ALAM KHAN HITS: 186 Good news for wildlife lovers! The tiger population in Madhya Pradesh is on rise. This central State, which is striving hard to regain its lost 'tiger State' tag, is full of reports of tiger cub births from all its corners. This has raised hopes that it would soon acquire its lost honour. There have been reports of tiger cub births from various national parks, tiger reserves and other places in the State. There are reports of over five dozen tiger cub births in the State since the last tiger census took place in 2011. The most amazing report came from the State capital where a tigress was spotted with her two cubs in Kerwa Forest on March 27 this year. It seems as if Mother Nature, too, has showered Madhya Pradesh with its blessings since it lost its label of 'tiger State' last year. After reports of tiger cub births from Panna Tiger Reserve, Kanha Tiger Reserve and Pench Tiger Reserve, good news came from unexpected quarters, the State capital where a tigress was seen roaming with her two cubs earlier this week. There have been reports of over five dozen tiger cub births from various national parks, tiger reserves and other places of the State after the last tiger census took place in 2011. Amazingly, a tigress was spotted with her two cubs in the Kerwa Forest area near the State capital, a senior forest official said. The photograph of the tigress with her two cubs was captured through the camera-trap method, Chief Conservator Forest (CCF), Bhopal Circle, SS Rajput, said, adding that some forest officials have seen the tigress with her two cubs. "Though the tigress remained elusive, images of the two cubs have been captured on cameras installed in the jungles to locate the tigress and a tiger that have frequently strayed in the area," he added. The cubs are about two-and-a-half months old. Forest officials spotted pugmarks of the cubs and the tigress around a week ago in the forests near Kerwa. Subsequently, the officials got the photos of the two cubs. Since last year, the tigress has made the Kerwa forest area her territory. It probably arrived here from the nearby Ratapani forest range, the department sources said. Rajput said that a male tiger was also roaming there and its pugmarks were also spotted in the area. Sometime back, the staff of the National Judicial Academy also saw a tiger on their campus after which an alert was sounded. Signboards were put up at various places in the forest to warn people about the presence of a tiger in the surrounding areas. It appears that the off-springs arrived after these two big cats mated probably in the month of September last year, Rajput said. The cubs are nearly two-and-a-half months old and healthy, the CCF added. Meanwhile, the Panna Reserve of the State that gained notoriety for the mysterious disappearance of its big cats is also home to tiger cubs once again, rejoicing in the success of its unique translocation experiment to revive their population. "The tiger reserve has a dozen cubs and five adult tigers since the launch of an experiment involving breeding of translocated wild cats and rehabilitation of orphaned cubs," Panna Tiger Reserve director RS Murthy said. The reserve has four female and one male tigers and all of them have adjusted well to their new environment. The number of tiger cubs in other reserves across the State is also rising. At present, Kanha Tiger Reserve has 21-23 tiger cubs while the Pench Tiger Reserve boasts of having another 21 or more. "We have 21-23 tiger cubs in different age groups wandering with their mothers in the forest," Kanha Tiger Reserve director JS Chouhan said. Kanha now has nearly 70 or more tigers in the wild, as per official figures. Pench Tiger Reserve director Alok Kumar said that in the year 2010-11, nearly 21 tiger cubs were sighted by the forest staff in different zones of the reserve. They are in the age group of 5-6 months to over one year, Kumar said. A tiger is normally considered adult when it attains the age of two-and-a-half years and also when it starts living away from its mother. The last tiger census of Madhya Pradesh stood at 257 while in Karnataka the count was 300 following which the central State lost its coveted 'tiger State' status to the southern counterpart. Madhya Pradesh objected to the figures released by the Wildlife Institute of India and National Tiger Conservation Authority after which the big cats were again recounted in Kanha tiger reserve, a senior forest official said. In order to find out the exact number of tigers in the country, the NTCA has decided to conduct tiger census every year in the tiger reserves and in other forest areas every four years, the official said. The State has Pench, Panna, Bandhavgarh, Kanha, Satpuda and Sanjay Dubri tiger reserves. After the last tiger census in 2011, the population of big cat was estimated at 1,706 in the country. According to the census, the tiger population in Madhya Pradesh dropped to 257 from 300 in 2006. There was a 12 per cent rise in the number of big cats in the country in 2011 but Madhya Pradesh lost its 'tiger State' status to Karnataka. A forest official said, "The decline in the tiger population of the State was mainly due to the loss of 24 tigers allegedly due to poaching in Panna tiger reserve which had as many striped animals in the year 2006." He also said that Kanha Tiger Reserve, too, lost more than 25 tigers. In 2006, it had 89 tigers which has now dipped to 60, according to the latest census. "But now with reports of tiger cub births coming in from various parts of the State, we are sure that very soon the State would regain its lost status," he added. The last tiger census report released on March 28 last year stated that the striped animal population has risen to 1,707 from 1,411 in 2006. A forest official said if only 50 per cent of these cubs survive Madhya Pradesh would surely be a tiger State again. Ministerspeak! Madhya Pradesh Forest Minister Sartaj Singh said that the State is and would remain a tiger State. "The census conducted by the Centre was faulty. We did not go with that and conducted our own census the findings of which could not be disclosed, this being not an official census, but we are confident that we are still a tiger State," Singh told Viva City. "After the next census, we would officially regain the tiger State tag as we have the most tigers in the country. Moreover, reports of tiger cubs births in large numbers from different parts of the State would further the cause," Singh said. http://www.dailypioneer.com/state-editions/bhopal/54430-mp-gets-ready-to-regain-lost-tiger-state-tag.html

Resorts, forest dept incur losses as Sariska remains closed

TNN | Apr 2, 2012, 05.21AM IST JAIPUR: The Sariska Tiger Reserve wore a deserted look on Sunday as few tourists who turned up for sight seeing had to leave disappointed after protesting villagers didn't allow them to enter the reserve. The five day-long protest by farmers against relocation of villages from the periphery of the reserve area has hit the hospitality industry hard. The resorts around the reserve are receiving frantic mails and calls from tourists cancelling their trips. Angry villagers have even blocked the entrance to prominent hotels by placing piles of wood and stones. Unlike other Sundays when the reserve witnesses high footfall, this Sunday not a single tourist could visit the jungle. Many tourists who overstayed hoping the agitation would be called off are now planning to leave. "We are incurring huge losses daily. Forget about advance bookings, we are running below capacity now," said an official of Hotel Tiger Den. Forest department too has been facing the heat. "On weekends, the forest attracts over 1500 visitors everyday. Under the current scenario, we are losing out on large revenue," said R S Shekhawat, field director, Sariska Tiger Reserve. The entry fee for a foreign tourist is Rs 400, while for an Indian it is Rs 50. "Since the authorities turned a deaf ear to our demands, this is the only way left to shake them. We will not allow tourist entry till our demands are not met," said Bhupat Balyan, group leader. The villagers have demanded suspension of relocation and withdrawal of a ban on purchase or sale of their land. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/jaipur/Resorts-forest-dept-incur-losses-as-Sariska-remains-closed/articleshow/12499349.cms

Sighting of tiger sparks excitement

P. OPPILI “It was getting dark slowly and suddenly a roar was heard close by” It was an unexpected encounter last week for D. Abdullah, a Chennai-based software engineer, when he went to participate in a tiger census at the Grizzled Giant Squirrel Sanctuary at Srivilliputhur. He sighted a tigress along with two of her cubs. Sharing his experience on participating in the census, Mr. Abdullah said that he along with his friend Rahamadullah from Salem went to Srivilliputhur on March 23. On the first day, wildlife officials imparted training on how to conduct the census, the points to be noted, direct sighting and indirect sighting and related information. On the first day, the team with which Mr. Abdullah went for census did not see much. On the second day in the evening the team saw fresh tiger scat in one of the ranges in the Sanctuary. “Around 6.40 p.m. we followed the fresh scat, which led us to a water pool. It was getting dark slowly and suddenly a roar was heard close by. We realised that it was a tiger, which was heading close to the pool. Immediately, all the members in the team hid behind a rock.” The team was totally excited on seeing the tigress waiting to enter the waterbody. “The tigress, instead of entering the pool looked at the team members. But, we had to run away from the place as suddenly, a couple of wild elephants had come closer to the waterbody to drink water.” Shekhar Kumar Niraj, Conservator of Forests, Virudhunagar Circle, said the team, which sighted the tigress had lifted the pug mark of the animal in a plaster of Paris mould. So far there is no record of direct sighting of a tiger in the Srivilliputhur forests. With the new sighting, the authorities are planning to declare the area a tiger reserve. The Srivilliputhur Forest division is surrounded by Meghamalai in Theni Forest division on one side, Periyar Tiger Reserve, Thekkady in Kerala and Sivagiri and Puliangudi forest ranges, a portion of the Tirunelveli forest division on other sides. All these areas have to be integrated, Dr. Niraj said adding that the tiger sighting clearly indicated the availability of ecologically healthy prey base. Staff Reporter writes from Tirunelveli: The much-awaited tiger census in the Kalakkad – Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve in the Western Ghats of the district, which is likely to house around 15 big cats as per the previous survey's inference, commenced on Thursday. A total of 105 teams, each comprising volunteers and forest personnel, have been sent inside the jungles for the four-day exercise. After collecting relevant information, the enumerators will come out of the forest on April 1. To enlighten and explain to the enumerators the steps involved in tiger census, the officials conducted a training session at held at Thiruvalluvar College, Papanasam on Wednesday. A team of officials trained 185 participants from Chennai, Coimbatore, Salem and other places on direct and indirect sighting techniques during the training session. http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/tamil-nadu/article3263501.ece

Closed for outsiders, but minister latest visitor at tiger territory

TNN Mar 31, 2012, 03.37AM IST LUCKNOW: The tiger-tracking operation in Rahmankhera is at a stage where it has to get more concentrated and intensive. However, the presence of a minister and his entourage can always hamper the already sluggish momentum of the operation. Shiv Pratap Yadav, minister of state for zoological parks, UP, had visited Rahmankhera on Thursday. He was accompanied by his entourage too. The pictures taken at the spot show minister mounted on an elephant, with his men and tracking team, combing the area. A day after, even forest officials sound clueless as to what made the minister visit the spot, which the department has kept closed for 'outsiders'. Besides, nobody in the forest department is sure if he has the charge of wildlife. "He might have been sent by the CM," is only what highly-placed sources in the UP forest department could say about his visit. "He is a minister and can't be questioned," said sources, but at the same time, they do not deny that the spot should have least disturbance. The efforts to tranquilise and trap the tiger have been on in Rahmankhera for the last three months now. From January 9 till now, the tracking team, comprising forest officers and Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) personnel, has been missing every opportunity to either tranquilise or trap the tiger. The only good thing about the entire operation is that tiger has become localised around the campus of Central Institute of Subtropical Horticulture (CISH). However, VIP visits like the one on Thursday could drive the tiger away from the spot, a possibility that forest department officials do not deny. Such visits in the area will hamper the success of the operation. The minister is still an 'outsider' to the operation, and considering that he has no expertise in wildlife, his presence at ground zero can jeopardise the safety of the humans as well as the feline. If sources are to be believed, there were shots fired in the air on Thursday to turn the tiger away from the spot where minister was present. So far, the forest department has not even allowed the staff and scientists of CISH to go close to the area where it conducts the combing operation, despite the fact that it has been hampering the work at the institute. Even the wildlife experts who have been offering help to the department in safely trapping the tiger have been kept away from the spot. But ministerial visits, even the sources in the department agree, are difficult to keep off. "In such a situation like this, if anything goes amiss, it's the tiger which will be shot down," said one of the wildlife experts, wishing not to be quoted. http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-03-31/lucknow/31266971_1_tiger-forest-ministerial-visits

Glaring shortcomings noticed in tiger sanctuaries

Vijay Pinjarkar, TNN Mar 30, 2012, 01.42AM IST NAGPUR: Under criticism for its passive role post-inauguration, regional office of National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) in Nagpur is now steadily coming up. Initially set up to look after 15 tiger reserves in four states of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Odisha, the Nagpur office is at present handling more than 50% tiger reserves in the country. "Of the 41 tiger reserves in India, Nagpur is looking after 25 in 10 states," said Ravikiran Govekar, assistant inspector general (AIG). As there is no official posted in Guwahati regional office yet, the 10 tiger reserves in Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal and Assam are also being looked after by city office. Nagpur NTCA office was opened by then union environment minister Jairam Ramesh and chief minister Prithviraj Chavan on April 27, 2011. The regional offices in Guwahati and Bengaluru were also opened during the same time. While opening office at Nagpur, Ramesh had promised that an inspector general (IG) would be in place along with ministerial staff of eight persons in three months but the staff has still not been appointed. "Some applications for IG's post have been received and screening process is on," said Govekar. However, he adds, lack of staff doesn't mean NTCA office here is dormant. Since July 2011, of the 25 reserves, Govekar has visited 17 and submitted evaluation reports to NTCA at Delhi. "It's very hectic and I'm out on official tours for almost 27 days in a month," says Govekar. As per norms, an AIG is required to make at least three supervisory visits in a year to each tiger reserve. The visits are basically to look into protection initiatives, surveillance, rate of wildlife crime, status of prey and predators, implementation of centrally sponsored scheme (CSS), staff position, relocation of villages, and monitor annual plan of operations (APO). Strategically, all problem reserves like Sahyadri in Maharashtra, Udanti and Indravati in Chhattisgarh and Similipal in Odisha were taken up. The visits have led to discovery of an array of good and bad management practices. During a visit to Sahyadri in October-November last, bauxite mining was observed just 800 metres from the reserve's boundary. There were two-wheelers moving inside the reserve. NTCA higher-ups have taken a serious note of these violations. Tiger reserve visits have no more remained joy tours and from the feedback of Nagpur office, NTCA at Delhi has been writing to chief wildlife wardens of the states about shortcomings and need to rectify them. http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-03-30/nagpur/31260602_1_tiger-reserves-national-tiger-conservation-authority-tiger-sanctuaries

Tiger trapped in coffee estate, freed in forest

E.M. MANOJ The Hindu The released tiger bounds away into the Dottakulasi area of the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary. Photo: V.D. Mohandas The five-year-old male had spread panic at Krishnagiri in Kerala's Wayanad district A five-year-old male tiger that spread panic at Krishnagiri, near Meenangadi in Kerala's Wayanad district, was trapped by Forest and Wildlife Department officials in a coffee plantation on Monday. It was described by officials as a rare event in the region. A team laid a trap on Saturday evening following reports of the predator having killed a domestic animal in a hamlet inside coffee plantations on the fringes of the Chethalayath forest range under the forest division a few days ago. The forest personnel, led by P. Dhaneshkumar, Divisional Forest Officer, South Wayanad Forest Division, put the remains of a wild boar, which had been killed by the animal two days ago, in the cage as bait. The animal walked into the trap around 4 a.m. and was at once shifted with the cage to the Kurichyad forest range under the Wayanad Wild Life Sanctuary (WWLS), nearly 35 km away, using a tractor. During the journey, officials sprayed water on the animal to protect it from the hot weather. It was released at Dottakulasi in the Vandikkadavu section at 11.30 a.m. under the supervision of top forest officials. One official told The Hindu after the operation that the animal might have come from the Kurichyad range. Sunilkumar, Warden, Wayanad Wild Life Sanctuary, said the area where the animal was released had an abundant prey population. A veterinarian examined the animal and declared it to be healthy, apart from an injury on its forehead. High tiger density Wayanad, which has a wildlife sanctuary, is one segment of a forest complex in the Western Ghats landscape that boasts a high tiger density. Nagarahole and Mudumalai are other parts of this unit. The National Tiger Conservation Authority estimated the tiger abundance in the contiguous zone covered by the three protected territories at 382 in 2010, up from 267 in 2006. At four tigers per hundred sq. km, this entire zone spanning three States has a high tiger density. In the context of human-animal conflicts, tiger biologists K. Ullas Karanth and Rajesh Gopal say in a review article titled “An ecology-based policy framework for human-tiger coexistence in India,” that given the pattern of human population densities and clumped distribution of tigers, the area affected is very small; conflict zones cover less than one per cent of the country's geographical area and an even smaller fraction of the population. Understanding the causative factors is therefore important. They also point out that livestock depredation by tigers (which prey on them due to a declining natural prey base) and the desire among the affected villagers to retaliate is exploited by poachers, who distribute traps and poison and make offers to buy body parts. In the case of Wayanad, the episode has ended in capture and re-release into the wild. The process of translocating captured tigers is not without its share of problems, the authors say in the article. They point out that the older cats may be unable to survive, some may suffer injury in the capturing process and become unfit for survival, while others may introduce violent competition with resident tigers in the relocated territory. http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/kerala/article3240036.ece

Foresters spot 'mystery cat' in Sunderbans

Subhro Niyogi & Krishnendu Bandyopadhyay, TNN Mar 22, 2012, 08.35AM IST (The Sunderbans is the only tiger reserve in India where leopards have never been seen. Its Bangladeshi side reported the last sighting of a leopard in 1931.) KOLKATA: The deeper you go into the Sunderbans, the more mysterious it is. The camera traps that have snapped 18 Bengal tigers outside the core area of the mangrove forests also captured two photos of a never-before seen cat. It could be another species altogether, a eureka moment for conservationists and wildlife enthusiasts. Forest officers scanning through a bunch of pictures of the wild stopped in their tracks when they came across a small, black cat with a long tail. Nothing of the sort had been seen in decades of documentation and exploration in the Sunderbans. The Sunderbans is the only tiger reserve in India where leopards have never been seen. Its Bangladeshi side reported the last sighting of a leopard in 1931. The cat spotted in the camera traps is bigger than a wild cat and smaller than a leopard, say sources. It's not yet known whether it's a new species but forest officials believe it is a melanistic leopard-cat , a rarity in the animal world. In leopards, two genes determine whether the animal's colour will be yellow with black spots or completely black. The black panther gets its colour from the black recessive gene. "We have never seen any animal like this in the Sunderbans . Apart from the 18 tigers, scores of other cats, including jungle and fishing cats, were found during the exercise, which was done outside the reserve area for the first time. Most of them were expected till we came upon two sightings of a black cat with a long tail," said Sunderbans Biosphere Reserve director Pradeep Vyas. http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-03-22/kolkata/31224282_1_leopard-cat-black-cat-wild-cat

A tale of two tiger reserves

SUNNY SEBASTIAN After Panna's successful rewilding, Sariska is sanguine First there was the Sariska debacle in which all the tigers were found missing in the reserve in Rajasthan's Alwar district sometime in 2004-05. Then there was similar misfortune in Madhya Pradesh's Panna Tiger Reserve in February 2009 — the wild cats became extinct there. Sariska led the way soon by reintroducing tigers under a recovery plan with the support of the National Tiger Conservation Authority in June 2008. Panna followed suit in March 2009. It reintroduced one female each from Bhandavgarh and Kanha. Thereafter, it appears, both the reserves charted their own journeys. The Panna experiment turned out to be a big success. The 576-sq.km reserve, spread over Panna and Chattarpur districts eof Madhya Pradesh, soon became home to a flourishing population of big cats. The reserve, 25 km from Khajuraho, once ravaged by problems, has now 12 tiger cubs, besides the five adults brought in as part of the reintroduction. And that gives Sariska, the leader, a complex, for its three tigresses are yet to give a litter. The tale of the two reserves came in for comparison this weekend at Alwar when the main protagonists of the tiger reintroduction process got together to discuss the rebuilding of Sariska. “Where there is a will there is a way,” said R. Sreenivasa Murthy, Field Director in the Panna Tiger Reserve, giving a presentation on tiger relocation and their successful breeding. The Panna story included the truancy of the lone male, which apparently showed “homing” instincts to repeatedly move in the direction of Pench — it had to be brought back with the help of 70-strong forest staff and four elephants for a second time. The Panna experiment did not stop at just reintroduction. The park authorities opened a new chapter in conservation by introducing two orphaned female cubs to the reserve in March 2011. They were the litters of a collared tigress that got killed in a fight with another in Kanha in May 2005. They were picked up and hand-reared for one-and-half years to be released into an enclosure in Kanha. “The Panna team met with success in the rewilding of the tiger. One of them, T4, delivered cubs in November 2011,” said Mr. Murthy. Mr. Murthy and H.S. Pabla, who retired last year as the Chief Wildlife Warden of Madhya Pradesh, said they did their part and left the rest to the tigers. “In Sariska, females ST2 and ST3, showed signs of pregnancy but no litters were produced. The cause of not breeding is not known,” said K. Sankar, scientist with the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehra Dun, who has been part of the Sariska experiment. “There appears to be no disturbance to the tigers. The prey density is one of the best in the country. However, the human habitation inside the park surely is an obstacle. In fact, the Sariska tigers have only 50 sq.km in the 882-sq.km reserve for themselves.” While some experts, including Sunayan Sharma, president of the Sariska Tiger Foundation, which organised the workshop, felt that the radio collars around their necks might be hampering the breeding, others emphatically dismissed it as inconsequential. “There is no connection between the radio collar and breeding,” said Dr. Sankar. “We have consulted the NTCA and they are of the opinion that collars cannot be the reason,” said U.M. Sahai, Head of the Forest Force, Rajasthan. What made all the difference in Panna? “I have no explanation why tigers are not breeding in Sariska and they do in Panna,” said Mr. Pabla. His suggestion to the Rajasthan authorities in this connection included introduction of breeding tigresses — instead of virgins — and not to have too many males around. Mr. Murthy said the presence of elephants in Panna was of great help to tigers. Moreover, Panna had an advantage of not having any village inside. Raghuveer Singh Shekhawat, Field Director, Sariska Tiger Reserve, is confident of a breakthrough in the reserve. “What is all this fuss about litters? We need to leave certain [things] for the tigers to decide,” said Samir Sinha, author and head of TRAFFIC India. http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article3019496.ece

Rahmankhera stray tiger shouldn’t be killed, says NTCA

TNN Mar 21, 2012, 04.21AM IST LUCKNOW: The National Tiger Conservation Authority on Tuesday asked the officials of the forest department to ensure that the safety of the stray tiger in Rahmankhera on the outskirts of the city is not jeopardised under any circumstances. Member-secretary, NTCA, Rajesh Gopal visited Rahmankhera after the department wrote to NTCA for help. "Today, I sent a fax to the department telling that under no circumstances should the life of the tiger be threatened," said Gopal. NTCA, meanwhile, has already sent a new team of experts to handle the tiger-operation. "The best thing is that this tiger is localised, and department has been able to keep it localised," he added. The forest department has written to the authority, last week, about its constraints. While, some of the officers who had been handling the operation at Rahmankhera have come back, others are doing nothing more than the customary combing. And, in the last more than two months of the operation, department has also spent quite an amount. On the other hand, wildlife enthusiasts of the city got together, on Tuesday, to discuss ways about saving the stray tiger. The feline had strayed out of Kheri forest in January. The enthusiasts, as part of a non-government organisation Tiger and Terrain have also assisted the department in the operation, in the start. But later, though they offered to help the department, the officers did not show willingness to involve them. The group, however, expressed concern over the safety of the tiger and the way entire operation has been handled. On the other hand, wildlife enthusiasts of the city got together, on Tuesday, to discuss ways about saving the stray tiger. http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-03-21/lucknow/31219510_1_stray-tiger-kheri-forest-ntca