Tiger found dead in Uttarakhand

A tiger’s body was found at Ramnagar forest division close to Jim Corbett Park in Uttarakhand early on Thursday morning. The villagers informed forest officials that the body was half-decomposed, but seems intact. Chandan Bangari, a villager told Hindustan Times over phone

early morning villagers found a dead tiger in Syat Van Panchayat of Ramnagar division. The body was decayed. But, all it’s body parts seems intact.”

When contacted Division Forest Officer (DFO) Ravindra Juyal said he was on his way to the spot to get details about the tiger death.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/Tiger-found-dead-in-Uttarakhand/Article1-588822.aspx

Rising population increases man-tiger conflict

JAIPUR: Human intervention in the tiger reserve is proving costly with a third man being mauled by the animal in Ranthambore in four months.

In fact, several efforts by the government towards tiger conservation and for creating a sustainable habitat for the animal have failed to yield result despite several crores spent on the project. The project has not helped the villages around the reserve.

According to Dharmendra Khandal, conservation biologist, Tiger Watch, an NGO: "There is very large grazing pressure on the reserve. July to October is the most problematic period since most of the cattle of nearby villages move into the reserve forest. The villagers also persistently attempt to invade into the core area. Besides, due to heavy grazing pressure it has not been possible to constitute core areas for Sawai Mansingh Sanctuary and Kailadevi Sanctuary. The recurrent conflict with villagers regarding grazing in the Ranthambore National Park has also alienated the villagers from the management."

According to Project Tiger Reserves, funded by the Centre,, "There were 3,177 cattle units in four villages in the core and around 25,000 cattle units in 19 villages in the buffer as per 1991 census. There were around 1.43 lakh cattle units in 332 villages within five kilometre radius of the reserve. The growth rate has been approximately 2%. Besides, there were 1,210 people in four ges in the core and 3,055 people in 19 villages in the buffer as per 1991 census. There were around one lakh people in 332 villages within 5 km radius of the reserve. The growth rate has been approximately 2.8%."

But over the years, human population around the park has increased manifold. If earlier the villages outside had a lot of pastureland for cattle, now all that is encroached upon by the villagers or land dealers.

"The first step by the government should be to clear the pastureland in Ranthambore. The changed trend in the last few years is that villagers who had one or two buffaloes now on individual basis own about 100-150 goats that are more economically viable. And they all go grazing in the forest," said Khandal.

According to estimates, nearly 300-500 bighas of pastureland in the villages that has been encroached upon. Add to that, some prominent hotels have also been allotted land. Even Monday morning after the incident, about 1,500 cattle were in the park grazing.

Now talking of wood felling, the government distributed 10,000 gas cylinders among the villagers almost nine years ago to stop villagers from chopping wood for fuel.

"These were provided at a subsidy of Rs 300 inclusive of the gas stove. But the villagers sold it out for Rs 1,000-1500 and still frequent the National Park to collect wood for fuel," said Khandal. As an alternative, biogas was thought to be a substitute. But out of the 560 bio gas plants about 100-150 are not functional and the existing ones fall extremely short for a growing population of about 1.5 lakh villagers.

The over 100 cr Eco-development Project (GEF-World Bank) implemented in 2003-04 also failed to change the way communities live around the park. As a part of the project Village Eco-development Programme' from the 36 villages about 20-22 village eco-development committees were made. Part of the project money was used to build walls around the park to check the menace of grazing and wood-cutting. "But they are mere psychological barriers now. The villagers intentionally left gaps in the walls to walk in and out of the forest," said a hotelier.

And with things as they stand, villagers will continue to frequent the park and despite forest guards, chances of a mishap cannot be ruled out.


http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/jaipur/Rising-population-increases-man-tiger-conflict/articleshow/6333480.cms

Uttarakhand asked to curb tourism in Corbett: Ramesh

The Uttarakhand government has been asked to curb tourism in the popular Corbett Tiger Reserve, parliament was informed Wednesday.

'The state has been advised for regulating tourism related commercial activities in the area, besides declaring the surroundings of Corbett Tiger Reserve as ecologically sensitive under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, in the interest of wildlife conservation,' Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha.

He noted that similar advisories had also been given to other states that had tiger sanctuaries.

http://sify.com/news/uttarakhand-asked-to-curb-tourism-in-corbett-ramesh-news-national-kisx4ejfcdg.html

Jairam Ramesh sets agenda for Ranthambore

JAIPUR: After five tigers were shifted to Sariska reserve from Ranthambore National Park, the focus had shifted to the latter with Union minister for environment and forests Jairam Ramesh himself setting the agenda for the national park.

In a letter to chief minister Ashok Gehlot recently, Ramesh, while expressing happiness on the increasing population of big cats in Ranthambore, however expressed the need for improvement of the habitat in the remaining part of the core area so as to accommodate those tigers left without a territory. Ramesh had sought the personal intervention of Gehlot into the matter.

In his letter, the Union minister had explained that the original national park is considerably small in area and hence there was a need to expand other parts of the park.

Ranthambore currently has nearly 40 tigers in an area of 1,334 sq km along with the nearby sanctuaries of Kailadevi and Man Singh. While the large number of cats spell good for conservationists, the flip side is that many tigers have strayed away from the park due to want of space or are getting more and more involved in territorial fights that sometimes turn fatal.

It is in this context that the ministry of forests expressed urgency in improving the conditions there. In fact, the minister had spelled out the need for correcting the sex ratio and even hinted at relocating tigers from Ranthambore to outside the state in his last visit.

The union minister had urged for expediting the relocation of some villages from the core area especially the remaining families of Padra, Indala and Machanki, besides other villages that has an immediate impact on a priority basis. The minister has sought a complete proposal incorporating details of all the villages in a prescribed format for central assistance.

The proposal for a special tiger protection force had also been stressed in the letter. The Centre had given a total of Rs 93 lakh to the state for raising such a force for the better protection of tigers in the park. The minister had sought immediate action in this regard.

Also on the agenda is the notification of a buffer zone around the core area of the tiger habitat. The minister has sought an active management of such a zone around the forest by the state so as to secure the support of the local people by providing them livelihood options with Central assistance.

Ramesh had also hinted in his letter to the chief minister for preparing a consolidated Tiger Conservation Plan in collaboration with the Wildlife Institute of India for tigers in the core and buffer zones.

Besides, the creation of satellite core areas' has also been sought to accommodate tigers straying out of the national park. In this context, the sanctuaries of Dara and Ramgarh Vishdhari have been identified by the minister as probable satellite core areas
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http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/jaipur/Jairam-Ramesh-sets-agenda-for-Ranthambore/articleshow/6327332.cms

Ranthambore village Tiger attack: Villagers still in a state of shock Read more: Tiger attack: Villagers still in a state of shock

GOPALPURA (SAWAI MADHOPUR): It has been three days since the residents of Gopalpura found the half-eaten body of a 22-year-old youth and they are yet to recover from the shock. After frequent sightings of a tiger near their village, they fear more attacks and have lost faith in the forest officials.

Contrary to the forest officials' claim that the youth, Hemraj Gujjar, was attacked by the beast while he was cutting wood, the villagers say that he was attacked on his way to the temple situated on a nearby hillock. "We went looking for him when he did not return till noon. Around 3 pm on Sunday, we found his half-eaten body near the temple,'' said Harpal Gujjar, who along with four others had gone to search for Hemraj.

On Tuesday, the scared villagers immediately informed the offcials after pug marks were spotted just near the village where Hemraj was cremated on Monday. A team of forest officials reached the spot to inspect the marks and confirmed that they belonged to a male tiger. An official, however, told TOI that the pug marks do not match with the one spotted near the youth's body.

"The officials did not believe us when we told them that tigers are usually spotted just outside our village. Infuriated villagers criticised the forest officials' warning not to venture into the forest. "Do the officials expect us to stop visiting the temple,'' asked Rajulal Meena, sarpanch of the village. Meena alleged that last night or early on Tuesday morning, a tiger had "strayed" into an area which is less than 50 metres away from the village.

"The temple is a little over 1 km away but the cremation ground is right at the corner. If a tiger can come here, it can wander into the village any time,'' said Meena, adding that this is the third such incident in the area over the past three months.

Villagers claim they had sighted a tiger several times during the last fortnight and had informed the forest officials, but the authorities failed to respond.

"On Saturday, we had found the caracass of a buffalo. We are sure that it was attacked by a tiger. It was an alarm for us," said V P Singh, a retired government employee and a villager.

Gopalpura is located near the Ranthambore forest area. The villagers earlier lived in a place called Silavdi, which was located inside the national park. They have been relocated here since 1978. However, Gopalpura is also located in the buffer zone and tiger sightings are common
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http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/jaipur/Tiger-attack-Villagers-still-in-a-state-of-shock/articleshow/6327338.cms

Seven injured in Chandrapur tiger attack

CHANDRAPUR: A tiger strayed into a paddy field near Bothli village in Shirpur, stayed put there for almost 10 hours and injured seven people who chose to drive it away on Sunday. The seriously injured persons were shifted to Chimur hospital for treatment.

The villagers were apparently trying to drive the fully grown tiger away which moved out of the jungle. Despite efforts of forest and police officials to clear the crowd, hundreds of villagers kept the tiger besieged in the field throughout the day. Later in the evening the tiger went back into the jungle after the crowd dispersed.

People busy celebrating Independence Day were shocked when a tiger was spotted in the field adjacent to the busy Chimur-Navtala-Talodhi square close to Bothli in Chimur tehsil.

Soon the news spread and hundreds of people from adjoining villages gathered to see the beast. Officials from Talodhi forest range too rushed to the spot even as a team of policemen arrived to control the situation.

However, the mob went berserk and tried to scare the tiger away by pelting stones and poking sticks.

The mob could be controlled only after a two-member tranquillising team consisting of Kishore Mishrikot- kar and GK Vashishta, both assistant conservators of forests (ACFs) for wildlife, rushed to the spot from Nagpur. The team returned after confirming that the animal retreated into the forests.

The tiger attacked and injured as many as seven villagers, who went close to it in an attempt to drive it away. The injured include Mahesh Uike, Sampat Mandre, Seshraj Bawane, Keshav Bawane, Manohar Maske, Ishwar Atram and Pandhri Raut. The injured persons were taken to Chimur rural hospital. Later Uike and Mandhre were shifted to Nagpur, while others were moved to Chandrapur.

Confirming the incident DCF of Bramhapuri division Sanjay Thawre said that the mob was main obstacle in rescuing the tiger. "The mob kept the tiger trapped in the farm throughout the day. All our efforts to disperse them to make a clear passage for the tiger to move back into the jungle failed. Only after the crowd dispersed on its own in the evening did the tiger moved back into the jungle peacefully," said Thawre.

Asked about reports of the same tiger being seen close to Navtala village on Monday morning, he said that they had traced the pug-marks of the tiger retreating back into the jungle
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http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/Seven-injured-in-tiger-attack/articleshow/6322690.cms

Ranthambore Tiger attack: Man had sneaked into forbidden area Read more: Tiger attack: Man had sneaked into forbidden area

JAIPUR: Two incidents of man hunt within a period of 45 days and the myth of the camera happy tigers of Ranthambore lies shattered. And if the shivers come back for tourists as they spot a tiger out on a safari at the national park blame not the tiger. For, they definitely have not turned into man eaters yet.

Forest officials, though apologetic, revealed that in both the incidents at Jhoomar Bawdi and at the Indala Dang, villagers had sneaked well inside the forbidden terrain.

"In the latest case of the death of Hemraj Gujjar, the youth had gone two kilometres inside the forest. We have found a sickle, a sackful of grass and some more bundles of grass. It is a dense forest in that area and is home to about seven young tigers," said RN Mehrotra, principal chief conservator of forests and head of forest forces, Rajasthan.

"What happens during monsoon is that all these areas get covered with dense vegetation. The youth must have unknowingly moved in close to where the tiger was resting. It is only then that the tiger mistaking the man, on is his fours, as an animal attacked him," he added.

Not different was the opinion of Rajpal Singh, member, State Wildlife Board. "The village in Indala was relocated from Ranthambore last year. Every member of the village had taken the money that was handed to them as compensation and gone way. Even the village of Gopalpura, that lies on the outskirts of Ranthambore was relocated from the forest way back in 1976," he says.

"But these villagers have traditionally been sneaking into the forest for wood and grass illegally. And it is in this context that the man animal-conflicts have come," Singh said.

"Moreover, the Indala area is now populated with several young tigers and the probability is that these tigers are under stress. For being young, they can't occupy the core area of the forest which houses more matured and stronger male tigers, therefore leaving these young ones to fend for a territory somewhere along the periphery of the forest. And it is these areas where the villagers come for grass and wood and fall prey to the animals," he added.

In fact, the forest department waking up to the rising attacks have now formulated a two-pronged strategy. According to R S Shekhawat, director of the national park, "We have decided to improve the habitat along the periphery of the forest. Once that happens the villagers will get their grass and wood along the border of the forest and would not sneak deep into it."

"But more importantly we have now decided to raise the height of the wall that we are building along the periphery of the forest from 4 feet to 6 feet. In fact the work of building the wall near Gopalpura is nearly over but these villagers always manage to sneak in through opening in the wall that are left for streams," he said.

Currently, forest officials say, there are no villages inside Ranthambore. "All the villages have been relocated. But there are some left on the periphery and we are in the process of shifting them out too," Shekhawat added.


http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/jaipur/Tiger-attack-Man-had-sneaked-into-forbidden-area/articleshow/6322178.cms

Declare Nagzira as tiger reserve, urge conservationists

NAGPUR: With the high-powered state and NTCA committee expressing itself against diversion of land for expansion of Adani Power Maharashtra Limited (APML) in Tiroda, the old demand of declaring Nagzira a tiger reserve has emerged strongly from local naturalists as well as wildlife conservationists.

Greens from Bhandara and Gondia districts told TOI it was a decade-old demand and they would once again push for Nagzira as a new tiger reserve. The individuals and groups said they would now request MoEF ministerJairam Ramesh and PCCF (wildlife) to declare Nagzira as a tiger reserve.

"The 152 sq km Nagzira is rich in wildlife and has tigers. If adjoining Umarzari forest under the FDCM is added, it can be the best tiger reserve in the state. There are several natural water bodies and a habitat ideally needed for wild cats. The biggest advantage is that there are no villages to be relocated in Umarzari area," stressed Rajkamal Job, former honorary wildlife warden and chief of Bhandara Nisarg Mandal.

He felt that Adani power plant at Tiroda should not be expanded as it fell within critical distance of Nagzira and would be detrimental for it. Mukund Dhurve, chief of Gondia Nisarg Mandal, echoed the same feeling.

"If the reserve comes through, it will boost wildlife tourism in Gondia. Gondia-Bhandara MP Praful Patel should take initiative to convince Ramesh to declare Nagzira as state's 5th tiger reserve. We will write to the respective authorities," he opined.

Dhurve claimed presence of six tigers in Nagzira but a tiger reserve with appended area viz. Nagzira, Chorkhamara, Umarzari, Koka and Amgaon had potential to accommodate at least 18-20 tigers. He felt that four-laning of NH-6 had already caused damage to Nagzira-Navegaon corridor and expansion of Adani power plant should not be allowed at any cost.

On September 8, 2009, Ramesh has written to chief minister regarding submission of proposal of Nagzira tiger reserve. "There is a strong case to declare Nagzira a tiger reserve. We will renew this demand with Patel.

The Adani plant is close to the sanctuary from south side but whether it will affect Nagzira is a matter of study. Yet, it should be upgraded as a national park and subsequently a tiger reserve. The move will bring in more funds for tigers," said Sunil Dhote of Nagzira Foundation, Gondia. Prof Ashok Gaidhani of Global Nature Club, Sakoli, said repeated requests to create Nagzira tiger reserve had fallen on deaf ears.

"Administrative and political will is needed. We will push the demand once again with the committee going against Adani expansion," he said. "There should be a public hearing for further expansion of the power project where we will express views," he added
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http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/Declare-Nagzira-as-tiger-reserve-urge-conservationists/articleshow/6302932.cms

Poacher held with tiger's claw in Uttar Pradesh

A poacher was nabbed with a tiger's claw near a forest area in Uttar Pradesh's Lakhimpur district Saturday, officials said.

Dinesh Kumar, was nabbed by a team of forest officials, who found him moving suspiciously near the Dudhwa forest reserve, some 200 km from Lucknow.

'The claw recovered from him is of a sub-adult tiger,' Divisional Forest Officer Shailesh Prasad told reporters in Lakhimpur.

'Our officials are trying to gather more information related to the illegal wildlife trade from the man, who has been booked under multiple sections of the Wildlife Protection Act (WPA),' he added.

According to sources, the man has admitted that he has been into the illegal wildlife trade for nearly last five years.

Dudhwa, one of the country's largest tiger reserve, had 106 tigers as per the last census.

http://sify.com/news/poacher-held-with-tiger-s-claw-in-uttar-pradesh-news-national-kioxObddcdf.html

No tourist entry inside core tiger territory

LUCKNOW: Tourism will have to be kept out from tiger havens. The National Tiger Conservation Authority's (NTCA) latest instructions to field directors of tiger reserves could be a reaction to what MP government had ordered recently -- opening tiger reserves, sanctuaries and all parks to tourism to the extent that tourists do not have access to the forest guard posts deep inside a tiger area.

The letter issued by Rajesh Gopal, member secretary, National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), on Thursday, reads: "Patrolling camps/chowkis/watch towers inside a tiger reserve (core as well as buffer) should not be used for accommodating tourists or facilitating tourism. As these structures have been constructed under Project Tiger, for the sole purpose of accommodating the frontline field staff (at places with wireless), it needs to be ensured that they are solely used for patrolling/anti-poaching work."

The letter has reached officials at Dudhwa. "Tourism inside core area or any such part of reserve where tiger population is based cannot be allowed," said an official. The humans and external influence will disturb tigers which are known to be "reclusive". Even if a tiger population is thriving in certain pockets of a buffer area, it should be sealed against human interference. Besides, human interference in core area can also jeopardise safety of humans entering it, leave alone disturbance to the big cats.

NTCA highlights the concern. "Tourists allowed to patrol in critical tiger habitat areas will not only disturb tigers but also jeopardise safety of tourists. Besides, exposing tourists to sensitive patrolling routes/paths/spatial presence of animals and patrolling strategy will make habitat vulnerable by exposing such details which may be confidential for apprehending poachers," states the letter. It might, however, be difficult to check that no poacher disguised as a tourist enters the core area.

The tourism zone within a tiger reserve is demarcated in the management plan. Any change in it can be made only by permission of chief wildlife warden of the state. Also, since reserves get their funding from the Central government, the Centre will have an over-riding effect. Dudhwa reserve has about 110 sq km area identified as tourist zone. The new management plan is getting ready for the next 10 years. To keep up with the increase in flow of tourists, some new tourist spots might be identified. Though officials said it was too early to confirm that.

In keeping with NTCA's reiteration that provisions under section 38V of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, should be implemented for ensuring inviolate status of critical tiger habitat, UP has done its bid. On June 9 this year, government issued a notification on the same. Total 1093.79 sq km area, including 490.29 sq km of Dudhwa national park, 203.41 sq km of Kishenpur wildlife sanctuary and 400.09 sq km of Katarniaghat wildlife sanctuary, have been notified as critical tiger habitat of Dudhwa. It will be kept inviolate for conservation of tigers without affecting the rights of STs and

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/lucknow/No-tourist-entry-inside-core-tiger-territory/articleshow/6312801.cms

Private forest safari vehicles face ban in Karnataka

Tourists staying in private resorts and hotels will soon have to stand in queues to use vehicles of the forest department or Jungle Lodges to go on safaris in tiger reserves.

This follows a proposal by the state wildlife board to ban the entry of private safari vehicles in tiger reserves.

The board made the suggestion after reviewing the increasing pressure of tourist vehicles on forest land. The state government is expected to implement the decision soon.

Private resort firms are unhappy and say this will affect eco-tourism and their business. Shiva Kumar, manager of Tusker Trails, a private resort in the fringes of Bandipur tiger reserve, said “This is a wrong decision. Tourists usually don’t opt for government vehicles as they are not generally good.”

Ashwin Pinto, operations manager of Cicada Resorts, Bandipur, saidtourists preferred the services of private resorts to government agencies.

“This decision, if implemented, will also hamper tourist operations. During peak season, we receive around 800 guests,” he said.

But experts said the ban was necessary to cap the mushrooming of private resorts in the fringes of forests.

Wildlife board committee member and assistant director of Wildlife Conservation Society-India Programme Sanjay Gubbi said their aim was to phase out the increasing number of vehicles inside forest areas.

In Kabini, for instance, the entry of vehicles is restricted to 21. The aim is to put such curbs on all national parks and sanctuaries, depending on the road distance for safari and the forest’s carrying capacity.

Increasing vehicular pollution had affected the health of wild animals, experts said.

http://www.dnaindia.com/bangalore/report_private-forest-safari-vehicles-face-ban-in-karnataka_1423990

Tiger attacks man near Bhiwapur

NAGPUR: Close on the heels of a tiger injuring a shepherd in Kitadi forest in Bhiwapur forest range recently, one more person was attacked near the same spot on Thursday evening. The place is 65 km from Nagpur.

According to conservator of forests for Nagpur Division, the attack took place around 4 pm when Raju Domaji Fofse, aged around 30 years, had gone about 5 km into the forest to graze his goats. The incident took place in compartment 450, where a shepherd was attacked earlier.

Fofse, a resident of Ranmangli village, had a miraculous escape as the tiger injured his leg leading to dislocation. The victim has been brought to the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) in the evening. "We learn that Fofse went too close to the tiger despite the animal giving a warning by roaring," said Rambabu.

This is the third attack, second in 15 days in the area. Earlier, a woman Barjabai Boje of Ranmangli had died on April 18 after being attacked by a tiger while collecting mahua flowers.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/Tiger-attacks-man-near-Bhiwapur/articleshow/6302833.cms

Tiger Reserve Defends Cub Decision

“The decision to keep the three orphaned cubs of the Jhurjhura tigress, killed on May 19 by a rashly driven vehicle inside the Bandhavgarh tiger reserve, in an enclosure at the same spot where they had been found as they were familiar with the area was taken during the visit of member secretary of National Tiger Conservation Authority to Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve on May 31 and June 1.”

This has been pointed out in a letter written to Mr Rajesh Gopal, the member secretary of NTCA by the field director, Bandhagarh Tiger Reserve, Chandrakant Patil on Thursday. In his letter, sent after one of the orphaned cubs was found dead, Mr Patil has said that the area is hilly and due to this reason it was difficult to put up a chainlink fence. This is also a favourite spot of tigers because of the presence of large number of caves in the area.
A 3-kilometre-long Chainlink fencing was prepared to enclose about 45.208 hectare area. A machan (watch tower) was also constructed near the Jhurjhura pond and the cubs were given feed near this place. After the commencement of monsoon, the cubs were not visiting this place regularly since July 27. They were, however, seen near a cave on July 28 morning by Mahaout (elephant rider) Ramzan and Jannu along with beat guard Gohadi.
Mr Patil has further said in his letter that on August 6 at about 8.30 pm, the range officer, Tala, informed him that he had seen some bones within the enclosed area and was wondering whether or not these were the bones of a tiger cub.
The next morning, they reached the spot where the bones had been sighted.

http://www.asianage.com/india/tiger-reserve-defends-cub-decision-915

Man-eater strikes in Pilibhit again

A man-eater, which has been on the prowl in and around the jungles of Pilibhit in Uttar Pradesh, made its sixth kill in a village of the district.

Redawati Devi, 55, fell victim to the big cat when she stepped into the woods in search of firewood required for her daily chores.

Parts of her badly mauled and half-devoured body were recovered after an extensive hunt by a team of wildlife officials late Tuesday.

Even though wildlife officials admit that Redawati Devi was the sixth victim of a tiger attack in the past four months, they said they were still not in a position to declare the big cat as a 'man-eater'.

State chief wild life conservator B.K. Patnaik told IANS: 'We cannot affirm that the tiger has turned into a man-eater unless we have confirmation that this was the same animal that has been striking in this vicinity over the past few months.'

'Rain and slush have made it impossible for our teams to get a clear picture of the pug-marks of the animal. However, we have managed to collect some hair of the tiger from the site where it fed on its victim; and this hair would be sent for DNA analysis so that it could be matched with previous records.'

Prima facie, he suspects that the attacking animal was a young tiger who should not have any reason to turn man-eater.

'Tigers turn into man-eaters largely on account of old-age or injury, which impairs their capacity to get hold of their natural prey' he said.

'Considering that this one appears to be a young animal, we have to find out why it has been attacking human beings, while we also need to confirm whether there is only one or more than one tiger active in the area,' he added.

Meanwhile, according to official records available with wildlife authorities, each of the six kills over the past four months were made within a radius of four km. While the first one was reported May 3, it was followed by more kills June 7, June 23, July 25, July 27 and the latest one Tuesday.

http://sify.com/news/man-eater-strikes-in-pilibhit-again-news-national-kilpOccjjgc.html

To prevent tiger attacks, Forest dept to arrest trespassers in reserved areas of Pilibhit

Following incidents of tiger attacks at Pilibhit district’s Deoria range in western Uttar Pradesh, the Forest department has issued instructions to enforce the Trespass Act, 1963 to ensure that no villagers enter the reserved forest area. According to the act, if anyone enters the reserved area, the person will be arrested.

The decision was taken following reports of six people being killed in tiger attacks between May 3 and August 10. According to Forest officials, since all the attacks happened inside the forest area and there is no evidence that tigers have entered the villages, it has been decided to strictly implement the act.

“This is not a protected area but a reserved forest land and we can take legal action against people trying to enter. We have been warning the villagers but to no avail. So, we are forced to take strict action. We will book people who are caught by our staff trying to enter forest area,” said Divisional Forest Officer V K Singh.

On August 10, a 55-year-old woman’s semi-eaten body was found inside the Deoria forest range — spread over 700 acres. Though the area has been marked for Tiger Census 2010, this was the first time that there was evidence regarding the presence of big cats in the area.

“This is for the first time that we have seen incidents of tiger attacks in the area. It seems that a young tiger or a group of tigers are trying to expand their territory. So far, the tiger has not come towards the human habitat but is attacking people who are entering its territory,” said Singh. All these incidents have been reported 3 km to 5 km inside the forest area. Perhaps the victims had gone to collect wood or cut grass, he added.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/To-prevent-tiger-attacks--Forest-dept-to-arrest-trespassers-in-reserved-areas-of-Pilibhit/659279

Tiger not a man-eater if killings accidental

LUCKNOW: Pilibhit tiger killed sixth human on Monday evening. But forest officials are not yet willing to brand it a man-eater. The reason being that tiger did not ambush and kill humans. Victims had all gone to the forest, were attacked, killed and eaten by it.

The bundles of firewood, grass and bags containing `katarua' mushroom (which grows extensively in monsoon and sells for Rs 70 to 80 per kg) were recovered from spots of killings. Most probably, victims were attacked while they were squatting on ground and the tiger mistook them to be quadrupeds.

"However, now it may not happen because if it is one tiger killing all, it would not be scared of human beings anymore," said G C Mishra, former director, Dudhwa. Man-killing and man-eating are different stages.

There are several circumstances under which human beings attacked accidentally by tigers and leopards, might die, but these cases are to be considered only accidental killings. The National Tiger Conservation Authority's (NTCA) guidelines for declaration of big cats as man eaters are clear on this.

"Such circumstances include approach by man in an area where tigress is sheltering her cubs, approaching accidentally a sleeping tiger/tigress, especially by grass cutters and wood collectors, a bent posture of humans when a tiger takes him to be an animal and attacks. In such cases, tiger may not eat dead person for the first time but it may start eating the dead body if it comes across such accidents more than once."

Besides, if tigress is with cubs and is confined to a limited area where there is shortage of natural prey, it is more prone to eat the body. The eating of dead body does not prove it is a man-eater. Similarly, the fact that tiger has killed more than one human being also does not prove it is a man-eater. The circumstances under which animal killed the human being should be examined in detail.

In case of Deoria tiger, it could be a "potential man-eater". More because humans are an easy prey. In most of the situations, it is old age, illness or deformity that makes tiger a man-eater. Whether Deoria tiger too has any of these problems is yet to be ascertained.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/lucknow/Tiger-not-a-man-eater-if-killings-accidental-/articleshow/6289952.cms

Tardy progress on census

NAGPUR: State's principal chiefconservator of forests (wildlife) Dinesh Chandra Pant has set August 31 as deadline for all the remaining forest divisions in the state to submit data on tiger census conducted between January 28 and February 3.

Pant told TOI that of the 76 forest divisions including those in Forest Development Corporation of Maharashtra (FDCM), only 36 had submitted the data so far. "We are in constant touch with the remaining divisions and have asked them to submit the data by month-end," he added.

In the six-day exercise (phase I), carnivore sign survey, ungulate encounter rate, and habitat quality was done by sampling of beats and variety of features were recorded by moving on transect lines drawn in 5,838 beats. The data feeding is in its final stage in respective divisions. It is being submitted on a CD to chief conservator of forests (wildlife) Nandkishore's office at Nagpur.

Earlier, a deadline of April 30 was set. It was later extended to July 31 and it has finally been set for August 31 by Pant. Pant said there were certain technical problems and corrections had to be made. Secondly, at many divisions, officials who were trained in data feeding got transferred recently resulting in delay.

The collected data would be submitted to Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun, which would come out with the estimated tiger numbers most likely in November. Prior to that, intensive monitoring of source population with the help of photo identity, radio telemetry, sign surveys for three months would be done before declaring final figures.

In Maharashtra, over 5,000 sq km area having tiger presence was scanned. Although are keeping their fingers crossed, they expect the numbers to go up with new cubs and tigers being sighted in some new areas even after first phase of data collection.

"In 2007, when a similar census was conducted, the data collected was not up to the mark as field staff had not got clear view of new methodology. This time, a serious exercise was done and many left out areas were also covered. This will not necessarily mean more or less tigers, but there will be greater accuracy in estimation," a senior wildlife wing official said.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/Tardy-progress/articleshow/6296799.cms

9 PAs move a step ahead to be critical habitat Read more: 9 PAs move a step ahead to be critical habitat

NAGPUR: The state-level committee on identifying critical wildlife habitat (CWH) on Tuesday gave the go-ahead to proposals from nine sanctuaries to initiate the process of public consultation to formally declare these areas as CWH.

On Tuesday, the committee met at Van Sabhagriha under the chairmanship of principal chief conservator of forests (wildlife), Maharashtra, DC Pant. Additional PCCF PJ Thosre, CCFs Nandkishore, AK Saxena and panel member Kishor Rithe were present. The meeting was attended by over two dozen wildlife officials from the state. This was the panel’s third meeting in three years. It last met on August 10, 2009.

Pant stressed the need for early meetings as CWH deals with creating inviolate spaces for wildlife, including the flagship species tiger. Talking to TOI, Pant said proposals of nine sanctuaries were cleared for the second stage of identifying CWH. The protected areas (PAs) include Phansad, Tansa, Koyna, Radhanagri, Katepurna, Dhyanganga, Painganga, Chaprala and Bhimashankar.

“We also considered new proposals from Bor, Tipeshwar, Yawal and Aner sanctuaries. Proposals of two PAs, Kalsubai and Nandura-Mayureshwar, were only discussed,” Pant said. To speed up the process of relocating villages, a decision was taken to form a subcommittee. CCFs and DyCFs will be chiefs and member-secretaries respectively. Some PAs have been told to resubmit their proposals by August 30.

“We will review the proposals by November 10,” Pant said. Eight areas, including 3 tigers reserves — Pench, Tadoba-Andhari and Melghat, Wan, Ambabarwa and Narnala sanctuaries, and Gugamal national park have been declared critical tiger habitats
.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/9-PAs-move-a-step-ahead-to-be-critical-habitat/articleshow/6290920.cms

Orphaned tiger cub killed in MP

A six-month old orphaned tiger cub, who had lost its mother to a car accident earlier this year, was killed by a tiger who entered its fenced enclosure, according to forest authorities at Bandhavgarh National Park. Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) H S Pabla confirmed the death of one cub and said the cub’s two siblings were found to be safe on Sunday evening.

The three cubs had been orphaned when their mother got run over by a vehicle inside the park and died a day later, on May 19. A National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) probe had revealed that the tigress was run over by one of the two vehicles allowed inside the park after visiting hours, on May 18. One vehicle, according to the probe, had forest officials and the other had a local political leader.

The state government had first claimed that a tourist vehicle hit the tigress but later suspended three forest officials in connection with the case.

The park has remained closed to visitors since July 1 and is due to reopen on October 15. The only people who have access to the park right now are forest officials. There have also been rumours about one or more cubs missing from the park.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Orphaned-tiger-cub-killed-in-MP/658339

Luxury train in Ranthambore

JAIPUR: While the Ranthambore National Park (RNP) remains closed for three months between July and September, an exception made this year has irked the common man and wildlife enthusiasts. Forty tourists aboard the luxury train Palace on Wheels were allowed to go inside the park for tiger-sighting in August.

Wildlife experts say that the park is essentially for the conservation of tiger, while tourism is just a corollary. "The tigers get just these three months unhindered by human intervention. The entire objective of national parks is to maintain a protected area as close as possible to the natural habitat. And to disturb the park at this time is uncalled for", said an expert.

However, government officials said that special permission was sought only for this year. "We had to approach the CM to get a special clearance. We could not have skipped Ranthambore as it is part of the itinerary and highlighted in the marketing of the train within the country and abroad. Next year, we will not promote the park as a destination for the months of July, August and September," said Manjit Singh, RTDC chairman and managing director.

It was only after a series of meetings between chief secretary T Srinivasan and forest minister Ramlal Jat that the clearance came from CM Ashok Gehlot. But it had a rider this would be the last time an exception was made in the case of the two luxury trains, the Palace on Wheels and the Royal Rajasthan on Wheels.

Tour operators also feel that the government had to bend its rules because it can't backtrack after committing to an international tourist. "The international consumer laws are very stringent and if Ranthambore was skipped from the itenary, the RTDC would have had to refund the entire amount. That may be the reason why the CM had to grant permission to the PoW to enter," said a tour operator.

However, others may not agree. "This sounds discriminatory. Either they should open it for everyone or shut it completely. There are areas in the buffer zone that are rocky and not affected by rain. Permitting tourists just here would also help check the grazing menace as the forest officials are not very vigilant," said Dharmendra Khandal, a conservation biologist with the NGO Tiger Watch don't agree.

A visit to the Ranthambore Park is part of the much-publicized itinerary of the PoW, which is considered number four in its category in the world. While the government has been sanctioning a visit into the forest in September for many years, this year the PoW chugged off a month in advance. The itinerary had been sold months in advance.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/jaipur/Luxury-train-in-Ranthambore/articleshow/6284604.cms