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

Tiger population poised to rise in Sathyamangalam

TNN | Mar 20, 2012, 06.22AM IST COIMBATORE: The tiger population in Sathyamangalam forests, which will in all likelihood be declared a tiger reserve soon, is stable and poised for further increase, a just concluded wildlife census revealed. According to Sathyamangalam Divisional Forest Officer N Sathish, the survey confirmed that the tiger population in the area is between 18 and 25. The wildlife census, which began on Friday, concluded on Sunday evening. The census was being conducted with the participation of volunteers of Coimbatore based NGO OSAI, students of Bannariamman Institute of Technology, SEWA voluntary organization in Erode and wildlife enthusiasts. According to him, modern equipment including laser range finders was used for enumeration of wild animals. The surveyors also adopted line-transect direct count, carnivore sign survey, dung count and waterhole count systems to take stock of the animals. According to Sathish, an itemized list of animals would be brought out later after merging data collected by different groups. ``The presence of tigers was confirmed in many areas. In Kettuvadi and Bijilatti, bodies of deer killed by tigers were found. Marks left by tigers on some trees were also documented. Cameras have been installed in various parts of the forest to capture images of tigers,'' he said. According to Sathish, the enumerators found large herds of elephants inside the forest and their number count is around 800. The area is one of the largest havens for Asiatic elephants, he said. The surveyors also found cheetahs, jackals and bears inside the forest. ''A healthy prey base, our strict vigil in forests, conservation efforts and reduction of cattle population in the forest fringes have yielded positive results in Sathyamangalam,'' he said when asked about the growing population of animals. ``Once it gets tiger reserve status, there would be total habitat improvement. There would be projects that would help not only the tigers but also the entire flora and fauna of the region. It is home to one fourth of the elephants in the state. Sathyamangalam is also a migratory path for over 6,000 Asiatic elephants which move from the Nilgiris to Bandipur in Karnataka,'' Sathish said. It also has a large number of black bucks and hyenas. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/coimbatore/Tiger-population-poised-to-rise-in-Sathyamangalam/articleshow/12336966.cms

Toil to trace tiger turns futile

Bagish K Jha, TNN | Mar 20, 2012, 01.18AM IST INDORE: After keeping the forest officials on their toes for more than a month, tiger in Choral forest range is believed to have moved on to some other neighbouring territory. "For the last 15 days, there has been no trace of the tiger. We believe that it might have migrated to adjoining Dewas or Barwani forest ranges. The DFOs of the adjoining areas have been alerted and told to keep a track on the tiger's movement," said chief conservator of forest (CCF) P C Dubey. "Though the big cats keep on straying from one place to another, we are hopeful that the richness of Choral forest range might bring the tiger back. Choral range has thick forest with good prey base, which is the basic characteristic of a tiger's habitat," he added. He further said the landscape management strategy for the protection of big cats is in place and there is a huge possibility that the region may turn into a permanent tiger habitat. The department had confirmed the presence of tiger for the first time on February 4 last on the basis of pug marks, scratches on tree and other evidences. Since then, the department has been keeping a tab on pug marks of the tiger. Also, there were reports of cattle lifting and killing of other animals in the range. Few villagers too claimed to have seen the tiger. But during the last two weeks, none of these was reported. When contacted, former PCCF (Wildlife), P M Lad said, "Choral range did not have tigers for the past 30 years. But the condition of forest has improved significantly over the years. The forest is dense with good water reserve and herbivorous population. However, a big cat takes time to adapt itself to a new area. If any tiger stays in a particular area for more than a-year-and-a-half, then only it can be termed a tiger territory. Former PCCF J J Dutta said the tigers are very particular about their territory and they take long to select and adapt to a new territory. Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun had reported about the possible presence of seven tigers in the region for first time in its survey report released in July 2011. The survey had specifically mentioned Dabal Chowki, Kalakund, Choral, Punjarapura, Rajpura and Surtipura as suitable places for tiger habitat in Choral forest range. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/indore/Toil-to-trace-tiger-turns-futile/articleshow/12334824.cms

Cameras capture 17 tigers outside Sunderbans reserve area

Krishnendu Mukherjee, TNN | Mar 20, 2012, 07.00AM IST KOLKATA: The first ever camera trap exercise done in the South 24 Parganas forest division has found presence of over 15 tigers. The exercise, done jointly by WWF-India and the state forest department has photo captured 8 individual tigers in the Ramganga range and 9 in the Raidighi range. Sources said tiger presence was found in Dhulibhashani and Chulkathi compartments in Ramganga, while Ajmalmari and Herobhanga compartments in Raidighi range also reported good tiger density. It may be noted that over 462 square kilometres in this part of the mangrove forests will be developed as West Sunderbans Wildlife Sanctuary. According to sources, the entire South 24 Parganas forest division was divided into 4 square kilometres grid to locate tiger pugmarks and scats. "Later, based on pugmarks and scat presence, 20 heat motion sensitive cameras were laid in the Ramganga range covering an area of over 184 square kilometres and 21 trap camera stations were set up in the Raidighi range covering almost 216 square kilometres ," said sources. The exercise for Ramganga was done between January 23 and February 21, while trap cameras were laid and taken out in Raidighi between February 11 and March 12. "While 8 tigers were found in the Ramganga range with a density of 5.24 tigers per 100 square kilometres , Raidighi has recorded presence of 9 tigers till March 12 with a density of over 4 tigers per 100 square kilometres. Total 44 images were captured in Raidighi," said sources, adding that rare leopard cats, jungle cats and fishing cats too were photo captured. The project will also cover Herobhanga under South 24 Parganas forest division and Sajnekhali Wildlife Sanctuary under Sunderbans Tiger Reserve (STR). The officials of WWF-India are meeting state forest minister Hiten Burman and senior officials in the department today to brief them about the updated figures of the big cats photo captured between March 12 and March 19. Sources said that the presence of the tigers will give a boost to the state's plan of developing another wildlife sanctuary in this part of the forests. "The new sanctuary - West Sunderbans Wildlife Sanctuary - will cover Dhulibhashani 1 to 8 and Chulkathi 1 to 8 compartments . The proposed wildlife sanctuary will have Dhulibhashani 1 to its north, Bay of Bengal to its south and rivers Matla and Thakuran to its east and west respectively," said sources, adding that while 224.26 square kilometres will fall under Dhulibhashani, 238.13 square kilometres will come under Chulkathi. "We will issue fresh boat licence certificates (BLCs) to the fishermen who will venture out for fishing in the area," Sunderbans Biosphere Reserve director Pradeep Vyas had said. At present, 3500 licences are given to boat owners in South 24 Parganas forest division and 960 BLCs are issued under Sunderbans Tiger Reserve (STR). It may be noted that the Centre's tiger estimation exercise - Status of Tigers, Co-predators and Prey in India - has recently projected the number of tigers within Sunderbans Tiger Reserve between 64 and 90. Times View Adecent tiger density outside the tiger reserve area shows Sunderbans - one of the last surviving natural tiger habitats in the world - still holds the potential to sustain a healthy tiger population. Only, there should be regular monitoring and better management in the reserve, which will not only clear controversies surrounding the real number of big cats in the mangroves, but will also throw light on the behavioural pattern of the tigers and other rare species in the forests. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata-/Cameras-capture-17-tigers-outside-Sunderbans-reserve-area/articleshow/12337241.cms

Slow operations a boon for stray tiger

TNN Mar 19, 2012, 03.57AM IST LUCKNOW: The lazy pace of tiger-tracking operations at Rahmankhera could allow the big cat an extended stay. Some forest officials, who were part of the operation, have returned from Rahmankhera. The forest department has asked the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) to send in more trained hands to capture the tiger.The big cat has been roaming in Rahmankhera for more than two months. During this period, some senior forest officials, including chief wildlife warden (CWW), have retired from the service. Sources say the slow pace of operations can be linked to these retirements. The incumbent CWW, Mohammad Ehsan, is also due to retire by March end. Another reason for that slow approach is that the department had drawn flak when it killed a stray tigress in 2009. Even NTCA had written to the forest department, directing the officers to follow the NTCA guidelines for tranquilising and trapping stray tigers. The tigress had strayed from Pilibhit, and had turned a man-eater before it was killed. The tiger in Rahmankhera, so far, hasn't ventured into human settlements. Besides, it has also not attacked any human. The patch of forest in Rahmankhera, where tiger is localised, has three villages in close proximity. These villages are Ulrapur, Dugauli and Meethenagar. "Three days back, when the tiger killed a bullock, forest officers again tampered with the kill," said wildlife enthusiast Kaushlendra Singh. Meanwhile, the wildlife enthusiasts plan hold discussions with the department on the ways to save the big cat. http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-03-19/lucknow/31210109_1_tiger-tracking-tiger-conservation-authority-ntca

Meant for tigers, camera traps poachers in Kaziranga

Rahul Karmakar/HT Correspondent, Hindustan Times A motion-sensitive camera with automatic sensors placed in Kaziranga National Park for an ongoing tiger census recorded two poachers early on Monday morning. Home to an estimated 2,200 one-horned rhinos, the 860 sq km Kaziranga is a happy hunting ground for wildlife criminals whose network extends to China and Southeast Asia. "We launched a search operation after our forest guards heard gunshots early in the morning near the Sonok anti-poaching camp. We subsequently found one of the two cameras placed for tiger trapping, north of the camp, missing. The other camera had visuals of two armed poachers recorded in it," Ikarmul Mazid, range officer of the park's Burapahar range said. The camera captured the poachers who were inside the Burapahar range adjoining a hill range named Bagser, yet to be made a part of the World Heritage Site despite recommendations from the park authorities. Mazid said each poacher had a sophisticated rifle in the hands and a revolver on the waist. "Their features clearly indicated they were most probably from Nagaland and aged around 25 years," he added. Park officials said the poachers took away one of the cameras possibly after it flashed due to their movement. Last week, a group of poachers were recorded inside Odisha's Simlipal Tiger Reserve. Cameras placed in that wildlife preserve showed poachers armed with bows and arrows. Poachers have made several attempts to kill rhinos in Kaziranga in the past week. "At least four attempts were made with gunshots being heard by our guards. We heard three gunshots on Friday, but we found no casualty after combing the areas," said Kaziranga park director Surajit Dutta. http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/Guwahati/Meant-for-tigers-camera-traps-poachers-in-Kaziranga/Article1-827923.aspx

Madhya Pradesh government may recommend CBI probe into tiger deaths in Panna

PTI Mar 19, 2012, 05.56AM IST BHOPAL: The Madya Pradesh government is likely to recommend a CBI probe into the alleged disappearance and poaching of wild cats from Panna Tiger Reserve based on a report submitted by sanctuary authorities. Sources said the report was submitted to the Madhya Pradesh government last month after a year-long follow up by the state administration and the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) with PTR over the issue. They said the report contained all necessary evidence and reasons for tiger deaths and their disappearance from the reserve, adding the State may recommend a CBI probe into at least three such cases between 2005 and 2009 in the PTR. "The report has been submitted to the MP Forest department, which is carrying out discussions with the Home Department to decide on a CBI probe," a senior State government official said. Various social activists and wildlife experts had written to both the State and Central governments to constitute a CBI inquiry into cases of tiger death in PTR. Following the representations, the NTCA had a sought reply from the MP government in this regard early last year. According to another report by the Madhya Pradesh government, there was no tiger in Panna Reserve in the 2009 census carried out by the authorities there. The report says that there were about 20 tigers in 2006. Citing it as an example of 'fence eating the crop', the report strongly recommended a CBI probe into the alleged disappearance of the striped cats. (MORE) PTI AKV EKA SPC http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-03-19/bhopal/31210185_1_cbi-probe-tiger-deaths-cbi-inquiry

Four day annual tiger census from March 29

PTI | 03:03 PM,Mar 18,2012 Tirunelveli, Mar 18 (PTI): The four day annual census for fixing the tiger population in the Kalakkad–Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve (KMTR) in the Western Ghats will be held from March 29, forest officials said. The objective of census is also to ascertain whether the forest had helped in providing a proper environment for tigers to mate, the officials said in a release. The census will also determine whether the herbivore density at KMTR is at the desired level so that it would form the right prey base. As the National Tiger Conservation Authority had decided to monitor tiger population in reserves annually, KMTR plans to conduct the census by involving volunteers from colleges, it said.

Prowling 'tiger' spreading panic in Bithoor villages

TNN Mar 17, 2012, 04.37AM IST KANPUR: The residents of five villages of Bithoor district are living in fear as the tiger which had attacked farmers on Tuesday and Wednesday, is still traceless. However, district forest officer B R Ahirwar said, "We have found no trace of any tiger in the villages and therefore, we apprehend that the wild animal is either a hyena or a leopard." When asked what is being done to trap the suspected animal, Ahirwar said that the officials of forest department were making efforts to nab the wild animal. It is worth mentioning here that a tiger had fled from Lakhimpur Kheri and reportedly entered the forest area of Bithoor. The villagers are presently living in fear and while out nights awake, armed with iron rods and axes. According to the farmers, the animal which had attacked was huge in size and had large paws. The animal had attacked Manohar Lal and Pankaj, both farmers who were working in their fields. http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-03-17/kanpur/31204467_1_bithoor-tiger-villages

Save Kosi river corridor, save tigers: WWF

IANS Mar 18, 2012, 08.13PM IST (An ever increasing number of resorts to cater to tourists is threatening the tigers with an increase in the number of conflicts between the big cat and humans. DELHI: Highlighting the importance of the Kosi river corridor in the Corbett tiger reserve in Uttarakhand, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) said Sunday that the crucial pathway is facing a threat from upcoming resorts and hotels. Recent photos taken in the corridor, situated in the Terai Arc Landscape (TAL) at the heart of which lies the Corbett tiger reserve, have shown as many as 13 tigers using the pathway. In one of the photos, a tigress with her two sub-adult cubs was camera trapped in west Terai feeding on a domestic cow. "In January 2012, the same tigress was photographed carrying an approximately one-month-old cub in her mouth, further south in the Kosi corridor," said Meraj Anwar, Senior Project Officer, WWF. "The sighting comes a few weeks after the first photo of a tiger crossing the corridor," he added. However, an ever increasing number of resorts to cater to tourists is threatening the tigers with an increase in the number of conflicts between the big cat and humans. "Ramnagar forest division has witnessed increased human-animal conflict over the years owing to human movement in forests and the expansion of tourism in the area, particularly the tourist resorts that have sprung up here in the recent past," said K.D. Kandpal, Landscape Coordinator, TAL. "If unchecked, the resorts mushrooming in the area will choke the corridor and block the free movement of tigers through it. If the tiger in India is to be saved for posterity, the Kosi River tiger corridor needs to be protected at all costs," he added. http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-03-18/developmental-issues/31207104_1_ramnagar-forest-division-corbett-tiger-reserve-kosi-river

MP govt, wildlife dept at loggerheads over buffer zone for tiger reserve

Chetan Chauhan, Hindustan Times New Delhi, March 15, 2012 Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan and the state wildlife department seem to be at loggerheads over notifying a buffer zone around the Panna tiger reserve. Chauhan was against declaring the area as a buffer zone in consideration of the local opposition, mostly comprising the mining mafia in the region. The same people were said to be responsible for firing at police personnel last Friday, an incident that culminated in the arrest of dacoit-turned-sand miner Kuber Singh. “People are more important than tigers,” Chauhan had said when local wildlife enthusiasts and the environment ministry sought the declaration of the green buffer zone around the reserve, rejecting any efforts in that regard. Now, the internal response to the chief minister’s claim – as assessed by the Hindustan Times – shows that the wildlife wing of the state government was against non-declaration of the buffer zone around the Panna reserve, which had lost all its tigers in 2009. The state government has already declared buffers around four other tiger reserves in the state – Kanha, Bandhavgarh, Pench and Satpura. However, Panna was kept in abeyance due to alleged resistance from local residents, which the wildlife department has described as a “misconception”. “It will be kept in mind that no existing mine is closed due to declaration of the buffer zone,” said then chief conservator of forests HS Pabla in an internal note. He also claimed that if the buffer zone was not declared, the state government may face problems in getting funds amounting to Rs 535 crore from the Centre for relocating four villages in the core area of the tiger reserve. Relocation of these villages is essential for providing an “inviolate area” to relocated tigers, and declaration of the buffer zone will provide 12 tigers in the reserve with enough space to spread out. “Otherwise, the tigers will die in infighting for space,” a local forest official said. Despite a strong appeal by the wildlife department, the state government had failed to declare the buffer zone around the reserve, resulting in large-scale illegal mining of stone and sand from Ken  river, a key source of water in the forested area. Even the National Tiger Conservation Authority had repeatedly asked the state government to declare the buffer zone. http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/MP-govt-wildlife-dept-at-loggerheads-over-buffer-zone-for-tiger-reserve/Article1-825974.aspx

Tiger reserves out of bounds to researchers

Decision made to curb human disturbance in tiger habitats, says Forest Department In a decision that is bound to antagonise conservation scientists, the State Forest Department has clamped down on field research in tiger reserves and will neither renew nor grant fresh permits to enter these forests. The State's five tiger reserves — Bandipur, Nagarahole, Anshi-Dandeli, Bhadra and B.R. Hills — will no longer be accessible for field research, according to Principal Chief Conservator of Forests B.K. Singh. The recent fire in Nagarahole has only reaffirmed the need for ‘inviolate zones' in tiger habitats to prevent human ‘disturbance', he added. In fact, over the last two years, the department had denied permission to almost every one of the 30-odd applicants for research in these forests. Research permits have been renewed for only two scientists: tiger expert Ullas Karanth and elephant researcher T.N.C. Vidya of the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Mr. Singh said. APPLICATIONS REJECTED Decision made to curb human disturbance in tiger habitats, says Forest Department In a decision that is bound to antagonise conservation scientists, the State Forest Department has clamped down on field research in tiger reserves and will neither renew nor grant fresh permits to enter these forests. The State's five tiger reserves — Bandipur, Nagarahole, Anshi-Dandeli, Bhadra and B.R. Hills — will no longer be accessible for field research, according to Principal Chief Conservator of Forests B.K. Singh. The recent fire in Nagarahole has only reaffirmed the need for ‘inviolate zones' in tiger habitats to prevent human ‘disturbance', he added. In fact, over the last two years, the department had denied permission to almost every one of the 30-odd applicants for research in these forests. Research permits have been renewed for only two scientists: tiger expert Ullas Karanth and elephant researcher T.N.C. Vidya of the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Mr. Singh said. Applications of several researchers, including scientists from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc.), who had sought permission to study subjects ranging from Kabini hydrology and elephant behaviour to Shola ecology in these forests, were rejected. Citing the Wildlife Protection Act (WLPA) 1972, Mr. Singh said the 2006 amendment stipulated the creation of ‘inviolate' zones in tiger reserves to curb human presence. Asked why the two researchers were privileged over the others, he said that while Prof. Karanth was doing tiger-specific research, Dr. Vidya was given a recommendation by the Union Government. Scientists outraged Scientists and conservation biologists, who had noticed the trend, were outraged by a decision they say was based on whimsy rather than scientific justification. R. Sukumar, professor and chairman at the Centre for Ecological Sciences, IISc., said his students were routinely denied entry into Nagarahole and Bandipur. “This decision means that the Forest Department will now manage forests without scientific information.” Wildlife cannot be looked at in isolation, he added. “What about fire ecology, vegetation ecology or invasive plants?” The WLPA did not mandate such a ban, said Nitin Rai, fellow, Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment. “On the contrary, it supports research that improves habitat quality,” he said, describing the ban on research in tiger reserves as retrogressive and arbitrary. The only State Indeed, no other State denies permission to researchers in tiger reserves, M.D. Madhusudan, senior scientist with the Nature Conservation Foundation, pointed out. “It is unlikely that research is the most serious threat that tigers are facing,” he said. http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/karnataka/article2985232.ece