Palamu Tiger Reserve tigers go traceless as prey population dwindles

READ MORE National Tiger Conservation Authority|Wildlife Institute of India|WII|Dehradun

Alok K N Mishra, TNN | May 19, 2013, 12.02 AM IST

RANCHI: The Palamu Tiger Reserve (PTR) is witnessing a fast decline in the population of tigers because the reserve lacks animals tigers can prey on. In the last 10 years, 36 tigers have gone traceless from the reserve and forest guards posted there attribute this to the lack of rarely found spotted deer, blue-bulls, deer and other animals, tigers like to feast upon.

A high-level delegation of National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), which was in Ranchi on Saturday expressed concern over the decreasing number of deers in the reserve. The team which visited the reserve on Friday said it will write to the Wildlife Institute of India ( WII), Dehradun to conduct a prey population survey at the PTR at the earliest. The findings of the survey would help authorities plan an effective mechanism to naturally breed small herbivores and allow them into the jungles to help the big cats prey.

“The NTCA is ready to finance it all. The PTR officials have been asked to come to Delhi and make a presentation of their plans to increase the prey population,” said a source in the NTCA.

As many as 36 tigers have gone missing from the PTR between 2003 and 2009. According to a 2003 tiger census, there were 42 tigers in the PTR. The number witnessed a sharp decline and in 2009 only six tigers were found.

“The NTCA team has said the survey of the prey population will help us in conserving the big cats. In recent times, the number of small herbivores has gone down a little,” said S E H Kazmi, director of the PTR.

Sources in the PTR said dwindling prey population has forced the tigers, leopards and other carnivore animals to sneak into the 199 villages situated inside the reserve area and kill domestic animals. “The reports of carnivores killing domestic animals are frequent now,” said the official.

The NTCA team reviewed all such aspects during their daylong visit to the reserve in Daltonganj district on Friday.

The team which called upon forest secretary and other senior officers here on Saturday has given their feedback to the officials. The team included member secretary NTCA Dr Rajesh Gopal, inspector general NTCA H S Negi and deputy inspector general S P Yadav.

Principal chief conservator of forest (PCCF) A K Malhotra said, “NTCA has recommended the survey of prey population to help us manage the prey population in a scientific manner. The only purpose is to make sure that the tigers do not leave the reserve owing to lack of food.”

 

Ranthambore tiger strides 220km to MP

 

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Apr 25, 2013, 05.57AM IST TNN[ Anindo Dey & P Naveen ]

The search for a home led a young male tiger from Ranthambore to travel through villages and agricultural fields, cross the Chambal river and ‘settle’ 220km away in a patch of forest in Datia district of Madhya Pradesh.

JAIPUR/GWALIOR: The search for a home led a young male tiger from Ranthambore to travel through villages and agricultural fields, cross the Chambal river and ‘settle’ 220km away in a patch of forest in Datia district of Madhya Pradesh.

This is the farthest any big cat from the national park is recorded to have travelled. The journey has been documented by Ranthambhore’s deputy conservator of forest YK Sahu, field biologist Dharmendra Khandal (of tiger watch), and Ayan Sadhu, a junior research fellow at Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun.

On March 14, the three-year-old tiger was found in Seoda range of Datia territorial forest division, a forest patch 55km in length and 11-12km wide. Identified as a male cub of tigress T-26, the tiger was one of three that went missing from Ranthambore. The other two were traced to Kuno wildlife sanctuary, which is preparing to host lions from Gir in Gujarat.

A team from Ranthambore visited Datia district last week. It installed camera traps to check the tiger’s movements. The big cat finally showed up in camera trap pictures.

“Our team followed the tiger all the way to MP. We are happy that it’s safe there and the officers were very cooperative. We cannot stop dispersal, only concern is its safety,” said Y K Sahu, district forest officer Ranthambore.

The longest recorded distance travelled by a tiger is 280km (as the crow flies), when another young male wandered from Bandipur to Shikaripur in Karnataka in 2011.

According to a report by Sahu and others, “By the end of January 2013, the sub-adult cubs of tigress T-26, about two years old, began to disperse from their mother. On January 23 and 24 night, villagers of Khandar and Ganeshnagar reported movement of tigers,” the report said.

By January 25, pugmarks were again seen along Banas river going towards Bichpuri. The marks led up to Bheonji, near Bichpuri village, 12km from Dhamida ghata and then 4km away near Gopaz Ghati leading to the neighbouring Kailadevi Sanctuary.

After that, the tiger crossed Chambal river and entered the forests of Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary, Madhya Pradesh. It was tracked by forest officials of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. Between January 28 and February 9, the tiger had travelled 70 km from its natal place in Ranthambore. A cow was found mauled to death near Birpur territorial range in MP, confirming the predator’s presence.

The animal went unnoticed for a long time. But in the first week of March 2013, the forest division of Datia in Madhya Pradesh reported movement of a tiger in Seoda range.

“Since there was no reported tiger presence in this area, a team was sent from Ranthambore to assist the Datia forest staff. On March 27, the killing of a wild boar alerted local staffers who installed cameras and managed to get pictures which matched with those of T26′s male cub,” the report notes.

“We concluded that the tiger roaming in the Seoda range is one of the male sub-adults from the present litter of T26,” says Dharmendra Khandal.

There were no tiger sightings in Datia till one was shot dead by poachers in 1998. Prior to that one was hunted ‘legally’ by a royal family member in 1960, said sources.

“We are very concerned about the tiger’s safety. Additional patrolling is being done to keep tab on its movements,” said chief conservator of forest (Gwalior circle) SP Rayal.

http://m.timesofindia.com/city/jaipur/Ranthambore-tiger-strides-220km-to-MP/articleshow/19719121.cms

 

 

NGO opposes move to shift tigers from MP to Sariska Reserve

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/environment/flora-fauna/ngo-opposes-move-to-shift-tigers-from-mp-to-sariska-reserve/articleshow/19509050.cms

PTIApr 12, 2013, 12.28PM IST

Tags:

• Sariska Tiger Reserve|
• National Tiger Conservation Authority|
• Jayanti Natrajan

BHOPAL: Protesting the proposed move of National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) to shift few tigers from Madhya Pradesh to Sariska Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan to arrest their dwindling population in the desert state, an NGO working for the conservation of big cats, has requested the Centre to intervene in the matter.

In a letter to Union environment and forest minister Jayanti Natrajan, NGO ‘Prayatna’ highlighted documents sourced through RTI stating that NTCA under some political pressure has instructed the Madhya Pradesh government to shift tigers from the state to Sariska Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan, terming the move as “very disturbing”.

“We strongly object to the step taken by NTCA and have requested the Union minister for immediate intervention in the matter as Madhya Pradesh not only lost the coveted tiger state status in the last census to Karnataka, but also it was unable to protect its big cats in the wild which resulted in poaching/natural death of 16 tigers including three tigress and two cubs in 2012,” Prayatna secretary, Ajay Dube told PTI.

Dube further informed on the basis of RTI, that acting on the NTCA letter dated March 8, referring to its Technical Committee meeting, dated February 27, principal chief conservator of forest (PCCF) Wildlife, Dr P K Shukla has requested the NTCA to take an opinion of the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) Dehradoon on the issue of shifting tigers from Madhya Pradesh to Sariska.

However, Dube said that in the light of state losing 16 tigers in just 2012, the forest authorities should have protested the move.

Instead, they have just requested NTCA to take WII’s opinion on the matter, he said.

 

Lionhearts by profession, bravehearts for life ~ SASAN

 

Roar for the Asiatic Lion

https://www.facebook.com/AsiaticLions

 

Lionhearts by profession, bravehearts for life ~ SASAN (JUNAGADH): His work begins at 5.30 am. Donning his uniform, he sets off into the jungle, looking for pugmarks. Once he finds them, he follows the marks right to the point where he meets his boss – the lion. This is just another day in the life of a tracker employed by the forest department to follow Asiatic lions in Gir.

Many of the trackers are illiterate while others have barely passed high school. However, they are the all-knowing teachers when it comes to helping scholars from around the world study lion behaviour. “On an average, a tracker with 25 years of experience will have assisted 15 PhD students, both Indians and foreign. We have trackers who even help wildlife channels make documentaries,” says a forest officer.

“Our job is to observe the lion all day, follow him at a distance of 1 km. There are 411 lions and just 14 of us,” says tracker Mohammad Arif, 53. He has been tracking the wild cats for 35 years.

Rajesh Vaja, 34, who has studied up to class VII, says education could be important in other professions, but not for his work. “We learn from our fathers,” he says. “My entire lineage consists of trackers.” He takes his three-year-old son for a stroll inside the protected forest zone as a form of education.

Dean of the wildlife department at the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun, and himself a PhD on lions, Yadvendra Jhala, gives full credit to the trackers. “The current trackers are descendents of the ‘shikaris’ from the time of the Nawab (of Junagadh), they have excellent field craft and an uncanny ability to follow spoor – the track or scent of an animal – in the jungle,” he says. “There are currently some five to seven such good trackers in Gir from that generation. Two are working on a WII research project as field assistants.”

He adds that these trackers have been indispensable in training his students in field craft, and have been immensely helpful in locating specific lions for radio-collaring and research. “They are courageous, know lion and leopard behaviour and one could rely on them for dangerous tasks of capture and translocation of problem animals as well.”

These lionhearts know the animals intimately. “If a lion hasn’t moved enough in days, we know it is unwell,” says Vaja. “We message the doctor who comes and tranquilizes that particular lion. We then hold the animal in place while it is treated. It often gets dangerous when they wake up. We even get hurt.”

Vaja has been attacked once in 15 years. These trackers know how to determine a lion’s age through its teeth and sometimes, give the doctor advice on how to treat the beast.

Another wildlife expert, Ravi Chellam, too had studied lion behaviour for his doctoral thesis. “In the early days when a researcher is new to the forest, these trackers are very handy as they are aware of the dwelling, terrain and behaviour of the lions,” he says.

Chellam remembers how he would not have been able to radio-collar a lion for his thesis without Wazirbhai, the head tracker in those days. “Being summer I could not see anything after I hit a lion with a tranquilizing dart, but Wazirbhai held his nerve and tracked the lion 10 minutes later. I developed a personal bond with him.”

The lion is not an enemy for these trackers, nor it is a friend. But one thing they can vouch for – the lion will not attack wantonly. “These princely creatures know we are around them and don’t mind it. If we come too close for comfort, a single throaty growl is enough to warn us. We know when to back off,” says Mohammad Juma, 46, who has been in the profession for 25 years.
“When they hunt, they make no sound. Even dry leaves don’t cackle under their paws. Hunting is an extreme sport for them and we must maintain a sacred distance,” says Arif.

“We go to Panchmahal to rescue leopards too. We are genetically adept at managing big, feisty animals. The forest officers post us at other places for rescue operations all year,” says Vaja.

Ask these men if they pet these creatures or name them for fun and pat comes the reply from the angry looking Arif, “We are scared every day, but we don’t spare much thought over it. Lekin unko chhune ka dil hua, toh wo zindagi ka aakhri chhuna ho jayega, samjhe?” (if we feel like petting them, it will be the last time we touch anything in our lives, you understand…)
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-04-02/ahmedabad/38216934_1_trackers-gir-lion

 

More camera traps to spot Sunderbans stripes

READ MORE Wildlife Institute of India|Sunderbans|Sajnekhali|Basirhat

By Prithvijit Mitra, TNN | Nov 24, 2012, 05.55 AM IST

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/More-camera-traps-to-spot-Sunderbans-stripes/articleshow/17344576.cms

KOLKATA: Having tasted success the last time, filming of tigers through ‘camera traps‘ deep inside the Sunderbans, will be renewed later this month. However, compared to 90 cameras that were set up in January, more than 200 cameras will be installed this time across three forest range areas that have not been covered so far.

This apart, areas where traps worked successfully last year, will also be included. Devised by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), the traps are believed to be an important tool in assessing the number of tigers in Sunderbans which has remained a mystery.

It will be the biggest technological exercise undertaken at the mangrove forest so far. The areas where the traps worked successfully last year will be included as well. Devised by Wildlife Institute of India (WII), the traps are believed to be an important tool in helping to arrive at the number of tigers in Sunderbans which has remained a mystery.

“The traps worked very well last time. They not only filmed the tigers, but also detected at least two species, including leopard cats, which were not known to exist in the Sunderbans. This time, the WII has been working on an improved version of camera traps that will be even sharper and more effective. We don’t yet know how much better these cameras are going to be. But we expect them to be even more effective than the ones used last time,” said SS Bist, principal chief conservator of forests (PCCF).

Initially, 230 cameras will be placed at the Basirhat, Sajnekhali and East ranges of the forest which were not covered last year. As many 230 cameras will be installed across the Basirhat, Sajnekhali and East ranges of the forest. These were not covered last year.

“Subsequently, we shall have more cameras installed in the South 24-Parganas division that was covered last time. It will give us a fair idea about the number of tigers in these areas,” said SB Mondol, principal chief conservator of forests (wildlife).

An effort to produce radio-collars for tigers has also been revived by the WII. The new ones are being devised following more research on the Sunderbans terrain. Four years ago, several collars had been mounted on tigers but they stopped functioning after a short period. “Unlike the dry forests, Sunderbans is not suitable for collaring tigers. It’s muddy and has rivers which make the collars malfunction.

The WII has worked on an improved version that will survive the Sunderbans terrain. We hope to have them soon. Along with the camera traps, it will aid the tiger counting process,” said Bist.

With the help of the WII, the forest department has been able to devise methods of was still working on finetuning the method of identifying tigers through photographs. With the help of the WII, it has been able to devise methods.

“When you use cameras, there’s always the possibility of the same tiger being clicked more than once. We need to identify tigers from photographs which we have been able to do. It could be improved further.

But camera traps have been invaluable. They have given us access to the remotest areas of the forest where monitoring was impossible otherwise. There could be no better way of tracking tigers in Sunderbans and will give us valuable inputs on the behaviour of big cats in the forest,” added Bist.

In February, the camera traps captured a mysterious cat which was later discovered as a leopard cat. that led to speculation about a new species being discovered at the Sunderbans. Later, analysis of the photographs revealed that. The animal was a leopard cat that had not been sighted in the Sunderbans prior to that. It was identified from its tail.

“More importantly, it will give us inputs on tiger behaviour. In areas where straying is frequent, we can have an idea if tiger density is the reason. We could then release straying tigers in other areas where density is low. It will help to bring about a balance.

Traps could also be used to monitor prey animals,, an exercise which will begin soon said Bist.

The concentration of prey animals in a particular zone is the best indicator of the number of tigers in an area, he said. “We have never been able to arrive at the number of prey animals since it’s difficult.

So far, we have depended on guesswork based on sightings which is not a scientific method. But it’s important to know the number to have the right tiger count.

The WWI is drawing up a methodology which could be used by us. It would involve the use of technology, similar to the ones being used to count tigers. We shall have a better idea within a month,” said Bist.

The prey base at Sunderbans includes deer, wild boars, gazelles and even fish and crabs. Since each big cat consumes around 50 animals a year, a base of 6000 animals is believed to be ideal at the forest which has an estimated 100-120 tigers.

 

Sariska plans to get 3 more tigers as translocation gifts park 2 cubs

Monday, 15 October 2012 00:18

Lokpal Sethi | Jaipur

http://www.dailypioneer.com/home/online-channel/360-todays-newspaper/101704-sariska-plans-to-get-3-more-tigers-as-translocation-gifts-park-2-cubs.html

Spread over 866 sqkm, the Sariska National Park in Rajasthan was once home to 15 tigers. Poaching reduced the number to zero till re-population began with the shifting of five tigers from another park.

Now, three more of the big cats are to be relocated to increase their number to eight, an official said.

Enthused by the birth of two cubs in the Phase I of the tiger translocation project, the State Forest Department officials are busy giving final touches to Phase II of translocating three more tigers to the Sariska Tiger Reserve.

According to VS Singh, additional chief secretary, environment and forest, officials of the forest department had already held rounds of meeting with the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and Wildlife Institute of India (WII) to apprise them of the plan to seek their help.

One tiger would be shifted from Ranthambore National Park and the other two would be relocated from Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. Talks with the concerned officials of these two States are going to identify the big cats, says AC Choubey, chief wildlife warden of the State.

According to officials, the tigress that will be brought from Ranthambore has already been identified. From MP and Maharashtra, one male and one female tiger would be shifted to Sariska, taking the total number of big cats in this tiger reserve in Alwar district to eight. Since 2008, six big cats wereshifted from Ranthambore to this tiger reserve, from where tigers had disappeared largely due topoaching. The hopes to rehabilitate the forest with tigers remained shattered for nearly four years.

Officials had hoped that the relocated tigers would make this forest their home and give birth to cubs. But this did not happen.

 

In June 2008, a male tiger ST1 was brought to Sariska. In November 2010, ST1 was poisoned by villagers, which brought down the number of relocated tigers to five.

Inspired by Rajasthan, forest officials in MP shifted tigers to the Panna Reserve. But unlike Sariska, the relocated tigers in Panna did not disappoint conservation experts and gave birth to numerous cubs.

Some tiger experts had questioned the wisdom of forest officials of Rajasthan for shifting tigers only from Ranthambore. They argued that since tigers brought here from Ranthambore genetically belonged to one family, chances of their mating and giving birth to cubs were remote.

During all these years, while forest officials in Sariska had seen tigers breed, no new guest had arrived in the forest.

 

Raw Instincts!

 

Photo courtesy of Nirmalya Chakraborty

Royal Bengal Tigers of Tadoba Tiger Reserve are shy, elusive & very ‘wild’. He will growl and really show their anger when you trespass his comfort zone which is different for different tigers!

A male tiger happily enjoying the waterhole during peak Indian Summer until forest department tankers rushed in to fill water arrived which made him vanish back into the forest!

Shrinking prey base forces tigers to change behavioural pattern

 

Read more:Wildlife Institute of India|Ullas Karanth|Subrata Mondal|Subrat Mukherji|Sita Mondal|Haren Mondal|Dehradun|Chief Wildlife Warden

 Krishnendu Mukherjee, TNN | Sep 24, 2012, 05.06AM IST

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/flora-fauna/Shrinking-prey-base-forces-tigers-to-change-behavioural-pattern/articleshow/16522812.cms

Royal Bengal Tiger

JAMESPUR: Seventy-year-old Haren Mondal of Jamespur is familiar with the tiger’s odour. The scene of his father being dragged away by a big cat into the forests of Pirkhali, when he was a young fisherman, still gives him sleepless nights. Thus, he sniffed the big cat’s presence in his hut last August, presumed to be the first tiger straying of the season. “But it was too late. The tiger had already killed a goat. The forest officials were late in reaching and the tiger raided my stable the next day to take away its kill,” rued Mondal.

Mondal is not alone, the big cat has left its mark on almost every family in the village. And ask them, they are prompt enough to point the reason behind the rising tiger straying, an issue from which the foresters prefer to stay away.

“Since Aila, the prey base in the forests has taken a hit. On the fateful day in May, 2009, we had spotted 5 dead deer in our village alone, flown in the water current from the forests other side,” said Gandhari Mondal, another villager.

Echoing her statement, Sita Mondal, a villager of adjacent Patharpara village, said she had spotted two deer, though alive, near the Haatkhola market on the day Aila ravaged the mangroves.

Though the villagers had handed over the carcasses to the forest officials, they didn’t take any official record against it from them. Perhaps a reason, why the department had never made public the official toll of Aila on Sunderbans wildlife. A recent study by Dehradun-based Wildlife Institute of India (WII), carried out in a 200-kilometres stretch in Sajnekhali, pegged a poor prey density in the mangroves. “Each boat transect was repeated for a minimum three times and a maximum six times in the atretch. Prey density along the creeks surveyed in Sajnekhali and west of Sunderbans Tiger Reserve (STR) is comparatively low with only 13.3 chitals (deer) per square kilometres,” said the report.

And with the rising straying cases, comes a change in tigers’ behavioural pattern. “The tigers, by crouching under the nylon nets, have become adept in sneaking through the mosquito nets to take away the goats. The nylon nets are not being maintained properly by the foresters. At some places, those get submerged under the water during high tide,” said Subrata Mondal of Patharpara, who has lost two of his goats to a tiger last week.

Interestingly, the Centre has increased its sanction for maintenance of nylon nets for Sunderbans this year. It has released Rs 10.50 lakh under this head in 2012-13, against Rs 9 lakh in 2011-12. The Centre has also allotted the state Rs 22 lakh this year for laying new nylon nets in Sunderbans, against Rs 20 lakh given last year. Sunderbans Tiger Reserve field director Subrat Mukherji said ever since the cheque power has been withdrawn from the divisional forest officers, the state treasury has almost stopped allotting funds for Conservation works. Chief wildlife warden S B Mondal said funds for these works now comes against letters of credit, which is a time-consuming affair.

Conservationist and scientist Ullas Karanth has his take on Sunderbans’ prey base. “Broadly, Sunderbans is an inherently low prey density, poor quality tiger habitat, as my first ever camera trap study in 1998 showed clearly. This fact is now being reinforced by more detailed behavioural studies being done by WII.”

Between 2009-10 and 2010-11 total 58 incidents of tiger straying cases have been reported in Sunderbans

Nearly 25% of these cases are from Jamespur and Patharpara villages opposite the forests of Panchmukhani 2, a core area

Eight cases of tiger strayings have been reported in 2012 so far from villages near the Sajnekhali Wildlife Sanctuary

 

Cheetah, lion can co-exist: MoEF

 

HT Correspondent, Hindustan Times
New Delhi, September 19, 2012

http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/Bhopal/Cheetah-lion-can-co-exist-MoEF/Article1-932304.aspx

 

Advocating the re-introduction of cheetah in Kuno Sanctuary of Madhya Pradesh (MP) the Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) has rejected the claim that lions and the extinct cat cannot co-exist in the same territory.   It has also sought vacation of May 8, 2012 SupremeCourt (SC) stay to pave way for the implementation of its ambitious Rs. 91.56 crore project to reintroduce the extinct cheetah.

The ministry’s affidavit was filed pursuant to an SC order that raised apprehensions of cheetah’s reintroduction especially in wake of the Centre’s decision to move Gir lions from Gujarat to Kuno sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh. It had even wondered if there was enough wild prey for cheetah to survive at Kuno. MoEF wants to import African cheetahs to Kuno.

Filed through advocate Wasim Qadri, the affidavit assured import of cheetah to Kuno would not delay or affect the lion reintroduction there. It said the cheetah and lions have historical coexistence in the Kuno range and that the sanctuary had “adequate wild prey to support wild carnivores.”

The ministry would not incur cost on procuring cheetahs since Namibia is donating the cats. It denied that the allocation made to Project Tiger had been reduced due to cheetah reintroduction program. Around 85% of the cheetah reintroduction budget is earmarked for protection and for relocation of three villages in Kuno sanctuary.

According to the ministry a joint study by Wildlife Institute of India and Wildlife Trust of India had short listed MP as one of the three to reintroduce cheetah. Since Kuno’s habitat status had improved owing to relocation of 24 villages, the ministry zeroed it in. There were 16 species of cats in India, including the cheetah. The latter is the only cat species, which has become extinct in the country, leading to its reintroduction.

 

African big cat Cheetah to be reintroduced in India

 

Nihi Sharma Sahani, Hindustan Times
Dehradun, September 18, 2012

http://www.hindustantimes.com

 

Cheetah, fastest land animal that extinct from India, might be visible soon in the country again. The efforts are on to reintroduce African big cat at Kuno-Palpur Wildlife Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh, told Dehradun based Wildlife Institute of India (WII).

“Ministry of Environmentand Forests (MoEF) is in process of signing Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Madhya Pradesh for reintroduction of Cheetah in India.” told Dr. VB Mathur Dean Faculty, Wildlife Sciences of Dehradun based Wildlife Institute of India (WII). The latter with Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) is working on a project, since 2011, to reintroduce Cheetah in India.

As per Dr Mathur, Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) will transport African Cheetah to India. It is estimated that each Cheetah will cost Rs. 2 crore including entire transportation and safe reintroduction cost. India is supposed to pay only transportation cost.

The, Cheetah is the only carnivore that was extinct in independent India. It’s been almost 60 years since its extinction was reported.

WII and WTI took up challenges for reintroduction of Cheetah in the country in March 2011. In a comprehensive study that will end in March 2013; both parties jointly surveyed several landscapes for its reintroduction. The baseline study proposed three suitable sites for reintroduction- Kuno-Palpur wildlife sanctuary and Nauradehi wildlife sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh and Shahgarh landscape in Rajasthan.

On the recommendations of MoEF, WII prepared site specific action plan at all three proposed sites after conducting extensive survey for assessment of prey and habitat of Cheetah as well as recorded local communities’ perception towards wildlife conservation in 2011-2012. It was drawn that Kuno is ready for reintroduction as all five villages are ready for translocation so that reintroduction can easily take place.

Cheetah reintroduction also suffered opposition as National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) didn’t approved the project claiming that the specie is exotic and might face environmental impacts post reintroduction.

 

African big cat Cheetah to be reintroduced in India….

 

ROARrrrr for Jungle Tiger

http://www.facebook.com/pages/ROARrrrr-for-Jungle-Tiger/166490116742359

 

Cheetah, fastest land animal that extinct from India, might be visible soon in the country again. The efforts are on to reintroduce African big cat at Kuno-Palpur Wildlife Sanctuaryi

n Madhya Pradesh, told Dehradun based Wildlife Institute of India (WII).

The, Cheetah is the only carnivore that was extinct in independent India. It’s been almost 60 years since its extinction was reported.

WII and WTI took up challenges for reintroduction of Cheetah in the country in March 2011. In a comprehensive study that will end in March 2013; both parties jointly surveyed several landscapes for its reintroduction. The baseline study proposed three suitable sites for reintroduction- Kuno-Palpur wildlife sanctuary and Nauradehi wildlife sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh and Shahgarh landscape in Rajasthan.
On the recommendations of MoEF, WII prepared site specific action plan at all three proposed sites after conducting extensive survey for assessment of prey and habitat of Cheetah as well as recorded local communities’ perception towards wildlife conservation in 2011-2012. It was drawn that Kuno is ready for reintroduction as all five villages are ready for translocation so that reintroduction can easily take place.

Cheetah reintroduction also suffered opposition as National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) didn’t approved the project claiming that the specie is exotic and might face environmental impacts post reintroduction.

Hindustan Times News….

Tiger in focus, but panthers perishing in state rapidly

 

http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/MadhyaPradesh/Tiger-in-focus-but-panthers-perishing-in-state-rapidly/Article1-930735.aspx

Rahul Noronha, Hindustan Times
Bhopal, September 16, 2012

There has been a sharp rise in panther mortality in Madhya Pradesh in the last five years. On one hand, the tiger-centric tourism and conservation policy have led to a blind eye being turned to the panther and on the other, the dwindling number of tigers have now made the panther a target for poaching gangs.

While a tiger may fetch a poacher Rs. 30 lakh in the international marker, panther skin and merchandise too gets sold at high prices (almost half of the above), as per international poaching watchdogs.

Documents sourced through Right to Information (RTI) Act reveal that 155 panther deaths have been recorded in MP between 2002 and 2012. Of these, 98 panthers have been poached while the remaining died natural deaths, as per records of the state forest department. In 2011 alone a record 43 panther deaths were reported, out of which 21 poaching-related.

“There is an inverse correlation between tiger and panther populations. Panthers and tigers can coexist only in complex landscapes. Whenever there is an increase in tiger population due to enhanced protection, panthers get pushed to the peripheries, come close to human settlements and are killed owing to man-animal conflict,” says Dr K Ramesh, scientist at the Wildlife Institute of India (WII). “Panthers are a much more versatile carnivore living willfully close to human settlements owing to the presence of small animals like pigs, goats and dogs that are its prey,” he adds.

Ramesh also says that the panther is perhaps facing a bigger crisis than the tiger, but a silent one. “It is in conflict with human beings all the time and unlike the tiger which has become a symbol for conservation, panther is not as much in the focus,” he adds.

“In the last few years, with protection measures sharpening around tigers, poachers have turned their attention towards panthers,” a the forest department official, adding that panther merchandise also fetches good returns for poachers in the international market.

“Tourism has focused solely on the tiger, leading to other species being ignored,” said Ajay Dubey of the voluntary agency Prayatna.

There are no estimates for panther population in the state given that the WII carries out a census of only the tiger and its prey base. The WII does have figures of panther population but has not covered all panther areas in the country.

Field director, Panna tiger reserve, R Sriniwas Murthy told HT that the panther is more of a survivor than the tiger. “ Given its survival skills, the panther faces a lesser risk than the tiger,” he said.

Panther mortality in Madhya Pradesh between 2002-2012

Year— deaths attributed to poaching———– Total Number of Panther deaths
2008——————08————–15
2009- —————-12————–23
2010——————10————–17
2011——————21————–43
2012- —————-03————–06 (Till June)
Total-155

Tiger mortality in Madhya Pradesh between 2002-2012
Year—–Natural Causes—-Poaching—- Total Number of Deaths
2008———8——————3————-11
2009———12—————-4————–16
2010———10—————-4————–14
2011———-9—————0—————-9
2012———-3—————2—————-5

 

Tiger in focus, but panthers perishing in state rapidly

 

Rahul Noronha, Hindustan Times
Bhopal, September 16, 2012

http://www.hindustantimes.com

 

There has been a sharp rise in panther mortality in Madhya Pradesh in the last five years. On one hand, the tiger-centric tourism and conservation policy have led to a blind eye being turned to the panther and on the other, the dwindling number of tigers have now made the panther a target for poaching gangs.

While a tiger may fetch a poacher Rs. 30 lakh in the international marker, panther skin and merchandise too gets sold at high prices (almost half of the above), as per international poaching watchdogs.

Documents sourced through Right to Information (RTI) Act reveal that 155 panther deaths have been recorded in MP between 2002 and 2012. Of these, 98 panthers have been poached while the remaining died natural deaths, as per records of the state forest department. In 2011 alone a record 43 panther deaths were reported, out of which 21 poaching-related.

“There is an inverse correlation between tiger and panther populations. Panthers and tigers can coexist only in complex landscapes. Whenever there is an increase in tiger population due to enhanced protection, panthers get pushed to the peripheries, come close to human settlements and are killed owing to man-animal conflict,” says Dr K Ramesh, scientist at the Wildlife Institute of India (WII). “Panthers are a much more versatile carnivore living willfully close to human settlements owing to the presence of small animals like pigs, goats and dogs that are its prey,” he adds.

Ramesh also says that the panther is perhaps facing a bigger crisis than the tiger, but a silent one. “It is in conflict with human beings all the time and unlike the tiger which has become a symbol for conservation, panther is not as much in the focus,” he adds.

“In the last few years, with protection measures sharpening around tigers, poachers have turned their attention towards panthers,” a the forest department official, adding that panther merchandise also fetches good returns for poachers in the international market.

“Tourism has focused solely on the tiger, leading to other species being ignored,” said Ajay Dubey of the voluntary agency Prayatna.

There are no estimates for panther population in the state given that the WII carries out a census of only the tiger and its prey base. The WII does have figures of panther population but has not covered all panther areas in the country.

Field director, Panna tiger reserve, R Sriniwas Murthy told HT that the panther is more of a survivor than the tiger. “ Given its survival skills, the panther faces a lesser risk than the tiger,” he said.

Panther mortality in Madhya Pradesh between 2002-2012

Year— deaths attributed to poaching———– Total Number of Panther deaths
2008——————08————–15
2009- —————-12————–23
2010——————10————–17
2011——————21————–43
2012- —————-03————–06 (Till June)
Total-155

Tiger mortality in Madhya Pradesh between 2002-2012
Year—–Natural Causes—-Poaching—- Total Number of Deaths
2008———8——————3————-11
2009———12—————-4————–16
2010———10—————-4————–14
2011———-9—————0—————-9
2012———-3—————2—————-5

 

Radio-collared big cats in WB gardens to nip conflicts soon

 

Friday, 14 September 2012 01:32

PNS.|.New Delhi

http://www.dailypioneer.com

 

In view of the rising man-leopard conflicts particularly around the tea estates and forest fringes in North-Bengal, for the first time in the country a proposal has been mooted for radio-collaring these big cats to keep tabs on their movements.

According to Bipin Sood, Conservator (Wildlife) Northern Circle, the proposal after approval from the State Government would be sent to Wildlife Institute of India (WII) for their logistic and technical support. This first-of-its-kind pilot project would be started from Jalpaiguri Forest Division which would then be carried out in other forest divisions facing similar situations.

The sprawling tea estates in the region are vulnerable grounds of growing conflicts between human and leopard. The female big cats that stray from the fringe forest areas, find tea gardens safe place to deliver their litters and to protect them from their prowling male partners that invariably prey upon the cubs. There are nearly 52 estates in the region, coupled with small tea plantations in the forest division.

The breeding season of the leopards is largely during monsoon. After mating, the female leopard soon begins to prepare a “den” for her upcoming cubs. The gestation period of leopards is about 90 to 105 days.

“The expecting leopards often take refuge in the trenches of the tea gardens, that run off the water from the terrain,” pointed out DFO, Jalpaiguri range, Sumita Ghatak. A mother leopard feels most threatened by her male counterpart who is on a constant look-out to hunt on his cubs. The solitude of the estate make them feel secure to give birth to her cubs.

Also, these human-modified habitats of tea gardens ensure easy availability of livestock and feral domestic animals. These hilly estates apart from providing good cover, when the mother is away to look for food, also provides ample water.

During such incidents, the straying leopard would earlier be trapped with the help of bait in cage and released in the forest which unfortunately did not solve the problem pointed out Ghatak, following which the proposal was discussed.

 

India has two weeks to solve the tiger vs tourism dilemma

 

In a bid to conserve and expand the country’s slender population of tigers, India is considering guidelines that may ban tourism from the core areas of reserves.

http://www.thenational.ae/news/world/south-asia/india-has-two-weeks-to-solve-the-tiger-vs-tourism-dilemma

 

Samanth Subramanian

Sep 14, 2012

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NEW DELHI // The Indian government is mulling over its own version of a popular Zen riddle: if a tiger roars in the forest and nobody is there to hear it, does it still make a sound?

Related

• ■ India’s top court bans tiger park tourism and imposes habitat fines
• ■ Last of the world’s Asiatic lions clawing their way back
• ■ The tiger widows of the Sundarbans

Topic

• India

Tiger tourism is a 10 billion-rupee (Dh665 million) industry. But in a bid to conserve and expand the country’s slender population of tigers, India is considering guidelines that may ban tourism from the core areas of reserves.

The supreme court issued a temporary ban on such tourism in late July and it has given the government until September 27 to review its guidelines to protect the big cats.

Environmentalists are far from united over this course of action, with some suggesting that tourism could help to increase tiger numbers.

According to government estimates, there were about 4,000 tigers in the wild in India during the 1990s, but that number declined steeply to about 1,400 in 2006. In the past five years, however, thanks to renewed conservation efforts, that number has risen to more than 1,700.

For the Bhopal-based environmentalist Ajay Dubey, this is not enough. The supreme court’s decision came in response to a petition filed by Mr Dubey who has been pursuing an outright ban in the core areas for nearly two years.

The core area of a reserve, defined as an animal’s crucial habitat, is surrounded by a buffer zone, a strategy designed to balance the livelihoods of local communities with the need to protect wildlife.

Mr Dubey said he would be open to “controlled tourism, under rules and regulations” in the reserves’ buffer zones.

He said he was not “against tourism or eco-tourism at all” but “right now, the industry is just interested in making money”.

Part of Mr Dubey’s argument hinges on a clause of India’s wildlife protection act of 1972, which says that the core areas of reserves should be kept free of human activity. He insists that he is pushing only for the implementation of that clause.

The National Tiger Conservation Authority, a government body formed in 2005, administers 42 tiger reserves across India with the biggest reserves attracting nearly half a million tourists every year.

A 2005 report commissioned by the ministry of environment and forests said tourism in these reserves, if mismanaged, “can lead to further stress on the tiger’s habitat”.

The report’s recommendations, however, only suggested managing tourism better and ploughing its revenues back into conservation efforts, and not banning it altogether.

Vishal Singh, the director of Travel Operators for Tigers, a lobby group, said there was no cause and effect relationship between heavy tourism and a decline in the tiger population.

One study, conducted by the Wildlife Institute of India and published this year, seems to back him up.

The study examined tiger densities in tourism and non-tourism zones in the Pench Tiger Reserve, which sprawls over 758 square kilometres in the state of Madhya Pradesh.

Researchers found “no significant difference” between tiger densities in the two zones.

Mr Singh also cited statistics from six tiger reserves in Madhya Pradesh suggesting that, even as tourism to these reserves grew between 2008 and last year, the number of tigers in the parks “either increased or remained stable”.

Mr Singh said the problems with tiger conservation lay elsewhere, such as in the 30,000-odd vacancies in the government’s forestry departments that had yet to be filled or in the lack of incentives for local communities to participate in conservation efforts.

In fact, Mr Singh advocates an expansion of tiger tourism as a solution to boost tiger numbers.

“Right now, out of a 600 sq km reserve, the government will allow tourism only in a sixth of the area,” he said.

Expanding tourism in reserves will provide more employment to local residents and diminish the temptation to make a living through poaching instead, he added.

“The government simply hasn’t harnessed the potential of tourism, as they’ve done in Africa,” Mr Singh said.

The temporary ban has already begun to hurt tourism. Daleep Akoi, the owner of Jim’s Jungle Retreat in Corbett National Park, said that his winter bookings from foreign tourists were “sparse”.

Unlike several others in the industry, Mr Akoi readily admits that irresponsible tourism is a problem.

“But the solution is not to ban it entirely. Instead, they should be suspending the licences of hotels that are illegally built in tiger corridors,” he said.

“So in a way, it’s a good thing that some regulation is coming.”

ssubramanian@thenational.ae

 

‘Goa should be part of Tiger Reserve Complex’

 

Press Trust of India | 11-Sep 13:03 PM

m.ibnlive.com

Panaji: The Wildlife Institute of India (WII) has suggested including Goa as part of the Tiger Reserve complex complimenting the sanctuaries in Maharashtra and Karnataka, which would help the coastal state in conserving wild cats.

The Dehradun-based Institute, which submitted its report on the status of wildlife in Goa to the state forest department, has established that tiger occupancy in Goa is about 322 square kilometres.

Goa can be potentially be home to a small breeding population of tigers which would be sustained by immigrants from Anshi-Dandeli wildlife sanctuary (in Karnataka) as well as Sahyadri wildlife sanctuary (in Maharashtra).

The census conducted in 2010, and results of which were formally sent to Goa forest department few days back, notes that tiger presence is recorded in Mollem Wildlife Sanctuary and in forests of Ponda and Sanguem area.

Goa has five wildlife sanctuaries and a national park.

The report states that Goa forms part of the corridor connecting Anshi-Dandeli in Karnataka and Sahyadri tiger reserve in Maharashtra.

“It would, therefore, benefit from being incorporated as part of tiger reserve complex,” the WII said.

State forest department officials said the proposal to declare Goa’s forest areas as tiger reserve has been under consideration but no final word has been taken on it.

“There are so many intricacies attached to it once the Tiger Reserve is announced. We have several human settlements in wildlife sanctuaries. But the process to relocate them is far from over,” a senior forest department official said.

Environmentalists, however, claim that the state government’s reluctance to declare wildlife sanctuaries especially Mhadei as a tiger reserve, is aimed at saving Goa’s multi-crore iron ore mining industry.

Environmentalist Rajendra Kerkar alleged that the mining industry has been pressuring the state government against declaring the wildlife sanctuaries as tiger reserve.

As per the recent Justice MB Shah Commission report, which probed the illegal mining industry of Goa, there are 33 mining leases which are operating within one kilometre of the wildlife sanctuary.

Goa exports 43 million metric tonnes of iron ore annually and is the largest exporter state in the country.

 

Goa should be part of Tiger Reserve complex: Wildlife Institute of India

 

Read more:Wildlife Institute of India|WII|Tiger Reserve complex|Sahyadri wildlife sanctuary

PTI | Sep 11, 2012, 11.57AM IST

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/flora-fauna/Goa-should-be-part-of-Tiger-Reserve-complex-Wildlife-Institute-of-India/articleshow/16348435.cms

PANAJI: The Wildlife Institute of India (WII) has suggested inclusion of Goa as a part of the Tiger Reserve complex complimenting the sanctuaries in Maharashtra and Karnataka, which would help the coastal state in conserving wild cats.

The Dehradun-based Institute, which submitted its report on the status of wildlife in Goa to the state forest department has established that tiger occupancy in Goa is about 322 square kilometres.

Goa can be potentially be home to a small breeding population of tigers which would be sustained by immigrants from Anshi-Dandeli wildlife sanctuary (in Karnataka) as well as Sahyadri wildlife sanctuary (in Maharashtra).

The census conducted in 2010, and results of which were formally sent to Goa forest department few days back, notes that tiger presence is recorded in Mollem wildlife sanctuary and in forests of Ponda and Sanguem area.

Goa has five wildlife sanctuaries and a national park. The report states that Goa forms part of the corridor connecting Anshi-Dandeli in Karnataka and Sahyadri tiger reserve in Maharashtra.

“It would therefore benefit from being incorporated as part of tiger reserve complex,” the WII said.

State forest department officials said the proposal to declare Goa’s forest areas as tiger reserve has been under consideration but final thought is not given to it.

“There are so many intricacies attached to it once the Tiger Reserve is announced. We have several human settlements in wildlife sanctuaries. But the process to relocate them is far from over,” a senior forest department official said.

Environmentalists, however, claim that the state government’s reluctance to declare wildlife sanctuaries especially Mhadei as a tiger reserve, is aimed at saving Goa’s multi-crore iron ore mining industry.