Man-leopard conflict rages in Uttarakhand

DEHRA DUN: The man-leopard conflict appears to be raging in Uttarakhand owing to mounting attacks by the carnivores in various parts of the state
and killing of man-eaters by locals. As the dusk falls, villagers of Baniawala, Rangharwala, Premnagar, Ghangora and other areas of western Dehra Dun feel scared in going out in open fearing an attack by a leopardess. For past few days, the animal along with her two cubs has let lose a reign of terror and made the lives of the residents of these villages miserable. This is the condition despite the fact that at least six leopards were killed last month in the state after they were declared man-eaters, wildlife officials here said. A leopard, which had attacked around 15 people, was shot dead early this month after it was trapped in a house at Garhi Cantt area. In another incident, a leopard was clubbed to death at Khandah area of Pauri district on Friday. On Thursday, a leopard was axed to death in Uttarkashi district by irate villagers of Kumrara area after it attacked the locals. Meanwhile, Dr S P Goel of Wildlife Institute of India (WII) here expressed concern over rising incidents of the animal attacking human population and being killed by them in retaliation and said that efforts are on to minimize the attacks. During the past six months, around 15 leopards had been killed at various places in the state.

(Note-Man-leopard conflict is taking heavy toll in Uttarakhand and many leopards have been declared man eater in last few months and had been killed by people. People dont have any sympathy with the animals and want immediate elimination of the strayed animal from their surroundings. The situation is deteriorating day by day. The time has come to work out the solution of this problem.)

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Environment/Flora-Fauna/Man-leopard-conflict-rages-in-Uttarakhand-/articleshow/4795687.cms

A leopard's majesty

Vicky Nanjappa in Bengaluru
Capturing a leopard is no joke, even on a camera.
Bangalore-based kidney specialist Ajith Huilgol and avid wildlife photographer did just that and won a runner-up award at the UK-based Veolia Environment Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition 2009, in the 'Behaviour: Mammals' category. The annual competition is jointly organised by the Natural History Museum, London, and the BBC's Wildlife magazine.
Dr Huilgol captured a rarely seen image of a leopard descending from a tree in his camera and the photograph won among 43,000 other entries from 94 countries.
Every photograph may speak a thousand words, however Dr Huilgol's speaks of a fascinating story. What began as a patient task of observing a leopard ended in fetching the doctor a world-renowned award.
Dr Huilgol said he had shot the photograph when he had gone to Kabini in the Nagarhole forest region in Karnataka with his family for a wildlife vacation.
"My family and I were in a jeep and watching this leopard perched on the tree. We spotted it at around 7.23 am and clicked her pictures. In fact she was so comfortable with our presence that she did not even budge an inch as we clicked the pictures. However, at 7.28 am, a jeep passed by which startled the leopard and thus prompted her to come down. I managed to get a shot of her as she came down the tree."
"My first reaction was to curse the other jeep driver who disturbed the leopard. But today I realise that it turned out to be a boon," he added.The general notion is that wildlife photography is time-consuming. However, Dr Huilgol said, it is always not so. "Take this photograph for instance, it took just five minutes to capture," he said. Image: Dr Huilgol's photograph that won the runner-up award at the UK-based competitionPhotographs: Dr Ajit Huilgol

http://news.rediff.com/slide-show/2009/nov/17/slide-show-1-award-winning-wildlife-photographs.htm

Green lessons for school kids - in lap of nature

By Asit SrivastavaLucknow, Nov 20 (IANS) Imagine riding through a lush green forest, soaking in lessons on the environment. That’s what many school students in Uttar Pradesh are about to experience, thanks to the officials of a wildlife sanctuary.
The Katerniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary in Bahraich district, some 270 km from Lucknow, has taken the initiative to bring in school students from parts of the state and hold educational camps within the sanctuary.
“The entire exercise is aimed at sensitising the young generation towards nature. I believe in order to conserve nature, one should first feel it. And here the students will get that feel, which in turn would immensely contribute to our educational programmes,” divisional forest officer (DFO) of Katerniaghat R.K. Singh told IANS on telephone.
Established in 1976, the sanctuary is situated in the Terai area on the India-Nepal border in Bahraich district. Spread over 400 sq km, it is home to a variety of animals such as tigers, leopards, swamp deer, blackbuck, chital, barking deer, sloth bear, wild boar, and a number of endangered species of reptiles.
“We plan to start the education programme Dec 1. Initially, students of schools in Bahraich and its adjoining districts would be covered. On various weekends, the students would be brought to the sanctuary where the educational camps would be organised,” said Singh.
The educational programmes will focus on several topics, including conservation of fauna and flora for the sake of mankind and man-animal conflicts, and involve a ride through the forests and lunch arranged by forest officials.
“This would be done in order to make the educational camps more lively. Such arrangements would help make school children take interest in our programmes,” said Singh.
The forest officials have already roped in a number of schools in Bahraich, Shravasti, Lakhimpur and other districts.
Usha Varshney, a science teacher at the Seventh-Day Adventist School in Bahraich, told IANS: “The initiative is laudable. The best thing is it will definitely make environmental teaching more interesting and lively.”
Pradeep Kumar, a teacher with the Dharm Sabha Inter College, said: “We welcome the novel step taken by the wildlife sanctuary officials. The move will definitely generate a sense of responsibility towards nature.”
Children are also excited about the educational camps.
“For us, it would be fun. It would be a sort of picnic for us, where we would also get a chance to learn several things by our practical experience - something not possible in conventional classroom teaching,” said Achal Chitarnshi, a Class 11 student of the Navuday Inter College in Bahraich.
Forest officials believe it is crucial to involve the young generation to spread environmental awareness.
“In today’s perspective, you just cannot ignore the role of school students in safeguarding the environment through social mobilisation and community participation,” a forest official said.

Link:http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/enviornment/green-lessons-for-school-kids-in-lap-of-nature_100277295.html

Community support needed to conserve biodiversity

COIMBATORE: Union Minister of State for Environment and Forest, Jairam Ramesh called for community participation to conserve biodiversity and to protect the environment. Speaking to reporters at Salim Ali Centre of Ornithology and Natural History (Sacon), Mr Ramesh said poaching and poisoning of tigers is a serious issue in India. “In order to control it, we are setting up protection forces involving local communities apart from upgrading wildlife crime control bureau,” he added. He said, out of 37 tiger reserves in India, only 9 are in good shape, 10 in satisfactory condition and remaining in precarious situation. Also, there are only 1200 to 1400 tigers in the wild now. Mr Ramesh said the ministry is looking forward to amend the Wildlife Protection Act 1972 by initiating a stringent punishment for crime caused to wildlife. “As like FEMA Act or Money Laundering Act, the punishment for crime caused to wildlife should also be severe. We have already done some changes to the old act and has circulated it to all states for inputs,” he added. He said, police alone cannot safeguard wildlife and forest but, the local communities should also take some interest in preserving the same. As an experiment, the forest officials have started involving local Gujjars for social enforcement in Corbett National Park. The minister is also looking to involve the local communities in other parts of the country to protect the environment. He cited an example of how Sacon is working with social communities including church groups and students to increase awareness of hornbill, which is almost extinct in Nagaland. Another example for sustainability was the work of Sacon at Andaman and Nicobar valley, where they preserve edible-nest swiftlet, a valuable bird that is currently on smuggling net. Earlier Mr Ramesh released a wetlands atlas of India, which was prepared by Sacon based on satellite imagery. “There are over 60,000 inland wetlands present in India spread over 7 million hectares. These wetlands are on great threat from real estate people. So the local community and local administration should take steps to protect them,” he said. Regarding the proposal of setting up a neutrino observatory at Singara in Nilgiris, Mr Ramesh said, “after spending almost two months on the subject, I have come to a conclusion that Singara cannot be permitted. It is now a closed chapter.” He said, the observatory is very important for both theoretical and experimental physics but when matter was evenly balanced, he had to yearn on the side of environment. He added there would have been a four-year period of considerable disturbances in that area with serious implications on the corridor if the project had been given a go-ahead.

Link: Economic Times :http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/5257390.cms

Notorious tiger poacher apprehended by WCCB

Source: The Pioneer, New Delhi:

A suspected aide of notorious poacher Sansar Chand, involved in the killing of several tigers, including those in Sariska Tiger Reserve, has been arrested by the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB). The accused, Bheema (38), wanted in connection with the killing of a tiger and illegal wildlife trade, was arrested on Tuesday from Ballabhgarh in Haryana in a joint operation by the WCCB and Gurgaon police. According to the WCCB, a concerted and coordinated effort by various agencies, including the CBI, made the arrest possible. Earlier, the CBI and WCCB in a joint operation on November 5 had successfully nabbed seven poachers and wildlife traders from Nagpur and Delhi. Two poachers were arrested from Majnu Ka Tila in the Capital. Hides of two adult tigers, 25 kilograms of bones, seven otter skins and other contrabands were recovered from their possession. A WCCB official said the arrested persons belonged to a gang of poachers and they provided leads which resulted in the arrest of Bheema.Bheema, a proclaimed offender, is wanted in a poaching case in which tiger bones, body parts, several traps and implements were recovered from his house at Surat Nagar in Gurgaon in July 2008. The accused is involved in a number of cases pending in nine States, including Delhi, Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh. He is also suspected to have been involved in poaching cases in Maharashtra and Karnataka.A case against Bheema was registered in the Rajendra Park police station in Gurgaon on July 7, 2008.Bheema was earlier nabbed by the police on August 15, 2005, with a tiger skin, 7 kg tiger bones, 500 g tiger fat, and tiger canines but he was out on bail. Sansar Chand and his associates are suspected to be behind the extinction of big cats from the Sariska Tiger Reserve. “The WCCB was acting in close association with the CBI and other agencies to bust the racket. Acting on a tip off, we nabbed Bheema,” the official said. He said that Bheema’s arrest was expected to throw light on the working of the racket and illegal trade network in the country, especially in North India. The accused, who hails from Gurgaon, had managed to escape on several occasions earlier, the officer said. The WCCB is initially probing his involvement in poaching cases in the north.

Links:
http://www.dailypioneer.com/216627/Big-catch-Sansar-aide-in-cops%E2%80%99-net.html
http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=54173
<http://netindian.in/news/2009/11/18/0004114/alleged-tiger-poacher-arrested-wccb>
http://www.ptinews.com/news/381561_Poacher-on-the-run-for-over-a-year-arrested
http://www.headlinesindia.com/animal-news/tiger,-lion,-leopard/tiger-poacher-nabbed-in-haryana-28483.html

Need to remove curbs on tiger visits to Nepal

LUCKNOW: Tigers know no boundaries. They keep crossing over from one forest to another along the Indo-Nepal border. The movement of tigers along the
border is must if the existing population is to be saved from in-breeding. Initially, it used to be a contiguous forest along Indo-Nepal border and animals could move freely and safely. But now the connectivity between forests on the two sides is merely through three corridors -- Khata, Laljhaadi and Basanta. "These corridors are prone to encroachment on Nepal side," said Bivash Pandav, from WWF-international, working for wildlife conservation in Nepal. Nepal has Bardia National Park, Shukla Phanta Wildlife Reserve, Chitwan National Park and Parsa Wildlife Reserve. The total population counting all these four protected areas of Nepal is about 120 tigers. There is a lot of movement of tigers between Bardia and Katarniaghat. But what used to be a free movement about 35 years back for tigers along the border is now not an easy one. India can always voice its concern to Nepal in the trans-boundary meeting between the two. Protected areas on the Indian side of the border -- Dudhwa, Katarniaghat, Kishenpur and Pilibhit are believed to be housing 109 tigers (as per February, 2008, census). Several experts and conservationists discussed the core issues related to tiger conservation on Sunday in a seminar. The declining prey base in forests and increasing biotic pressure on them is a growing concern. "Forest department should first identify and acknowledge that wildlife has a problem and then only can a solution be worked out," said G C Mishra, former director, Dudhwa. The existence of Mailani-Gonda rail track that runs about 60 km through the protected area was also discussed. Train hits have killed quite a noticeable number of animals within Dudhwa. Removal of the track has been discussed on earlier occasions between railways and forest department. Railways agree that it is not a commercially profitable operation to run trains on the said track. The senior forest officials were also present on the occasion. "There has to be a holistic effort towards conservation of tigers and wildlife," said B K Patnaik, chief wildlife warden, UP. On mitigating man-animal conflict, he said that mobile rapid response units will be established to check it. Others who spoke in the seminar organised by Katarniaghat Foundation were Pankaj Agarwal, principal secretary, Transport, Mohd Ahsan, additional PCCF, UP, K K Singh, DFO, north Kheri, V P Singh of Terai Nature Conservation Society, R L Singh, ex PCCF, UP and other members of the Foundation.

Ref:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/lucknow/Need-to-remove-curbs-on-tiger-visits-to-Nepal/articleshow/5210196.cms

Wildlife racket busted: Tiger, Leopad and Otter skins seized

NEW DELHI: (Source:PTI) With the arrest of seven persons from Maharashtra and Delhi, the country's premier investigating agencies claimed to have busted a
wildlife racket and seized tiger and otter skins besides tiger bones from their possession. The CBI and Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) in a joint operation carried out simultaneous raids in some places in Nagpur and Majnu ka Teela in Central Delhi and arrested seven persons for allegedly indulging in illegal wildlife activities. In Nagpur, the team seized two tiger skins and 30 kgs of tiger bones from five persons while in Majnu Ka Teela, a duo was arrested with two leopard and five otter skins besides 4 kgs of Red-sanders, a precious wood, agency sources said. The agencies were on the lookout for the accused for the last several months, they said, adding their names are being withheld for investigative purposes. The sources said the arrest is being considered a major achievement as a financier and two middlemen have also been held which the agencies hope will help in nabbing "bigger fishes" in the wildlife racket.

( Note: It is time to keep watch on 'khanabadosh' communities and do regular foot patrolling in the field. Local intelligence gathering and day to day monitoring of large carnivores are must-Ramesh Pandey )

Links:

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/environment/flora-fauna/Wildlife-racket-busted-tiger-otter-skins-seized-/articleshow/5207515.cms (Economic Times-Net version)

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Seizure-shows-poachers--Delhi--Maharashtra-link/538717 (Indian Express)

http://news.webindia123.com/news/articles/India/20091109/1380264.html

http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/ArticleImage.aspx?article=10_11_2009_009_004&mode=1