A four-year-old male leopard was found dead in Kishanpur wildlife sanctuary in Lakhimpur Kheri district. The feline was trapped in an iron snare. It appeared to have died after sustaining serious injuries in an effort to free itself from the snare. The forest department and the local police have lodged a joint operation to arrest poachers.
One of the poachers responsible for the leopard’s death was arrested on Monday. But the arrest could not be confirmed.
Local villagers apprised wildlife activist Jaswant Singh Kalair about the leopard having been trapped near Ambargarh area of the sanctuary on Sunday evening.
After getting the information, Singh, along with other forest officials, reached the spot to rescue the leopard.
“We were waiting for the tranquillising team to arrive after arranging a cage for shifting the leopard. But before members of the team could arrive, the leopard died,” said Singh.
After senior forest officials reached the spot, the carcass was sent for a post-mortem examination.
Several incidents of killings of leopards have been reported from Kishanpur sanctuary in the recent past.
Last week, a leopard strayed from a forest area and entered a village in Gorakhpur where it injured several people. Later, it went back into its natural habitat.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/Leopard-found-dead-in-sanctuary-poacher-nabbed/Article1-643834.aspx#
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Cameras keep eye on snow leopards in Spiti Valley
Shimla, Dec 29 (IANS) The third eye is monitoring the movement of the highly endangered, elusive snow leopard in the cold deserts of Himachal Pradesh. And one of the camera traps has thrown up useful footage - of a pack of dogs attacking and injuring a snow leopard.
With just about 750 snow leopards left in India, the Himachal Pradesh government is using cameras to monitor their movement in Spiti Valley, the state's northernmost part, running parallel to the Tibetan border.
The state's wildlife department, in coordination with Mysore-based non-governmental organisation Nature Conservation Foundation, has installed 20 camera traps (automatic cameras) in Spiti Valley.
One of the cameras captured shots of a pack of dogs attacking a snow leopard. The dogs were abandoned by the pastoral communities that migrate from alpine pastures in summer along with their livestock, chief wildlife warden A.K. Gulati told IANS.
'From this video clip, we came to know that abandoned dogs are also a potential threat to the wild cat. However, in this case, the snow leopard managed to escape with minor injuries on its hind legs,' Gulati said.
According to wildlife experts, the rise in the population of abandoned dogs might pose a threat to the snow leopards' food chain.
'The dogs usually attack in a pack and it's easy for them to hunt even big mammals like the Himalayan blue sheep. This might reduce the prey base of the wild cat,' an expert said.
The snow leopard, a graceful golden-eyed animal with thick fur, padded paws and a long tail, is found in rocky regions at an altitude from 2,700 to 6,000 metres (8,900 ft to 20,000 ft). Himachal has adopted it as its state animal.
Not only is the animal extremely elusive but its cold, inhospitable habitat means very little is known about it. Hence the need for technology.
'Initially, 20 cameras have been installed in a 100 sq km area of Spiti to monitor the movement and behaviour of the snow leopards,' Gulati told IANS.
Each camera costs around Rs.250,000 and is equipped with a sensor that shoots any movement of any animal in its vicinity. Each camera has a battery backup of 25 days.
'Placing a camera is really a herculean task. One has to trudge miles of rugged, cold and inhospitable Himalayan terrain. We have to restrict even the movement of the humans as it might develop fear psychosis in the animal or spoil their habitat,' he said.
The footages also captured some other animals like the Himalayan blue sheep and Asiatic ibex - a wild goat species. Both are important prey for the snow leopard.
He said footage indicated the presence of around 10 snow leopards, but nothing conclusive could be said in the study's early stages.
'Right now, we are not in a position to comment on the exact population of the wild cats in Spiti. But we can only say the area supports an impressive population,' he said.
Apart from Spiti Valley, the wildlife wing also plans to install 20 camera traps in the Pin Valley National Park, the Kibber Wildlife Sanctuary, the Great Himalayan National Park and the Pangi and Bharmour areas of Chamba district, which has a sizeable population of the snow leopard.
Gulati said under the Project Snow Leopard, the state had sent a proposal to the central government to set up a snow leopard research institute in Spiti at a cost of Rs.5.5 crore. He said a major portion of the amount would be spent on improving the habitat of the animal.
The Himachal project is part of the central government's Project Snow Leopard that was launched Jan 20, 2009, as part of efforts to conserve the globally endangered species.
The government had estimated the number of these wild cats to be around 750, but this is the first time an extensive study is being carried out to substantiate the figure.
The project is also operational in Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh with support from the Wildlife Institute of India and the Nature Conservation Foundation.
With just about 750 snow leopards left in India, the Himachal Pradesh government is using cameras to monitor their movement in Spiti Valley, the state's northernmost part, running parallel to the Tibetan border.
The state's wildlife department, in coordination with Mysore-based non-governmental organisation Nature Conservation Foundation, has installed 20 camera traps (automatic cameras) in Spiti Valley.
One of the cameras captured shots of a pack of dogs attacking a snow leopard. The dogs were abandoned by the pastoral communities that migrate from alpine pastures in summer along with their livestock, chief wildlife warden A.K. Gulati told IANS.
'From this video clip, we came to know that abandoned dogs are also a potential threat to the wild cat. However, in this case, the snow leopard managed to escape with minor injuries on its hind legs,' Gulati said.
According to wildlife experts, the rise in the population of abandoned dogs might pose a threat to the snow leopards' food chain.
'The dogs usually attack in a pack and it's easy for them to hunt even big mammals like the Himalayan blue sheep. This might reduce the prey base of the wild cat,' an expert said.
The snow leopard, a graceful golden-eyed animal with thick fur, padded paws and a long tail, is found in rocky regions at an altitude from 2,700 to 6,000 metres (8,900 ft to 20,000 ft). Himachal has adopted it as its state animal.
Not only is the animal extremely elusive but its cold, inhospitable habitat means very little is known about it. Hence the need for technology.
'Initially, 20 cameras have been installed in a 100 sq km area of Spiti to monitor the movement and behaviour of the snow leopards,' Gulati told IANS.
Each camera costs around Rs.250,000 and is equipped with a sensor that shoots any movement of any animal in its vicinity. Each camera has a battery backup of 25 days.
'Placing a camera is really a herculean task. One has to trudge miles of rugged, cold and inhospitable Himalayan terrain. We have to restrict even the movement of the humans as it might develop fear psychosis in the animal or spoil their habitat,' he said.
The footages also captured some other animals like the Himalayan blue sheep and Asiatic ibex - a wild goat species. Both are important prey for the snow leopard.
He said footage indicated the presence of around 10 snow leopards, but nothing conclusive could be said in the study's early stages.
'Right now, we are not in a position to comment on the exact population of the wild cats in Spiti. But we can only say the area supports an impressive population,' he said.
Apart from Spiti Valley, the wildlife wing also plans to install 20 camera traps in the Pin Valley National Park, the Kibber Wildlife Sanctuary, the Great Himalayan National Park and the Pangi and Bharmour areas of Chamba district, which has a sizeable population of the snow leopard.
Gulati said under the Project Snow Leopard, the state had sent a proposal to the central government to set up a snow leopard research institute in Spiti at a cost of Rs.5.5 crore. He said a major portion of the amount would be spent on improving the habitat of the animal.
The Himachal project is part of the central government's Project Snow Leopard that was launched Jan 20, 2009, as part of efforts to conserve the globally endangered species.
The government had estimated the number of these wild cats to be around 750, but this is the first time an extensive study is being carried out to substantiate the figure.
The project is also operational in Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh with support from the Wildlife Institute of India and the Nature Conservation Foundation.
Leopard-human conflict: M'rashtra handles it better
SURAT: The neighbouring state of Maharashtra through a scientific approach and the help of a non-government organisation has been able to bring down the incidents of leopard-human conflict there. The leopard mortality was an issue of concern even for the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) though the subject was not in its domain. In contrast, for the past six years south Gujarat has been witnessing recurrent incidents of human and leopard conflict, but the state's forest department is yet to come out with a concrete plan to arrest the trend. It is still caught up in the age-old techniques either of caging or shooting the leopard.
About 15 people lost their lives since 2005 in leopard attacks in Maharashtra while six have died in the attacks by the big cats in Gujarat's Surat and Tapi districts in the past 40 days alone. Between January to December 2010, 35 leopards were killed in conflict with humans or became victims of poachers in Maharashtra which in the previous year had reported deaths of 48 leopards.
"The decrease in the number of conflicts and in the tally of deaths of leopards is due to the drive carried out by Maharashtra's forest department and our NGO. We requested the forest department to change the pattern to tackle the issue," said Vidya Athrey of Project Waghoba.
She said the need is to understand the big cat instead of just caging it randomly and then releasing it in the wild. Before 2008 about 40 leopards were caught and released in the wild every year in Maharashtra but now this number has come down to 10.
"Caging leopards and then releasing them in the wild make them dangerous for the humans. We have tried to provide a safe environment to the animal in the area where it lives and also worked to change human behaviour slightly," Athrey explained.
"Like in Maharashtra, leopards make their home in the sugarcane farms in Gujarat too. On being caught they come into direct conflict with humans. We are trying to convince Gujarat Government to look at our work in Maharashtra and hope to be involved in Gujarat in controlling the situation," she added. Ends
yagnesh.mehta@timesgroup.com
Read more: Leopard-human conflict: M'rashtra handles it better - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/surat/Leopard-human-conflict-Mrashtra-handles-it-better/articleshow/7180571.cms#ixzz19TxRmk2i
About 15 people lost their lives since 2005 in leopard attacks in Maharashtra while six have died in the attacks by the big cats in Gujarat's Surat and Tapi districts in the past 40 days alone. Between January to December 2010, 35 leopards were killed in conflict with humans or became victims of poachers in Maharashtra which in the previous year had reported deaths of 48 leopards.
"The decrease in the number of conflicts and in the tally of deaths of leopards is due to the drive carried out by Maharashtra's forest department and our NGO. We requested the forest department to change the pattern to tackle the issue," said Vidya Athrey of Project Waghoba.
She said the need is to understand the big cat instead of just caging it randomly and then releasing it in the wild. Before 2008 about 40 leopards were caught and released in the wild every year in Maharashtra but now this number has come down to 10.
"Caging leopards and then releasing them in the wild make them dangerous for the humans. We have tried to provide a safe environment to the animal in the area where it lives and also worked to change human behaviour slightly," Athrey explained.
"Like in Maharashtra, leopards make their home in the sugarcane farms in Gujarat too. On being caught they come into direct conflict with humans. We are trying to convince Gujarat Government to look at our work in Maharashtra and hope to be involved in Gujarat in controlling the situation," she added. Ends
yagnesh.mehta@timesgroup.com
Read more: Leopard-human conflict: M'rashtra handles it better - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/surat/Leopard-human-conflict-Mrashtra-handles-it-better/articleshow/7180571.cms#ixzz19TxRmk2i
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