Radio-collared Sundarban Tiger moves into Bangladesh

A radio-collared Tiger in the Sundarbans has reportedly crossed over into Bangladesh, forest officials have found. A radio collar worth around Rs 6-7 lakh was placed around the neck of the Tiger on May 21.

“This once again confirms that wild animals do not understand political boundaries and often move across the international border,” said Sundarban Biosphere Reserve (SBR) director Pradip Vyas. Significantly, 60% of the Sundarbans falls in Bangladesh while 40% is in India.

Sources said this is one of the reasons why Union Environment and Forests minister Jairam Ramesh has taken up the India-Bangladesh joint initiative on the Sundarbans. Tiger conservation has to be done jointly, said senior forest officials. Interestingly, the forest officials are still receiving signals from the collar and have located it somewhere in the middle of Talpatty island in Bangladesh.

The Tiger had entered into Malmelia village in North 24-Parganas and was eventually trapped in the Arbeshi jungle on May 21. It was tranquillized and radio-collared before being released in the Katuajhuri forest of the Sundarbans. The radio collar signals revealed that on the first two days, it traveled only 6-7 km. But on the third day, the Tiger traveled more than double that distance.

The signals show that a Tiger crosses its command area and moves into new territory at will, even if there is enough prey. The forest department found that there was enough prey in the Katuajhuri jungle and forest guards, who examined the terrain, found carcasses of animals devoured by the Tiger. “So, we were a bit surprised when the Tiger suddenly started moving from south to east, towards Bangladesh. This hints that a Tiger can enter due to reasons other than the lack of prey base,” an official reports.

The Tiger started closing in on Talpatty. Finally, two days ago, it moved into the Bangladesh Sundarbans.

The officials are keeping a close watch on the movements of the Tiger with the help of signals from the collar. In recent times, a Tiger and a Tigress, which had entered into Shamsernagar, were also found to have entered Indian territory from Bangladesh.

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MP minister's kin car hit Tigress in Bandhavgarh

This case has yet again alarmed us all on how we treat our animals. The news is pathetic but not surprising at all !

Many of you might have been witnesses to the hooliganism of a section of tourist operators that have been growing like a cancer in parks like Bandhavgarh. In February 2007 we were witness to such a case when a speeding vehicle of a 'well-known' resort-wala was about to run over a wild boar family while on the way to spot a Tiger that was sighted by another group of vehicles and was conveyed over cellphones. In addition to this a 'naturalist' representing another resort was found giving mock-calls to distract a Tiger cub from its mother for closer photo opportunities. We had lodged a complaint with park authorities to take necessary actions.

Tourism can never be harmful for wildlife but tourist-mafias are real threats. Setting up & enforcement of stringent laws to crub this expanding menace must be rolled out at any cost, before more damages are caused.

But who will bell the cat (read mafias) is a question even bigger!

MP minister's kin car hit Tigress in Bandhavgarh

In a new twist to the controversy over the death of a Tigress in Bandhavgarh Reserve, TOI learns the incident occurred after a vehicle hit the wild cat. Sources confirmed that the vehicle that hit the Tigress was allegedly owned by a resort run by PWD minister of MP, Nagendra Singh.

A close relative of the minister's son was in the vehicle when it inadvertently hit the Tigress. Park officials have detained three vehicles. A tourist had told TOI that the death happened due to a collision with a vehicle. Naresh Kadyan, master trainer of Animal Welfare Board of India and a representative of International Organisation for Animal Protection in India, has issued notice to the chief wildlife warden of MP under section 55 of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

He has also demanded the sacking of the minister. Kadyan claims that it was Singh's son who was in the vehicle that dashed against the Tigress.

"Officials are trying to hush up the matter," he said from Delhi. "The minister's son and others have violated the law. Yet the police failed to lodge an FIR against them for violation of section 9, read with 51 of Wildlife Protection Act along with section 428-429 of IPC specifying criminal conspiracy against wild animals or any relevant legislations. The chief wildlife warden has failed to perform his duties."

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/MP-ministers-kin-car-hit-tigress-in-Bandhavgarh/articleshow/5955969.cms

Young female Tiger rescued & released back into the wild in Sundarbans

Sundarban experienced a low density cyclonic weather on the evening of Monday 26.04.2010. A young Tigress probably misguided by the strong wind & turbulent river entered the Adibashipara village in the Bagna Range & was spotted by a villager.

Prompt initiative by the villagers drived the animal into an abandoned hut where she was safe till the Range Officer Debraj Sur along with the Sundarban Tiger Reserve team intercepted. Soon the Tigress was successfully tranquilized by Beat Officer Ayan Chakraborty. Disturbed by human presence the poor animal seemed to be quite nervous. She was kept under observation of the Tiger Reserve's official vet and was fed with dressed chicken, which is common in such cases.

At 06.38 hrs today she was released at Khatuajhuri forest area in the same range. The Tigress apparently had no major injury marks or any such abnormalities when we saw her just before she went back into the wild.

We sincerely thank the villagers of Adibashipara for the cooperation that they have extended to the forest staff for a speedy rescue operation. The STR team deserves a salute for such a successful, smooth & prompt rescue operation.

Our BTL-Sanctuary Bengal Tiger Bachaao campaign in the Sundarbans had organised "Walk for the Tigers" at this village area last November to spread awareness on such issues seeking the villagers' involvement in rescuing such Tigers safely. We had also conducted immediate & intensive relief operations with the help of Wildlife Conservation Trust in this area last May 3 days post cyclone Aila through the Tiger Reserve team.

Radio-collars on Sundarban Tigers stop functioning.

A report from the Field Director of Sundarban Tiger Reserve late last night says --

The department has retrieved radio-collar from the forest floor at around 13:45 hrs off the Dhonakhali. This is the collar that was fitted on a Tiger that had entered a village on February 22nd & was rescued. This Tiger was release in the presence of senior forest officials & WII experts, the report adds. At this moment both collars fitted to 2 Tigers remain non functional as the other collar (no.7224) too that was on a male is not giving any signals for the past 10 days now. The report claims that this male was physically sighted with the collar on 18th April night. This particular collar (no.7224) was previously fitted on a Tigress & had fell off from her and retrieved later by the dept. The report now claims to evaluate quality of such collars & its efficacy in the Sundarbans.

TIGER GRAVEYARDS OF RANTHAMBHORE

by Bahar Dutt // CNN-IBN

Away from the glitzy media campaigns that are running in our big cities to save the tiger, at Ground Zero it's a competition between man and animal or sometimes - perhaps animal and animal. Domestic vs wild. And the recent incident of poisoning of the tiger cubs in Ranthambore is a prime example of this conflict. Less than 10 days after the incident I make my way to the tiger graveyards to find out what was it that drove local people to poison the big cats.

The two tiger cubs were killed by men from the Gujjar community from a nearby village of Tadla Khet. Reason: the tigers had been repeatedly attacking the goats around their village. It's not easy reaching the site of Tadla Khet. It's far from the tourist zone of Ranthambore National Park. The area is actually a corridor linking the National Park with Kailedevi Sanctuary. It's dotted by ravines and a dry river bed. The only village nearby is Tadla Khet which is a small hamlet of 5 houses.

In the backdrop we can see the plateau of the Kailedevi Sanctuary - oft neglected but with a landscape which is more breathtaking at times than its high-profile neighbour- Ranthambore. We snake our way through the dusty ravines in an open jeep that kicks up sand in the blistering overhead sun. The smell of death is still in the air at the tiger graveyard. There are still some shreds of hair next to a bush, the yellow and black indicating it belonged to the dead tigers. Ahead on the right is a patch of grey ash - where the tiger carcasses were burnt by the forest department after the post-mortem confirmed poisoning as a cause of death.

But the story of the dead tigers lies in the nearby village. We leave our jeep and walk through the ravines. It's a ten-minute walk but with the sun beating down on us and carrying our camera equipment it's a tedious exercise. The village has the look of a ghost town. Every house has a lock, no animals no human life or property can be seen. It's all been abandoned.

In one house we do manage to find an old man asleep on a charpoy with a couple of house sparrows twittering at his feet for company. He shuffles his feet he is scared to talk to us, worrying we maybe from the forest department. Once he has lit his bidi and he's satisfied we are not from the department he talks. It was his son who was arrested - Ram Khiladi. He spits on the ground clears his throat and raises his thin brown arms in the air - I told them (the forest department) to arrest me as well but they said baba - what will you do with me' I said - 'Make pickle out of me but leave my son alone'

So what prompted the Gujjars here to plan the murder of the tigers in so much detail? Was there no fear that they would be caught? And why had the tiger cubs strayed out of the forest? These are the questions in my head as we walk around the abandoned village.

It's also obvious that while this area seems like complete wilderness - and therefore a good habitat for the tigers, there's no food or natural prey base. So obvious then, that the tigers had turned to killing the local peoples cattle to feed themselves. But why did the big cats stray out of the forest where there is an ample prey base?

Officials in the park claim that they had been pushed out because of competition for space. And there you have it -- that's the crux of our problem when it comes to saving tigers. The issue of space. Ranthambore today is a habitat that is saturated. And the surrounding regions of Kailadevi and Sawai Mansingh Sanctuary are devoid of the big cat. So if the tigers are to colonies new areas it's the corridors linking these vital habitats that must be freed.

While there is a massive effort on to move people out of the tiger reserve to create a larger habitat for the tiger, it's a lengthy and complicated procedure. The good news is that it is being initiated in a sensitive manner with no forced evictions. The National Tiger Conservation Authority, for the first time, has announced a massive incentive of Rs 10 lakh for individuals living inside tiger reserves to move out. So only those people who want to move have to move. The bad news is that the second clause of the rehabilitation package is still not being implemented. And that's the clause of 'land for land'. And this essentially means compensating local farmers with the same quantity of land outside the forest as they had inside.

Take the village of Hindwar in Ranthambore. The sarpanch here has convinced the entire village to move out. It's right next to the main road, every person here stays in Delhi or Jaipur. But now with the Rs 10-lakh compensation many are coming back to stake their claims and move out. But will vacating a village which is right on the road be of any ecological benefits?

Then there are others who have simply refused to move. In the village of Bhind I meet Murari Gujjar. He has refused Rs 10-lakh compensation as he has 50 bighas of land. The amount is too less. He twirls his white moustache as he smokes his hookah. 'I will move out only if the forest department gives me land for land -10 lakhs is too small an amount'. Murari Lal did not succumb to the greed of easy money. He realizes there is more security with getting land instead of cash. Here in the forest he has ample land to plant his crops and graze his cattle. Its people like him the forest department will have to convince. The tragedy is with all the funds being pumped in only half the village will be vacated- which mean it's still not available for the Park or for wild animals.

Murari Gujjar is also sensitive to the other problems that come with money. Suddenly there are flashy motorbikes in the village. Many have already spent the cash they got on paying off their debts. But will that give them long term security such as a house or land when they move out this month out of the forest? What surprises me is that the entire process of relocation which is fraught with social problems is not being monitored by even one social agency. Over the ages a policing department like the forest department has been asked to take over many social roles. Is this fair to assign this task to an already overburdened department? I am not too sure.

Back in the tourist zone of Ranthambore, we are lucky to spot a tiger. It's a female and she stares at us calmly and dozes off as trigger-happy tourists surround her on their jeeps to click photos. There's cheer on their faces of the hundreds of tourists who have come from far off destinations to see the tiger. In the distance a langur gives out an alarm call and a wily mongoose scurries past. The peace in the forest is ephemeral.

Tiger sighting at Buxa Tiger Reserve

This is an interesting news that will encourage all conservationists.

Confirmed by the Dy.Field Director - Buxa Tiger Reserve Mr.Subhankar Sengupta that a sub adult Tiger (or a female) was sighted & photographed by a beat officer, who was executing a monitoring exercise near a PIP with his team.

This sighting has happened after an age that demands special mention.

Bagh zindabad!!

_J&S

Big cat spotted in Buxa reserve

Senior Forest Officials Call It A ‘Momentous Event’

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Kolkata: A tiger encounter was the last thing on his mind as beat officer Manindra Chandra Sarkar ambled down a narrow jungle path searching for scat in the Chuniajhora beat of Buxa Tiger Reserve (BTR) on March 24.

A short, sharp noise alerted him and, as he took cover behind a bush, a Bengal tiger emerged from a clearing with a deer carcass dangling from its jaws. The nervous guard managed to reach out for his camera and click a few snaps before scurrying back to safety. The sighting, which is extremely rare in the north Bengal forest, made conservationists and forest officials heave a sigh of relief. They pointed out that it was a momentous event as a tiger had never been photographed in the Buxa reserve.

“The sighting happened after a considerably long period. Even though pugmarks are seen and roars heard occasionally, the big cat has not been seen here for quite some time. So, this is extremely encouraging and we are sure there are several more tigers in the adjoining beats. Also, this is probably the first time that a Buxa tiger has been photographed in the forest,” said Subhankar Sengupta, deputy field director, BTR.

The park is estimated to have a dozen tigers and it is believed that they keep crossing over to the extension of the forest in Bhutan, which has made sightings rare.

On March 24, guards were collecting scat and other evidence for the tiger census, which is currently under way. Beat officer Sarkar was leading the group and had moved ahead.

While scanning a pugmark impression pad that had been laid in the Chuniajhora beat, he heard an animal crossing the road. Soon, he discovered a carcass of a cow lying nearby. Moving still closer, he suddenly confronted a tiger, which had been lurking near the kill. Sarkar stayed calm, reached out for his camera and clicked from barely 50 yards before the big cat disappeared.

He rushed back and informed the range officer who, in turn, passed on the news to Sengupta. Forest guards rushed to the spot and found pugmarks around the kill. “I instructed my guards and officers to run a thorough check of the area, which revealed several pugmarks on the impression pad. From its size, it appears that the tiger was either a female or a sub-adult male. The quality of the photographs was, however, not satisfactory. We are studying them for more clues,” said Sengupta. The deputy conservator had clicked a tiger at the Mahananda sanctuary in 1999.

Principal chief conservator of forests (wildlife) S B Mondol said Buxa could have 12-15 tigers. “There was never a doubt that the forest had tigers. The only worry was that sightings had become rare. So, this is very reassuring,” said Mondol.

Under the 2004 census, Buxa had 27 tigers. The number might have been incorrect due to the dated census methods, he said. “The new method, a combination of scat analysis and pugmarks, is far more accurate. The actual number is likely to be around 15,” added Mondol.

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Bachchan endorses Tiger Conservation

For the first time Amitabh Bachchan endorses Tiger Conservation, courtesy the NDTV-Aircel Save the Tiger campaign powered by Sanctuary Asia & WWF India.

Sopaan, New Delhi

March 26, 2010 Fri 6 : 53 AM

Oh dear, o dear o dear !! What on earth have I done ! Sent off an incomplete post !! My apologies dearest extended family, sincerely … I have dozed off in bed and not realized what I was doing … have just awakened with the lap top by my side and am certain that if it had had a pair of movable hands would have slapped me as I awoke !!

I hasten now to complete what was incomplete last night and to add afresh what I feel needs to be added today … and again … my sincerest regrets and apologies for this horrible lapse !!

So yes … back to yesterday and Delhi and to NDTV and Dr Pranoy Roy and the initiative taken by them and Aircel, the mobile giant, in their very noble and worthy campaign titled ‘Save Our Tigers’.

There was no time to come home so drove straight from the airport to the NDTV studios and into discussions and scripting for the recording of the promos that shall be aired, informing, pleading and convincing the people of our nation the immediate need to take some corrective steps in saving this very elegant and valuable national animal, the tiger. 1411 of them left according to research and study. And more startlingly, as revealed by a gracious wild life expert and volunteer at the press meet at the Imperial Hotel later, not more than twice the number of people present at the PC ( press conference ) ! And it was not such a packed audience !!

Several differently scripted promo’s were recorded against a green back ground, the convenient facility that shall allow graphic experts to fill in later, images commensurate with what my text was, both in English and Hindi. A young group of ladies and gentlemen, ladies in majority, conducted the shoot with dedicated aplomb, and in particular, the lovely Rubina who controlled the teleprompter and then was rushed off to the press conference where all the important dignitaries had assembled on stage against a pertinent background to talk about the national animal the Tiger.

Vikram Chandra, the eminent anchor of the station, conducted affairs. Vikram, son of my Delhi University mate ‘Chirpy’ Chandra go back many years. Yesterday whilst he stood for a keepsake photograph, he informed me how he had in his possession a photograph taken with me when he was half his size. And I remembered when and where it was that this had taken place. It was at the Government House in Bangalore, during the time when Chirpy’s father-in-law was the Governor of the State of Karnataka. I was in the city for the shooting of one of my films and had gone across to meet him. Chirpy, was a firebrand debater in University and I wonder if his pet name came from his this ability, and whether today his son Vikram has imbibed those special qualities as he conducts debate after debate on various sensitive and current national issues on NDTV ! Today, Vikram’s son and Navya and Agastya study at the same School as classmates and life has an uncanny circle to it does it not ??

The press meet was dignified and measured, most informative and of immense importance in telling people what the campaign was all about. The distinguished panel consisted of Pranoy of course as head of NDTV, the top brass of Aircel the mobile server, Wild Life representatives and Bittu Sehgal the eminent name in the world of wild life preservation and knowledged especially on the habits of the tiger.

Mr Ravi from the WWF ( World Wildlife Foundation ) had some interesting views and the one that I particularly liked was his somewhat emotional but symbolically patriotic description of the tiger within the context of India. The tiger he said, represented the Indian National flag, the tricolor – it bore the colors orange and black on its body and it walked on green grass – and therefore needed to be protected preserved and given a place of pride in our thinking. Bittu felt that tigers did not need any special care in being looked after, they had that inborn capacity to do so themselves. All we needed to do was to give them a free environment to roam and live without intrusion. Poaching needed to be stopped. Stop killing these prized animals for commercial and export gain. Skins being a huge earner for those that made it a sellable commodity. Apparently crushed nails of the tiger have great medicinal properties and China is a huge importer of this, in not too legal a manner. We need to increase the vigilance in guarding them and making sure that special forest corridors designated for the tiger are not infiltrated and usurped for other purposes. The tiger, in parts of the country, is a revered animal, prayers being offered to it. Bittu informs us that the regions where the tiger habitates are locations where great rivers originate. Protecting them therefore means protecting the origins of these great rivers, so important for human existence. Do we not know that all the major and important cities of the world have been built on the banks of important rivers ?

Graciously also, the WWF informs the large press turn out, of the valuable contribution made by Shweta when she had volunteered to take up the cause for the protection of the river dolphins in the State of Uttar Pradesh. Shweta had partaken in a television series and anchored a program that highlighted the terrible conditions of the rare river dolphins in the Ganga and how we needed to protect them. The WWF also acknowledged the effort being made by Abhishek in working for their Earth Day program, where the preservation of the environment shall be demonstrated by an hour long shut down of all

electricity all over the country. That happens on the 27^th of this month between 8.30 and 9.30 PM I believe.

I have also assured and volunteered to carry a site on this blog that shall take us to the Aircel site which pledges support to this cause as also informs us on the details of this campaign. It will be there as a method to collect suggestions if any from readers on what we could do to preserve and save the tiger. These suggestions would then be forwarded to the concerned personnel in governance, for action to be taken_Amitabh Bachchan

http://social.ndtv.com/saveourtigercampaign

http://bigb.bigadda.com/?p=4887

PM Announces New Department Of Wildlife Under The Ministry Of Environment & Forests

Many hopes behind this ray of light .. ..

At the fifth National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) meeting held in New Delhi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in his capacity as Chairman announced the setting up of a dedicated Department of Wildlife under the charge of Minister of State for Environment and Forests (Independent Charge) Jairam Ramesh.

Informed sources confirmed that the decision was taken after Mr. Valmik Thapar, Member NWBL made a statement on the dire situation of wildlife in the country, as exemplified by the fate of the Sariska and Panna Reserves, which suffered local extinction of tigers at the hands of poachers. A proposal for a separate lion conservation project was also mooted by Gujarat Chief Minister, Narendra Modi. Other matters that came up for discussion included crop raiding by chital deer and a demand to delist corals from schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. This was opposed by all non-official members because corals are vital to the biodiversity of our oceans. Members also expressed concern at the rising number of accidental deaths suffered by wild elephants that were being run over by trains in wildlife areas, particularly in North Bengal and Uttarakhand.

The National Board for Wildlife is the apex body that decides wildlife policy in India and it has a total of 45 serving members, the Minister of Environment & Forests, plus 15 non-official members, four of whom are part of a 12-member Standing Committee of the NBWL, which handles day-to-day decisions and monitoring of the directions issued by the NBWL. Dr. Karan Singh, who was the first Chairman of Project Tiger when the project was first launched in 1973.

Sundarban Tiger rescued, radio-collared & released again.

One male Tiger was trapped by the Sundarban Tiger Reserve team at Netidhopani 1 in the T.R. on March 19th, 2010 by baiting. This male was accompanying a female when trapped. He was transferred in the squeeze cage & tranquilized. Thereafter he was radio-collared. Today, 21.03.2010 he was released at Pirkhali 1 area at 7am after 24 hrs of observation. This was the 1st male to have been radio-collared.

The Tigress that was rescued from Luxbagan village a day before was also released at the Haldibari area in the core area of the T.R. yesterday after proper observations. Hair samples with follicles, blood & scat has been collected for DNA analysis.

Info & photo courtesy : Forest Dept.

Another Tiger entered into a village in Sundarban

Straying tiger tranquillized

Gosaba: A tiger that strayed into the Sudhangshunagar area of Satjelia in the Sunderbans and climbed a keora tree there was tranquillized by forest guards on Friday morning. The tiger is pretty old and its right foreleg injured. The lower left canine tooth of the animal was also found broken.
Earlier, the tiger had killed a cow, a calf and a goat. Half-eaten carcasses of the animals had been found in the village.
After fresh pug marks were spotted in the village most of the villagers spent a sleepless night. The forest department was informed and team with tranqullizers reached the spot. The forest officials found the tiger in a bush adjacent to the village. After it receiving the first tranquillizer dart, the tiger moved towards Luxbagan and climbed a keora tree. It was tranquillized there and taken to Sajnekhali.

Monotosh Chakraborty | Times News Network

Radio Collar, Tigress & Sundarbans

The 2nd radio-collar that was fitted on a Tigress on February 28th 2010 was found lying in the Pirkhali VI area within the Sundarban Tiger Reserve (STR) yesterday 11th March 2010 by a STR team after they scanned the area for over 30 minutes. The collar was giving stationery signals since 6th night & it's being speculated that it was taken off by the Tigress on the 6th after 6days. Pugmark of another male was also found near the collar. There may be a possibility that the male may have a role in taking it out. As it's known that male Tigers who bite & even commonly tear ear pinna during mating. Incidentally both the Tigress who were recently radio-collared by the STR & WII team were found having broken pinna. Reports confirm that the collar can be reused.

STR team is keeping a tight vigil on all proceedings.

Satellite data however confirms that the Tigress collared on the 1st occasion is moving around steadily.

Photo courtesy:

Mr.PRADEEP VYAS, IFS

Courtesy: Bengal Tiger Bachaao campaign through Sundarban Tiger Reserve.

Villagers poison 2 Tiger cubs at Ranthambore

Jaipur: Two 17-month-old cubs were found dead, allegedly poisoned by villagers, on the outskirts of Ranthambore Tiger Reserve on Sunday.

Forest officials said it could have been a revenge act by the villagers, upset over the killing of their livestock by tigers. Officials fear such incidents may happen again as straying of tigers from the over-populated reserve was expected. The tiger population in Ranthambore reserve has now come down to 39, which has capacity for only 30.

With the death of the cubs, the worst fears over the growing tiger population and their shrinking habitat leading to their killings have come true. According to forest officials, the two cubs had strayed from the park about two months back and were seen roaming in its outskirts ever since.

“It’s not a case of poaching as the body parts were intact. It appears to be a case of revenge killing,” said Rajasthan’s chief wildlife warden R N Mehrotra. Local MLA Allauddin Azad has called for an inquiry.

Forest officials said they found carcasses of two goats from the place where the dead cubs were found. “Prima facie it appears that the tigers ate the goats that were set as bait and got poisoned. The tigers had vomited,” the official said.

_Anindo Dey, TNN

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More details on the incident at -- http://ranthambhorediary.blogspot.com/

Tiger released with radio collar at Sundarbans

The Tigress trapped at Sonaga village near Gosaba in the Sunderbans on Monday was released at Storekhali forest near Netidhopani on Wednesday afternoon. It was fitted with a radio collar before being released. Forest officials confirmed that the gadget is sending signals properly.

The imported gadget has been provided by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehra Dun, and the institute will get coded information about the movement of the tigress every two hours via satellite.

The big cat was tranquillized on Wednesday to fit it with the radio collar. It was taken to Storekhali forest after veterinary doctors declared it fit.

In the Storekhali forest, the density of hental plant is comparatively less than other local forests. Forest officials pointed out that it would help the big cat go deep inside the forest and also confirmed that it could get adequate food here as the forest has a healthy population of wild boar and deer.

“The gadget is working. WII will circulate the decoded information to the state forest department,” said Atanu Raha, principal chief conservator of forests.

Courtesy : TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Radio collar for Sundarban Tiger

Kolkata: The straying Sunderbans tiger that was captured at Sonaga in Gosaba on Monday will be fitted with a radio collar.

Officials of the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehra Dun, have reached Sunderbans with an imported collar that is believed to be an improved version of the earlier one that had been tried on a tigress in 2007. It malfunctioned within a few weeks, throwing the plan to modernize tiger monitoring methods out of gear.

The adult female that sneaked into Sonaga and was tranquillized has been kept under observation. According to forest officials, the collar will be installed only after it has been made sure that the animal is in perfect health.

The device being used this time has been successfully used on carnivores like grizzly bears and jaguars in North America. “It is believed to be ideally suited for fast-moving predators like the tiger and has been modified to survive in saline water. The collar can be programmed with a remote control and has a circuit that is much advanced than the previous ones that we have been experimenting with so far. We expect the device to work successfully this time,” said Pradip Vyas, director, Sundarban Biosphere Reserve.

A team of experts from WII, including a veterinarian, reached the Panchamukhani creek where the tigress has been kept on a launch. They examined the big cat to check if it has recovered sufficiently from Monday’s tranquillizing shot. Since the animal will have to be immobilised once again with a tranquillizer to install the radio collar, veterinarians are keen to ensure that the tigress is ready to bear the strain.

“It seems healthy. It had a goat on Tuesday and moved about restlessly in her cage. But it has to be monitored till the last moment,” added Vyas. The tigress could be released early on Wednesday morning.

Priced at Rs 3.5 lakh, the collar was brought from the WII’s Dehra Dun headquarters on Tuesday. In fact, the state forest department has procured an additional collar that will be kept in reserve.

Prithvijit Mitra | TNN

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Rise in sea level may outpace Tigers’ ability to adapt

Kolkata: Spreading human habitat in the Sunderbans has resulted in a drop in the tigers’ territory, leading to frequent incidents of straying.

“Tigers have adapted to a life in the mangroves and crabs constitute an important part of their diet. Though tigers are a highly adaptable species, occupying territory from the snowy forests of Russia to the tropics of Indonesia, the projected sea level rise in the Sunderbans may outpace the animal’s ability to adapt,” a WWF source said. There are no accurate estimates, but conservationists estimate the mangroves could be home to up to 400 big cats.

The sea level rise will also have an impact on people whose livelihood depends on the Sunderbans. The mangroves protect human habitation from cyclones and other natural disasters.

WWF has recommended that governments and natural resource managers take immediate steps to conserve and expand mangroves while preventing poaching and retaliatory killing of tigers. Neighbouring countries should increase sediment delivery and freshwater flows to the coastal region to support agriculture and replenishment of the land.

_

Jayanta Gupta | TNN

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Tiger enters Sundarban village this morning

Monday, February 22, 2010 -- 9 a.m

An information received early this morn has reported that a Tiger probably from the Pirkhali range of Sundarban Tiger Reserve has entered Sonaga village situated near Gosaba and opposite Bali Island. The animal has injured a woman on the left side of her forehead, shoulder & arm and thereafter she has been admitted into the Gosaba Govt.Hospital. The Tiger currently is confined inside a village hut/cowshed that has been surrounded by nylon fencing by the field staff and Range Officers of the Sundarbans Tiger Reserve. A huge crowd has gathered at the location. Anil Mistry (of WPSI & Bali Nature Conservation Society) was one of the first to arrive at the location and he confirms that situation is presently under control. The police force has also arrived to take control of the crowd.

Within a few hours a rumour did the rounds that the victim had died, but the Chief Medical Officer of the said hospital confirmed that though she is wounded badly still she is alive and they are working to stabilize her. Meanwhile some media report says that a charter of demands is being draw up by villagers which is nothing new in such situations and such have been very well managed by the Forest Department in the past. The Field Director has reached the location and presently the team is concentrating on quickly tranquillising the cat and release it back in the Reserve, after observation. A prompt response & action by the Reserve's authorities has made a positive move.

The situation is still fluid and we will keep you informed.

_Save the Bengal Tiger campaign

Walk for the Bengal Tiger : SUNDARBANS

Walk for the Bengal Tiger :

through the Sundarbans Tiger Reserve and

the Sundarban Biosphere Reserve

Purpose: To inform potential climate victims of the risks ahead and to seek their help to save the tiger and its mangrove habitat.

• Date: November 8-13, 2009

Coordinators:

Joydip and Suchandra Kundu

Kolkata Representatives for Sanctuary Asia

• Strategy: To use folk art, music and dance to convey information about wildlife conservation and climate change.

Partners:

The West Bengal Forest Department,

Sundarbans Tiger Reserve,

Sundarbans Biosphere Reserve,

National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA),

plus key NGOs working in the Sundarbans including

WWF-India, WPSI, ICNL, Tagore Society for Rural Development.

The Bengal Tiger Bachao (Save the Bengal Tiger) campaign is run by Sanctuary Asia and supported by The Bengal Tiger Line. Kids for Tigers, a network of one million Indian children, is a part and parcel of the campaign.

Walk for the Tiger, a mass contact initiative in the Sundarbans -- the world's largest mangrove forest -- was organised by the Bengal Tiger Bachao Campaign, supported by Bengal Tiger Line and the Wildlife Conservation Trust.

The purpose of the walk, which was only possible through the network created by existing NGOs and the wildlife protection staff, was to reach out to the world's most vulnerable population of humans (from climate change). Over 450,000 lakh people learned, possibly for the first time, that they were in harms way from wind and rising waters. We were able to convey to them what climate change was, what was causing it and how important it was to protect the Sundarbans' mangrove ecosystem. The tiger, we explained, was merely a symbol for the safe world that we are honour bound to leave for all children, particularly those of the Sundarbans.

Check out the Walk for the Bengal Tiger video clip on YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQfKmUXApPM

Note: On May 25, 2009 Cyclone Aila struck the Sundarbans. Homes were washed away and fields and water sources turned saline. Using dykes and 'bunds' large numbers of people actually live at or below sea level here. Several hundred people died. Over 200,000 humans were forced to abandon their homes and move northward. Perhaps around 50,000 will never return. These are amongst the world's first traumatised climate change migrants. There is every chance that around three or four million more innocents will be similarly victimised in the years ahead. The Bengal Tiger Bachao campaign has no local office of its own in the Sundarbans. Instead, we work through the Tiger Reserve and Biosphere Reserve officials, and, of course, the many NGOs who have already been working in this difficult, but vital habitat for several years. We seek to be the wind under their wings.

Together we can and will save the Tiger.