Do Pench Tigers have a future ?

A link to the latest flashpoint between MoEF Mr.Jairam Ramesh and Kamalnath, another Union Minister.

Kamalnath on camera argued with the channel that the water extraction from River Pench will not be a violation of the Wildlife Protection Act and he wants to know how Environment Ministry will stop a project in his constituency.

Question- why should he care if its the MP government that signed on the letter of intent?

For more details see

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/jairam-kamal-nath-faceoff-in-the-offing/113736-37-64.html

Courtesy - Bahar Dutt

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.

CAMPA funds being used to destroy wildlife habitat

Stop setting fire to forest for undertaking plantation

Wildlife Society of Orissa(WSO) has expressed concern
over the decision of the forest officials to set fire to the forest for undertaking
plantation.

This apart, bushes which provided vital food requirements for elephants are
being cut down by the forest department in order to clear the area for
plantation.

WSO secretary Biswajit Mohanty alleged that many forest divisions are now
indulging in the harmful practice of clearing forest undergrowth by setting
forest areas on fire for plantations.

He said the WSO had urged the Principal Chief Conservator of Forest(PCCF) to
issue direction to the field staff not to burn down the undergrowth for
plantations.

During the previous year (2009-10) Orissa had received Rs 131 crores towards
Compensatory Afforestation and Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA)
funds from the Centre. This money is meant for compensatory afforestation,
regeneration of degraded forest areas, protection of forests and wildlife,
research and strengthening of infrastructure.

But it is ironical that CAMPA funds meant to protect forests and to regenerate
them are being used to set forests on fire.

He said many of the forest ground fires easily spiral out of control and destroy
unintended patches of forest cover in adjacent areas.

Many ground dwelling fauna particularly small mammals like hares, mouse deer,
snakes, foxes, mongoose, pangolin, civet cats, frogs, land turtles and birds
like jungle fowl, grey partridge will be adversely affected by these man made
fires, since they will lose their habitat and food.

At present, such clearing of undergrowth and creepers is in full swing in most
forest divisions since the ground is being prepared for plantation work.

Unless immediate steps are taken, it would be too late to prevent the damage.
The harmful practice of cutting down forest climbers should be firmly
discouraged in the interests of wildlife, he said.

Info courtesy : Biswajit Mohanty

Cops kill leopard after rampage

In a botched operation, a straying leopard was killed by police after foresters failed to tranquillize the animal at Shikaripara village in Banarhat on Sunday morning. The adult male animal had sneaked into the village, possibly from the nearby Khuttimari forest and taken shelter in a bamboo grove.

Even as thousands gathered around it for a closer look at the animal, the leopard charged at the onlookers, injuring 11, including a policeman. It was finally shot dead after around two hours during which foresters made an attempt to tranquillize the leopard, but failed.

Around 11.30 am, villagers noticed the animal bounding down a paddy field. Panic spread as the word got around and villagers soon cornered the animal. They laid a siege around the bush in the fringe of the village, in which the scared animal had taken shelter.

Whenever it tried to come out, it was chased back.

Eyewitnesses said some people even hurled bricks at the leopard and hit it with bamboo poles.

After about an hour, the leopard dashed out of the bush and charged at the onlookers, injuring 11. The forest department had been informed by then and a wildlife squad soon arrived from Binnaguri.

The foresters took up position on a nearby tree and attempted to tranquillize the animal. But they apparently failed to get a clear view to fire the dart.

Meanwhile, the crowd swelled and the police found it difficult to keep them away from the animal. Around 1 pm, the leopard made a final rush for safety, sprinting desperately through the crowd. Even as villagers ran for cover, the leopard charged at Narayan Kumar Majumdar, inspector-in-charge of Banarhat police station. Even as it was about pounce on Majumdar, policemen standing next to him fired at it. The animal was killed on the spot.

“This is a very unfortunate incident, but we couldn’t avoid killing the leopard. It could have injured more people and even killed villagers had it not been shot,” said SP Anand Kumar. He added that of the five rounds that had been fired, two hit the animal.

Forest officials, on the other hand, blamed the villagers for the messed up operation. “The gathered there in huge numbers, making it impossible for us to get close to the leopard. We tried our best top tranquillize it, but the crowd could not be controlled,” said a forest official. An inquiry has been started.

Last year, a leopard had been beaten to death by villagers at Dhupguri, 10 km from Banarhat.

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Images courtesy : TOI & ABP

Oil Spill Off The Coast Of Orissa

A huge oil spill has washed up on the Rushikulya river mouth in Orissa on 12th April morning. The heavy oil slick is now floating near the beach and some of it has washed ashore on the sea turtle nesting beaches at Gokharkuda and Kantigada, where more than 1,00,000 endangered olive ridley sea turtles nested last month. The oil has entered Rushikulya river, and it could also threaten Chilika lake, since the Palur canal connects the river with the lake.

Fishermen who had gone out to sea early this morning first reported the oil clogging their nets; they had to return empty handed. The Coast Guard has reached the spot, and it appears that the oil is leaking from the fuel tanks of a ship called "Malavika" which was on its way to Gopalpur Port.

There are fears that the oil spill will do irreversible damage to the sea turtle population which are still present in the offshore waters, and to the turtle eggs that have been laid on the beaches. Marine fauna, on which the fish catch of local communities depend and which are also food for the sea turtles, will be severely affected. The oil can be ingested by the turtles leading to their death and the critically endangered dolphins of Chilika lake might also be affected by the oil. The oil spill has to be urgently contained and collected from the place so that there is no adverse effect on the marine fauna or the turtle eggs.

Information courtesy :

Mr.Biswajit Mohanty, Secretary of the Wildlife Society of Orissa &

Ms.Belinda Wright, WPSI

Tusker rescued by Forest Dept at Buxa

A sub-adult male tusker was rescued from a ditch at the Kumargram tea-garden in Buxa Tiger Reserve on Tuesday morning. The tusker, around seven years old, fell into a 10 feet by 4 feet ditch while its herd was passing through the tea-garden. Foresters dug up the ditch to widen it, giving enough room to the pachyderm to manoeuvre and wriggle out of it. The elephant later joined its herd in the Kumargram forest.

Around 11 am, some villagers noticed the elephant struggling to come out of the hole. The herd tried to pull it out, but failed and finally left the place without the animal. It was then that foresters moved in and widened the ditch by about 10 feet. The animal soon climbed out.

“We widened the ditch and created a slope to help the jumbo turn its body and stand up on its feet. It has not suffered any major injury,” said Subhankar Sengupta, deputy field director, Buxa Tiger Reserve. The elephant was guided back into the Kumargram forest where it joined its herd.

Courtesy : TOI

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Carl Zeiss Wildlife Conservation Award 2010

The Carl Zeiss Wildlife Conservation Award each year chooses 5 conservationists from across the country through an expert panel led by Mr.Valmik Thapar. This award recognizes individuals who contribute in the field of Tiger conservation.

I was fortunate to be chosen as one of this year's awardees. Union Minister Mr.Salman Khurshid presented the trophy & a prized Zeiss binocular. MoEF Mr.Jairam Ramesh too was present.

The august gathering was glittering with the likes of Dr.Ullas Karanth, Dr.Raghu Chundawat, Mr.P.K.Sen, Mr.Shekar Dattari, Ms.Belinda Wright, Ms.Joanna Van Gruisen and other special guests.

Though my name as an individual has been selected but the achievement belongs to both myself & Suchandra.

For this achievement, we must thank our mentor Mr.Bittu Sahgal for his non-stop energetic influence. We thank the legendary Mr.Fateh Singh Rathore for being our father figure. Dr.Anish Andheria for being a constant teacher, and Mr.P.K.Sen for his inspirational words that have stood by us always.

We must also thank the West Bengal Forest Department for all their support throughout.

Thanks to our friends - Pinaki, Kaushik, Ananda, Dipankar, Kumkum & a battalion of others and above all Chhaya Dutt & Tomtom.

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Times of India news strip

12.04.2010

Conservationist rewarded

He loves the woods and swears by the tiger. Watching the forests through the lens of his camera, he gradually fell in love with them and turned a conservationist. For nearly a decade now, Joydeep Kundu and his wife Suchandra have been tirelessly campaigning in favour of measures to save the endangered animal and its fast dwindling habitat around the country. Travelling far and wide across the sanctuaries, the Sunderbans in particular, the conservationist couple has been urging everyone concerned to take note of the urgent need to come to the aid of the tiger.

Joydeep’s efforts won him the Carl Zeiss Wildlife Conservation Award at a glittering ceremony in New Delhi last week. “Even though Kundu doesn’t have formal training, he has an instinctive feel for the jungle and a fierce desire to protect species and habitats,” said the citation.

The desire has grown over the years. Kundu remains a keen wildlife photographer and his photographs are still published in wildlife magazine Sanctuary Asia. But he now takes his role as a conservator more seriously. Last year, Kundu organized a unique march titled “Walk for the Tiger” in the Sunderbans, which saw more than 2 lakh taking part across six islands of the mangrove forest. Kundu has also been a part of the “Bengal Tiger Banchao” campaign run by Sanctuary Asia and Bengal Tiger Line.

“This award will inspire me to keep working for conservation and contribute towards saving the tiger. This is a challenging period for conservationists in India. We need to be on guard all the time,” says the conservationist.

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