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

http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Client.asp?Daily=TOIKM&showST=true&login=default&pub=TOI&Enter=true&Skin=TOINEW&GZ=T

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.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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.

http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Client.asp?Daily=TOIKM&showST=true&login=default&pub=TOI&Enter=true&Skin=TOINEW&GZ=T

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.

http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Client.asp?Daily=TOIKM&showST=true&login=default&pub=TOI&Enter=true&Skin=TOINEW&GZ=T

Tiger-human conflict at Assam

Tiger strays into Assam tea garden, kills two

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Jorhat: A Royal Bengal tiger triggered panic and anger on Monday after it strayed into a tea garden settlement in Sivasagar district and attacked as many as four persons, two of whom died.

At 5.30 am, the big cat entered the Athkhel tea garden in the Sivasagar forest range and attacked Manglu Mirdha and his 12-year-old daughter Rita. While the girl died on the spot, her father was badly wounded, said assistant conservator of forests (Sivasagar) Ranjit Das.

Hearing Rita’s screams, one of her neighbours, Saraswati Southal (31), stepped out of her house only to be attacked by the adult tiger. Saraswati succumbed to her injuries while being taken to Assam Medical College (AMC), Dibrugarh.

Later, the animal attacked two others — Karuna Tanti (50) and Uma Mattu Southal (26). Both have been admitted to AMC. Their condition is serious.

As the news spread, more than 2,000 people armed with spears, bows and sticks rushed to the site to battle the big cat. Senior district officials rushed to the area along with a large contingent of policemen to control the situation and help forest personnel tranquillise the animal.

Veterinarian Prasanta Bora and Prabhat Hazarika (dart-shooter) from the Centre of Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation managed to sedate the tiger and cage it after toiling for nearly six hours as they couldn’t see the animal well, which had taken shelter in the dark corner of a house.

The assistant conservator of forests said police and forest staff had a tough time controlling the angry residents, who were baying for the animal’s blood. He added that the tiger might have got panicky and entered the house to escape the wrath of the villagers.

Sivasagar deputy commissioner N M Hussain said it was “a very unexpected incident” because there had been no reports of a Royal Bengal tiger being spotted in the region. There have, however, been instances of leopards straying into human settlements here.

“The situation in the area was very tense after the tiger attacked residents. We had a tough time containing the people,” Hussain said.

After six shots, the tiger became unconscious and was caged. The animal was taken to a nearby police camp and would be sent to the Centre for Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation at night, the official said.

http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Client.asp?Daily=TOIKM&showST=true&login=default&pub=TOI&Enter=true&Skin=TOINEW&GZ=T

Island sinks by the rising sea

Island sinks, expert blames warming

An island near the Bay of Bengal is being swallowed by the rising sea, possibly making it one of global warming’s earliest victims. The fact, if established beyond scientific doubt, could be the spur to global climate negotiations that seem to have cooled off after the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change admitted to have erred in its estimates big time.

New Moore Island, also known as Purbasha island, is located on the confluence of the Ichhamati and Rai Mangal rivers near the mouth of the sea but remains almost perpetually submerged now, occasionally peeping out during low tides. This startling fact emerged from satellite images in 2009 that were studied by a team led by Sugato Hazra, director of Jadavpur University’s school of oceanography studies. “There is no trace of the island anymore. After studying satellite images, I reconfirmed this from fishermen,” said Hazra.

Till the early ’80s, New Moore Island was a disputed territory claimed by both India and Bangladesh, referred to it as South Talpatti. The territorial dispute was resolved in India’s favour, but this 3-kmlong, 3.5-km-wide island may soon be wiped off the map.

Though many environmentalists are yet to endorse the view that global warming is pushing up sea levels, rising temperatures are definitely responsible for the phenomenon, said Hazra. “The island does not have inhabitants now. Coastal erosion and rising temperature in the Bay of Bengal between 2000 and 2009 submerged Purbasha island. In the Bay of Bengal area, temperatures are rising at an annual rate of 0.4°C. Four super cyclones — Aila, Cedar, Bijli and Nargis — hit the southern parts of the Sunderbans from 2007 to 2009. The tide levels, too, are rising in the Bay of Bengal. This is evident from Purbasha island being submerged,” Hazra explained.There were similar fears in 1996 when Lohachara island in the Hooghly estuary vanished from the map. But an island is emerging again in the area, almost in the same region where Lohachara had once been.

According to Hazra, Ghoramara and Jambudweep are among other islands that are slowly “sinking”. On islands like Bulcheri, Bhangaduani and Dalhousie facing a threat from the rising sea, the tiger population risks being wiped off. “Besides, Mousuni and Gblot islands face the threat of erosion, flooding due to storms and invasion of saline water,” said Hazra, who conducted the research along with Anirban Mukherjee and Anirban Akhand of the School of Oceanographic Studies.

_TIMES NEWS NETWORK

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/global-warming/New-Moore-isle-no-more-expert-blames-warming/articleshow/5720685.cms