The rare Western Tragopan, a medium sized and brightly colored pheasant, has been sighted at two sites in the Pir Panjal range. The birds were sighted by a team from the species division of the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI). Its status is a Schedule I species on the Wildlife Protection Act and ‘Vulnerable’ on the IUCN Red List. The Tragopan is a victim of rampant poaching for its meat and plumage. The team also sighted another rare species, … Read More
Journey of a Leatherback Turtle: Andamans to Indonesia
A Leatherback Turtle — the biggest, most endangered and the deepest swimmer among seven turtle species known worldwide — clocked more than 2,000km in 145 days. The turtle (tagged 103335) began her journey from the Little Andaman islands on the rim of the Indian Ocean in January and, on Saturday, was spotted near the Indonesian coast.
In 2008, a team from Bangalore’s Centre for Ecological Sciences (CES) of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore initiated a long-term monitoring programme … Read More
Radio-collared Tiger Poisoned in Nepal
Kathmandu, Nepal — A Bengal tiger fitted with a GPS tracking collar and translocated from Nepal’s Chitwan National Park to Bardia National Park has been killed, according to Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation officials. Authorities believe the tiger died after eating the flesh of a cow deliberately laced with poison. Three men suspected of involvement in the death have been arrested.… Read More
Leopard Crossing, Mysore — Mananthavadi Highway, Nagarahole
A leopard tentatively crosses the Mysore – Mananthavadi highway in Nagarahole national park and tiger reserve in Karnataka. Based on the fact that this road passes through an extremely crucial habitat for elephants and tigers and number of tragic roadkills, conservationists filed an application to the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) of the Supreme Court to close the road to nighttime traffic.
The CEC on 05-05-2008 concluded that no vehicular traffic be permitted between 6pm and 6am apart from other mitigation … Read More
China Premier Warned of Tiger Pledge ‘Mockery’
EIA’s personal letter highlights gap between China’s promises and actions for wild tiger conservation.
PRLog (Press Release) – May 19, 2011 – THE Environmental Investigation Agency has written a personal letter to Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao to warn him that significant failings within a key state department in China are making a mockery of his pledge to “vigorously combat poaching, trade and smuggling of tiger products”.
At last November’s Global Tiger Forum in St Petersburg, five leaders of Tiger Range … Read More
Tiger Wanders 280 kms Through Karnataka Forests in Search of Territory
On May 1, a young male tiger which had strayed into a betelnut plantation in gama and was stoned by a mob, attacked and killed a man before it was tranquilized by the forest officials. On May 7th, the tiger was released into the Bhadra tiger reserve. Analysis of the photographs of the tiger’s release by the Centre for Wildlife Studies (CWS), a wildlife NGO which had been camera trapping in Karnataka for around two decades, showed that the tiger … Read More
Camera Traps Reveal Four Tigers in Anamalai Tiger Reserve
The presence of four tigers has been revealed by camera traps setup in three ranges of the Anamalai Tiger Reserve. The cameras had been installed after understanding the movement of the animals through front line uniform staff and anti-poaching watchers. The cameras were installed in Ullandy, Valparai, Manambolly and Amaravathy ranges and the sightings were recorded by the ones in Ullandy and Manambolly. Encouraged by the results, camera traps have been relocated in other strategic locations to know the presence … Read More
Camera trap in Sirumugai Reserve Forest near Coimbatore records Tigers
A camera trap in Sirumugai Reserve Forest has recorded the movement of a Tiger. This is the third sighting of a tiger in the Sirumugai Range. A census conducted in March found several pug marks. The forest department plans to assess whether the tiger is a migrant one or native to the Coimbatore Forests. The Sirumugai range is contiguous with the lower reaches of the Western Ghats, Mudumalai Tiger reserve, Sathyamangalam Forests and Silent Valley in Kerala.… Read More
Illegal laterite mining threatens Sagar forests
Rampant and illegal laterite mining is reported from the Sagar Taluk in Shimoga, Karnataka. An RTI application with the Department of Mines and Geology reveals that permission has been accorded to mine only one and half acres across three villages. However, there are 200 illegal quarries reported in the Sagar Taluk operating on one hundred acres of land. Almost 50 truckloads of laterite blocks leave the Sagar Taluk on a daily basis. Most quarries are said to operate in forest … Read More
Current Science research paper points to Lion-tailed macaque habitat loss
Lion-tailed macaques in the Highwavy mountains in the Western Ghats are threatened with habitat loss as their movements are obstructed by tea estates. As a result of the interspersed tea estates, these rare primates find themselves isolated to fragments of forests. Besides plantations, vast areas of habitat have been submerged by the creation of three dams. These findings and others are discussed in the paper authored by H. N. Kumara of the Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History … Read More
Conservation Letters Study Identifies Wildlife Tourism Challenges
A study by Krithi Karanth and others in Conservation Letters identifies challenges to wildlife because of burgeoning tourism. The main drive behind the increase is attributed to the rising affluent, middle class with money to spend on vacations. Increased revenue from tourism is still not benefiting individual parks, as it goes into a larger treasury. It also skips local communities, with the revenue ending largely in private hands. Other challenges include threats to unprotected adjoining lands, corridors as well as … Read More
Speedpost Parcel Containing Ivory caught in Guwahati
Acting on specific intelligence, customs sleuths in the Guwahati airport confiscated an Ahmedabad bound parcel containing 3.45 kgs of Ivory. The parcel was seized as it was being boarded onto a Spicejet flight. The Ivory was concealed under paddy husks and the value of the tusks is estimated to be around Rs. 10.35 lakhs in the domestic market and crores abroad. Smuggling in the north east is increasingly said to be taking an aerial route.… Read More
Report: Tiger Link — March 2011
The Ranthambhore Foundation publishes TigerLink, a news letter that serves as a valuable resource library and is a strong pressure lobby to counter misguided development policies of the government. It is
distributed widely, especially among policy makers, decision makers, experts and NGO’s concern with tiger conservation across the globe. It also serves as an information base for media professionals and those
seeking concise information on tiger conservation issues.… Read More
Human – Elephant Conflict
In our densely populated subcontinent, elephants and people have had to increasingly share land and resources, leading to frequent and often fatal conflict. How can the government resolve this problem? Janaki Lenin and Raman Sukumar recently submitted a lengthy report on the issue. Here is a gist of the report.
A few facts about elephants in India:
- Only 22 per cent of elephant habitat is found within our protected area network – the remaining elephant range lies outside, in places
Sathyamangalam Forests offer Safe Haven for Threatened Vultures
Sathyamangalam, along with Wayanad, Nagarhole and Bandipur sanctuaries is offering a protective environment for vultures. Sathyamangalam and Moyar offer open scrub forests that make it easy for vultures to spot carcasses. Since the region is located on migratory paths of animals, carcasses are plentiful too. Vultures have faced over 99.9% decline in their population since 1990s, primarily due to the use of Diclofenac – a painkiller used in livestock. Over 40 vultures of three species were found in Sathyamangalam and … Read More
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