The Indian Wolf (Canis lupus pallipes), is an endangered species in Schedule I of Indian wildlife according to the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972. It is also in appendix 1 of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
Despite the highest level of protection accorded to the wolves in India, hunting remains rampant and is a major cause of concern. Killing of adult wolves and pups by local sheepherders is common … Read More
Authors Ruth DeFries, Krithi K. Karanth and Sajid Pareeth propose the designation of a ‘Zone of Interaction’ (ZOI) around reserves encompassing hydrologic, ecological and socioeconomic interactions between a reserve and the surrounding landscape, in their paper, “Interactions between protected areas and their surroundings in human-dominated tropical landscapes,” published in Biological Conservation in 2010.
There are 683 Reserves covering less than 5 per cent of total land area in India today. Most of these reserves are embedded in human-dominated landscapes. Land … Read More
As if going from widespread to critically endangered in a few decades (thanks to Diclofenac) wasn’t bad enough, king vultures also have to fend off competitors for their hard won meals; and sometimes the smaller, more nimble opponents take away the booty!
This particular encounter happened one morning in Ranthambhore National Park, as we waited at a spotted deer kill. The vulture flew in to polish off the remains while the tigress was away. But its chances of a … Read More
This leucistic Indian grey mongoose or common grey mongoose (Herpestes edwardsii) was seen regularly from the summer of 2011 till the monsoon of 2012 near Gular ki kui area in Ranthambhore national park. Unlike other mongoose inside the park, this one was very shy and almost never came near the tracks. I got my first picture of this individual after several sightings. We are still not sure about its sex and we had never seen this one with … Read More
Tiger Watch has been a pioneer in wildlife conservation in Ranthambhore over the past decade. Its anti-poaching operations, reform projects and conservation models have inspired many to get involved in conservation activities.
Hence, each year Tiger Watch organizes a workshop to facilitate wildlife enthusiasts on ground conservation work with interactive sessions and field trips.
Each individual can be a leader in evolving better and newer ways in conserving resources. Environment agencies are working towards this but most of the time, … Read More
Would you walk away from a tiger lying 10 feet in front of you? Well, I did and only for the lure of that elusive, enigmatic predator – the leopard. We were at Ranthambore, face to face with a handsome male tiger (T6 aka Romeo) when our guide Hemraj suggested that we head off to a nearby waterhole to wait at a leopard’s spotted deer kill. The reluctance was momentary, the chance of a leopard on a kill was too … Read More
The river Khanduli emanates from the Mansarovar dam, situated south of Ranthambore National Park and heads along the Eastern boundary of Sawai Mansingh Sanctuary. It gradually drifts Southeast and merges with the mighty Chambal, in the National Chambal Sanctuary. The Khanduli flows through a mixed-use landscape comprising of forest, agricultural fields and plantations. However, like the Chambal, the Khanduli river floods heavily during the monsoon and as a consequence the most dominant features along its course are its ravines. These … Read More
Wildlife tourism has averaged 15% growth in India, mirroring many countries. This growth is reflected in the increase in visitors to many Indian protected areas. Krithi K. Karanth, Ruth DeFries, Arjun Srivathsa and Vishnupriya Sankaraman examine the attitudes and perceptions of visitors to three of India’s most popular and well known National Parks and Tiger Reserves, namely Nagarahole, Kanha and Ranthambore.
These are the highlights of their study from a forthcoming paper in the journal Oryx.
A leopard was captured in a village from Bauli Tehsil of Sawai Madhopur District and released in Sawai Mansingh Sanctuary, 40 km away from the leopard’s territory. The leopard was just spotted by villagers and summoned the forest department to remove it. After 3 days, the leopard found its way back to its homerange as typically happens. On the way back, it encountered villagers and accidentally injured a child. A chaos ensued, and during the (second) forest department rescue operation, … Read More
An illegal construction of a canal to connect the Kushalipura nalla to the Manasarovar dam, threatens to destroy a corridor that connects Ranthambore National Park to the Sawai Mansingh sanctuary. Wild animals can cross the two protected areas that run parallel to each other, at only two points, as high hills and three villages block the other points. The canal is all set to block the most often used of the two points.
Ex-forest minister NN Meena laid the foundation … Read More
A recent study by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) says that Ranthambore’s tigers show a loss of genetic diversity over the years, due to the tigers being an isolated population without any genetic exchange. Ranthambore’s tigers used to take the Chambal river route to the Kuno sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh. But due to the flattening of the river banks, the tigers stopped using this route for dispersal and there has been no gene flow between the two tiger populations. … Read More
In a gross violation of Wildlife Protection Act and Forest Conservation Act, construction activity continues despite the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) ban earlier this year.
In a letter to Mr. M. K. Jiwrajka, Member Secretary, Central Empowered Committee (CEC), conservation biologist Dharmendra Khandal of Tiger Watch working in the area writes:
“You have already advised the Rajasthan state government for no construction activity in Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve (file no. 1-26/CEC/SC/2010-PC.XXXVIII, Dated: 8th March 2011). However, recently there is new construction … Read More
A 100 ft wide, 5-7 km long canal is being constructed in Ranthambore, between Khushalidarra and Manasarovar Lake, despite the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) banning all construction activity in Ranthambore earlier this year. The canal threatens the tiger corridor between Ranthambore and Sawai Mansingh Sanctuary. The CEC had banned all activity in March, in response to a letter by conservationist Belinda Wright of the Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI) who had complained about dams and anicuts being constructed in … Read More
In a gross violation of Wildlife Protection Act and Forest Conservation Act, construction activity continues despite the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) ban earlier this year. A 100-feet wide and 5-7 km long canal is being dug between Khushalidarra and Mansarovar lake destroying an important tiger corridor between Ranthambore National Park and Sawai Mansingh Sanctuary. Read the full coverage in Times of India. … Read More
The Central Empowered Committee constituted by the Supreme Court has ordered that all construction activity that violates the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972 and other court directives, be stopped. The directive is the result of a petition by Belinda Wright, executive director of Wildlife Protection Society of India. Massive construction work is being undertaken by the forest department to construct 20 big dams. The forest department is undertaking these activities in response to a severe scarcity of water last summer. … Read More
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