Story/place-Nagpur.
Vijay Pinjarkar, TNN, Feb 11, 2011, 01.46am IST
NAGPUR: Principal chief conservator of forests (wildlife) DC Pant has asked the fourteen territorial and wildlife circles in the state to conduct a survey of vultures and submit a report by February 17.
Although officials claim the survey is a routine exercise, it has been ordered after some startling information came to fore in a RTI query by advocate Satish Kantode and Pravin Randive, treasurer and secretary respectively of Aranyayatri Wild Life Foundation from Lakhni, Bhandara. The responses revealed that no money has been spent under any scheme on protection, conservation and awareness creation about vultures in the state from January 1, 2005, to December 31, 2010.
The information also revealed that no state-level or district-level committees have been set up till now, even after directions from the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) on March 29, 2006.
However, forest officials claim that the RTI information supplied was distorted by the applicants. There are directions to all circles to report about vulture population in their respective areas. "If some circles are not supplying information that doesn't mean vultures are not there," an official said.
He added there is no head under which money is spent on vulture conservation. This doesn't mean spending on vulture conservation is zero.
Finally, on January 27, the chief wildlife warden has issued a letter ordering a survey on vulture presence. The letter lists the three species; slender-billed, long-billed and white-backed vultures, found in the state.
Even though a survey has been ordered, experts doubt whether field staff will be able to identify the vulture species? There has been no formal vulture survey in the state after 2002. It was conducted by the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), which had come out with a figure of 100.
However, raptor scientist Dr Ajay Poharkar says that BNHS did not count vulture population in Gadchiroli district, where there were over 200 vultures in 2002 as per a survey conducted by National Association for Welfare of Animals and Research (Nawar).
During the vulture crisis, where 90% of the scavengers in the country were wiped out, deaths were also reported in Gadchiroli. Nawar claims vulture deaths in the tribal district were due to malaria, but BNHS is not ready to accept this, and says vulture died due to diclofenac, a non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory drug. Dr Poharkar argues that a sole factor cannot be blamed for the vulture deaths.
source-timesofindia.indiatimes.com
sourced by jimsjungleretreat.com
Monday, February 21, 2011
Another tiger found dead in Corbett Park
FEBRUARY 6, 2011
Story/place-Corbett
DEHRADUN: A 10-year-old tiger's carcass was recovered from a forested area near Corbett Tiger Reserve in Uttarakhand's Ramnagar on Saturday evening.
Forest department sources said the cause of the tiger's death would be known after a postmortem, but the carcass' condition suggests that the big cat may have died two or three days earlier.
Divisional forest officer Nishant Verma said the death appears to be natural and that a two-member team of Corbett Tiger Reserve vets would conduct the post-mortem.
Sources said six tigers have died in the reserve and surrounding area since December. Forest officials gunned down a man-eater tiger that had killed five people in the reserve's buffer zone around two weeks back.
source-uttarakhandnews2k.blogspot.com
sourced b jimsjungleretreat.com
Story/place-Corbett
DEHRADUN: A 10-year-old tiger's carcass was recovered from a forested area near Corbett Tiger Reserve in Uttarakhand's Ramnagar on Saturday evening.
Forest department sources said the cause of the tiger's death would be known after a postmortem, but the carcass' condition suggests that the big cat may have died two or three days earlier.
Divisional forest officer Nishant Verma said the death appears to be natural and that a two-member team of Corbett Tiger Reserve vets would conduct the post-mortem.
Sources said six tigers have died in the reserve and surrounding area since December. Forest officials gunned down a man-eater tiger that had killed five people in the reserve's buffer zone around two weeks back.
source-uttarakhandnews2k.blogspot.com
sourced b jimsjungleretreat.com
Minister’s photo eye saves a tiger family
Story/place-Jaipur
Sunny Sebastian-February 6
The Rajasthan Tourism Minister's new love for photography saved a family of tigers in Ranthambhore National Park this week. The observant Minister, who spotted blood in the hind portion of a tigress in the photographs she took during a visit to the park, got the animal operated upon for cleaning a wound infested with maggots. The Minister, Bina Kak, is now being lauded by the conservation community not for saving one tiger but a whole family of three.
The family of T-5, referred to as “Kachida female” in the tiger conservation circles, was saved as Ms. Kak, after watching the tigress in the Ranthambhore woods this past Wednesday, felt something was amiss with the animal. “In the photographs and the video I noticed a red patch on the rump of the tigress. After seeing the pictures I went back to the spot where it was squatting and found blood stains on the ground,” said Ms. Kak, who was Forest Minister in the previous Gehlot government here,
The Minister summoned Divisional Forest Officer R.P. Gupta and explained the situation. The services of two veterinarians — one from Jaipur and the other from Sawai Madhopur — was requisitioned for an early operation. “I spoke to the PCCF and briefed him on the urgency. It was a sensitive issue and the officers understandably were scared about tranquillising the tigress and carrying out an operation,” Ms. Kak said.
The Minister, who was to start for Jaipur at 6 a.m. on Thursday, stayed back to oversee the operation as the vets, Rajiv Garg and Arvind Mathur, tranquillised the tigress with darts and carried out the “clean-up” job in 20 minutes. “There were hundreds of maggots in the wound and the animal would have died eventually if the clinical intervention was not carried out,” Ms. Kak said.
The tigress got up and walked away four hours after the operation near the Anantpur chowki in Berda. “I was told that she finished a portion of her kill the next day and is now normal,” said a jubilant Ms. Kak.
“It was surely a laudable act in many ways. The Minister deserves kudos for her initiative while the team of vets has proved that now Rajasthan medics have the capacity to do such operations,” said Rajasthan Board for Wildlife member Rajpal Singh.
source-blogspot.com
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Sunny Sebastian-February 6
The Rajasthan Tourism Minister's new love for photography saved a family of tigers in Ranthambhore National Park this week. The observant Minister, who spotted blood in the hind portion of a tigress in the photographs she took during a visit to the park, got the animal operated upon for cleaning a wound infested with maggots. The Minister, Bina Kak, is now being lauded by the conservation community not for saving one tiger but a whole family of three.
The family of T-5, referred to as “Kachida female” in the tiger conservation circles, was saved as Ms. Kak, after watching the tigress in the Ranthambhore woods this past Wednesday, felt something was amiss with the animal. “In the photographs and the video I noticed a red patch on the rump of the tigress. After seeing the pictures I went back to the spot where it was squatting and found blood stains on the ground,” said Ms. Kak, who was Forest Minister in the previous Gehlot government here,
The Minister summoned Divisional Forest Officer R.P. Gupta and explained the situation. The services of two veterinarians — one from Jaipur and the other from Sawai Madhopur — was requisitioned for an early operation. “I spoke to the PCCF and briefed him on the urgency. It was a sensitive issue and the officers understandably were scared about tranquillising the tigress and carrying out an operation,” Ms. Kak said.
The Minister, who was to start for Jaipur at 6 a.m. on Thursday, stayed back to oversee the operation as the vets, Rajiv Garg and Arvind Mathur, tranquillised the tigress with darts and carried out the “clean-up” job in 20 minutes. “There were hundreds of maggots in the wound and the animal would have died eventually if the clinical intervention was not carried out,” Ms. Kak said.
The tigress got up and walked away four hours after the operation near the Anantpur chowki in Berda. “I was told that she finished a portion of her kill the next day and is now normal,” said a jubilant Ms. Kak.
“It was surely a laudable act in many ways. The Minister deserves kudos for her initiative while the team of vets has proved that now Rajasthan medics have the capacity to do such operations,” said Rajasthan Board for Wildlife member Rajpal Singh.
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Sunday, February 13, 2011
Ramesh letter sparks off protest in Uttarakhand
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2011
Story/place-Uttarakhand.
It is Environment minister Jairam Ramesh versus Uttarakhand chief minister Ramesh Pokhriyal over killing of a tiger, claimed to be man-eater, near Corbett tiger reserve. Ramesh on Tuesday asked the state government to impose section 144 of Code for Criminal Procedure (prevents gathering of more than four people) where tiger attacks a person to ensure safe capture of animal. On Wednesday, the locals decided to stage a demonstration against Ramesh, assisted by local BJP leaders, against the suggestion.
“How can we prevent people from gathering at a site where a tiger attacks a villager,” said a state government functionary. And, added that tiger conservation cannot be done sitting in the air-conditioned offices in Delhi.
Pokhriyal has so far not agreed to Ramesh’s suggestion of a joint inspection of Corbett and nearby areas. According to officials, many of the suggestions made by the union minister were not implementable.
Another twist in the controversy has emerged as instead of relocating the Sunderkhal village from the buffer zone of the Corbett as suggested by Ramesh, the state forest department, headed by CM, has demanded a study to examine presence of four to five tigers near the village.
“It is an unusual behaviour,” said Anil Baluni, vice-chairperson of State Forest and Environment Advisory Board, who claimed that they four to five tigers have been caught on camera near the village.
Tiger being a territorial animal has an area of about 10 sq kms and another tiger can enter the area only after killing the present there. “We want National Tiger Conservation Authority’s suggestion on how to deal with this situation,” Baluni said.
Jairam Ramesh has asked the state government to immediately send a proposal for seeking 100 % assistance to relocate Sunderkhal village, which is there since 1974. At least five persons of this village, in buffer zone of the reserve, were mauled to death by a tiger, killed last week, in a month’s time.
Coming down strongly on the state government for brutally killing the tiger, Ramesh has suggested that two units of rapid response units should be set up to capture the animal to avoid lethal encounters.
To overcome the problem of increasing tiger population in Corbett and reduce man-animal conflict, Ramesh has suggested that parts of Lansdowne, West Terai and Ramnagar divisions should be declared as buffer of Corbett. He also wants the state government to monitor movement of tigers and killing cattle by them to avoid conflict.
The minister has also said that the state government should appoint Brijendra Singh, as honorary wildlife warden for Corbett for appropriate guidance. Singh in the recent past had been critical of officials at Corbett on management of the reserve.
source-uttarakhandnews2k.blogspot.com
sourced by jimsjungleretreat.com
Story/place-Uttarakhand.
It is Environment minister Jairam Ramesh versus Uttarakhand chief minister Ramesh Pokhriyal over killing of a tiger, claimed to be man-eater, near Corbett tiger reserve. Ramesh on Tuesday asked the state government to impose section 144 of Code for Criminal Procedure (prevents gathering of more than four people) where tiger attacks a person to ensure safe capture of animal. On Wednesday, the locals decided to stage a demonstration against Ramesh, assisted by local BJP leaders, against the suggestion.
“How can we prevent people from gathering at a site where a tiger attacks a villager,” said a state government functionary. And, added that tiger conservation cannot be done sitting in the air-conditioned offices in Delhi.
Pokhriyal has so far not agreed to Ramesh’s suggestion of a joint inspection of Corbett and nearby areas. According to officials, many of the suggestions made by the union minister were not implementable.
Another twist in the controversy has emerged as instead of relocating the Sunderkhal village from the buffer zone of the Corbett as suggested by Ramesh, the state forest department, headed by CM, has demanded a study to examine presence of four to five tigers near the village.
“It is an unusual behaviour,” said Anil Baluni, vice-chairperson of State Forest and Environment Advisory Board, who claimed that they four to five tigers have been caught on camera near the village.
Tiger being a territorial animal has an area of about 10 sq kms and another tiger can enter the area only after killing the present there. “We want National Tiger Conservation Authority’s suggestion on how to deal with this situation,” Baluni said.
Jairam Ramesh has asked the state government to immediately send a proposal for seeking 100 % assistance to relocate Sunderkhal village, which is there since 1974. At least five persons of this village, in buffer zone of the reserve, were mauled to death by a tiger, killed last week, in a month’s time.
Coming down strongly on the state government for brutally killing the tiger, Ramesh has suggested that two units of rapid response units should be set up to capture the animal to avoid lethal encounters.
To overcome the problem of increasing tiger population in Corbett and reduce man-animal conflict, Ramesh has suggested that parts of Lansdowne, West Terai and Ramnagar divisions should be declared as buffer of Corbett. He also wants the state government to monitor movement of tigers and killing cattle by them to avoid conflict.
The minister has also said that the state government should appoint Brijendra Singh, as honorary wildlife warden for Corbett for appropriate guidance. Singh in the recent past had been critical of officials at Corbett on management of the reserve.
source-uttarakhandnews2k.blogspot.com
sourced by jimsjungleretreat.com
Protest against parading tiger's body
story/place-corbett national park.
Feb 4, 2011,
Narendra Sharma|Corbett National Park
LUCKNOW: A week after foresters killed a man-eater near Corbett National Park, a protest is brewing against the killing and "the way the animal was paraded''. On Wednesday, wildlife activists and local guides' association wore black ribbons to mark their protest.
"The tiger was was made a man-eater,'' says Narendra Sharma of Bagh Bachao Samiti, Ramnagar. The tiger was shot at on January 11. "Since it was injured, it became incapable of hunting its natural prey,'' said Sharma.
The Samiti along with other wildlife organisations and locals organised a protest at Ramnagar. A memorandum addressed to the Prime Minister was handed over to the authorities.
"The incidents of man-animal conflict have increased at Corbett National Park. Had the forest officials worked as a link between locals and wildlife in the area (for sensitising people), they would not have demanded shooting down of the tiger,'' the memorandum said.
The organisations also protested against the way the dead tiger was paraded atop an elephant. "There are several tigers present in Garjia area as shown by camera traps,'' Sharma says. The wildlife activists said the authorities have not been able to control man-animal conflict.
The tiger killed on January 27 was about 10 years old. The department has already faced lot of flak for claiming that it was a tigress. There have been no more human killings in the area after the tiger was shot dead.
But locals are still living in fear. "They say there is a tigress roaming in Sunderkhal village,'' says Sharma.
source-timesofindia.indiatimes.com
sourced by jimsjungleretreat.com
Feb 4, 2011,
Narendra Sharma|Corbett National Park
LUCKNOW: A week after foresters killed a man-eater near Corbett National Park, a protest is brewing against the killing and "the way the animal was paraded''. On Wednesday, wildlife activists and local guides' association wore black ribbons to mark their protest.
"The tiger was was made a man-eater,'' says Narendra Sharma of Bagh Bachao Samiti, Ramnagar. The tiger was shot at on January 11. "Since it was injured, it became incapable of hunting its natural prey,'' said Sharma.
The Samiti along with other wildlife organisations and locals organised a protest at Ramnagar. A memorandum addressed to the Prime Minister was handed over to the authorities.
"The incidents of man-animal conflict have increased at Corbett National Park. Had the forest officials worked as a link between locals and wildlife in the area (for sensitising people), they would not have demanded shooting down of the tiger,'' the memorandum said.
The organisations also protested against the way the dead tiger was paraded atop an elephant. "There are several tigers present in Garjia area as shown by camera traps,'' Sharma says. The wildlife activists said the authorities have not been able to control man-animal conflict.
The tiger killed on January 27 was about 10 years old. The department has already faced lot of flak for claiming that it was a tigress. There have been no more human killings in the area after the tiger was shot dead.
But locals are still living in fear. "They say there is a tigress roaming in Sunderkhal village,'' says Sharma.
source-timesofindia.indiatimes.com
sourced by jimsjungleretreat.com
Minister’s photo eye saves a tiger family
story/place-Ranthambhe national park.
TIMELY HELP: The tigress of the Ranthambhore National Park, which was saved by Rajasthan Tourism Minister Bina Kak. Photo: Special Arrangement
The Rajasthan Tourism Minister's new love for photography saved a family of tigers in Ranthambhore National Park this week. The observant Minister, who spotted blood in the hind portion of a tigress in the photographs she took during a visit to the park, got the animal operated upon for cleaning a wound infested with maggots. The Minister, Bina Kak, is now being lauded by the conservation community not for saving one tiger but a whole family of three.
The family of T-5, referred to as “Kachida female” in the tiger conservation circles, was saved as Ms. Kak, after watching the tigress in the Ranthambhore woods this past Wednesday, felt something was amiss with the animal. “In the photographs and the video I noticed a red patch on the rump of the tigress. After seeing the pictures I went back to the spot where it was squatting and found blood stains on the ground,” said Ms. Kak, who was Forest Minister in the previous Gehlot government here, to The Hindu.
The Minister summoned Divisional Forest Officer R.P. Gupta and explained the situation. The services of two veterinarians — one from Jaipur and the other from Sawai Madhopur — was requisitioned for an early operation. “I spoke to the PCCF and briefed him on the urgency. It was a sensitive issue and the officers understandably were scared about tranquillising the tigress and carrying out an operation,” Ms. Kak said.
The Minister, who was to start for Jaipur at 6 a.m. on Thursday, stayed back to oversee the operation as the vets, Rajiv Garg and Arvind Mathur, tranquillised the tigress with darts and carried out the “clean-up” job in 20 minutes. “There were hundreds of maggots in the wound and the animal would have died eventually if the clinical intervention was not carried out,” Ms. Kak said.
The tigress got up and walked away four hours after the operation near the Anantpur chowki in Berda. “I was told that she finished a portion of her kill the next day and is now normal,” said a jubilant Ms. Kak.
“It was surely a laudable act in many ways. The Minister deserves kudos for her initiative while the team of vets has proved that now Rajasthan medics have the capacity to do such operations,” said Rajasthan Board for Wildlife member Rajpal Singh.
“Such operations involving wild tigers are rare as risks are involved though in the case of zoo animals it may appear normal,” he noted.
Ms. Kak got her reward for the good work — more photos of the tigress! Even if one does not have to believe her claim — that the tigress looked at her with grateful eyes as it walked away — the animal, as the photographs show, appears more reassured. And the latest information is that T-5 has resumed suckling her two-month-old cubs.
source-thehindu.com
TIMELY HELP: The tigress of the Ranthambhore National Park, which was saved by Rajasthan Tourism Minister Bina Kak. Photo: Special Arrangement
The Rajasthan Tourism Minister's new love for photography saved a family of tigers in Ranthambhore National Park this week. The observant Minister, who spotted blood in the hind portion of a tigress in the photographs she took during a visit to the park, got the animal operated upon for cleaning a wound infested with maggots. The Minister, Bina Kak, is now being lauded by the conservation community not for saving one tiger but a whole family of three.
The family of T-5, referred to as “Kachida female” in the tiger conservation circles, was saved as Ms. Kak, after watching the tigress in the Ranthambhore woods this past Wednesday, felt something was amiss with the animal. “In the photographs and the video I noticed a red patch on the rump of the tigress. After seeing the pictures I went back to the spot where it was squatting and found blood stains on the ground,” said Ms. Kak, who was Forest Minister in the previous Gehlot government here, to The Hindu.
The Minister summoned Divisional Forest Officer R.P. Gupta and explained the situation. The services of two veterinarians — one from Jaipur and the other from Sawai Madhopur — was requisitioned for an early operation. “I spoke to the PCCF and briefed him on the urgency. It was a sensitive issue and the officers understandably were scared about tranquillising the tigress and carrying out an operation,” Ms. Kak said.
The Minister, who was to start for Jaipur at 6 a.m. on Thursday, stayed back to oversee the operation as the vets, Rajiv Garg and Arvind Mathur, tranquillised the tigress with darts and carried out the “clean-up” job in 20 minutes. “There were hundreds of maggots in the wound and the animal would have died eventually if the clinical intervention was not carried out,” Ms. Kak said.
The tigress got up and walked away four hours after the operation near the Anantpur chowki in Berda. “I was told that she finished a portion of her kill the next day and is now normal,” said a jubilant Ms. Kak.
“It was surely a laudable act in many ways. The Minister deserves kudos for her initiative while the team of vets has proved that now Rajasthan medics have the capacity to do such operations,” said Rajasthan Board for Wildlife member Rajpal Singh.
“Such operations involving wild tigers are rare as risks are involved though in the case of zoo animals it may appear normal,” he noted.
Ms. Kak got her reward for the good work — more photos of the tigress! Even if one does not have to believe her claim — that the tigress looked at her with grateful eyes as it walked away — the animal, as the photographs show, appears more reassured. And the latest information is that T-5 has resumed suckling her two-month-old cubs.
source-thehindu.com
Leopard attacks 6-year-old girl
Story/place-Katarniaghat.
TNN, Feb 7, 2011, 12.11pm IST
Bahraich: A six-year-old girl was attacked by a leopard in the forest area of Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary.
The girl, Manisha along with her mother had gone to to pick up fire-woods in the Nishangara beat area of the sanctuary when the leopard attacked her inflicting injuries on her stomach and face, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) wildlife RK Singh said. The girl has been admitted to a primary health centre, Mihinpurwa.
source-timesofindia.indiatimes.com
sourced by jimsjungleretreat.com
TNN, Feb 7, 2011, 12.11pm IST
Bahraich: A six-year-old girl was attacked by a leopard in the forest area of Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary.
The girl, Manisha along with her mother had gone to to pick up fire-woods in the Nishangara beat area of the sanctuary when the leopard attacked her inflicting injuries on her stomach and face, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) wildlife RK Singh said. The girl has been admitted to a primary health centre, Mihinpurwa.
source-timesofindia.indiatimes.com
sourced by jimsjungleretreat.com
Frightened deer dies after rescue
Story/place-Bhubanewar.
TNN, Jan 29, 2011, 12.10am IST
BHUBANESWAR: A spotted deer that strayed into the city died a few minutes after forest officials rescued and released it into the wild here on Friday.
Forest and wildlife department officers used a net to trap the male spotted deer, which had entered the Water Recourse Station premises near Rail Vihar in Chandrasekharpur.
"The animal could not be tranquilized and was captured with a net," said range officer (wildlife) P B Nanda. "The deer was already in a state of shock after stray dogs chased it. We relocated it into Chandaka wildlife sanctuary but it died after a few minutes," he added.
The post mortem report revealed that the animal died due to severe internal bleeding and injuries on its ribs and lungs. "Three rib bones were fractured penetrating the lungs, causing severe thoracic bleeding leading to death. The animal was very scared after being chased by people and stray dogs," said head, veterinary pathology department, Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology, S K Panda.
Official sources said the deer might have come from Bharatpur reserve forest area, which is part of Chandaka wildlife sanctuary, adjoining the city limits. "This is not an isolated incident of deer entering human habitation. A few days ago, we rescued two spotted deer from villages near the sanctuary area," Nanda said.
The forest department has decided to launch a massive awareness campaign in the wake of repeated incidents of wild animals entering human habitats and getting killed or injured. "Since the sanctuary is close to the city we want to create awareness among the public about proper handling of wild animals. Such programmes were earlier conducted inside the sanctuary area. Now, we want to sensitize city people," said city divisional forest officer Jayanta Dash.
On January 13, some people in Gandarpur on the city outskirts beat a leopard to death after it had strayed close to their village.
source-timesofindia.indiatimes.com
sourced by jimsjungleretreat.com
TNN, Jan 29, 2011, 12.10am IST
BHUBANESWAR: A spotted deer that strayed into the city died a few minutes after forest officials rescued and released it into the wild here on Friday.
Forest and wildlife department officers used a net to trap the male spotted deer, which had entered the Water Recourse Station premises near Rail Vihar in Chandrasekharpur.
"The animal could not be tranquilized and was captured with a net," said range officer (wildlife) P B Nanda. "The deer was already in a state of shock after stray dogs chased it. We relocated it into Chandaka wildlife sanctuary but it died after a few minutes," he added.
The post mortem report revealed that the animal died due to severe internal bleeding and injuries on its ribs and lungs. "Three rib bones were fractured penetrating the lungs, causing severe thoracic bleeding leading to death. The animal was very scared after being chased by people and stray dogs," said head, veterinary pathology department, Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology, S K Panda.
Official sources said the deer might have come from Bharatpur reserve forest area, which is part of Chandaka wildlife sanctuary, adjoining the city limits. "This is not an isolated incident of deer entering human habitation. A few days ago, we rescued two spotted deer from villages near the sanctuary area," Nanda said.
The forest department has decided to launch a massive awareness campaign in the wake of repeated incidents of wild animals entering human habitats and getting killed or injured. "Since the sanctuary is close to the city we want to create awareness among the public about proper handling of wild animals. Such programmes were earlier conducted inside the sanctuary area. Now, we want to sensitize city people," said city divisional forest officer Jayanta Dash.
On January 13, some people in Gandarpur on the city outskirts beat a leopard to death after it had strayed close to their village.
source-timesofindia.indiatimes.com
sourced by jimsjungleretreat.com
Was the wrong tiger killed in Kumaon?
Was the wrong tiger killed in Kumaon?
Story/place-Corbett.
LUCKNOW: A day after Uttarakhand forest officials shot a tiger claiming it had killed six people in and around Kumaon's Corbett Reserve, doubts are being raised if the big cat felled on Thursday was a man-eater.
The Corbett authorities who had earlier claimed that the man-eater was a tigress, on Friday said the feline shot by Ramnagar forest officials was a "rare specimen with female characterstics". With deformity in both its hind claws, the pug marks of the tiger made them look like that of a tigress. "Whatever doubts have arisen, could be because of this assumption of ours," said Corbett park warden U C Tiwari on Friday adding, "it was a tiger with female characteristics."
The contention was outrightly rejected by wildlife experts. "The pug mark impressions are very distinct and are impressions of paws and not claws," said former director of Dudhwa G C Mishra. He added that this leaves little chance of a goof up. "We are yet to come across a tiger with "female characteristics," he said.
"If they have killed a wrong tiger and a man-eater is still at large, killings (of men) will take place in some 15-20 days," he warned.
Former director, Project Tiger, R L Singh said: "I agree that pug marks are misleading evidence, but I have never ever come across a tiger with any of its claws like that of a female. Though the cubs can have their claws look like that of a female, the Corbett tiger was an old one."
source-timesofindia.indiatimes.com
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Story/place-Corbett.
LUCKNOW: A day after Uttarakhand forest officials shot a tiger claiming it had killed six people in and around Kumaon's Corbett Reserve, doubts are being raised if the big cat felled on Thursday was a man-eater.
The Corbett authorities who had earlier claimed that the man-eater was a tigress, on Friday said the feline shot by Ramnagar forest officials was a "rare specimen with female characterstics". With deformity in both its hind claws, the pug marks of the tiger made them look like that of a tigress. "Whatever doubts have arisen, could be because of this assumption of ours," said Corbett park warden U C Tiwari on Friday adding, "it was a tiger with female characteristics."
The contention was outrightly rejected by wildlife experts. "The pug mark impressions are very distinct and are impressions of paws and not claws," said former director of Dudhwa G C Mishra. He added that this leaves little chance of a goof up. "We are yet to come across a tiger with "female characteristics," he said.
"If they have killed a wrong tiger and a man-eater is still at large, killings (of men) will take place in some 15-20 days," he warned.
Former director, Project Tiger, R L Singh said: "I agree that pug marks are misleading evidence, but I have never ever come across a tiger with any of its claws like that of a female. Though the cubs can have their claws look like that of a female, the Corbett tiger was an old one."
source-timesofindia.indiatimes.com
sourced by jimsjungleretreat.com
Tiger kills elephant
story/place-Corbett.
29/01/2011
Rishikesh (Uttarakhand), Jan 28 (PTI) A 20-year-old female elephant was killed by a tiger in Corbett Tiger Reserve (CTR), a forest official said.
The half-eaten body of the pachyderm was found by a forest patrolling team this morning, Uttarakhand Chief Wildlife Warden Srikant Chandola said.
"The killing of elephant calves by a tiger is a common incident in jungles but this is a very rare incident when the tiger has attacked and killed an adolescent elephant," he added.
source-news.in.msn.com
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29/01/2011
Rishikesh (Uttarakhand), Jan 28 (PTI) A 20-year-old female elephant was killed by a tiger in Corbett Tiger Reserve (CTR), a forest official said.
The half-eaten body of the pachyderm was found by a forest patrolling team this morning, Uttarakhand Chief Wildlife Warden Srikant Chandola said.
"The killing of elephant calves by a tiger is a common incident in jungles but this is a very rare incident when the tiger has attacked and killed an adolescent elephant," he added.
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