Story/ Place- Nagpur
Vijay Pinjarkar Oct 3, 2011, 03.58AM IST
NAGPUR: While recent lynching of Navegaon National Park tigress in Bhakru Tola in Chhattisgarh by a furious mob came as a rude shock, there is a good news from Melghat - sighting of six new cubs has thrilled wildlife buffs and officials.
"In the past couple of months, tigresses with two cubs (around 6-8 months) each have been recorded in camera traps by the field staff in Sonala range in Ambabarwa wildlife sanctuary, part of Melghat Tiger Reserve (MTR), Dhakna and Raipur ranges," revealed an overjoyed AK Mishra, field director and chief conservator of forests (CCF), MTR.
He adds, two months ago, driver of a forest vehicle sighted a tiger with a kill in Semadoh tourism zone. He also recorded the movements on his mobile. However, several such claims are not considered unless authenticated.
Tigers have always remain elusive in MTR, fondly called as the 'Kipling Country' and known for its mystifying landscape with high hills and deep valleys. Sighting of cubs in three places at a time makes big news in Melghat. Till now, such reports in the region could be heard only from Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) in Chandrapur district which has a distinction of producing 12-15 tiger cubs every year.
Melghat, where sighting of tigers is like cracking jokes, has made a major turnaround over the last two years. The last such record of tiger sighting was in February 2009 from Narnala where a tigress with three cubs was sighted. "With the new additions, we expect tiger numbers to go up to 50-55," Mishra says. However, the NTCA-WII estimation of 2010 puts the tiger count in Melghat at 39.
About the success, Mishra says strengthening protection and group patrolling, awareness among villagers by distributing pamphlets and educating them and imposing curbs on grazing have led to improving the situation.
"Controlling forest fires is our big successes. From 7.5% with 401 cases, the number of incidents has been brought down to 3.2% with 177 cases," said Mishra.
"In the past two years, we seized around 500 cattle and filed cases in the court against illicit grazers. Such measures are yielding results," Mishra says. The field director said relocation of three villages - Barukheda, Amona and Nagartas in Wan sanctuary and partial relocation of Vairat and Churni villages in Melghat sanctuary has also helped in reducing grazing pressure of 4,500 cattle.
In 2006, MTR in Amravati was rated as 'poor'. However, in 2011, it has bounced back and has been graded as 'good' by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and Wildlife Institute of India (WII). The result of 2011 management effective evaluation (MEE) puts MTR in line with high-profile reserves like Corbett, Dudhwa, Ranthambore and Manas.
Even tiger conservationist Kishore Rithe, who works in Melghat, admits protection mechanism has been revamped and is very systematic despite shortage of trained and good staff. "Villages in core are willing to resettle. If MTR hands over tourism management to communities, it will help improve livelihoods and thus increase public support for tigers," he adds.
source-timesofindia.indiatimes.com
sourced by jimsjungleretreat.com
Friday, October 7, 2011
Mansinghdeo sanctuary's endless wait continues
Story/Place - Nagpur
Vijay Pinjarkar, TNN Oct 2, 2011, 12.08PM IST
NAGPUR: It took 17 years for the state government to notify the Mansinghdeo Wildlife Sanctuary. Now that it has been done, it might as well take another 17 for the wildlife wing of forest department to take possession of sanctuary from Forest Development Corporation (FDCM) and territorial wing. The sanctuary was notified nearly elevent months ago on November 2, 2010, but is still lying unprotected.
Mansinghdeo, spread over 183 sq km, will add real value to Pench tiger reserve with which it shares the boundary. Pench is the smallest reserve of India with an area of just 256 sq km. Yet, even efforts to begin legal process to take over the sanctuary are lacking. There is no firm assurance form senior forest officials about when that would happen.
At present, the sanctuary area is being looked after by the staff of FDCM and Nagpur forest division whose 41 compartments (9,914.93 hectares) and 23 compartments (7,370.95 hectares) respectively have been assigned to Mansinghdeo.
A K Saxena, additional principal chief conservator of forests (APCCF), East (Nagpur), said, "My stand is clear. I have no problem in taking over the sanctuary provided requisite staff is provided. It is not my baby at this moment." S K Sood, managing director of FDCM, said: "We are ready to hand over the area and have been writing to the wildlife wing since February. There is no justification to keep the area with us any more. The FDCM board has also approved it."
On controversy about the timber and bamboo felled after the sanctuary notification, Sood said there was no controversy as felling was done as per approved working plan. Delay in receiving the sanctuary notification led to the mess, he admitted. "We will approach Supreme Court's centrally empowered committee (CEC) to get permission to remove felled material," Sood told TOI.
Even C R Gajbhiye, chief conservator of forests (CCF), Nagpur territorial circle, said there was no problem from his side. Three posts of range forest officers (RFOs) would be allotted from Aurangabad Circle, 11 posts of foresters and 61 posts of forest guards have been created by reorganising surplus cadre. All the posts have been transferred but posting orders will have to be issued by the government.
When head of forest force (HoFF) A K Joshi was asked about the delay, he said posting of staff was definitely an issue but even without that security and protection had not been hampered. "We hope to improve the situation after ongoing recruitment of forest guards. Besides, 221 foresters will be promoted as RFOs. Once the process is completed, staff will not be a problem," he said.
Sources said if staff was one issue, dispute over the felled timber inside the sanctuary after notification is another. Wildlife wing officials said the area should be handed over by FDCM to territorial department first and then to the wildlife department. Experts said this is just bureaucratic time pass. In 1994-95, 15 compartments of FDCM, which were included in Chaprala sanctuary, were directly taken over by the wildlife wing.
Experts asked if there were no problems on anyone's side, why things were not moving. No meeting has been held till now to discuss issues facing Mansinghdeo. It was time officials started putting barriers, increase patrolling, data collection to prepare inventory and start preparing management plan of the sanctuary.
source-timesofindia.indiatimes.com
sourced by jimsjungleretreat.com
Vijay Pinjarkar, TNN Oct 2, 2011, 12.08PM IST
NAGPUR: It took 17 years for the state government to notify the Mansinghdeo Wildlife Sanctuary. Now that it has been done, it might as well take another 17 for the wildlife wing of forest department to take possession of sanctuary from Forest Development Corporation (FDCM) and territorial wing. The sanctuary was notified nearly elevent months ago on November 2, 2010, but is still lying unprotected.
Mansinghdeo, spread over 183 sq km, will add real value to Pench tiger reserve with which it shares the boundary. Pench is the smallest reserve of India with an area of just 256 sq km. Yet, even efforts to begin legal process to take over the sanctuary are lacking. There is no firm assurance form senior forest officials about when that would happen.
At present, the sanctuary area is being looked after by the staff of FDCM and Nagpur forest division whose 41 compartments (9,914.93 hectares) and 23 compartments (7,370.95 hectares) respectively have been assigned to Mansinghdeo.
A K Saxena, additional principal chief conservator of forests (APCCF), East (Nagpur), said, "My stand is clear. I have no problem in taking over the sanctuary provided requisite staff is provided. It is not my baby at this moment." S K Sood, managing director of FDCM, said: "We are ready to hand over the area and have been writing to the wildlife wing since February. There is no justification to keep the area with us any more. The FDCM board has also approved it."
On controversy about the timber and bamboo felled after the sanctuary notification, Sood said there was no controversy as felling was done as per approved working plan. Delay in receiving the sanctuary notification led to the mess, he admitted. "We will approach Supreme Court's centrally empowered committee (CEC) to get permission to remove felled material," Sood told TOI.
Even C R Gajbhiye, chief conservator of forests (CCF), Nagpur territorial circle, said there was no problem from his side. Three posts of range forest officers (RFOs) would be allotted from Aurangabad Circle, 11 posts of foresters and 61 posts of forest guards have been created by reorganising surplus cadre. All the posts have been transferred but posting orders will have to be issued by the government.
When head of forest force (HoFF) A K Joshi was asked about the delay, he said posting of staff was definitely an issue but even without that security and protection had not been hampered. "We hope to improve the situation after ongoing recruitment of forest guards. Besides, 221 foresters will be promoted as RFOs. Once the process is completed, staff will not be a problem," he said.
Sources said if staff was one issue, dispute over the felled timber inside the sanctuary after notification is another. Wildlife wing officials said the area should be handed over by FDCM to territorial department first and then to the wildlife department. Experts said this is just bureaucratic time pass. In 1994-95, 15 compartments of FDCM, which were included in Chaprala sanctuary, were directly taken over by the wildlife wing.
Experts asked if there were no problems on anyone's side, why things were not moving. No meeting has been held till now to discuss issues facing Mansinghdeo. It was time officials started putting barriers, increase patrolling, data collection to prepare inventory and start preparing management plan of the sanctuary.
source-timesofindia.indiatimes.com
sourced by jimsjungleretreat.com
7-foot python rescued near JNU
Story/ Place - New Delhi
TNN Oct 2, 2011, 06.51AM IST
NEW DELHI: A seven-foot python sun-bathing on a compound wall on Nelson Mandela Marg was rescued by Wildlife SOS on Saturday. During the over-three-hour rescue operation, the reptile climbed a tree and a fire engine had to be summoned to pull it down.
This is the fifth python rescue in the city in the last one month. Earlier, pythons were rescued from Sarita Vihar, Tughlaqabad, IGI Airport and Vikaspuri. The forest department , however, does not recognize Delhi as a habitat for pythons , making their rehabilitation in the city a huge problem.
Wildlife SOS received multiple calls on Saturday morning , reporting the presence of the snake on the crowded road. "There was a huge crowd when we reached the spot. The snake was draped on a compound wall across the road from DLF Emporio Mall in Vasant Kunj. The Wildlife SOS team led by Harshad Solanki had quite a task at hand, especially because the snake was huge and got frightened by the presence of so many people," said Abhishek Narayanan , project coordinator (rescue, conservation and education).
The python was obviously in no mood to give up easily and tried to attack the rescue team twice. Finally, the rescuers managed to catch the snake and carried it back in a large cotton sack. "The large python is suspected to have come from the neighboring JNU forest," said Narayanan.
Wildlife volunteers say the number of python sightings in Delhi has gone up considerably in the past few months. "In JNU, a lot of construction is taking place and much of the green cover has been destroyed , causing a loss of habitat . A lot of snakes and small mammals have been displaced in this exercise and the python could have easily come from there," said a source.
Delhi forest department officials say records show that Delhi is not a natural habitat for pythons but accept that they are being frequently sighted in the capital.
source-timesofindia.indiatimes.com
sourced by jimsjungleretreat.com
TNN Oct 2, 2011, 06.51AM IST
NEW DELHI: A seven-foot python sun-bathing on a compound wall on Nelson Mandela Marg was rescued by Wildlife SOS on Saturday. During the over-three-hour rescue operation, the reptile climbed a tree and a fire engine had to be summoned to pull it down.
This is the fifth python rescue in the city in the last one month. Earlier, pythons were rescued from Sarita Vihar, Tughlaqabad, IGI Airport and Vikaspuri. The forest department , however, does not recognize Delhi as a habitat for pythons , making their rehabilitation in the city a huge problem.
Wildlife SOS received multiple calls on Saturday morning , reporting the presence of the snake on the crowded road. "There was a huge crowd when we reached the spot. The snake was draped on a compound wall across the road from DLF Emporio Mall in Vasant Kunj. The Wildlife SOS team led by Harshad Solanki had quite a task at hand, especially because the snake was huge and got frightened by the presence of so many people," said Abhishek Narayanan , project coordinator (rescue, conservation and education).
The python was obviously in no mood to give up easily and tried to attack the rescue team twice. Finally, the rescuers managed to catch the snake and carried it back in a large cotton sack. "The large python is suspected to have come from the neighboring JNU forest," said Narayanan.
Wildlife volunteers say the number of python sightings in Delhi has gone up considerably in the past few months. "In JNU, a lot of construction is taking place and much of the green cover has been destroyed , causing a loss of habitat . A lot of snakes and small mammals have been displaced in this exercise and the python could have easily come from there," said a source.
Delhi forest department officials say records show that Delhi is not a natural habitat for pythons but accept that they are being frequently sighted in the capital.
source-timesofindia.indiatimes.com
sourced by jimsjungleretreat.com
Wildlife Week gets enthusiastic start
Story/ Place - Kanpur
TNN Oct 1, 2011, 10.47PM IST
KANPUR: The first day of the Wildlife Week was celebrated with much fervour and enthusiasm on the zoo premises on Saturday.
To mark the celebrations, a wildlife awareness rally was taken out from Nawabganj police station to the Kanpur Zoo. The rally was flagged off by district forest officer BR Ahirwar. Vice chancellor, CSMU, Ashok Kumar was the chief guest on the occasion. He was given a guard of honour by the NCC cadets. Hundreds of students from various schools participated in the rally. The students held placards in their hands that read 'protect wildlife and save humanity'.
As the day proceeded, various competitions were held. A group discussion on wildlife conservation was held for students of junior and senior classes. Deekshapal and Ali from Bright Angels School emerged as winners of the group discussion in the senior category.
While Children House Public School won first place in the environment awareness rally, Nitin Gupta and Rohit Singh Chandel bagged first and second places respectively in the frog race. In the three-legged race, Sumit Yadav and Rishabh Singh from Visually Impaired School bagged the first position. The students who emerge winners in various competitions will be awarded prizes on the last day of the Wildlife Week
Zoo director Praveen Rao informed: "Around 300 students participated on the first day of the week. On the fifth day of the Wildlife Week, a musical chair event will be organised for teachers."
source-timesofindia.indiatimes.com
sourced by jimsjungleretreat.com
TNN Oct 1, 2011, 10.47PM IST
KANPUR: The first day of the Wildlife Week was celebrated with much fervour and enthusiasm on the zoo premises on Saturday.
To mark the celebrations, a wildlife awareness rally was taken out from Nawabganj police station to the Kanpur Zoo. The rally was flagged off by district forest officer BR Ahirwar. Vice chancellor, CSMU, Ashok Kumar was the chief guest on the occasion. He was given a guard of honour by the NCC cadets. Hundreds of students from various schools participated in the rally. The students held placards in their hands that read 'protect wildlife and save humanity'.
As the day proceeded, various competitions were held. A group discussion on wildlife conservation was held for students of junior and senior classes. Deekshapal and Ali from Bright Angels School emerged as winners of the group discussion in the senior category.
While Children House Public School won first place in the environment awareness rally, Nitin Gupta and Rohit Singh Chandel bagged first and second places respectively in the frog race. In the three-legged race, Sumit Yadav and Rishabh Singh from Visually Impaired School bagged the first position. The students who emerge winners in various competitions will be awarded prizes on the last day of the Wildlife Week
Zoo director Praveen Rao informed: "Around 300 students participated on the first day of the week. On the fifth day of the Wildlife Week, a musical chair event will be organised for teachers."
source-timesofindia.indiatimes.com
sourced by jimsjungleretreat.com
''Wild India' to raise awareness on biodiversity
Story/ Place - Pune
TNN Oct 1, 2011, 01.34PM IST
PUNE: The Wildlife Week will be observed in the city from October 1 to 7 with the holding of 'Wild India' wherein various programmes have been organised to raise awareness on biodiversity.
Organised by Nature Walk and Creative Foundation, Wild India will include nature walks, audio-visual presentations, photography exhibition and film screenings. The programmes will be held at the Balgandharva Rangmandir and Indradhanu auditorium in Rajendranagar.
The nature walks will be conducted by senior botanist S D Mahajan, the audio-visual presentation on Karnataka's biodiversity by Anuj Khare, the heritage walk by Sharvey Dhongde from the Indian National Trust For Art and Cultural Heritage, Pune, the session on the Nagzira wildlife sanctuary by Kiran Purandare and a slide-show on the Tadoba tiger reserve by Nitin Kakodkar.
A nature quiz, screening of award-winning Indian documentaries on wildlife and a photography exhibition are other highlights of the week-long event.
Senior BJP leader Gopinath Munde will inaugurate the photography exhibition on October 5 at the Balgandharva Kala Dalan. The exhibition will be on till October 7, from 10 am to 8 pm. Khare said, "We are inviting entries on themes like urban and local biodiversity and natural heritage. A panel of judges will select the best photographs for display.
Our volunteers will be present at the venue to guide guests through every photograph that will be accompanied with informative charts and trivia."
The event is supported by the forest department, the PMC and various NGOs.
source-timesofindia.indiatimes.com
sourced by jimsjungleretreat.com
TNN Oct 1, 2011, 01.34PM IST
PUNE: The Wildlife Week will be observed in the city from October 1 to 7 with the holding of 'Wild India' wherein various programmes have been organised to raise awareness on biodiversity.
Organised by Nature Walk and Creative Foundation, Wild India will include nature walks, audio-visual presentations, photography exhibition and film screenings. The programmes will be held at the Balgandharva Rangmandir and Indradhanu auditorium in Rajendranagar.
The nature walks will be conducted by senior botanist S D Mahajan, the audio-visual presentation on Karnataka's biodiversity by Anuj Khare, the heritage walk by Sharvey Dhongde from the Indian National Trust For Art and Cultural Heritage, Pune, the session on the Nagzira wildlife sanctuary by Kiran Purandare and a slide-show on the Tadoba tiger reserve by Nitin Kakodkar.
A nature quiz, screening of award-winning Indian documentaries on wildlife and a photography exhibition are other highlights of the week-long event.
Senior BJP leader Gopinath Munde will inaugurate the photography exhibition on October 5 at the Balgandharva Kala Dalan. The exhibition will be on till October 7, from 10 am to 8 pm. Khare said, "We are inviting entries on themes like urban and local biodiversity and natural heritage. A panel of judges will select the best photographs for display.
Our volunteers will be present at the venue to guide guests through every photograph that will be accompanied with informative charts and trivia."
The event is supported by the forest department, the PMC and various NGOs.
source-timesofindia.indiatimes.com
sourced by jimsjungleretreat.com
Project Tiger on endangered list
Story/ Place - New Delhi
Chetan Chauhan, Hindustan Times
New Delhi, September 29, 2011
India’s first wildlife protection programme — Project Tiger — launched 38 years ago may cease to be if the planning commission’s move to downsize centrally sponsored schemes is accepted.
The panel has asked the environment ministry to merge Project Tiger, initiated by Prime Minister
Indira Gandhi in 1973, with other programmes such as the Project Elephant to have one scheme for wildlife protection from the next fiscal. The project was started even before the environment ministry came into existence.
There was need to protect endangered species specific to states, including lions and rhinos, panel’s environment adviser Indrani Chandrasekharan told the mini
Nine non-official members of the National Board for Wildlife, headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, have termed the move retrograde.
“All of us are of a unanimous opinion that such a merger would adversely impact our efforts to conserve... our national animal, the tiger,” the members said in a letter to panel’s deputy chairperson Montek Singh Ahluwalia.
The National Tiger Conservation Authority, which administers Project Tiger, got more than Rs600 crore in the 11th plan. The effort is said to be one of the main reasons for tiger population seeing an increase in 2011, after witnessing a decline for almost seven years.
source by hindustantimes.com
sourced by jimsjungleretreat.com
Chetan Chauhan, Hindustan Times
New Delhi, September 29, 2011
India’s first wildlife protection programme — Project Tiger — launched 38 years ago may cease to be if the planning commission’s move to downsize centrally sponsored schemes is accepted.
The panel has asked the environment ministry to merge Project Tiger, initiated by Prime Minister
Indira Gandhi in 1973, with other programmes such as the Project Elephant to have one scheme for wildlife protection from the next fiscal. The project was started even before the environment ministry came into existence.
There was need to protect endangered species specific to states, including lions and rhinos, panel’s environment adviser Indrani Chandrasekharan told the mini
Nine non-official members of the National Board for Wildlife, headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, have termed the move retrograde.
“All of us are of a unanimous opinion that such a merger would adversely impact our efforts to conserve... our national animal, the tiger,” the members said in a letter to panel’s deputy chairperson Montek Singh Ahluwalia.
The National Tiger Conservation Authority, which administers Project Tiger, got more than Rs600 crore in the 11th plan. The effort is said to be one of the main reasons for tiger population seeing an increase in 2011, after witnessing a decline for almost seven years.
source by hindustantimes.com
sourced by jimsjungleretreat.com
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