World's smallest cat spotted in Devrayanadurga   Bangalore, December 29, 2008: While there is very often gloomy news of wild animals being poached and their pristine land being encroached, there are rare sightings of some of the most fantastic creatures as well. A team of wildlife enthusiasts spotted a rusty-spotted cat, one of the most endangered species and the world's smallest cat, at Devrayanadurga reserved forests in Tumkur district, on Friday evening.    The rusty-spotted cat is found only in India and Sri Lanka and measures only 14-17 inches in length. It weighs less than 1.5 kg (females weigh less than 1 kg). Rusty-spotted cats are mostly found in dry deciduous forests as well as scrub, and are arboreal (living on trees). This wild cat mainly hunts small rodents, birds and lizards.    Poachers using kids to hunt birds in Orissa's Chilika Lake   BALUGAON (Orissa), December 15, 2008 (IANS) : Poachers are using children to hunt birds in Orissa's Chilika lake -- India's largest brackish water lagoon -- after authorities increased their surveillance in the area, officials and conservationists say.  Officials said they are concerned because poachers are adopting new methods to hunt birds and now engaging children between 12 to 17 years old for the purpose. "The poachers are now using children to avoid arrest. They think we will not suspect children," assistant conservator of forest (wild life) BK Mohapatra said on Friday.    The state government this year has set up at least 16 anti poaching camps in the area and deployed more than a hundred people, including officials and volunteers, to nab all those involved in poaching in Chilika Lake. Like professional poachers, the children are also trained to catch  the birds by laying out nets and spreading poisoned baits, officials said. Some poachers are using children only to carry the birds away after killing  them.

Only 1,500 tigers left in India: official booklet    Ranchi,December 12, 2008 (IANS): India has around 1,500 tigers left in the wild, says an official survey. The figure might come as a shock to wildlife lovers as a census conducted six years ago had pinned the big cat population at 3,652.   Brought out as a booklet titled "Status of Tigers, Co-predators and Prey in India", the survey was jointly conducted by the National Tiger Conservation Authority of the ministry of environment and forests and the Dehradun-based Wildlife Institute of India.

Only 1,500 tigers left in India

Elephant dung as a mosquito repellent   SONEPUR (Bihar), November 23, 2008: Elephant dung is selling like hot cake at the famous annual cattle fair here for use as a mosquito repellent and also as fuel. Elephant dung is the cheapest mosquito repellent and like herbal medicines, it has no side effects. Villagers have traditionally bought elephant dung to use as  mosquito repellent. When it's burnt, the smoke is considered as an instant killer of mosquitoes.    Villagers says that elephant dung is more effective than any other mosquito repellent available in the market. "Ten kg of elephant dung is enough for my family to get rid of mosquitoes and keep us warm on  winter nights."     The nearly-month-long fair, spread across 500 acres near the confluence of two rivers - the Ganga and the Gandak - has been held every year for centuries. The fair, which begins on the auspicious Kartiki Purnima day, is perhaps the only one of its kind in the entire sub-continent where many birds and animals - including parrots, eagles, elephants, horses, sheep, goats and buffaloes - are bought and sold.    Leopard poaching on rise, 12 skins seized since July    NEW DELHI, AUGUST 10, 2008: In a poaching trail that covers much of North Indian leopard habitat, the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) seized a leopard skin at Vikasnagar, around 40 km from Dehradun, on August 6, taking the total number of seizures since July to 12.

Loin walks into village bazaar  Junagadh/Amreli, August 06, 2008: A loin casually strolled into the busy main bazaar of Khambha-Borada village in Amreli on Monday, freezing villagers out on evning chores in their strides.   Amreli is loin country and sightings of the big cat are quite frequent for the 700-odd residents of this quite village.

Twelve deer horns seized in Bihar    PATNA, July 14, 2008 (IANS): Twelve deer horns were seized on Sunday from near a national park in Bihar's Bagaha district by the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) personnel. A team of SSB officials recovered twelve deer horns near the Valmiki National Park in Bagaha district, official sources in the district administration said. "The market value of the recovered deer horns is estimated at over Rs.1 million," sources said.     The national park, which is Bihar's only tiger project, is over 250 km from here. Deer are protected under Wildlife Act of 1972. Storing or dealing in its horns, hides, bone and meat is strictly banned in the country. The SSB officials will hand over the recovered deer horns to the forest department. In the past it was reported that some poachers were active in smuggling of deer horns from the park. Trade in wildlife products is banned in India. But skins and bones of animals, which are believed to have medicinal values, are in great demand in the international market, particularly in China and Thailand.    The number of tigers in the Valmiki National Park has been decreasing at an alarming rate, according to the latest report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG). According to the CAG report, there were 56 tigers in the park in 2002 and the number came down to 33 by 2005.

Seizure of tiger bones shows big cats still a target   NEW DELHI, July 10, 2008: The Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) officials, with Gurgaon cops at Gurgaon’s Suratnagar area opened a polythene bag containing 15 kg of tiger bones. "Tiger bones and body parts — penis, testicles, canines — all highly valued in the illegal international market, were part of the haul. The tiger’s fat was also kept in a bottle. It was a fresh kill," says B S Gurum, assistant director, WCCB, who took part in the Monday evening raid. Nobody was arrested.   The haul, one of the biggest in the NCR in recent times, has only added to the worries of officials and activists involved in wildlife security. "This seizure indicates that Delhi and surrounding cities are still hotspots for the illegal wildlife trade," says Belinda Wright of Wildlife Protection Society of India.    Though Delhi has no national parks, the city has more wildlife cases than anywhere else in India. Adds Wright, "At present, there are over 250 wildlife cases pending in Delhi courts regarding species not found in this area. Delhi has always been a centre for illegal wildlife trade."  Source: The Times of India

There were about 40,000 tigers in India a century ago. A count conducted in 2001 and 2002 suggested the number had fallen to around 3,700, after decades of poaching and habitat destruction.

India's endangered rhino battles for survival GUWAHATI, June 30, 2008: India's one-horned rhinoceros faces an uncertain future in the country's northeast, its main home, because of unending poaching and shrinking of the habitat so vital for the animal's survival. Last year alone, poachers killed at least 20 rhinoceroses in and around Assam's sprawling Kaziranga national park. This year, the toll has already reached seven, officials said. Three rhinoceroses were killed in Orang this year.    The 430-sq km park, with around 1,800 rhinoceroses, has the world's largest population of this primitive mammal. Two other reserves in Assam, Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary and Orang National Park, have around 150 rhinoceroses.  Countrywide, the rhino population could be just over 2,200, including in West Bengal, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, said Prabal Sarkar of the NGO Wildlife Trust of India (WTI). At the turn of the sanctuary, the rhino roamed almost all over the Gangetic plain. Its numbers fell sharply over the decades because of depleted grassland habitat and frequent hunting -- to feed the illegal rhino horn trade.    Experts say these animals are killed for its horn, which is used as aphrodisiac by some tribes in the northeast and in some Asian countries. "A rhino horn could fetch between Rs.500,000 (about $11,000) and  Rs.1 million in the international market. Traders also sell the horn in pieces or in powder form," said Sarkar, who studies the rhino horn trade in the region.    "Its demand in the Asian traditional medicine market is perhaps the single largest factor for its poaching throughout its home range," he said. A small population of around 400 rhinoceroses can also be found in Nepal's Chitwan National Park, Bardia National Park and Suklapantha National Park.  Source: The Times of India

Countrywide, the rhino population could be just over 2,200, including in West Bengal, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.  Experts say these animals are killed for its horn, which is used as aphrodisiac by some tribes in the northeast and in some Asian countries. "A rhino horn could fetch between Rs.500,000  and  Rs.1 million in the international market.

Revive the tiger population at the Sariska    SARISKA, June,29, 2008: In a bid to revive the tiger population at the Sariska reserve, Rajasthan, a three-year-old male cub was airlifted on Saturday from the State’s Ranthambore national park. After a gap of four long years the tiger made a comeback to the Sariska Tiger Reserve in Alwar district of Rajasthan on Saturday. The event made conservation history, as this is the first time the wild tiger is being re-introduced into a reserve anywhere in the country. Sariska, a sanctuary brought under Project Tiger in 1978, had lost all its tigers in 2004-05 to suspected poaching.    “It is a historic moment. The country has done it while others have failed,” announced R. N. Mehrotra, Chief Wildlife Warden of Rajasthan. “This kind of wild-to-wild re-location has not taken place anywhere else,” he said.

Satellite to keep eye on tiger cubs   NEW DELHI, June 23,2008: When a pair of tiger cubs are relocated to the Sariska Tiger Reserve in the coming days, wildlife experts won't leave them at the mercy of marauding poachers who wiped out big cats from the sanctuary in Rajasthan by 1993. The cubs, to be shifted from the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve, will be  fitted with radio collars and constantly monitored by a satellite. The collars, each costing Rs 8 lakh, have been procured from a Canada-based firm, Lotek, sources said.    The satellite is operated by Argos system, which is supported by Nasa, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (US), and the French space agency, CNES. The transmitters in the collars will  send out information in short pulses. The satellite will pick up signals and retransmit them to the Argos centres for processing. Results can be retrieved from anywhere in the world by public data networks, often within 20 minutes of transmission, the sources said.    This will help the wildlife authorities keep track of the movement of the cubs and their behaviour. Relocating cubs to a new habitat, a first of its kind experiment in India is aimed at reviving the tiger population at Sariska and the authorities are keen to make it successful. More than 4,200 animals are being tracked monthly by Argos, providing key data about migration routes, flight altitudes and breeding grounds, the sources said.  Source: Times of India    Karbi safari, Kenya style   Guwahati, June 15, 2008: The luxury and thrill of African safari will soon be rolled out in the untamed wilds of the Karbi Anglong. A project initiated by the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) with help from a Nairobi- based tourism agency is set to bring the highly successful Kenyan model of eco-tourism to Karbi Anglong. The executive director of WTI, Vivek Menon, and the chairman of the Nairobi-based safari company, Donald Young, toured Karbi Anglong this week to chart out the modalities of project. The tourism project will initially include a tribal Karbi village and the famous hot water spring at Garampani in Nambar reserve forest. -THE TELEGRAPH

11 peacocks found dead in Jhalawar   Kota, June 11, 2008: Eleven peacocks have  died in the past couple of days in village Guwadi Kala of Jhalawar district. The reason for the birds death is not known. The Forest department has registered a case under section 8/51 of the wildlife Protection Act.

India's first Marine Conservation Reserve around Lakshadweep    Mumbai, Jun 10, 2008 (PTI):  India's first Marine Conservation Reserve, the result of a three- year- long study on Lakshadweep Islands and the local community there, will soon come up around the region, off the west-coast of Kerala.  Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) in collaboration with the local community and administration is in the process of forming a strong knowledge-based network, according to Assistant director BNHS Deepak Apte.      The project, initiated in 2005, has now emerged as the most active conservation initiative in the country. BNHS along with LEAD International and a team of experts from  across the country conducted a prolonged research in the Lakshadweep Archipelago's local community in the last three years during which they assessed the importance of the giant  clam (Tridacna maxima and T squamosa) in the local economy, Apte told PTI. The giant clam, which the study found also helps maintain a healthy eco- system, is included in the Schedule I of the  Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972. - PTI

Elephants kills 250 people in eastern India   BHUBANESWAR,  June 5, 2008: At least 250 people die on an average every year in the country's eastern states in the man-elephant conflict. "Conflict with wild-elephants claims 250 lives in the east every year," A N Prasad, Inspector-General of Forests and Director of Project Elephant told a workshop on 'Man-Elephant Interface for the Eastern Region" on Wednesday.    The workshop was informed that Jharkhand reported the highest human casualty of 67 deaths in the region in 2006-07 while the death toll was 91 in 2005-06. Jharkhand was followed by West Bengal which reported 47 casualties in 2006-07 against the previous year's toll of 85. Assam registered 67 and 47 deaths during 2005-06 and  2006- 07 respectively.    Elephants killed 40 people in Orissa during 2005-06 which rose to 49 during 2006-07. Wildlife officials of the four states, worried over the growing incidents of man-elephant conflict in the region, have decided to keep tabs on the movement of elephants and develop a network for cooperation, official sources said.    Nearly 700 elephants died in Orissa between 1990 and 2008, he said adding while 34 per cent of the elephants died due to poaching, 24 per cent died as a result of accidents including electrocution and road or railway mishaps.   Source: The Times of India

Nearly 700 elephants died in Orissa between 1990 and 2008, 34 per cent of the elephants died due to poaching, 24 per cent died as a result of accidents including electrocution and road or railway mishaps.

Blanket ban on use of 'wild' animals in films   MUMBAI, June 1, 2008: The Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) has imposed a blanket ban on use of animals like lions, tigers, panthers and monkeys in films. The ban, part of a new circular issued by AWBI to all film associations has 26 new dos and don’ts that all animal lovers will welcome.    Apart from the ban on use of the four wild animals, filmmakers will also have to be more careful if they want to shoot other animals on celluloid. No animal, for instance, can be used for scenes that are shot on hard surfaces (like tarred roads). Filmmakers also cannot bring animals near barbed wires or use them for shots that also feature the use of explosives. Animals also cannot be made to travel for more than eight hours at a stretch.

An elephant near Jim Corbett National Park kills 7 in northern India  NEW DELHI, May 29, 2008 (AP): An elephant rampaged through a village in northern India on Thursday, killing at least seven people who tried to surround it, a wildlife official said. At least seven  people died after the elephant entered the village on the edge of the Jim Corbett National Park, said Srikant Chandola, the park's chief wildlife officer. He gave no other details.The park, one of India's most popular, is about 370 miles east of New Delhi.

Actors to help save tigers    MUMBAI, May 19, 2008: Bollywood actors have joined hands with World Wildlife Fund (WWF), to create awareness in the country about the need to save the tiger. Actor Farooq Shaikh stressed on the need to pressurize the government to take swifter and severe sanction against violators of tiger conservation laws.    "We all need to get together and more than people who live in the cities. We need to have some sort of a pressure brought upon the government of India so that swifter sanction and more severe sanction is imposed upon the people who violate these laws either knowingly or unknowingly," said Farooq Shaikh, actor.    The 'Tiger Conservation Programme' is aimed at increasing  awareness on tiger conservation and providing alternative livelihood programmes for the villagers around national parks and protected areas and to prevent them from indulging in poaching activities. India is home to half the world's surviving tigers, but conservationists say it is losing the battle to save them.    Trade in tiger parts and products are illegal, but poachers still operate with impunity because a single animal can fetch up to 50,000 dollars in the international market. Besides the highly priced tiger skins, organs, teeth, bones and penises of the big cats fetch high prices in the black market, where they are used in Chinese medicine.  Source: The Times of India

There were about 40,000 tigers in India a century ago. A count conducted in 2001 and 2002 suggested the number had fallen to around 3,700, after decades of poaching and habitat destruction. Trade in tiger parts and products are illegal, but poachers still operate with impunity because a single animal can fetch up to 50,000 dollars in the international market.

WWF-India calls for measures to save rhinos   May 12, 2008: WWF-India is extremely concerned with the recent incidents of the rhino poaching in Assam and Nepal. In recent weeks five rhinos have been poached in Assam and one in Nepal. Three of the Rhinos poached in India are from the Rajiv Gandhi Orang National Park while two were poached from Kaziranga.     The situation of the Indian rhinos remains precarious as global market pressures continue to push the demand for rhino horns. Horns fetch up to $10,000 (400,000 rupees) and demand is soaring in China and Southeast Asian countries, wildlife experts say. In Kaziranga National Park, as per official records, 16 rhinos were lost in 2007 to poachers and another four rhinos were poached till February 2008.    After a lull, the poachers hit again killing a calf along with its mother on April 28. This disturbing news came soon after the incidents of poaching in Rajiv Gandhi Orang National Park which seems to have become a soft target for poachers. This spate of killing has not left Nepal alone either - where five rhinos have been poached since January this year. The recent incidents clearly suggest that poachers are taking advantage of the gaps in our enforcement efforts at the field level.     WWF-India along with partner and donor agencies has a major commitment for conservation of large mammals (Elephants, Rhinos, Tigers) in the Eastern Himalayas Eco Region.  Source: One World South Asia Home

The situation of the Indian rhinos remains precarious as global market pressures continue to push the demand for rhino horns. Horns fetch up to $10,000 (400,000 rupees) and demand is soaring in China and Southeast Asian countries, wildlife experts say.

India joins global efforts to protect Dugongs or Sea Cows    NEW DELHI, April 11, 2008: India on Friday decided to join global efforts to protect and conserve Dugongs or Sea Cows, an endangered species found along the coastlines of Gujarat and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The Union Cabinet approved a proposal to enable India joining the Memorandum of Understanding on the conservation and management of Dugongs and their habitat throughout their range.     "With this decision, the Indian efforts for conservation of Dugongs would get international recognition," Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal told reporters here. He said the protection, monitoring and management of this endangered species in the Indian waters would now become more effective. It would also facilitate availability of international expertise to carry out research studies on Dugongs in the area, Sibal said.     Dugong (Dugong Dugon) or Sea Cow is the only herbivorous mammal that is strictly marine and the only member of the Order Sirenia found in India. They are restricted to the coastal shallow marine habitats where ample food is available. The Sea Cows found in the Indian coastal waters are legally protected under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, besides the  Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of wild fauna and flora and the Convention of Migratory Species. India is a signatory to both the Conventions.  Source : PTI

Sea dredging affecting Olive Ridley turtles  April 06, 2008:  Olive Ridley turtles has been badly hit by sea dredging for constructing a port near the Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary in Orissa, a conservation group has alleged.  Every year thousands of turtles come to Nasi Island in the sanctuary for mass nesting during the months of February and March, but this time none have arrived. Environmentalists blame it on the massive dredging going on for a proposed port at Dhamra just 12 km from the island.  "Last year nearly 200,000 turtles nested in this island. However, they have not come ashore for mass nesting this year," Biswajit Mohanty, coordinator of Operation Kachhapa, a turtle conservation group, told IANS.   However, mass nesting has taken place at the Rushikulya river mouth, one of the three nesting sites on the Orissa coast, he said. The Dhamra port, being built by Tata Group in collaboration with Larson and Toubro, will have an approach channel with a width of 230 metres and a length of 15 km to allow ships to enter the port. This would necessitate the dredging of 40 million cubic metres of sand in the first phase and a dredging of three million cubic metres annually.  In 2004, Central Empowered Committee (CEC) of the Supreme Court suggested that the port be shifted from its present site. The port site would impact Gahirmatha's nesting turtles and could lead to the  beach being abandoned by the marine creatures. Source: Hindustan Times

Olive Ridley turtles has been badly hit by sea dredging for constructing a port near the Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary in Orissa, a conservation group has alleged.

Save Tiger petitions handed over to PM  New Dehli, March 17, 2008: After receiving nearly five lakh signatures on Save the Tiger Campaign from all over the country, the petitions were handed over to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday.  ''The government is with you. We are committed; we will do a lot more to save the tiger. Thank you for creating awareness through the tiger campaign,'' said the Prime Minister.   The response to NDTV's Save the Tiger Campaign, supported by Sanctuary Asia and Kids for Tiger, has been overwhelming. Even a week after the rallies held across the country, a remarkable 4,97,944 people came forward to sign the petition. It has been little over a month since the government came out with the latest tiger census. According to the government's latest census, there are only 1411 tiger left in the wild, 50 per cent down from 3642 in 2001-02.    Most promising tiger growth is in the Terrai region of the Himalayas, which includes Corbett, Rajaji National Park, Dudhwa and the Valmiki tiger reserve in Bihar.  Source: NDTV

Tiger numbers Uttarakhand - 178 Karnataka - 290 In the northeast (Assam) - 70 Rajasthan - 32 Madhya Pradesh (Kanha, Bandhavgarh and other national parks) - 300

Bharatpur bird sanctuary may lose Unesco recognition  NEW DELHI, March 13, 2008: India's famous Keoladeo National Park at Bharatpur in Rajasthan is facing de-recognition from the list of Unesco's world heritage site after a two-member team of the world organisation pointed out the persistent water crisis in the sanctuary. The Unesco team on Wednesday visited the sanctuary to take stock of the current situation. It interacted with the officials and local residents in Bharatpur to know about their views on the problems faced at the bird sanctuary.     The alarming water shortage in the sanctuary, not far from Agra, has already taken its toll on the turnout of the winged migratory visitors. The sanctuary was a favourite destination for a variety of rare birds from India and abroad. Bird watchers from around the world visit here to watch the spectacular jamboree of rare birds such as Siberian cranes and ducks, pelicans, geese, shanks, wagtails, larks and pipits between October and February.    However, this was not the first time the Unesco has raised the alarm and warned the sanctuary officials with its de-recognition. In the past, it had repeatedly warned the authorities about  the deteriorating water situation, but the Rajasthan government failed to ensure adequate water supply - crucial to the survival of the rare flora and fauna.    Now, known as the Keoladeo National Park, the Bharatpur bird sanctuary was earlier a duck hunting reserve of the erstwhile Maharajas. In 1960s, hunting was banned in the sanctuary. On March 10, 1982, it was declared a national park. In December 1985, the Unesco declared it a World Heritage Site. Rare birds from as far as Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, China and Siberia visit the sanctuary during the winter months  here. About 364 species of birds have been recorded in the park.  Source: The Times of India

Indian clouded leopards on the brink NEW DELHI, March 7, 2008: Now the endangered clouded leopard, celebrated by the government in a postage stamp back in 2005, is also under attack from the poachers.  Last week, West Bengal forest officials seized five skins of the patterned big cat at Jaigaon on the Indo-Bhutan border.    The haul came after wildlife authorities in north Bengal were tipped off on the consignment. Of the five skins, two belonged to adults, one to a semi-adult and the remaining to two cubs. In India, the clouded leopard (neofelis nebulosa) is found only in north Bengal, Sikkim, Assam, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh. The animal is reclusive making it hard to determine its population. "Spotting them in the wild is rare," says activist Bibhab Talukdar of Guwahati-based NGO Aranyak. Talukdar says that just like any other big cat, the skins of the clouded leopard are much in demand among poachers. Estimates show that the clouded leopard's global population is below 10,000. The animal, regarded as the smallest of the big cat species in India, falls under Schedule 1 of The Wildlife (Protection) Act. Trading in the species is strictly prohibited.     A north Bengal-based activist points out that in recent years several wildlife-related seizures have taken place in or around Jaigaon, a small town in Jalpaiguri district that is said to be a thriving place for smuggling foreign goods.  Source:The Economic Times

Clouded leopard, celebrated by the government in a postage stamp back in 2005, is also under attack from the poachers in India.

Union Budget proposes Rs 50 cr for tiger conservation   NEW DELHI, March 1, 2008: "The number 1,411 should ring the alarm bells," said the Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram and announced a special grant to save the animal in the Union Budget 2008-09. The decline is even more alarming considering India had about 40,000 tigers a century ago. "That is the number of tigers in India. The tiger is under grave threat. In order to redouble our effort to protect the tiger, I propose to make a one time grant of Rs 50 crore to the National Tiger Conservation Authority," P. Chidambaram said in his Budget speech.       The Budgetary allocation for the Ministry of Environment and Forests has also  been increased from Rs 1,539 crore in 2007-08 to Rs 1,707 crore in 2008-09 and the funding for the Project Tiger programme has been enhanced from Rs 61.50 crore to Rs 72 crore.The budgetary allocation for forestry and wildlife departments has also been increased from Rs 704.45 crore to Rs 819.92 crore. The funding under the head of wildlife preservation has been raised from Rs 188.64 crore to Rs 226.25 crore.

Elephants under siege in southern India   New Delhi February 28, 2008: Environmentalists and wildlife activists says that the elephant corridor connecting Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu where the Asian tusker is under siege.  According to an estimate by the NGO Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI), more than 20 elephants have died between January 2007 and January 2008 in southern India as a result of man-animal conflict.    Development has eaten into the vast green swathes of the Bandipore wildlife sanctuary, the Nagarhole national park, the Madukkarai forest division, the largest reserve of Asiatic elephants, and the corridor between the Parambikulam wildlife sanctuary and Pooyamkutty genepool area, straddling the three States.

More than 20 elephants have died in last one year.

Turtle target in West Bengal   Kolkata, February 20 , 2008: The turtle population of India is under threat because Bengal will not stop consumption of turtle meat. The charge was levelled at a meet by officials of the Wildlife Society of Orissa (WSO) on Tuesday. “Freshwater turtles have become extinct in Bengal in the past 10 years. Now, every turtle consignment seized elsewhere is headed here,” says Biswajit Mohanty, the secretary of WSO and a member of the government’s National Board for Wildlife. The NGO works for the preservation of freshwater turtles in the Mahanadi basin.   In Mohanty’s estimate, two to three quintals of turtles are transported out of Orissa every week. “Mind you, I am speaking only of the Mahanadi basin. The number will be more if we take into account the turtle population in the other rivers.”  Poaching takes place round the year, except in monsoon. He points out that poaching has been reported in Assam, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and even Punjab — all targeted at Bengal  markets.   “Earlier, poachers from Bengal used to camp near nesting sites in Orissa. Once they caught enough, mini trucks were filled up. The local fishermen’s society was paid Rs 200-300 to keep quiet. They used a variety of killing devices — floating hooks, harpoons and baits.” Now the poachers buy turtles at Rs 40-50 a kg and the catch is sent here by road, usually on passenger buses. “Last week itself, three quintals of Indian flap-shelled turtles were seized outside Bhubaneswar.”   While districts bordering Orissa, like the Midnapores, are major consumers, Calcutta too has not given up turtle meat. “Since 2001, about 7,000 turtles have been rescued in the city. Add to that turtle meat, sold mostly in Kidderpore, Jadavpur, Galiff Street and Rajabazar markets,” said V.K. Yadav, the state’s deputy chief wildlife warden (western circle), on being contacted by Metro. Turtles are also exported to Bangladesh, en route to the Far East.   Source: The Telegraph - Calcutta (Kolkata)

Freshwater turtles have become extinct in Bengal in the past 10 years. Now, every turtle consignment seized elsewhere is headed here.

Tiger population 1,411 in India: Report  New Delhi February 13, 2008: The much-awaited count of tigers left in India is out — 1,411 is the number that has been given by the ‘Status of Tigers Co-predators and Prey in India – 2008’ report, released by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).    But the report has raised many questions and officials of the NTCA themselves remained non-committal on whether the population of the tiger was rising or declining. Dr Rajesh Gopal, member secretary, Project Tiger, said: “The population of tigers in the tiger reserve areas is healthy. It is the forests areas surrounding the notified areas that are of concern.”    The previous report for tigers in India was released in 2001 and put the number at 3,642. But wildlife experts have argued that the pugmark method of counting used then was “faulty and prone to overestimation”. This time around Dr Gopal, without directly admitting to the faults in the pugmark system, said camera traps and remote sensing data was extensively used in the recent count.  Source: Business Standard

Tigers left in India is only 1,411. This figure has been given by the ‘Status of Tigers Co-predators and Prey in India – 2008’ report.

Death of elephants shocks wildlife enthusiasts  CHENNAI, February 06, 2008: The death of four elephants in Coimbatore on Monday has shocked wildlife enthusiasts and Forest Department officials.  Raman Sukumar, professor, Centre for Ecological Sciences in the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, said the Centre had already set up a committee to look into train accidents in which elephants were killed. The committee would visit all the places where elephants got killed while trying to cross the track. Prof. Sukumar who is now in West Bengal said that unlike southern India, elephants getting killed while trying to cross rail tracks is very common in West Bengal. “In my estimate, more than 70 elephants died all over the country in train accidents in the last five years.”   In the Tamil Nadu and Kerala border, near Walayar in Coimbatore district, elephants regularly crossed rail tracks before entering nearby human habitations. Prof. Sukumar said the problem could be solved by erecting a barrier for a few km on the side of the track.    Source: The Hindu

More than 70 elephants died all over the country in train accidents in the last five years.

Deaths of Rare Crocodile in India  LUCKNOW, january 22, 2008 (AP): Conservationists and scientists scrambled Tuesday to determine what has killed at least 50 critically endangered crocodile- like reptiles in recent weeks in a river sanctuary in central India.Everything from parasites to pollution has been blamed for the deaths of the gharials - massive reptiles that look like their crocodile relatives, but with long slender snouts. The bodies, measuring between five and 10 feet long, have been found washed up on the banks of the Chambal River since early December, according to conservationists and officials.    The precise number of gharials that have died remains unclear, with the Gharial Conservation Alliance saying 81 bodies have been found since early December, butt Chief Wildlife Warden D.N.S Suman putting the number of dead animals at 50. Conservationists believe there are only some 1,500 gharials left in the wild, many of them in a sanctuary based along the Chambal, one of the few unpolluted Indian rivers. The Chambal contains the largest of three breeding populations in the world.   In early December, officials found the bodies of at least 21 gharials over three days. The bodies have continued washing ashore in the weeks since. The latest possible clue to what's killing the rare reptiles is an unknown parasite that scientists found in the dead gharials' liver and kidneys, according to Dr. A.K. Sharma of the Indian Veterinary Research Institute. "We can say that liver and kidney of these gharials were badly damaged," said Sharma. "They were swollen and bigger than their usual size." Other believe the gharials may have gotten sick and died after eating contaminated fish from the polluted Yamuna river, which joins the Chambal in the state of Uttar Pradesh. Pathological tests confirmed lead and cadmium in the bodies of the dead gharials, said Suman, the wildlife official. "The Chambal river has clear water free from heavy metals. The only possibility seems that these gharials might have migrated from heavily polluted Yamuna river where they might have eaten fish," said Suman.   Source: Associated Press.

The gharial, also known as the Indian crocodile, was on the verge of extinction in the 1970s, but a government breeding program that has released several hundred into the wild has raised their numbers.

Dogs to guard tigers and loins in Nahargarh animal rescue centre Jaipur, January  7, 2008: The Rajasthan forest department has taken the help of two German Shepherd dogs to guard 20 tigers and 30 lions at the Nahargarh rescue centre. The rescue centre about 10 km from Jaipur, was established in 2001 following a union government ban on the use of performing animals by circus companies. Animals rescued from circuses are rehabilitated at this centre.   To prevent people from disturbing the animals, the department brought in a German Shepherd called Dobby a year ago. About nine months back she gave birth to Dolly who is now helping her guard the animals. The two dogs not only prevent humans from disturbing the lions and tigers, they also break up fights between the animals by barking, officials said. 'If anyone tries to come near the rescue centre, the dogs start barking loudly and alert us,' an official said.  Forest Act comes into force, green activists cry foul New Delhi, January 03, 2008: Amid strong opposition from environmentalists, the government on Tuesday notified the rules enforcing the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, giving tribals and forest dwellers rights over land and forest produce.  But, the law will not be applicable in the critical tiger habitats notified by Environment and Forest ministry on Monday. This will allow the government to relocate about 10,000 villages living in 27 tiger reserves for which the government has provided about Rs 4,000 crore.    The move is aimed at pacifying the strong tiger lobby, which had claimed that Forest Rights law would be a death trap for the already dwindling tiger population, and Congress high command, which had expressed similar concerns. The Forest Rights law allows gram sabha, the elected village body, to restore traditional, land and community rights to tribals and forest dwellers, provided they have been living there for the last 25 years. The period will be calculated from December 2005.    The proviso, environmentalists claim, would be a death knell for Indian forests. "See what has happened to 250-square kilometre of forests near Ranchi, which was declared 'munda kodkhati'(area for locals to use forest). There is not even a single tree left there," said P.K. Sen, former Project Tiger, Director. Environmentalists like he and Belinda Wright of the Wildlife Protection Society of India believe that the government has put the country's fragile wildlife into grave danger by implementing the law in the present form. But, Valmik Thapar, a wildlife activist, was a little more cautious. He said, "In my opinion the law will have serious repercussions on wildlife in India. But for the time being I will keep my fingers crossed."  Source: Hindustan Times

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