15 hours ago

NEW DELHI (AFP) — India have opened a national wildlife crime prevention bureau aimed at intensifying a difficult fight against the poaching of tigers and other endangered species, officials said.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh ordered the setting-up of the federal agency in March last year after a national outcry over the large-scale slaughter of tigers.

The Indian forest ministry said Tuesday the bureau will draw experts from the police, environmental agencies and customs, and try to "reduce demand for wildlife and its products."

The government admitted in 2005 that poachers killed 122 tigers between 1999 and 2003. An earlier official count in 2001-02 estimated that there were 3,642 tigers in India, down from about 40,000 before the 1947 independence from Britain.

Wildlife protection groups say that the states of Chattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan, which previously accounted for most of India's tiger population, may today have less than 500 animals left.

Around 8,000 leopards are also officially listed in India's 592 state-protected forests.

In November last year, India began recruiting retired soldiers to guard sanctuaries sheltering the increasingly rare Royal Bengal Tiger after a study showed their numbers were also far below previous estimates.

Tiger hunting is illegal worldwide, and the trade in tiger skins, claws and other products often wanted for use in traditional Chinese medicine is banned under a treaty binding 167 countries, including India.

MEAD, Wash. -- A Siberian tiger family of four that was sent to a rescue park after the former owner of the rare cats was evicted from his home has doubled in size.

Samson, Delilah and their offspring, Romeo and Juliet, arrived last February at the nonprofit Cat Tales Zoological Park between Mead and Colbert about 10 miles north of Spokane.

On Nov. 24, Delilah gave birth to four more cubs. Cat Tales co-founder Debbie Wyche said all are doing well despite one of the snowiest winters in recent years in the Spokane area.

"They're doing great," Wyche said. "Being Siberian tigers, they don't mind the snow as much as I do."

The two males, about 18 pounds each, and the females, about 15 and 12 pounds, are being monitored around the clock in the nursery of the privately run sanctuary, Wyche said.

"Basically, in the next month they'll double in size," she said. "Dad's 700 pounds, so the boys'll probably be about the same size."

The population of Siberian tigers, the largest of the six tiger subspecies, is estimated at 350 to 450 in the animals' native range in northeastern China and Russia and is believed to have stabilized following years of precipitous decline and loss of habitat.

The rescue operation, established in 1991 by Wyche and her husband, Mike, has nearly 50 animals, including a tiger-lion cross called a liger, pumas, bears, bobcats, a pair of dogs, an iguana and a number of snakes.

Samson, Delilah, Romeo and Juliet were sent to Cat Tales in February after owner Paul Mason fell behind on his bills and was evicted from his home near Napavine, about halfway between Seattle and Portland, Ore. Lewis County sheriff's deputies said the tigers had nothing to do with the eviction, but Mason and his family couldn't afford to keep them.

 [ accepted]

Friday, November 02, 2007

By GAVIN RABINOWITZ, Associated Press Writer

This is about Giles Clark. Miles Clark has a passion for saving these magnificent animals, he's been tracking them for the past 10 years through Asian forests with aching muscles,stifling humidity and sweat drenchedbut what he sees is well worth itug marks of a tigress. He feels he is honored to be a guest in her territory. He was on a 6 day quest with the Tiger Protection and Conservation Unit in Kerinci Seblat National Park.

Tiger Protection and Conservation Units keep track of illegal activities such as poaching ,logging and illegal settlements in and around the national park. Their main goal is to stop all illegal activity including the removal of snares.

These patrols carry heavy equipment and cover several miles a day and the territory is extremly tough.Some of these men and women put their lives at risk arresting some fo the toughest poachers in the wildlife trade, some even go under cover.

Many still were working after the great Sumatran earthquake where many of them suffered great personal loss but still managed to arrest two poachers. These men and women are try wildlife warriors.

KSNP is an enormous park about 3,000 acres it's one of the largest protected parks so vehicles must be tough,though enough to carry units and their equipment and also be able to carry injured wildlife. Wildlife Warriors and Australia Zoo has donated two brand new vehicles for 30 ranger units in the park. They also gave the patrols, global postioning units,digital cameras,veterinary drugs,uniforms and spit lights.

Many of the calls these men attend are emergency snare rescues.One rescent call involved two clouded leopards that had been caught, both recovered and re-released back into the wild. Wildlife warrior has teamed up with TRAFFIC S.E. Asia to investigate wildlife trade monitoring network.They have come together along with lawenfocement to help give a clear picture on where and how to apply resources to curb this trade.

http://www.wildlifewarriors.org

http://www.australiazoo.com

CRICKEY magazine/DEC 2007

 [ accepted]

Just received this from the US Ambassador in India.

Dear Tammy,

I received your message of Oct 31 today on tigers. As it happens the US Mission here in India is sponsoring a workshop at Ranthambore Tiger Park which will focus on prevention and forensic work connected with preventing poaching of tigers. The purpose is to help preserve India’s tiger population.

Thank you for your interest.

David C. Mulford

U.S. Ambassador to India

 [ accepted]

New Delhi, Aug. 22 (PTI): The Government has in principle approved eight new tiger reserves spread over seven states of the country, the Lok Sabha was informed today.

"Based on proposals received and as recommended by the Steering Committee of the Project Tigers, we have in principle approved eight new tiger reserves," Environment Minister S Reghupathy said in a written reply.

The new reserves will be Anamalai-Parambikuulam Wildlife Sanctuary in Tamil Nadu, Udanti and Sita Nadi Wildlife Sanctuaries at Chattisgarh, Satosia Wildlife Sanctuary in Orissa, Kaziranga National Park in Assam and Achanakmar Wildlife Sanctuary in Chattisgarh.

Besides, Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary and Anshi National Park, Sanjay National Park and Sanjay Dubri Wild Life Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh and Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary in Tamil Nadu have been named as the new tiger parks, the Minister said.

He said the states are yet to submit the plan for the development of these new tiger reserves.

 [ send green star]

 [ accepted]

Lucknow, July 12 (PTI): Tiger population has declined in the famous Dudhwa and Katerniaghat sanctuaries in Uttar Pradesh between 2002 and 2005 and lack of proper monitoring, protection and enforcement activities has rendered "ineffective" the project to conserve the big cats.

According to the Comptroller and Auditor General's (CAG) report for the year ended 2006, the implementation of the 'Project Tiger', a Centrally-sponsored programme, suffered as the management of land was not effective and large areas either remained unclaimed or encroached.

The report revealed that the number of tigers in Dudhwa declined from 115 in 2002 to 106 in 2005, while it went down from 50 in 2002 to 42 in 2005 in Katerniaghat.

It said that 5.78 square kilometres (sq.kms) of land in Dudhwa was under encroachment by 3725 people and their cattle since long, while in Katerniaghat 38.42 sqkms area was under unauthorised occupation.

The buffer zone was not identified in Dudhwa and Katerniaghat, exposing the core zone to biotic interference, it said, maintaining that tranquil habitat could not be provided to wildlife as rail and roads passed through the tiger reserves.

The report said that "conservation activities were not effective as weeds, creepers and monocultures were not removed and ineffective management of grassland resulted in sub-optimal growth of herbivores affecting availability of prey base for the tigers."

The CAG went on to point out that the forest department also failed to adopt accurate techniques for tiger census as the 'pug mark method' of census had an inaccuracy range of plus or minus 20 per cent.

 [ send green star]

 [ accepted]

July 11, 2007 02:07pm

 [ send green star]

 [ accepted]

Guwahati, July 11 (PTI): A poacher has been killed in the Kaziranga National Park, famed for its one-horned rhino, following an encounter inside the park.

Park officials said that during routine patrolling yesterday, forest guards heard gunshots from the Burapahar Range in the Western part of the Park and followed the sound, but the poachers managed to escape.

The forest guards, joined by police, continued with the search and late at night they were fired upon by the poachers. An encounter followed in which a poacher was killed, while the other two managed to escape.

Search operation was continuing today to trace the two poachers who managed to escape, sources said. The forest guards did not find any carcass, the sources added.

 [ send green star]

 [ accepted]

Tigress dies due to tuberculosis at Circus Animal Rescue Centre

Statesman News Service
COOCH BEHAR, July 8: A female Royal Bengal tiger died apparently due to tuberculosis at the Circus Animal Rescue Centre at Dakshin Khayerbari in the Dooars last Friday, officials said here today.
Confirming the death, the state forest minister Mr Ananta Roy said here today that the tigress was rescued from a circus and brought to the Circus Animal Rehabilitation Centre at Dakshin Khayerbari. It died of tuberculosis last Friday, he said.
It has been learnt that there were 18 Royal Bengal Tigers at the Circus Animal Rescue Centre at Dakshin Khayerbari. Of them, four were shifted to the Darjeeling Zoo and one died of tuberculosis in February. The tigress that died last Friday was rescued from a circus at Dunlop and shifted to the CARC at Dakshin Khayerbari.
The Circus Animal Rescue Centre was established near the Leopard Rehabilitation Centre of Dakshin Khayerbari with the sole objective of rehabilitating the animals rescued from circuses. The then forest minister, Mr Jogesh Chandra Barman inaugurated the CARC on 5 November 2005.
It may be recalled that the Supreme Court has banned the use of Royal Bengal tigers and lions in circuses.
The forest minister, Mr Roy, said that he would inform the chief minister Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee about the tigress’s death.
The minister said that the tigers rescued from circuses often contact the tuberculosis disease because the circus owners offer them inadequate diet.
He assured that the forest department would provide better medical care to the sick tigers of the CARC.

 [ send green star]

 [ accepted]

Guwahati, July 8: The stealthy footsteps that once scoured forests to capture unsuspecting prey, now lead conservationists to rare species on the brink of extinction.

Akhi Nathany, a Lisu tribesman of Arunachal Pradesh, has traded his hunting gear for binoculars. The credit for the exchange goes to Nature Conservation Foundation, a Mysore-based group that aims to conserve wildlife in Arunachal Pradesh by involving tribal communities.

Nathany, now a gram panchayat member, is the main field co-ordinator of the foundation. The 55-year-old has donned the mantle of a guide, directing conservation teams with their camera-traps to even the most inaccessible of Namdapha National Park.

“People like him have unmatched knowledge of the terrain and landscape of the park. He will just find a way out of nowhere and navigate you to where you want to go. We just explain some features of the area we want to go to and show him some streams and other reference points on a map and he takes us there, without any trails or tracks. Without his help, it would have been impossible to conduct camera-trap surveys,” said Aparajita Datta, a scientist working with the foundation.

The organisation works primarily with the Lisu tribe that has settled on the fringes of the reserve forest. Several former hunters are engaged in the wildlife monitoring program which offers return benefits like medical support, training in healthcare and education, by supporting schools and teachers in the villages.

The park sprawls over an area of 1,985.23 square km on the international border between India and Myanmar, in Arunachal’s Changlang district.

Aparajita pointed out that as most of the work has to be done on foot, the teams need people to ferry rations and equipment.

“We need people to go back to get rations as they run out. Also, we place one trap in a particular location for 15 days, and then move on to new spots. But we would like to place the camera-traps simultaneously. As we have a limited number of traps at our disposal, some of the Lisus go back to retrieve the contraptions from earlier locations and bring them to the next spot,” she said.

A community protection force for the park has also been mooted. As many as 25 species of mammals, including 10 rare and endangered breeds like the clouded leopard, Asiatic black bear, Malayan sun bear and marbled cat, have been spotted here.

The organisation is also enlisting the help of the tribe to prepare an educational CD in Hindi for children in the state. “We will get a Nishi or Lisu narrator once the visuals, audio and script for the CD are put together,” she said.

Livelihood options for the Lisus have also been discussed. Leaders of the community have suggested starting a piggery to meet consumption and income needs.

“After much discussion, a plan has been worked out where beneficiaries will be identified and modalities framed accordingly. This will involve contributions from the community in the form of labour and manpower. Financial assistance for the piggery will be provided by the foundation as initial investments. Work will begin around September or October, after the monsoon,” Aparajita informed.

The foundation has also contacted organisations in Guwahati, Bangalore and New Delhi to promote indigenous Lisu handicrafts.

“Samples, pictures and product descriptions have been sent to two commercial enterprises as well as some entrepreneurs. The effort has yielded some supplementary income for a few families here. We have also granted financial support to a partner NGO near Namdapha to help set up a tribal handicrafts shop that will enable villagers to augment their income. We hope it will go a long way in generating awareness among local residents and tourists about the park. The shop is ready and will be open in time for the winter tourist traffic,” she said.

 [ send green star]

 [ accepted]

July 6, 2007, 11:23AM
All 4 tiger cubs born at traveling zoo in Duluth have died

© 2007 The Associated Press

TOOLS

 [ send green star]  [ accepted]

Elephant training barred in victory for the SPCA

By Dineo Matomela

IN what has been described as the “first real breakthrough for animal welfare in South Africa”, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) has obtained a court order preventing an upmarket private Eastern Cape game reserve from training and exhibiting elephants and other wildlife.

The Grahamstown magistrate‘s court denied Kwantu Private Game Reserve owner Yossuf Jeeva a permit to train and exhibit six African elephants and also to train two Bengal tigers, six lions, cheetahs, African wild dogs and spotted hyenas. It is believed the elephants were to be trained for elephant-back safaris.

Magistrate J M Roberson refused the application in terms of the Performing Animals Protection Act.

The SPCA‘s attorney, Jane Marston, said yesterday the ruling was both encouraging and “was the beginning of a trend”.

“This is a first and a real breakthrough for animal welfare in South Africa,” she said.

Marston said the SPCA had opposed the application based on its concerns regarding the training of the elephants and the exhibition of tigers, cheetahs and wild dogs.

She commended Roberson for conducting a full inquiry to determine whether the safety requirements of the animals were met.

“Our concerns were to know what the training measures would be for the elephants, and nobody knew exactly which training methods would be used, and secondly there was no environmental enrichment available for the rest of the animals.

“It makes us feel encouraged that the magistrate looked at the welfare of animals, because money always wins,” she said.

The SPCA has constantly opposed elephant-back safaris. “Wild animals belong in the wild,” she said.

The ruling would benefit animals in the face of the rapidly growing elephant-back safari trade, and other activities involving wild animals in captivity.

Jeeva was not available for comment last night. – Additional reporting by Sapa

 [ send green star]

 [ accepted]

Monday, July 2, 2007 - 12:00 AM

Permission to reprint or copy this article or photo, other than personal use, must be obtained from The Seattle Times. Call 206-464-3113 or e-mail resale@seattletimes.com with your request.

DEAN RUTZ / THE SEATTLE TIMES

Robyn Barfoot, left, general curator of the Cougar Mountain Zoo, and Marcie McCaffray, administrator, hold Taj and Almos, Bengal tiger cubs born in April and May at a Florida preserve. Obtaining the cubs was a coup for the Issaquah zoological park, which focuses on endangered animals and public education.

By Sonia Krishnan
Seattle Times Eastside bureau

The cubs tumbled around the nursery of Issaquah's Cougar Mountain Zoo, climbing into boxes and onto chairs, their oversize paws an indication of the growth to come.

The 8- and 11-week-old Bengal tigers — one a Royal White, the other a Golden — nuzzled their caretakers on a recent sunny morning, unaware of the crowd waiting to see them. Named Taj and Almos, the tigers are the only Bengal cubs in the state. Both arrived in Issaquah four weeks ago from a Florida tiger preserve to serve as "ambassadors" of the dwindling species, zoo officials say.

The younger, Almos, is 12 pounds; the older weighs in at 22. Both will grow to be 500 pounds.

"We want to educate people about the threat to this animal," said Robyn Barfoot, the zoo's general curator. "The tiger is such a magnificent creature. They're meant to talk to your heart. It would be such a shame if in 10 years we don't have any left. But that's where we're headed."

Tigers once roamed through Russia, the Himalaya Mountains and across the Indian subcontinent. But poaching and habitat destruction have driven the tiger population to record lows, researchers say. The animals are hunted for their colorful skins, and their body parts are prized in the lucrative Chinese medicine market.

At one time, eight subspecies of tigers existed. But three died out during the 20th century, according to the World Wildlife Fund. Now researchers estimate 5,000 tigers remain in the wild.

The Golden tiger, the result of a genetic quirk, is rarer still, Barfoot said.

The Cougar Mountain Zoo received Taj, the Golden, and Almos, the Royal White, 35 years after the zoo's master plan was unveiled. Saving endangered animals through education was part of this vision, Barfoot said.

The tigers came from different mothers at an undisclosed Florida preserve. Barfoot declined to say how much the zoo paid for the cubs.

She and her colleagues say they anxiously awaited the births.

Tiger gestation lasts about 100 days, and females give birth to litters of two to six cubs. In the wild, a tigress is the sole parent. She nurses her babies, teaches them how to hunt, and after two or three years, they are ready to set out on their own, according to the National Geographic Web site on endangered animals.

Almos' mother, having given birth for the first time, didn't nurse him when he was born, said Marcie McCaffray, administrator of the Cougar Mountain Zoo.

"It can happen with a first-time mom," McCaffray said. "She doesn't know what to do."

Now, McCaffray and Barfoot have taken on the role as the cubs' mothers. They spent a week with them in Florida before flying back with the tigers to Seattle.

At the zoo, they spend hours with the cubs, playing with them and feeding them four times a day. The tigers are bottle-fed a special formula, but once they get older, they will switch to an all-carnivore diet.

Once they are between 4 and 6 months old, the cubs will move to a 1-acre habitat with a pool, Barfoot said. It's designed to give them space to roam and swim — one of their favorite activities.

Although they will be trained to stand on weighing scales and sit for health checkups, the goal is to keep the tigers' instincts wild, Barfoot said.

. They may have bonded with her and McCaffray. But they are still tigers. The women rolled up their shirt sleeves to show scratches and bruises they've received in the past weeks.

"They are adorable and we love them," Barfoot said. "But they are not pets."

Sonia Krishnan: 206-515-5546 or skrishnan@seattletimes.com

Copyright © 2007 The Seattle Times Company

 [ send green star]

 [ accepted]

Last updated June 26, 2007 6:24 a.m. PT

By DILIP GANGULY
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

CALCUTTA, India -- Poachers seeking to bag a Royal Bengal tiger in the Sunderbans reserve are encountering a unique new security measure to keep them away: hundreds of crocodiles that have been released in the mangrove forest.

Originally brought into the reserve in the late 1990s for breeding, the crocodiles are having the unintended beneficial effect of scaring away poachers from the forest - home to the largest wild population of Royal Bengal tigers.

"With tigers on land and the crocodile in water, the fear factor does work," divisional Forest Officer Rathin Banerjee said Tuesday.

During winter months, the crocs often come out of the cold water and lie in the jungle path of the poachers.

Nearly 400 crocodiles, bred in captivity over the years, have been released in the reserve, Banerjee said. A 2004 census said more than 270 tigers were roaming the reserve in West Bengal state, bordering Bangladesh.

"The use of crocodiles is one of the measures to save the wildlife there from poachers," said V.K. Yadav, a forest conservator.

Conservationist Ranjit Mitra said it was difficult to say how many tigers have been killed by poachers in the past five years, "but it will run into dozens."

Another conversationist called the idea of using crocs "novel."

"It is surely a novel idea, but this can be one of the measures to check poaching," said Animesh Basu of the Himalayan Nature and Adventure Foundation, a local non-governmental organization.

The state Forest Department was assessing the effectiveness of the new measure.

"It is not like you count how many hens you had and how many have been taken away by the jackals at night," Yadav said. "Here the idea is to ensure that there is no unusual change in the demography," Yadav said referring to major species of animals in the Sunderbans.

India's border guards also have set up camps in the area to guard against the poachers.

"We are trying our best," Yadav said.

Preliminary results of a recent exhaustive study of tiger habitats found that the population in some Indian states may be nearly 65 percent smaller than experts had thought.

Conservationists said the early results indicated the most recent tiger census - which found about 3,500 tigers - was far too optimistic. The study was conducted in the past two years by the government-run Wildlife Institute of India.

 [ send green star]

 [ accepted]

Police clueless on tiger death

SILIGURI, June 26: Almost a week has passed since the death of the Royal Bengal tiger near the Dolong bridge at Ghoksadanga but there is still no concrete evidence about what brought about the predator’s death on 18 June. The Railways and the state forest department, however, continue blaming each other over the tiger’s unnatural death much to the agony of wildlife.
The Himalayan Nature and Adventure Foundation, a voluntary organisation engaged in social activities and adventure sport has but held the Railways responsible for the tiger’s death. To mobilise public opinion against the growing wildlife deaths from alleged train hits in the Dooars of north Bengal, the HNAF would be organising a convention on the issue soon. The programme coordinator of the voluntary organisation, Mr Animesh Bose, said that environmentalists, nature lovers and the common man would join the convention and an action plan would be chalked out to combat the problem. n SNS

 [ send green star]

 [ accepted]

Tiger strays out of lair, dies
19 Jun, 2007 l 0234 hrs ISTlPinak Priya Bhattacharya/TIMES NEWS NETWORK

  Print

   [ send green star]  [ accepted]

Dehradun, June 16: The dead bodies of two elephants and a tiger cub were found by the employees of the Corbett National Park during a search operation, Sahara Samay sources said.

According to the sources, the body of a 13-year-lod tusker was found in Kalagarh range and the body of a 50-year-old elephant was found in Jhirana range. The bodies were spotted by the employees of the park during operation monsoon.

The employees said that both the elephants died after falling off a mountain. The body of a male tiger cub was also found by the employees of the park in a river. The cub was washed away in the water of Dhela river in Jhirana range of the park. Later its carcass was recovered from the nearby area.

The deaths occurred due to heavy pre-monsoon rain, they added.

Jim Corbett National Park is India's oldest national park. Situated in the foothills of the Kumaon Himalayas, the park covers an area of 521 sq km, of which 313 sq km are in Pauri Garhwal district and the remaining 208 sq km in Nainital district of Uttarakhand.

 [ send green star]

 [ accepted]

7 Jun, 2007 l 0339 hrs ISTlJoseph Hoover/TIMES NEWS NETWORK

  Print

   [ send green star]  [ accepted]

Tiger cubs on the move...

Mausam Sharma
NEW DELHI, June 5: The government is all set to increase the number of tigers after recent reports about the alarming decline in their population in the reserves. Concrete endeavours are now being undertaken by the government.
The Centre is mulling over shifting a number of tiger cubs from Ranthambore Tiger Reserve to Sariska Tiger Reserve to fill the population gap. Talking to The Statesman, Dr Rajesh Gopal, member secretary, National Tiger Conservation Authority, admitted: “Yes, we are contemplating on transporting a number of cubs from Ranthambore to Sariska.” He said three female and two male cubs would be shifted.
An official of the ministry of forests and environment said: “The cubs would be selected from different tigresses instead of just one. This will be done because immunity of tigers to fight diseases decreases if all are from the same mother and mate among themselves.”
He added: “The tigers are territorial. They fix their boundaries by leaving their impressions in any form. So, shifting of tigers from the same region could yield good results because, if the beasts do not find their own territory, they tend to become ferocious.”
Several arrangements would be made before releasing the cubs to Sariska. “The cubs would be tranquillised and then taken in a chopper to Sariska. Their release will be a soft one. At first, they will be kept in enclosures for a few days and then gradually released in the reserve. Comprehensive research would be done before their release so that the cubs do not face a territorial shock,” said the official.
On the other hand, sources in the ministry said that there were many hurdles to shifting the cubs. “Shifting of villages from the periphery of the reserve is a huge problem, which has to be dealt with great sensitivity. Also, many organisations are creating problems,” the sources said.

 [ send green star]

 [ accepted]

4 Jun, 2007 l 0138 hrs ISTlARCHANA PRASAD

  Print

   [ send green star]  [ accepted]

Click here to get the latest Orissa news on your BSNL mobile for Re.1 a day.

BHUBANESWAR: Three rare black tigers have been sighted at Similipal Orissa's only tiger reserve, by the surveying teams of Wildlife Institute of India (WII).

During the on-going enumeration through the camera-trap methodology as part of nationwide tiger census, the cameras captured images of three different melanistic tigers known as black tigers, reliable sources told this paper on Saturday.

The survey teams which are currently carrying out the census, on a sampling basis, captured images of these three black tigers near the Upper Barakamuda and Devasthali regions in the tiger reserve's core area.

The survey is now being conducted over a 120 sq km region out of the 850 sq km core area of the Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR).

In fact, the cameras have so far captured images of six different tigers in the survey area of which three are melanistic suggesting that their strength could be reasonably good in STR.

Since the census work is still on, the matter is still under wraps. In fact, it would be officially released once the survey teams submit their report to the Dehradun-based WII while the Forest Department officials are tight lipped over the entire issue.

In the past, there have been reports of black or melanistic tiger inhabiting in STR but only once was it recorded. On July 21, 1993, a tribal boy killed a young melanistic tigress with traditional weapons while defending himself.

The incident occurred at Podagarh village near the Bhandan river to the west of Similipal. BC Prusty, the then Field Director of STR had videotaped it.

Elsewhere in India, the skin of the melanistic tiger was recovered from the smugglers at Tis Hazari in October 1992. Measured at eight feet and half, it is currently at National Museum of Natural History at New Delhi.

The source, however, remains uncertain.

 [ send green star]

 [ accepted]

Bindu Shajan Perappadan

To prevail upon China to keep its ban on tiger trade in place

Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI: Looking for help from India — the largest range state for wild tigers in the world — the International Tiger Coalition, a group of 35 organisations from across the world, has called upon the country to ask China to keep its ban on tiger trade in place. China is now considering lifting a ban it placed on trade in tiger products in 1993.

The International Tiger Coalition is an alliance made up of environmental, zoo and animal protection organisations as well as the traditional Chinese medicine community, which have come together to ask China to keep its ban on tiger trade in place to ensure a future for wild tigers.

A Chinese Government delegation was in India last week to discuss tiger trade with Indian officials though details of the meeting have not been made public. Fearing the worst for tigers, conservationists in the country have called this latest move by China `a disaster' and have urged the Indian Government to ask China to keep the ban on tiger trade.

``We hope that the Indian Government has communicated to the Chinese delegation how important China's 14-year ban on tiger trade has been to the protection of India's treasured wild tiger populations.

The Indian Government should also stress the need for keeping this ban in place in order to secure a future for India's tigers.

There are simply too few tigers left in the wild of Asia to risk re-opening trade of any kind from any source,'' said executive director of Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI) Belinda Wright. ``We dare not risk an entire species for the financial gain of a handful of investors,'' she added.

There are several tiger farms in China that collectively house about 5,000 live tigers.

Pressure to lift the ban has been building from the investors in these tiger farms, who stand to make enormous profits if China's ban is lifted.

The international coalition has recommended an immediate freeze on breeding at China's tiger farms so that the current population of captive tigers does not grow, It has also demanded eventual closure of all tiger farms.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

 [ send green star]  [ accepted]

US medical opinion sought to save tigress

BHUBANESWAR, May 25: The Nandankanan zoo authorities near here have sought expert opinion from the USA to treat a tigress which was injured by poachers about two months ago. The authorities had sent an E-mail this week to Suzanne Murray, chief vet of the National Zoological Park at Washington DC, seeking advice for treating the tigress which had developed neurological problem after being injured in its spine.
She had sought details about the condition of the tigress before suggesting any course of treatment, zoo sources said today. Eminent tiger expert John Seidensticker, who is chairman of the Save The Tiger Fund Council, had also been consulted. The adult Royal Bengal Tigress had been found in an injured condition in the Satkosia Wildlife Sanctuary in Angul district on 31 March.
It had nine pellets lodged in its body, mostly in the hind legs, and was virtually immobile. After being shifted to Nandankanan, it was being treated by a team of vets from the Orissa Veterinary College here but it was still unable to lift its hind leg. n PTI

 [ send green star]

 [ accepted]

Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI: There has been a drop in the tiger population in Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, according to preliminary Tiger census figures released by the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehra Dun, and the National Tiger Conservation Authority here on Wednesday.

According to this census, there has been a 60 per cent reduction in the population of tigers across the four States and the decrease has been caused by poaching and loss of habitat. Reserves in Maharashtra in 2001-02 recorded 238 tigers but the number has fallen to 95. While Rajasthan registered 58 tigers in the last count, it now has only 30 tigers. Madhya Pradesh had 710 tigers in the last census and now has 265 tigers, while Chhattisgarh recorded 25 tigers.

While a countrywide complete census report is expected by year-end, this report that took two years to put together claims to have recorded a accurate reading.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

 [ send green star]  [ accepted]

Two tiger cubs die in Ranthambore park

 [ send green star]  [ accepted]

(AP Photo/Santiago Llanquin) :: Pampa, a one-year-old male white tiger, yawns at the Metropolitan Zoo in Santiago, Thursday, May 17, 2007. The white tiger is one of the most endangered species in the world with an estimated of 240 in existence. Pampa arrived form the Argentina's Temaiken zoo.

By Associated Press
Updated: 5/18/2007

SANTIAGO, Chile

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

 [ send green star]

 [ accepted]

Check out the latest Bengal or Indian tiger news here!

 [ send green star]

 [ accepted]