AHMEDABAD:
A fresh petition filed in the Supreme Court suggests that the proposed
translocation of Gir lions to Kuno-Palpur in Madhya Pradesh may harm
tigers moving from Rajasthan to Madhya Pradesh. It also suggests that
the arrival of the tiger in India may have been responsible for the
decline in the population of Asiatic lions in the country. The
petitioner, Priyvrat Gadhvi, who has been appointed member of the State
Wildlife Board, has moved the Apex Court against the proposed
translocation of Gir lions.
The petitioner has stated that the
proposed translocation is not safe for either of the big cats as there
is a strong possibility of lions coming into conflict with tigers.
Scientific evidence of at least four tigers regularly using the natural
corridor between Madhav National Park in MP and Ranthambore National
Park in Rajasthan has been submitted to the Apex Court. (Kuno-Palpur is
sandwiched between these two sanctuaries.)
In the petition
moved through lawyer, Nachiket Dave, Gadhvi has cited from scientific
papers, photographs and various foreign authors, to establish that
tigers from Madhav National Park pass through Kuno-Palpur wildlife
sanctuary while going to Ranthambore National Park.
He has
further stated that the Supreme Court has not been made fully aware of
the importance of Kuno-Palpur wildlife sanctuary as a natural corridor
for tigers and the volume of actual tiger movement in it. The petitioner
even undertook a study tour from Ranthambore to Kuno and followed the
pattern of tiger movement. He has also submitted a scientific study,
'Genetic Evidence of Tiger Population Structure and Migration within an
Isolated and Fragmented Landscape in Northwest India,' done by the
Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad.
The
findings of the study reveal that the population and migration of
Ranthamobore and Madhav National Park tigers have important implications
for protection and management of this species in northwest India.
"We propose that substantial conservation efforts must focus on
maintenance and improvement of connectivity between Ranthambore,
Kuno-Palpur and Madhav National Parks. Since these forests are located
in different states (Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan) of India,
collaborative efforts should be made to protect this trans-boundary
landscape," the study says.
Did tigers drive out Asiatic lions?
Gadhvi has further stated in his petition said that the Apex Court has
not been fully informed about the co-existence of tiger and lion. Due to
the lack of overlapping territories, there isn't much evidence to throw
light on the interaction between the two big cats. However, several
noted naturalists have suggested that tigers may have contributed to the
decline of Asiatic Lions in India, the petition states.
Apart
from quoting Indian writers, Gadhvi has also cited several foreign
authors. Kenneth Anderson, author of 'The Call of the Man-Eater', had
noted in 1961 that the tiger had originally come down from the north
-from Siberia and Manchuria. "The lion slowly began to lose ground
before that more active animal," Anderson had stated.
Gadhvi's
petition further states that, in 1965, Richard Perry in his book, 'The
World of the Tiger', had stated: "If tigers arrived in India later than
lions, as is possible, then there is every probability that they were
the containing factor." Further, Jack Denton Scott in his book 'Speaking
Wildly' states: "Often larger and stronger than the lion, the tiger is
credited with driving it from India."
The petition has also annexed a painting of lion-tiger conflict painted in the 18th and 19th century.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/Shifting-lions-bad-for-tiger-too-says-petition-in-SC/articleshow/34847682.cms
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