By A Staff Reporter
GUWAHATI, Feb 4 –
Hinting that the stock of wildlife body parts such as tiger skin, rhino horn, ivory, etc., under the custody of the State Forest Department could well have found their way to the illegal international racket in wildlife trade, Nature’s Beckon, an environmental NGO, today called for a CBI probe into the matter. Addressing a press conference, Soumyadeep Datta, director, Nature’s Beckon, said that as per information obtained by it from the Forest Department through application of the RTI Act, the number of rhino horns, elephant tusks, tiger skins and leopard skins under custody of the Forest Department (either seized or recovered from natural death cases) were 1,498, 1,334, 6 and 3 respectively.
According to Datta, the Forest Department’s stock of body parts, particularly tiger and leopard skins, was too small considering that the department had been collecting those since at least 1972.
“We suspect that a large share of wildlife body parts sold in the international market comes from the Forest Department stock due to the nexus of some dishonest officials of the department with illegal wildlife traders, and we urge Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi to institute a CBI inquiry to clear up the matter,” Datta said.
When contacted, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife), MC Malakar said that the bodies of dead tigers or leopards were never skinned and always disposed as a whole.
“The practice with the department is to dispose the carcasses without skinning. The department keeps with it only the seized skins, and there have been few seizures of tiger and leopard skins,” he said.
Malakar also revealed that the department was planning to destroy all the animal body parts including rhino horn, ivory, skins, etc., under its custody. “We are taking up the matter with the ministry concerned so that all the body parts at our disposal are destroyed,” he said.
Rhino horn, ivory, and tiger and leopard skin are much-sought-after items in the nefarious trade in animal body parts, especially in South East Asia. With the North-East sharing borders with several South East Asian countries, it has become a target area for poachers and international smugglers. Last year, 18 rhinos of Kaziranga National Park were killed by poachers.
Source: http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/details.asp?id=feb0508/at03
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Gujarat, intimate and eccentric India.
The Sunday TimesFebruary 3, 2008
Richard Green
So far largely untroubled by tourism, Gujarat is India at its intimate and eccentric best
The Maharajah of Wankaner likes chatting with his guests. Tonight, he’s come down from the main palace and is delightedly sharing his whisky and nostalgia for the Raj. Even his guest palace has a gravel drive, an immense garden folly and a wonderful art-deco swimming pool. These days, it’s a heritage hotel, homely in style, with 12 vast rooms; and today, I’m the only visitor.
Gujarat is reminding me of my first trips to India 20 years ago, when everything was so fascinatingly “other”. Rajasthan and Kerala may have become slick and hassley, and, dare I say, almost predictable, but Gujarat – still largely ignored by tourists – is India at its intimate and eccentric best.
I’d started in the mythical-sounding Great Rann of Kutch – actually desert that floods annually, which is home to the most traditional of tribespeople. They build their huts on man-made mounds, but after that their lives get a little less practical. To enhance their beauty and show off family wealth, the women wear stupendous hand-embroidered blouses and startling jewellery: nose rings with the same circumference as coffee mugs, and earrings that weigh up to 2oz apiece.
As I strolled into a remote village, a young mother snatched her crying baby from the courtyard and flashed me a look as though I’d just wetbiked through its paddling pool. The mite was terrified of my outlandish skin colour and scary blue eyes, according to my guide. No tour buses here, then.
The headman, somewhat embarrassed, sheltered me in his circular mud hut. It was bare except for folded bedding and a collection of plates on a wraparound mantelpiece. The plates were status symbols again, for festivals and weddings. He puffed with pride when he saw I’d spotted them, so, out of politeness, I asked how many he had. He was completely taken aback and clearly hadn’t the faintest idea – so I turned to his wife. Before I could speak, she laughed, saying, “Twenty-three.” I didn’t ask who did the washing-up.
The tribal people came through the 2001 earthquake Great Rann relatively unscathed. They live near the epicentre, but their huts buckled relatively harmlessly. To the south, the city of Bhuj fared less well. The quake struck on January 26, 2001, and killed an estimated 15,000. My guide is Vimal Shukla, who was in the city that day. I asked him how it felt.
“Sitting in the car, I was hearing the noise first, then quickly slipped off my shoe,” he said. “I don’t know why I did that now. The ground was moving a lot. It was like standing between two train carriages where the metal floors slide against each other, the train going top speed. Very frightening.”
Stroll by the lake and gaze over the city at sunset, and Bhuj’s skyline is rather beautiful, but walk into the old city and cracks appear – literally. Many buildings were destroyed. The local maharajah’s Prag Mahal (New Palace) survived, although it now sports a lightning-fork-shaped gash across its bell tower, several collapsed roofs and has screes of masonry lapping its walls.
I risked entering anyway. The Durbar Hall was magnificent: hammy as a Hammer horror house, with cobwebs between the stuffed deer’s antlers, chipped plates in the dressers and vast chandeliers, teetering as though about to avalanche their crystal. Two lime-green parrots screeched in through a broken window, as though they had been thrown in, and panicked. So did I.
The quake made it unsafe, but the dust was already decades deep and, like many other properties in Gujarat – even far from the earthquake area – the trickle of tourists is still too small for the hotel developers.
An exception is at the Gir National Park, where there is a luxury tented settlement. It’s run by Camps of India, the company responsible for some of the iconic camps in Rajasthan. The draw is the last 359 wild Asiatic lions on earth. They used to roam free from Greece to the banks of the Ganges, but are now holed up in 100 square miles of Gujarati forest.
I was all set for several hours of expectant whispering, but the sawn-off safari 4WD was far too noisy for that – several body panels were hanging on like loose teeth and the driver seemed overawed by the machine. Over the roar of his comedy clutch, the park ranger and my guide conversed very loudly in Gujarati.
My timing wasn’t great either. I’d arrived just after the monsoon, when the grass is tall and water plentiful, so even if I weren’t on the noisiest safari in the world, my lion-spotting chances were slim. Still, it was a beautiful misty morning.
Suddenly, the teenage ranger flung himself to the floor. He must have seen something. Or perhaps the din wasn’t enough for him and he was reaching for a bag of flutes. But no, he’d just dropped his mobile phone.
Further on, the 4WD drew to another cacophonous halt, like a one-man band in a slow faint. To my astonishment, there was a lioness. She sat, sphinx-like, in a clearing about 100ft away, ears pricked and staring our way.
Asiatic lions are slightly smaller than African ones, and tawnier too, with more modest manes, but this lion thrilled me more than any I’d seen in Africa. I didn’t even know India had wild lions until a few weeks ago.
AFTER BUMPING around the desert and the park, it was refreshing to reach the sea. Gujarat has almost 1,000 miles of coastline, and a newly opened luxury camp at Mandvi has 1½ miles of sand and 750 acres of bush all to itself.
The 10 tents are fitted with air conditioning and plumbed-in bathrooms, and there’s a simple restaurant down by the beach. It’s the only hotel for many miles and there’s nothing to do but swim, relax and watch the dhows glide over the Arabian Sea, right on cue for sunset snaps.
Although not for sunset schnapps – did I mention the state-wide prohibition? Foreigners can get a free alcohol permit, which means you can drink in your room, or you can drive over the border to the former Portuguese microstate of Diu. It’s a laid-back little island with a Goan torpor: palm trees, beaches and whitewashed church facades, only one decent hotel and plenty of bars.
Back to the dhow silhouettes, though – the local shipyard is a few miles from the luxury tents, up a tidal inlet that was once central to the southerly Silk Road, and I went to have a look.
A man with baggy white trousers and impossibly thick forearms was teasing his thick moustache and commandeering the shade. He was Salim, ship’s captain, and a shoo-in as any panto pirate. He showed me inside the skeleton hull, all huge timbers. The 150ft dhow had been damaged by fire off the Somali coast and he was overseeing a team of rebuilders. A new boat takes two to three years to build, and will sail 750-ton cargoes of onions to the Gulf. Salim looked glum as he told me he’d be landlocked for another 18 months, then barked some orders at his men, which perked him up a treat.
It is trade, not tourists, that has made Gujarat rich. Visiting foreigners are just a bonus, and, unlike in more tourist-dependent Rajasthan, there’s little begging or hassle from shopkeepers.
Except at Palitana, that is. At this Jain pilgrimage site, 3,500 steps lead to a complex of hilltop temples – more than 1,000 of them – and 500 coolies swarm around the first step, hoping to carry you to the top in a sedan chair. They are basic models, though – just an old fold-up chair lashed between two bamboo poles, and they are really for the large or the lazy. There were rumours of an impending cable car, but any labour-saving device in India, whether blender or transportation system, doesn’t save your toil but someone else’s, and the Jains don’t have the heart to ruin the coolies’ livelihood.
Back in Wankaner, the evening draws to a close when the ageing maharajah rises to leave.
Stumbling slightly, and suddenly looking older than his 73 years, he shuffles back to his car. The guesthouse staff line up under the portico and stand to a ragtag attention. Then the car pulls away and His Highness fades into the moonlight, emblematic of tourism in Gujarat – teetering between the current heart-warming genuineness and the inevitable succession of a more modern, less eccentric experience.
Richard Green travelled as a guest of Pettitts and British Airways
Getting there: for Bhuj and the Rann of Kutch, Air India (020 8560 9996, www.airindia.com) flies nonstop from Heathrow to the capital of Gujarat, Ahmedabad, from about £500. Or fly to Mumbai and connect to one of Gujarat’s seven domestic airports: Expedia (www.expedia.co.uk) and Opodo (www.opodo.co.uk) have fares from about £550, from Heathrow with British Airways and then Jet Airways onwards. Where to stay: in the Rann of Kutch, the excellent, eco-aware, community-run Hodka (www.hodka.in) has luxury mud-hut-style doubles from £36. The Beach Camp (www.mandvibeach.com) at Mandvi has air-conditioned double tents for £76, half-board.
To stay at the Oasis Guest House in Wankaner costs £60 per night for a double room, full-board. Mention to the staff that you’d like to meet the maharajah, and he’ll probably join you for dinner.
Gir National Park: if travelling independently, an entry permit and a three-hour 4WD safari with a guide costs £20. Sasan Gir town is by the park entrance. The Lion Safari Camp (www.campsofindia.com) has double air-conditioned tents for £75, full-board.
When to go: the best time to visit is from October to March, when daytime temperatures are in the high 20s.
Tour operators: Pettitts (01892 515966, www.pettitts.co.uk) can tailor-make itineraries throughout Gujarat and India. A 15-day tour costs from £2,700pp, visiting Bhuj, Ahmedabad, Gir National Park and Gondal. This includes all flights, B&B accommodation in heritage-style properties, full-board at the national park, and a guide and driver throughout. Or try Cox & Kings (020 7873 5000, www.coxandkings.co.uk) or TransIndus (020 8566 2729, www.transindus.co.uk).
Source:
http://travel.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/travel/destinations/india/article3287588.ece
Richard Green
So far largely untroubled by tourism, Gujarat is India at its intimate and eccentric best
The Maharajah of Wankaner likes chatting with his guests. Tonight, he’s come down from the main palace and is delightedly sharing his whisky and nostalgia for the Raj. Even his guest palace has a gravel drive, an immense garden folly and a wonderful art-deco swimming pool. These days, it’s a heritage hotel, homely in style, with 12 vast rooms; and today, I’m the only visitor.
Gujarat is reminding me of my first trips to India 20 years ago, when everything was so fascinatingly “other”. Rajasthan and Kerala may have become slick and hassley, and, dare I say, almost predictable, but Gujarat – still largely ignored by tourists – is India at its intimate and eccentric best.
I’d started in the mythical-sounding Great Rann of Kutch – actually desert that floods annually, which is home to the most traditional of tribespeople. They build their huts on man-made mounds, but after that their lives get a little less practical. To enhance their beauty and show off family wealth, the women wear stupendous hand-embroidered blouses and startling jewellery: nose rings with the same circumference as coffee mugs, and earrings that weigh up to 2oz apiece.
As I strolled into a remote village, a young mother snatched her crying baby from the courtyard and flashed me a look as though I’d just wetbiked through its paddling pool. The mite was terrified of my outlandish skin colour and scary blue eyes, according to my guide. No tour buses here, then.
The headman, somewhat embarrassed, sheltered me in his circular mud hut. It was bare except for folded bedding and a collection of plates on a wraparound mantelpiece. The plates were status symbols again, for festivals and weddings. He puffed with pride when he saw I’d spotted them, so, out of politeness, I asked how many he had. He was completely taken aback and clearly hadn’t the faintest idea – so I turned to his wife. Before I could speak, she laughed, saying, “Twenty-three.” I didn’t ask who did the washing-up.
The tribal people came through the 2001 earthquake Great Rann relatively unscathed. They live near the epicentre, but their huts buckled relatively harmlessly. To the south, the city of Bhuj fared less well. The quake struck on January 26, 2001, and killed an estimated 15,000. My guide is Vimal Shukla, who was in the city that day. I asked him how it felt.
“Sitting in the car, I was hearing the noise first, then quickly slipped off my shoe,” he said. “I don’t know why I did that now. The ground was moving a lot. It was like standing between two train carriages where the metal floors slide against each other, the train going top speed. Very frightening.”
Stroll by the lake and gaze over the city at sunset, and Bhuj’s skyline is rather beautiful, but walk into the old city and cracks appear – literally. Many buildings were destroyed. The local maharajah’s Prag Mahal (New Palace) survived, although it now sports a lightning-fork-shaped gash across its bell tower, several collapsed roofs and has screes of masonry lapping its walls.
I risked entering anyway. The Durbar Hall was magnificent: hammy as a Hammer horror house, with cobwebs between the stuffed deer’s antlers, chipped plates in the dressers and vast chandeliers, teetering as though about to avalanche their crystal. Two lime-green parrots screeched in through a broken window, as though they had been thrown in, and panicked. So did I.
The quake made it unsafe, but the dust was already decades deep and, like many other properties in Gujarat – even far from the earthquake area – the trickle of tourists is still too small for the hotel developers.
An exception is at the Gir National Park, where there is a luxury tented settlement. It’s run by Camps of India, the company responsible for some of the iconic camps in Rajasthan. The draw is the last 359 wild Asiatic lions on earth. They used to roam free from Greece to the banks of the Ganges, but are now holed up in 100 square miles of Gujarati forest.
I was all set for several hours of expectant whispering, but the sawn-off safari 4WD was far too noisy for that – several body panels were hanging on like loose teeth and the driver seemed overawed by the machine. Over the roar of his comedy clutch, the park ranger and my guide conversed very loudly in Gujarati.
My timing wasn’t great either. I’d arrived just after the monsoon, when the grass is tall and water plentiful, so even if I weren’t on the noisiest safari in the world, my lion-spotting chances were slim. Still, it was a beautiful misty morning.
Suddenly, the teenage ranger flung himself to the floor. He must have seen something. Or perhaps the din wasn’t enough for him and he was reaching for a bag of flutes. But no, he’d just dropped his mobile phone.
Further on, the 4WD drew to another cacophonous halt, like a one-man band in a slow faint. To my astonishment, there was a lioness. She sat, sphinx-like, in a clearing about 100ft away, ears pricked and staring our way.
Asiatic lions are slightly smaller than African ones, and tawnier too, with more modest manes, but this lion thrilled me more than any I’d seen in Africa. I didn’t even know India had wild lions until a few weeks ago.
AFTER BUMPING around the desert and the park, it was refreshing to reach the sea. Gujarat has almost 1,000 miles of coastline, and a newly opened luxury camp at Mandvi has 1½ miles of sand and 750 acres of bush all to itself.
The 10 tents are fitted with air conditioning and plumbed-in bathrooms, and there’s a simple restaurant down by the beach. It’s the only hotel for many miles and there’s nothing to do but swim, relax and watch the dhows glide over the Arabian Sea, right on cue for sunset snaps.
Although not for sunset schnapps – did I mention the state-wide prohibition? Foreigners can get a free alcohol permit, which means you can drink in your room, or you can drive over the border to the former Portuguese microstate of Diu. It’s a laid-back little island with a Goan torpor: palm trees, beaches and whitewashed church facades, only one decent hotel and plenty of bars.
Back to the dhow silhouettes, though – the local shipyard is a few miles from the luxury tents, up a tidal inlet that was once central to the southerly Silk Road, and I went to have a look.
A man with baggy white trousers and impossibly thick forearms was teasing his thick moustache and commandeering the shade. He was Salim, ship’s captain, and a shoo-in as any panto pirate. He showed me inside the skeleton hull, all huge timbers. The 150ft dhow had been damaged by fire off the Somali coast and he was overseeing a team of rebuilders. A new boat takes two to three years to build, and will sail 750-ton cargoes of onions to the Gulf. Salim looked glum as he told me he’d be landlocked for another 18 months, then barked some orders at his men, which perked him up a treat.
It is trade, not tourists, that has made Gujarat rich. Visiting foreigners are just a bonus, and, unlike in more tourist-dependent Rajasthan, there’s little begging or hassle from shopkeepers.
Except at Palitana, that is. At this Jain pilgrimage site, 3,500 steps lead to a complex of hilltop temples – more than 1,000 of them – and 500 coolies swarm around the first step, hoping to carry you to the top in a sedan chair. They are basic models, though – just an old fold-up chair lashed between two bamboo poles, and they are really for the large or the lazy. There were rumours of an impending cable car, but any labour-saving device in India, whether blender or transportation system, doesn’t save your toil but someone else’s, and the Jains don’t have the heart to ruin the coolies’ livelihood.
Back in Wankaner, the evening draws to a close when the ageing maharajah rises to leave.
Stumbling slightly, and suddenly looking older than his 73 years, he shuffles back to his car. The guesthouse staff line up under the portico and stand to a ragtag attention. Then the car pulls away and His Highness fades into the moonlight, emblematic of tourism in Gujarat – teetering between the current heart-warming genuineness and the inevitable succession of a more modern, less eccentric experience.
Richard Green travelled as a guest of Pettitts and British Airways
Getting there: for Bhuj and the Rann of Kutch, Air India (020 8560 9996, www.airindia.com) flies nonstop from Heathrow to the capital of Gujarat, Ahmedabad, from about £500. Or fly to Mumbai and connect to one of Gujarat’s seven domestic airports: Expedia (www.expedia.co.uk) and Opodo (www.opodo.co.uk) have fares from about £550, from Heathrow with British Airways and then Jet Airways onwards. Where to stay: in the Rann of Kutch, the excellent, eco-aware, community-run Hodka (www.hodka.in) has luxury mud-hut-style doubles from £36. The Beach Camp (www.mandvibeach.com) at Mandvi has air-conditioned double tents for £76, half-board.
To stay at the Oasis Guest House in Wankaner costs £60 per night for a double room, full-board. Mention to the staff that you’d like to meet the maharajah, and he’ll probably join you for dinner.
Gir National Park: if travelling independently, an entry permit and a three-hour 4WD safari with a guide costs £20. Sasan Gir town is by the park entrance. The Lion Safari Camp (www.campsofindia.com) has double air-conditioned tents for £75, full-board.
When to go: the best time to visit is from October to March, when daytime temperatures are in the high 20s.
Tour operators: Pettitts (01892 515966, www.pettitts.co.uk) can tailor-make itineraries throughout Gujarat and India. A 15-day tour costs from £2,700pp, visiting Bhuj, Ahmedabad, Gir National Park and Gondal. This includes all flights, B&B accommodation in heritage-style properties, full-board at the national park, and a guide and driver throughout. Or try Cox & Kings (020 7873 5000, www.coxandkings.co.uk) or TransIndus (020 8566 2729, www.transindus.co.uk).
Source:
http://travel.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/travel/destinations/india/article3287588.ece
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Poaching racket unearthed in Gir revenue area.
Sibte Hussaqin Bukhari
Posted online: Saturday , December 15, 2007 at 12:00:00
Updated: Saturday , December 15, 2007 at 01:26:16
Junagadh, December 14 After the lions, now it's the turn of other wild animals to be hunted along the periphery of the Gir sanctuary. The poaching racket – running rampantly in the revenue area, adjoining Gir forest, and unearthed by the forest officials – was involved in the killing of spotted dear, wild boar, porcupine and the peacock.
"A hunting racket was running in the revenue area – on the outskirts of Aankolwadi village falling under the Aankolwadi range some 25 km from Talala town in Gir West forest division," said B P Pati, deputy conservator of forest (Gir west).
He said the gang was also found involved in illegal wood cutting deep inside the forest. Three persons, including a woman and the owner of the agriculture land, where all poaching activities took place, were arrested in this connection on December 10 and 11, but some eight-nine involved in this crime are still at large.
"During interrogation the accused revealed that some eight-nine people are also involved in this racket. We have carried out raids at different locations but they are still at large. Efforts are on to nab them soon," Pati said.
Forest officials recovered deer skin and venison, wild-boar teeth, peacock feathers, knives used in slaughtering the animals, hunting materials including traps and electric wire, and teak wood from the three accused. They have now been booked under various provisions of the Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972 and sent to two days custody.
According to Pati, the three admitted to having killed till date, four deer, two porcupines and one wild boar. "We have recovered spotted deer skin, venison, wild-boar's teeth, traps and material used in electrocuting wild animals, from their possession," he said.
Jayram Akbari, owner of the land said, he along with Rani and Dinu Devipoojak, the other two arrested, killed the animals by electrocuting them. After the kill, the carcass was handed over to the other gang-members. He said most of the people involved in the crime belong to the Devipoojak community and were locals.
Rani and Dinu are also resident of Aankolwadi village. Authorities have recovered peacock feathers from their possession. "We have recovered peacock feathers from them. It is presumed that they have poached the national bird," Pati said, adding that these locals don't have any connection with professional poachers, unlike Madhya Pradesh's tribal gang. "They are not involved in poaching of big cats. It seems that, basically, their aim of killing deer, wild boars, porcupines and peacocks are, to use and sell its meat and for trophy. During the raid conducted on Jayram house at Aankolwadi village, we also recovered some 35 CFT teakwood - worth rupees 35 thousand," said Pati.
The punishment for these offences is imprisonment between three to seven years and fine or both, he added.
Source: http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Poaching-racket-unearthed-in-Gir-revenue-area/250604/
Posted online: Saturday , December 15, 2007 at 12:00:00
Updated: Saturday , December 15, 2007 at 01:26:16
Junagadh, December 14 After the lions, now it's the turn of other wild animals to be hunted along the periphery of the Gir sanctuary. The poaching racket – running rampantly in the revenue area, adjoining Gir forest, and unearthed by the forest officials – was involved in the killing of spotted dear, wild boar, porcupine and the peacock.
"A hunting racket was running in the revenue area – on the outskirts of Aankolwadi village falling under the Aankolwadi range some 25 km from Talala town in Gir West forest division," said B P Pati, deputy conservator of forest (Gir west).
He said the gang was also found involved in illegal wood cutting deep inside the forest. Three persons, including a woman and the owner of the agriculture land, where all poaching activities took place, were arrested in this connection on December 10 and 11, but some eight-nine involved in this crime are still at large.
"During interrogation the accused revealed that some eight-nine people are also involved in this racket. We have carried out raids at different locations but they are still at large. Efforts are on to nab them soon," Pati said.
Forest officials recovered deer skin and venison, wild-boar teeth, peacock feathers, knives used in slaughtering the animals, hunting materials including traps and electric wire, and teak wood from the three accused. They have now been booked under various provisions of the Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972 and sent to two days custody.
According to Pati, the three admitted to having killed till date, four deer, two porcupines and one wild boar. "We have recovered spotted deer skin, venison, wild-boar's teeth, traps and material used in electrocuting wild animals, from their possession," he said.
Jayram Akbari, owner of the land said, he along with Rani and Dinu Devipoojak, the other two arrested, killed the animals by electrocuting them. After the kill, the carcass was handed over to the other gang-members. He said most of the people involved in the crime belong to the Devipoojak community and were locals.
Rani and Dinu are also resident of Aankolwadi village. Authorities have recovered peacock feathers from their possession. "We have recovered peacock feathers from them. It is presumed that they have poached the national bird," Pati said, adding that these locals don't have any connection with professional poachers, unlike Madhya Pradesh's tribal gang. "They are not involved in poaching of big cats. It seems that, basically, their aim of killing deer, wild boars, porcupines and peacocks are, to use and sell its meat and for trophy. During the raid conducted on Jayram house at Aankolwadi village, we also recovered some 35 CFT teakwood - worth rupees 35 thousand," said Pati.
The punishment for these offences is imprisonment between three to seven years and fine or both, he added.
Source: http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Poaching-racket-unearthed-in-Gir-revenue-area/250604/
Woman caught with animal carcasses in Gir
Times of India, Ahmedabad.
Junagadh: The animals and birds of Gir forests in Gujarat, the habitat of Asiatic lions, have come under scanner due to widespread poaching by unscrupulous hunters. A woman was caught on Wednesday with meat of peacocks, partridge, kites, wild pig etc kept in captivity. She was also found holding a net, bows, arrows, knife, ball bearings, wooden saw, some wires used to hunt animals.
It was just a casual enquiry by forest guards on a lady moving suspiciously that unearthed the illegal poaching prevalent in Gir area. The forest officials are also on the hunt for other people poaching animals and birds in the guise of conducting ‘devi poojas’.
According to sources, Rani Bachu, a Devi worshipper was found moving suspiciously near Vij sub station of Ankolvadi village. The forest guard P G Apaarnath made casual enquiries and found her carrying meat of wild animals. He immediately reported the matter to higher authorities.
SOURCE :SANDESH
http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Daily/skins/TOI/navigator.asp?Daily=TOIA&login=default
Junagadh: The animals and birds of Gir forests in Gujarat, the habitat of Asiatic lions, have come under scanner due to widespread poaching by unscrupulous hunters. A woman was caught on Wednesday with meat of peacocks, partridge, kites, wild pig etc kept in captivity. She was also found holding a net, bows, arrows, knife, ball bearings, wooden saw, some wires used to hunt animals.
It was just a casual enquiry by forest guards on a lady moving suspiciously that unearthed the illegal poaching prevalent in Gir area. The forest officials are also on the hunt for other people poaching animals and birds in the guise of conducting ‘devi poojas’.
According to sources, Rani Bachu, a Devi worshipper was found moving suspiciously near Vij sub station of Ankolvadi village. The forest guard P G Apaarnath made casual enquiries and found her carrying meat of wild animals. He immediately reported the matter to higher authorities.
SOURCE :SANDESH
http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Daily/skins/TOI/navigator.asp?Daily=TOIA&login=default
Thursday, December 13, 2007
MEDICAL FACILITIES TO ZOOS AND WILDLIFE WINGS
Ministry of Environment and Forests
Lok Sabha
The Government provides medial care and health investigation facilities to Indian zoos and wild life wings of various sate governments in the country.Central Zoo Authority provides funds for creation and improvement of veterinary facilities including disease diagnostic facilities across the country in recognized public sector Zoos and Veterinary departments / institutes, viz. at Bhubaneswar (Orissa), Anand (Gujarat), Bareilly (Uttar Pradesh), Guwahati (Assam), Jammu (Jammu and Kashmir), Kolkata (West Bengal) and Chennai (Tamil Nadu). The Central Zoo Authority has provided financial assistance to the Tamil Nadu Veterinary & Animal Sciences University, Chennai to the tune of Rs. 1, 19,693/- during the financial year 2006-07 for strengthening the diagnostic facilities.
In addition, the Central Zoo Authority has also established a National Referral Centre at the Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Bareilly for providing super specialty services and diagnostic facilities to all Indian Zoos. The above facilities are adequate to meet the current requirements.
This information was given by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Sh S.Regupathy in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today.
KP:PM
Source: http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=33769
Lok Sabha
The Government provides medial care and health investigation facilities to Indian zoos and wild life wings of various sate governments in the country.Central Zoo Authority provides funds for creation and improvement of veterinary facilities including disease diagnostic facilities across the country in recognized public sector Zoos and Veterinary departments / institutes, viz. at Bhubaneswar (Orissa), Anand (Gujarat), Bareilly (Uttar Pradesh), Guwahati (Assam), Jammu (Jammu and Kashmir), Kolkata (West Bengal) and Chennai (Tamil Nadu). The Central Zoo Authority has provided financial assistance to the Tamil Nadu Veterinary & Animal Sciences University, Chennai to the tune of Rs. 1, 19,693/- during the financial year 2006-07 for strengthening the diagnostic facilities.
In addition, the Central Zoo Authority has also established a National Referral Centre at the Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Bareilly for providing super specialty services and diagnostic facilities to all Indian Zoos. The above facilities are adequate to meet the current requirements.
This information was given by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Sh S.Regupathy in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today.
KP:PM
Source: http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=33769
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Camera trapping for tiger census in Orang.
By A Staff Reporter
GUWAHATI, Dec 11 – For the first time in Orang National Park, camera trapping — the most reliable method of tiger census used all over the country and Asia — has been initiated successfully to estimate and monitor the tiger population. Significantly, the method has already yielded five tiger pictures during its trial run in the park. Orang, as per the last census in 2002, had 19 tigers.
The research initiative has been undertaken by Aaranyak in collaboration with the State Forest Department.
Camera trapping is the preferred method over the pugmark method for conducting estimates of tiger. The camera traps, equipped with an electronic switch and a camera, record tigers or other animals that walk in from of the camera as a photograph of the animal.
“Tigers have natural markings (stripes) and stripes of each individual are different. Using photographs obtained from the cameras can be compared to identify each individual tiger, thus making estimates reliable and easier, especially for animals like tiger, leopard, etc.,” Firoz Ahmed of Aaranyak said.
Ahmed said that the data from the camera traps would be available by early next year and the park managers would have information about the number of tigers in Orang by March. However, Aaranyak plans to make it a long-term monitoring to compare tiger populations in Orang across years, which will be vital for proper management of prey animals and habitats in the park.
Monitoring tigers and prey animals through the use of modern scientific techniques has become the need of the hour, as the tiger population throughout the country is rapidly dwindling. Though official estimates had put the country’s tiger population around 3,500-4,000, present data indicate that there could be only 1,300-1500 tigers left.
Assam recorded a tiger count of 265 as per the last pugmark census carried out by the Forest Department in 2002.
The camera trap was inaugurated recently by BS Bonal, Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife), in presence of S Momin, DFO Mangaldoi Wildlife Division, Jayanta Deka, FRO, Orang NP and Bibhab Kumar Talukdar, secretary general, Aaranyak.
Earlier, Aaranyak had carried out a tiger presence absence study in Manas National Park, and a detailed tiger-monitoring programme in collaboration with the Forest Department in the offing.
Aaranyak organized a three-days training programme on ‘Monitoring Tigers and Prey Animals: Advanced Training for Biologists and Managers’ in Orang recently as part of the ongoing collaborative initiative of the Forest Department and Aaranyak to monitor tigers and its prey animals in Assam.
The three-days training was meant for the biologists and forest managers and it covered different aspects of tiger and prey animals monitoring. These included general introduction on tiger, its ecology and current status, concepts of population monitoring, sign survey for tiger and prey animals, distance sampling and line transect survey, capture-recapture sampling and camera trap survey, lab and field exercises and data analysis.
The training was attended by seven wildlife biologists from Aaranyak and seven Forest Department staff, which was inaugurated by the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) MC Malakar.
Source: http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/details.asp?id=dec1207/at06
GUWAHATI, Dec 11 – For the first time in Orang National Park, camera trapping — the most reliable method of tiger census used all over the country and Asia — has been initiated successfully to estimate and monitor the tiger population. Significantly, the method has already yielded five tiger pictures during its trial run in the park. Orang, as per the last census in 2002, had 19 tigers.
The research initiative has been undertaken by Aaranyak in collaboration with the State Forest Department.
Camera trapping is the preferred method over the pugmark method for conducting estimates of tiger. The camera traps, equipped with an electronic switch and a camera, record tigers or other animals that walk in from of the camera as a photograph of the animal.
“Tigers have natural markings (stripes) and stripes of each individual are different. Using photographs obtained from the cameras can be compared to identify each individual tiger, thus making estimates reliable and easier, especially for animals like tiger, leopard, etc.,” Firoz Ahmed of Aaranyak said.
Ahmed said that the data from the camera traps would be available by early next year and the park managers would have information about the number of tigers in Orang by March. However, Aaranyak plans to make it a long-term monitoring to compare tiger populations in Orang across years, which will be vital for proper management of prey animals and habitats in the park.
Monitoring tigers and prey animals through the use of modern scientific techniques has become the need of the hour, as the tiger population throughout the country is rapidly dwindling. Though official estimates had put the country’s tiger population around 3,500-4,000, present data indicate that there could be only 1,300-1500 tigers left.
Assam recorded a tiger count of 265 as per the last pugmark census carried out by the Forest Department in 2002.
The camera trap was inaugurated recently by BS Bonal, Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife), in presence of S Momin, DFO Mangaldoi Wildlife Division, Jayanta Deka, FRO, Orang NP and Bibhab Kumar Talukdar, secretary general, Aaranyak.
Earlier, Aaranyak had carried out a tiger presence absence study in Manas National Park, and a detailed tiger-monitoring programme in collaboration with the Forest Department in the offing.
Aaranyak organized a three-days training programme on ‘Monitoring Tigers and Prey Animals: Advanced Training for Biologists and Managers’ in Orang recently as part of the ongoing collaborative initiative of the Forest Department and Aaranyak to monitor tigers and its prey animals in Assam.
The three-days training was meant for the biologists and forest managers and it covered different aspects of tiger and prey animals monitoring. These included general introduction on tiger, its ecology and current status, concepts of population monitoring, sign survey for tiger and prey animals, distance sampling and line transect survey, capture-recapture sampling and camera trap survey, lab and field exercises and data analysis.
The training was attended by seven wildlife biologists from Aaranyak and seven Forest Department staff, which was inaugurated by the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) MC Malakar.
Source: http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/details.asp?id=dec1207/at06
Camera trapping for tiger census in Orang.
By A Staff Reporter
GUWAHATI, Dec 11 – For the first time in Orang National Park, camera trapping — the most reliable method of tiger census used all over the country and Asia — has been initiated successfully to estimate and monitor the tiger population. Significantly, the method has already yielded five tiger pictures during its trial run in the park. Orang, as per the last census in 2002, had 19 tigers.
The research initiative has been undertaken by Aaranyak in collaboration with the State Forest Department.
Camera trapping is the preferred method over the pugmark method for conducting estimates of tiger. The camera traps, equipped with an electronic switch and a camera, record tigers or other animals that walk in from of the camera as a photograph of the animal.
“Tigers have natural markings (stripes) and stripes of each individual are different. Using photographs obtained from the cameras can be compared to identify each individual tiger, thus making estimates reliable and easier, especially for animals like tiger, leopard, etc.,” Firoz Ahmed of Aaranyak said.
Ahmed said that the data from the camera traps would be available by early next year and the park managers would have information about the number of tigers in Orang by March. However, Aaranyak plans to make it a long-term monitoring to compare tiger populations in Orang across years, which will be vital for proper management of prey animals and habitats in the park.
Monitoring tigers and prey animals through the use of modern scientific techniques has become the need of the hour, as the tiger population throughout the country is rapidly dwindling. Though official estimates had put the country’s tiger population around 3,500-4,000, present data indicate that there could be only 1,300-1500 tigers left.
Assam recorded a tiger count of 265 as per the last pugmark census carried out by the Forest Department in 2002.
The camera trap was inaugurated recently by BS Bonal, Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife), in presence of S Momin, DFO Mangaldoi Wildlife Division, Jayanta Deka, FRO, Orang NP and Bibhab Kumar Talukdar, secretary general, Aaranyak.
Earlier, Aaranyak had carried out a tiger presence absence study in Manas National Park, and a detailed tiger-monitoring programme in collaboration with the Forest Department in the offing.
Aaranyak organized a three-days training programme on ‘Monitoring Tigers and Prey Animals: Advanced Training for Biologists and Managers’ in Orang recently as part of the ongoing collaborative initiative of the Forest Department and Aaranyak to monitor tigers and its prey animals in Assam.
The three-days training was meant for the biologists and forest managers and it covered different aspects of tiger and prey animals monitoring. These included general introduction on tiger, its ecology and current status, concepts of population monitoring, sign survey for tiger and prey animals, distance sampling and line transect survey, capture-recapture sampling and camera trap survey, lab and field exercises and data analysis.
The training was attended by seven wildlife biologists from Aaranyak and seven Forest Department staff, which was inaugurated by the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) MC Malakar.
Source: http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/details.asp?id=dec1207/at06
GUWAHATI, Dec 11 – For the first time in Orang National Park, camera trapping — the most reliable method of tiger census used all over the country and Asia — has been initiated successfully to estimate and monitor the tiger population. Significantly, the method has already yielded five tiger pictures during its trial run in the park. Orang, as per the last census in 2002, had 19 tigers.
The research initiative has been undertaken by Aaranyak in collaboration with the State Forest Department.
Camera trapping is the preferred method over the pugmark method for conducting estimates of tiger. The camera traps, equipped with an electronic switch and a camera, record tigers or other animals that walk in from of the camera as a photograph of the animal.
“Tigers have natural markings (stripes) and stripes of each individual are different. Using photographs obtained from the cameras can be compared to identify each individual tiger, thus making estimates reliable and easier, especially for animals like tiger, leopard, etc.,” Firoz Ahmed of Aaranyak said.
Ahmed said that the data from the camera traps would be available by early next year and the park managers would have information about the number of tigers in Orang by March. However, Aaranyak plans to make it a long-term monitoring to compare tiger populations in Orang across years, which will be vital for proper management of prey animals and habitats in the park.
Monitoring tigers and prey animals through the use of modern scientific techniques has become the need of the hour, as the tiger population throughout the country is rapidly dwindling. Though official estimates had put the country’s tiger population around 3,500-4,000, present data indicate that there could be only 1,300-1500 tigers left.
Assam recorded a tiger count of 265 as per the last pugmark census carried out by the Forest Department in 2002.
The camera trap was inaugurated recently by BS Bonal, Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife), in presence of S Momin, DFO Mangaldoi Wildlife Division, Jayanta Deka, FRO, Orang NP and Bibhab Kumar Talukdar, secretary general, Aaranyak.
Earlier, Aaranyak had carried out a tiger presence absence study in Manas National Park, and a detailed tiger-monitoring programme in collaboration with the Forest Department in the offing.
Aaranyak organized a three-days training programme on ‘Monitoring Tigers and Prey Animals: Advanced Training for Biologists and Managers’ in Orang recently as part of the ongoing collaborative initiative of the Forest Department and Aaranyak to monitor tigers and its prey animals in Assam.
The three-days training was meant for the biologists and forest managers and it covered different aspects of tiger and prey animals monitoring. These included general introduction on tiger, its ecology and current status, concepts of population monitoring, sign survey for tiger and prey animals, distance sampling and line transect survey, capture-recapture sampling and camera trap survey, lab and field exercises and data analysis.
The training was attended by seven wildlife biologists from Aaranyak and seven Forest Department staff, which was inaugurated by the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) MC Malakar.
Source: http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/details.asp?id=dec1207/at06
Saturday, December 1, 2007
State denies new home to lions.
Dhananjay Mahapatra | TNN
New Delhi: The Centre’s grand plan to relocate some of the Asiatic lions from their only home at the Gir forest in Gujarat to the forests of Madhya Pradesh has run into serious opposition from stategovernment. The plan, to save the lions from a disaster that could wipe them out in one go, involved relocating five of them from Gir to a 300 sq km forest at Kunopalpur in Sheopur district of Madhya Pradesh.
As many as 30 villages falling within the identified area were relocated in 2003, but the plan mooted by the Wildlife Institute of India and accepted by the Centre is still hanging fire.
A petition filed by Bio-diversity Conservation Trust of India through counsel Ritwick Datta alleged that the main reason for the stalling of the plan was due to the U-turn by the Modi government.
When amicus curiae Raj Panjwani brought this matter to the notice of a Bench comprising Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan and Justice R V Raveendran, it sought the views of both the state governments as well as the National Board for Wildlife within four weeks.
Appearing for the Gujarat government, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi said the state’s opposition to the plan is based on solid environmental grounds. He said even wildlife experts feel that lions could not be relocated to experimental surroundings already habited by tigers.
“The experts feel that tigers and lions can never co-exist in the wild,” he said, rejecting the argument of the petitioner that the state government had changed its stand due to Assembly elections.
Madhya Pradesh’s counsel Vibha Makhija said that she would ascertain the views of the state government and file a response even as the Bench said, “The plan appears to safeguard the Asiatic lions from perishing altogether as they live in groups within Gir forest.”
The study for the relocation of some of the Asiatic lions took into account the disaster at Seringeti forest in Africa where a disease, canine distemper, wiped out 80 per cent of the lion population.
dhananjay.mahapatra@timesgroup.com
Source: http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Daily/skins/TOI/navigator.asp?Daily=TOIA&login=default&AW=1196481886640
New Delhi: The Centre’s grand plan to relocate some of the Asiatic lions from their only home at the Gir forest in Gujarat to the forests of Madhya Pradesh has run into serious opposition from stategovernment. The plan, to save the lions from a disaster that could wipe them out in one go, involved relocating five of them from Gir to a 300 sq km forest at Kunopalpur in Sheopur district of Madhya Pradesh.
As many as 30 villages falling within the identified area were relocated in 2003, but the plan mooted by the Wildlife Institute of India and accepted by the Centre is still hanging fire.
A petition filed by Bio-diversity Conservation Trust of India through counsel Ritwick Datta alleged that the main reason for the stalling of the plan was due to the U-turn by the Modi government.
When amicus curiae Raj Panjwani brought this matter to the notice of a Bench comprising Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan and Justice R V Raveendran, it sought the views of both the state governments as well as the National Board for Wildlife within four weeks.
Appearing for the Gujarat government, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi said the state’s opposition to the plan is based on solid environmental grounds. He said even wildlife experts feel that lions could not be relocated to experimental surroundings already habited by tigers.
“The experts feel that tigers and lions can never co-exist in the wild,” he said, rejecting the argument of the petitioner that the state government had changed its stand due to Assembly elections.
Madhya Pradesh’s counsel Vibha Makhija said that she would ascertain the views of the state government and file a response even as the Bench said, “The plan appears to safeguard the Asiatic lions from perishing altogether as they live in groups within Gir forest.”
The study for the relocation of some of the Asiatic lions took into account the disaster at Seringeti forest in Africa where a disease, canine distemper, wiped out 80 per cent of the lion population.
dhananjay.mahapatra@timesgroup.com
Source: http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Daily/skins/TOI/navigator.asp?Daily=TOIA&login=default&AW=1196481886640
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