NEWS ON TIGERS
A fully grown male adult leopard was killed by a tiger reportedly in a territorial dispute under Bhadrawati forest range.
According to a press release issued here today by the forest department, the incident came to notice when one of the forest guards was on patrol in Kachrala beat under Bhadrawati forest range yesterday at about 4.30 pm.
On noticing the leopard's dead body in compartment number 204 under the Kachrala beat, pugmarks of a tiger were located around the spot.
It was also observed that the leopard's body had injuries and deep scars on its back, caused by tiger claws.
However, all body parts of the leopard including its claws, whiskers, canines and skin were intact.
Chief Conservator of Forests (Chandrapur Division) Sanjay Thakre, divisional forest officer S S Patil, Honorary Wildlife Warden Bandu Dhotre and others were present when the post mortem was conducted by a veterinary doctor at the spot.
Later, the leopard's body was cremated as per formalities, the press release stated.
According to a press release issued here today by the forest department, the incident came to notice when one of the forest guards was on patrol in Kachrala beat under Bhadrawati forest range yesterday at about 4.30 pm.
On noticing the leopard's dead body in compartment number 204 under the Kachrala beat, pugmarks of a tiger were located around the spot.
It was also observed that the leopard's body had injuries and deep scars on its back, caused by tiger claws.
However, all body parts of the leopard including its claws, whiskers, canines and skin were intact.
Chief Conservator of Forests (Chandrapur Division) Sanjay Thakre, divisional forest officer S S Patil, Honorary Wildlife Warden Bandu Dhotre and others were present when the post mortem was conducted by a veterinary doctor at the spot.
Later, the leopard's body was cremated as per formalities, the press release stated.
NEWS OF TIGER ATTACKING A STUGENT
The recent incident of a youth being killed by a white tiger at the Delhi zoo highlighted the need to restructure and revamp Indian zoological parks, while raising questions over the security of animals and visitors.
While some experts say it’s time private organisations were given a role in their management, others question the very concept of zoological parks.
They have even said that India’s zoos are among the worst in the world and the government should stop managing them and instead outsource them to private companies and experts.
“Zoological parks need to be shut down. Animals are not supposed to be kept in zoos, which is why they are called wild animals. Zoos should only operate for conservation and rehabilitation purposes, and not for people to throw stones and tease them,” Animal Welfare Board of India vice chairman S. Chinny Krishna told IANS.
“You can never make zoos a safe place in India. Keeping animals in zoos is like keeping them in a golden cage and giving them food,” he added.
Prachi Mehta, wildlife scientist and executive director (Research) at the Wildlife Research and Conservation Society, said it is high time that India followed international standards to design its 192 zoos that are regulated by the Central Zoo Authority, an autonomous statutory body under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, under the environment ministry.
“There are some excellent zoos outside India such as the Beijing zoo, San Diego zoo and Micke Grove (California) zoo that serve as excellent educational and research platforms and create awareness about animals. Our zoos can be designed in such ways,” Mehta told IANS.
She said the focus on the revamping of zoos in India has come into sharp focus after the September 23 incident in which a seven-year-old white tiger mauled and killed a 20-year-old man, who had fallen in its enclosure.
Soon after the incident, which went viral on the social media, zoo authorities pointed out that the guard posted at the tiger’s enclosure tried to “stop” the victim and said he crossed three levels of barricading and “jumped” into the moat when the guard was not looking.
Following the incident, the Central Zoo Authority issued new directives to zoological parks and has even asked for a compliance report within a month.
“In a circular dated September 24, the authority issued a few directives which included guidelines like all zoos should have a quick response team to handle such emergency situations; have a public address system at the entry gate; have warning signs and also folded ropes and ladders at carnivore enclosures,” B.K. Gupta, evaluation and monitoring officer, CZA, told IANS.
Gupta added that another guideline included printing of “do’s and don’t’s” on entry tickets.
But when asked whether the Indian zoos need revamping, zoo officials said all zoological parks are well maintained and steps are taken to make them safe and secure for the visitors and also enough attention is given to the condition of the animals.
Prerna Bindra, a former member of the National Board for Wildlife, said while the stated objective of zoos is conservation breeding, education and awareness, “rare are the zoos which fulfil these objectives.
While some experts say it’s time private organisations were given a role in their management, others question the very concept of zoological parks.
They have even said that India’s zoos are among the worst in the world and the government should stop managing them and instead outsource them to private companies and experts.
“Zoological parks need to be shut down. Animals are not supposed to be kept in zoos, which is why they are called wild animals. Zoos should only operate for conservation and rehabilitation purposes, and not for people to throw stones and tease them,” Animal Welfare Board of India vice chairman S. Chinny Krishna told IANS.
“You can never make zoos a safe place in India. Keeping animals in zoos is like keeping them in a golden cage and giving them food,” he added.
Prachi Mehta, wildlife scientist and executive director (Research) at the Wildlife Research and Conservation Society, said it is high time that India followed international standards to design its 192 zoos that are regulated by the Central Zoo Authority, an autonomous statutory body under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, under the environment ministry.
“There are some excellent zoos outside India such as the Beijing zoo, San Diego zoo and Micke Grove (California) zoo that serve as excellent educational and research platforms and create awareness about animals. Our zoos can be designed in such ways,” Mehta told IANS.
She said the focus on the revamping of zoos in India has come into sharp focus after the September 23 incident in which a seven-year-old white tiger mauled and killed a 20-year-old man, who had fallen in its enclosure.
Soon after the incident, which went viral on the social media, zoo authorities pointed out that the guard posted at the tiger’s enclosure tried to “stop” the victim and said he crossed three levels of barricading and “jumped” into the moat when the guard was not looking.
Following the incident, the Central Zoo Authority issued new directives to zoological parks and has even asked for a compliance report within a month.
“In a circular dated September 24, the authority issued a few directives which included guidelines like all zoos should have a quick response team to handle such emergency situations; have a public address system at the entry gate; have warning signs and also folded ropes and ladders at carnivore enclosures,” B.K. Gupta, evaluation and monitoring officer, CZA, told IANS.
Gupta added that another guideline included printing of “do’s and don’t’s” on entry tickets.
But when asked whether the Indian zoos need revamping, zoo officials said all zoological parks are well maintained and steps are taken to make them safe and secure for the visitors and also enough attention is given to the condition of the animals.
Prerna Bindra, a former member of the National Board for Wildlife, said while the stated objective of zoos is conservation breeding, education and awareness, “rare are the zoos which fulfil these objectives.
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tiger spotting in forests of karnataka
Looking for the tiger in India's forests is a delight in itself. The beauty of the tiger's natural habitat - and the delight of seeing the wildlife with which our national animal shares the forest - always makes the search worthwhile, whether you spot the big cat or not.
And when you do - like we did in Karnataka's Nagarahole tiger reserve - it is a magical moment.
We were an NDTV team filming for the Aircel-NDTV Save Our Tigers campaign.
We were very lucky to see a magnificent male tiger in Nagarahole where it is not that easy to spot one because of the dense forest. We saw this beautiful tiger, very close to the jeep we were in - he came, he crossed the road, went to the side of the road and sat and looked at us - an experience none of us will forget!
So how many wild tigers are there in India? The last estimation had the number at around 1706.
"The last figure came out in 2010 and the next one is due to come out in December. It happens every 4 years and this has been the most widespread estimation programme every conducted in India. It has covered 45 tiger reserves and also certain areas that are in the corridors of tiger reserves. So it is probably going to be the most accurate tiger population figure ever," said Anish Andheria, president of the Wildlife Conservation Trust.
This time round, camera traps were used to take pictures of both flanks of any tiger that passed it - which should hopefully help give a more accurate estimate.
Karnataka is the state with the most number of tigers in India - and Nagarahole is part of a forest belt that has the highest number of tigers in the world. And we can vouch for at least one.
And when you do - like we did in Karnataka's Nagarahole tiger reserve - it is a magical moment.
We were an NDTV team filming for the Aircel-NDTV Save Our Tigers campaign.
We were very lucky to see a magnificent male tiger in Nagarahole where it is not that easy to spot one because of the dense forest. We saw this beautiful tiger, very close to the jeep we were in - he came, he crossed the road, went to the side of the road and sat and looked at us - an experience none of us will forget!
So how many wild tigers are there in India? The last estimation had the number at around 1706.
"The last figure came out in 2010 and the next one is due to come out in December. It happens every 4 years and this has been the most widespread estimation programme every conducted in India. It has covered 45 tiger reserves and also certain areas that are in the corridors of tiger reserves. So it is probably going to be the most accurate tiger population figure ever," said Anish Andheria, president of the Wildlife Conservation Trust.
This time round, camera traps were used to take pictures of both flanks of any tiger that passed it - which should hopefully help give a more accurate estimate.
Karnataka is the state with the most number of tigers in India - and Nagarahole is part of a forest belt that has the highest number of tigers in the world. And we can vouch for at least one.
Shift Tigers of Ranthambore Reserve, Demands BJP Leader
NEW DELHI: A demand for shifting of tigers of Ranthambore reserve, where their population was on the rise,
to another reserve in Kota region of Rajasthan was made by a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader in the Lok Sabha today.
"The population of tigers in the Ranthambore sanctuary has grown substantially. With the growing population, the tigers often stray into populated areas and create problems," BJP
member Om Birla said during Zero Hour.
Some of these tigers could be shifted from Ranthambore to the Mukundara Hills Reserve where a new tiger project is coming up, said Mr Birla, who represents Kota constituency in Rajasthan.
The Mukundara Hills Reserve spreads across the districts of Kota, Bundi, Chittorgarh and Jhalawar, covering 759 square kilometres, including core area of 417 square kilometres and a buffer zone of 342.82 square kilometres.
Also in the Parliament, Prabhas Singh of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) raised the issue of damage being caused to large number of historical temples in Bhubaneshwar due to incessant rains and floods and asked the government to take steps to protect the rich heritage.
"Many of these temples are in a very dangerous condition as they get inundated by rain water. Urgent steps must be taken to protect these historic temples," he said.