Two tiger cubs- less than 6 month old- escaped the fury of a 5000 strong mob in a village located in Kanha-Pench corridor . Villagers tried to kill them by pelting stones when the cubs had reached a water body to quench their thirst. This issue has highlighted again the plight of the fragmented tiger corridors. It also reminds the urgency to restore their sanctity. People Shouted Kill the Cubs Kill the Cubs Wildlife is most vulnerable during summer, due to scarcity of resources. Water is the key limited resource inside jungles . Special monitoring ofwater holes should be carried out all along the corridors, to effectively deter such incidents, poaching of herbivores and poisoning of tigers and othercarnivores. In the scorching summer, the two cubs also reached a nearby waterbody . In the adjacent forest , the villagers were plucking tendu leaves- a minor forest produce to roll beedi , a thin cigarette or mini-cigar filled with tobacco flake and commonly wrapped in a tendu leaf. Th
Braving the blistering May afternoons on the banks of Chambal River, a dedicated team of National Chambal Gharial sanctuary scan the sand mounds spread over a long patch of the river that flows into ravines. This long walk is actually the beginning of a very delicate exercise for the ex-situ conservation of Gharial (Gavialis Gangeticus ) , a critically endangered reptile. The scanning of sands includes the sighting of nests and counting of their numbers and then collection of 200 eggs. And all this takes almost a month’s time. Chambal is one of the few habitats left in the world for these reptiles. In May end, sanctuary staff are ready for the magic moment - the emergence of hatchlings from the egg. Calling Mom from Beneath the Sand The ex-situ conservation of Gharial assumes significance and is an extremely important exercise carried out from March when the Gharials lay their eggs to May when they crack the egg with their snout to see the world . Despite over an estimated 10,000