Ahead of the first anniversary of the controvertial cheetah project and the release of African cheetahs in Kuno national park , interesting observations have been shared by the director of the park where 14 cheetahs await re-release in the wild. They were caught and brought back to bomas following 6 cheetah deaths after septicemia caused by abrasion from satellite collars. Uttam Kumar Sharma , the park director has dwelt in detail on cheetah movements and their exploration of the landscape , their interaction with each other and the efforts made by the park management to monitor the animals round the clock as he tried to hammer home a point- African cheetahs are adapting fast in India. Asha: The Hope Based upon his observations, Sharma has released newsletters revolving around two cheetah coalitions -Gaurav-Shaurya (Rockstars) and Agni-Vayu (White walkers), Asha, the female cheetah from Namibia and Jwala and her Indian born cubs. The story of the two coali
A superstar-tiger of Panna National Park popularly known as Hira was poached. Code named 234-31,Hira was about 2 years of age and was perhaps headed towards Ranipur wildlifesanctuary in Chitrakoot Uttar Pradesh when he was electrocuted and de-skinned brutally by the poachers. For thousands of tourists and wildlife photographers,Hira along with his sibling Panna assumed a status of superstars because of thefrequent sightings and the photo opportunities they provided to the visitors of Akola wildlife tourist zone in the buffer area of the park. They were born in November 2019 to Tigress P234 in her third litter. Panna, the sibling of Hira, is still entertaining the tourists.
Tiger Unsafe Outside Protected Area
As Hira was radio collared, his whereabouts were known tothe forest department. But tigers are not monitored on an hourly or day to daybasis. After leaving the Akola zone on July 24 , Hira remained in Panna’s north division forest for about a month. Laterhe entered the jungles of the adjoining Satna and continued moving. He was found dead about 90 to 100 kms away from the Akola zone. Expertsbelieve that in the absence of a jungle corridor, the tigermovement was not smooth. “ This is the reason why most of the tigers are poached or electrocuted when they move out from protected areas.
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This incident has once again highlighted the importance of tiger corridors, especially in Panna landscape where a river linking project and proposed diamond mining have threatened the jungles and its tigers.”Hira’s last satellite location and GPS readings were registered on October 13. “After this the collar stopped sending the location and we thought it might have developed some technical problem. When it did not send signals for 3 to 4 days, an alert was sounded for the officials of Satna”.
Department officials said that the radio collar generally survives for 6 to 7 months and the one around his neck was about 9 to 10 months old. No one could say with certainty about the destination of the tiger, but the route undertaken by him would have led him to Ranipur wildlife sanctuary near Chitrakoot, a jungle in Uttar Pradesh known for sheltering the tigers dispersing from Panna in the past also.
Professional Poachers
Perhaps, a handiworkof poachers, very active in Satna and Katni – the two districts close to Panna and Bandhavgarh National Parks, the tiger was killed brutally. “After poaching, the body was disposed off ina nearby water body. The radio collar was also thrown.”
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Experts believe that “only those whounderstand the value of the tiger skin can de-skin the animal. Had it been the caseof accidental electrocution, the whole body would have been disposed off.” Fieldstaff of the forest department spotted the radio collar and it was only then the death of Hira was confirmed. Three persons were also arrested. But department sources said that there is more than meets the eye and the poaching case requires a thorough investigation. The incident should also be a wake up call for the department as it shows the active presence of poachers ahead of the favourable poaching period of November to January.
Cover Pic: Representational Image
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