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Showing posts from April, 2022

3 Years In: Unveiling the Truth About India's Cheetah Project

Three years on, India’s cheetah reintroduction struggles with poor science, delays, and missed grassland goals. In September 2022, the arrival of eight cheetahs from Namibia to Kuno National Park was hailed as a conservation milestone. Five months later in February 2024, 12 more spotted cats arrived from South Africa. The initiative, branded Project Cheetah, carried lofty ambitions. It aimed not just to restore the world’s fastest land animal to India’s landscapes, but to revive open natural ecosystems (ONEs) — the grasslands, scrublands, and savannahs that are among the country’s most neglected habitats. By reintroducing a top predator, policymakers hoped to spark wider conservation attention, diversify India’s wildlife portfolio beyond tigers and forests, and make ecological amends for a human-caused extinction. The Cheetah Action Plan set out a clear roadmap: import 5–10 cheetahs annually for a decade, create a metapopulation across multiple states, secure and restore grassland hab...
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Frame By Frame: Tigers Fight In Kanha National Park

  Kanha National Park reverberated with the roars of two fighting tigers. They stood tall on their hind legs and charged each other aggressively blowing the dust from the dry forest ground . Their deadly paws opened as the tigers pounced upon each other roaring loudly exposing their deadly canines .They apparently fought for a female. She later moved away from the sparring stripes and they too calmed down. As the roars echoed through the jungle, other wild animals were frightened. Such fights  are major causes of tiger deaths in the wild.  The Epic Fight It happened on April 27 mornings in the Mukki zone of Kanha tiger reserve. Some tourists shot the epic battle on their   mobile phones. The two tigers -Neel Nalla Male and Bhoin Dabra fought ferociously.  The tigress known as Jhila Lime was believed to be the reason behind the big fight.  In India's tiger reserves, local guides and  drivers   give amusing names to the  big cats...
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MP May Face More Human Elephant Conflict After Adani Gets Coal Clearance In Chattisgarh

  Twelve  years  after Elephants were declared a national heritage animal with an aim to step up measures for their protection, a decision  taken by Chattisgarh seems to  have contradicted it. While clearing a coal mine,the state government is accused of ignoring the red flag raised by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII). Consequently human-elephant conflict (HEC) may rise to an alarming level in the neighbouring central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. Instead of declaring the  nonoperational-coal mining area of Hasdeo Arand  Coal Field (HACF) a “no-go area”, as recommended by the WII,  Chattisgarh granted clearance for the Parsa coal block . Dominated by extensive forest cover , the mineral-rich HACF is one of the biodiversity hotspots of the county with several rare, endangered and threatened species of flora and fauna. They also include a sizable population of elephants. The HACF is located in Sarguja, Raigarh and Surajpur districts of Chatti...
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Tiger Cubs In MP National Park Are Safe, But For How Long ?

Three tiger cubs orphaned by a speeding train in Sanjay Dubri National park are alive and kicking- thanks to huge efforts made by the park management.  But the trains- not two, three or four but  as many as 25 -  hurtling across the  tiger reserve- continue to pose  threat to the life of the big cats and other wildlife in this beautiful  ecological hotspot situated on the  north eastern end of Sidhi district in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh .Saving Sanjay Dubri means saving the beautiful Sal forest and other benefits linsked  with the environment. Meanwhile, planning for the expansion of the existing   tracks to double railway lines also continues. Cubs Monitored Round the Clock The beautiful tigress was hit by the speeding train in the third week of March leading to her painful death caused by multiple injuries. It was not only a loss of a breeding tigress but also that of orphaning of the four cubs. In the absence of the m...
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Panna National Park Guests Fly 7500 kms,Reach Home Safely

  Winged visitors of Panna national park have reached home –safely. In about two months of time, Himalayan Griffon vultures covered a distance of a few thousand kms to reach home in Chinese territory. While doing so, they crossed over the Himalayas .The amazing flight and its route   was revealed after Geo-tagging of a near- threatened scavenger bird by a group of scientists and foresters in Panna tiger reserve in February 2022. Flying almost 120 kms every day, they reached home, the data revealed. That the vultures’ annual migration for four months to Panna  from such a long distance shows the unique character of their habitat in Panna , all set to be submerged in Ken Betwa river link project which is still awaiting several green clearances. Unique Habitat of Himalayan Vultures to Submerge in Ken Betwa project  The Himalayan vulture (Gyps himalayensis) or Himalayan griffon vulture is an Old World vulture native to the Himalayas and the adjoining Tibetan Plateau...
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Naxals Spread Terror in Kahna Tiger Reserve

Crown jewel of Project Tiger , Kanha National Park is heading towards a major crisis. Left wing extremists or Naxalites have spread their operations in the  jungle spreading their tentacles inside the core zone of the tiger  reserve . In the last post, we mentioned how maoists' presence impacted Palamu tiger reserve. Recently, they killed a field frontline personnel in Kanha creating panic  from the top to bottom in the park team. As tigers watch movemet of the outlaws from a distance, they too are under threat.  Global Tiger Forum , an inter-governmental international organistion for the conservation of tiger in the wild, has sought intervention of the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh who continues to be tightlipped.  Tiger Hotspot In Red Corridor  This is bad news for Kanha, a globally acclaimed tigerhotspot and also a setback to all the wildlife lovers. Kanha national park was created on  June 1,1955 and was designated as a tiger reserve in 1973 und...
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Rape of a Jungle :Palamu National Park

  I begin with an apology for being harsh and an offensive headline.  But the Plight of   Palamu  tiger reserve is unbearable. Almost five decades after this protected area was set up in 1974 under Project Tiger , the situation has gone down from bad to worse. Now hold your breath as I explain : There are 191 villages inside and around it. Villagers, cattle and stray dogs are seen in every nook and corner of the reserve leaving no space for wildlife.  Over 40 years ago, Naxal menace started in the park followed by the security forces and gun battles. The ultras  continue to dominate. In 2017 the  Union ministry of road, transport and highway  gave its nod for the conversion of a 120 km-stretch of the state highway in the Reserve into a national highway.And as if it was not enough ,the Indian railways are ready with plans to lay a third track inside the core forest area.  The national park has everything except  the wild animals. Vis...
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Sariska Tiger Reserve Fire Leaves Burning Questions on Climate Change

Almost a month after an alert  was sounded by a UN agency, recent incidents of fire in Sariska tiger reserve  and a sanctuary in Odisha have exposed preparedness to  protect forests. Lives of tigers and other wildlife were at risk. Leaping flames engulfing Sariska tiger reserve in Rajasthan may have been doused, the burning issue of climate change vis a vis the forest fires needs to be addressed.  Life of Tigers at Stake The number of big cats grew to about 25 in Sariska following a successful tiger reintroduction programme that was required after all the tigers ‘vanished’ in 2004. Four adult tigers and five cubs including the ST 17 and her two cubs ST14 and ST20 move around the area where fire engulfed  damaging the jungle badly . The fire broke out in Narandi ka jungle area on March 27 evening and then spread further.  But officials claimed none of the big cats were stuck in the fire. The blaze was brought under control on March 28 but it flared up again ...
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