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Showing posts from May, 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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Where Did Ranthambore Tigers Vanish ? NTCA Must Find An Answer

Tigers continue to ‘vanish’ from  Ranthambore   national park and the issue is linked with “over population of tigers” in the park, extremely famous for wildlife tourism world over. The big cats in Rajasthan, it seems, ‘enjoy’ cordial relations with the politicians of the desert state, perhaps more because of tourism. While in neighbouring Madhya Pradesh, the presence of tiger or a tiger reserve is linked with restrictions and the state government is sitting over many proposals to notify more protected areas , Rajasthan politicians apparently associate it with their achievement. Recent notification of Ramgarh Vishdhari as a tiger reserve  in Bundi, the home district of Om Birla, Lok Sabha speaker, is the latest example. Ramgarh was accorded the status of tiger reserve to resolve the issue of disappearance of tigers from  Ranthambore  . For the first time, the state government admitted that 13 tigers were missing from  Ranthambore   from Janu...
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Stone Pelting on Tiger Cubs :Kanha Pench Corridor Becomes Conflict Zone

 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 wra...
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Game Hunting by Maharajas to Bushmeat Poaching: Blackbucks killed in Thousands

Almost a quarter century after Bollywood star Salman Khan's blackbuck (Antilope cervicapra) poaching case in 1998, shooting of  five antelopes in Madhya Pradesh has brought the animal back in media glare. Murder of three policemen by the poachers and the politics that ensued made this case even more sensational. Lest the supreme sacrifice made by the police be forgotten, it should be an inspiration to the forest department and the police force to check the blackbuck poaching, still so rampant in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh which  accounts for the maximum blackbuck killing. In the past maharajas of erstwhile princely  states  in India would indulge in game hunting killing thousands of blackbucks.Its meat was served then in royal weddings  and it continues to be in demand even now  leading to bushmeat  poaching.  Blackbuck Poaching and Murder of Cops Five blackbucks were killed by the hunters in Guna district of Madhya Pradesh wh...
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Golden Tiger And Its Gloomy Roar In Kaziranga National Park

‘Golden tiger’ of Kaziranga National Park , sighted again, after a gap of two years, seems to be  raising a serious issue that needs to be addressed urgently. First spotted in 2014 in this world heritage , it's repeated sightings should be treated as a warning. The tiger is saying something, lets decipher it.There is also a misconception among many that the golden tiger carries  mystical qualities. In many parts of Asia, they are the subject of legends. But the fact remains that the colour variation is an aberration and not something to revere and rejoice.  Protect Corridors: Major Genetic Variations In Indian Tigers  The first to be photographed, in 2014 was a female that Kaziranga National Park authorities named Kazi 106 F. Instead of  the usual  bright black stripes on a shining orange background, this tiger had pale golden fur streaked with faded red-brown stripes, and a face that was mostly white. It was a ‘golden tiger’, an extremely rare .It looked l...
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Why India Should Rethink Over Coal Mining in Hasdeo Arand Forest

    Promises made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Cop26 climate change summit in Glasgow in November 2021 seem to contradict actions taken by his government back home. Amidst protest and litigation, millions of trees are proposed to be axed for the projects including coal, diamond mining   and river linking projects in Chattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. After protests against Ken Betwa River linking project threatening the very existence of a tiger reserve  and   voices against diamond mining in Madhya Pradesh, indigenous people in Hansdeo Arand , one of the richest bio-diverse Indian forests located in Chattisgarh, hold protests to save their “home”- a pristine virgin Sal forest. An estimated four and half lakh trees are expected to be axed to make way for coal mining in the jungle, an important wildlife corridor which is also the origin of the river Hansdeo. All this is happening when Climate Change has become a reality.  The Environmental W...
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Super Moms Of Tiger Reserves In India

  As the world observed International Mother’s day, we remember some super moms in the national parks of India. The tigresses are known for their fertility   and have fascinated a large number of tourists across the globe.  Speaking of super moms in the world of tigers, who can forget Sita of Bandhavgarh and Machli of Ranthambhore? Though mystery shrouded her death, Sita was, perhaps, the first  among the super moms, a term created by the media. National Geographic immortalized Sita  when she was featured on the cover of the magazine in 1997. The “tiger mother” attracted global attention. Like a sumer mom, Machli protected her cubs as she fought  with a giant crocodile.   Sita: The First Super Mom Companion of the famous tiger of the park ‘Charger’, Sita  gave birth to 16  cubs in her lifetime before she was  poached. The pair of Charger and Sita brought Bandhavgarh on the wildlife tourism map of the world. The jungle stories r...
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It's Time to Radio Collar Urban Tigers of Bhopal

The tigers roaming around Bhopal, a phenomenon first of its kind in the world, are required to be radio collared. In all there is movement of 18 big cats in a tiger corridor near the state capital, six of them have become resident tigers of Bhopal.  Termed as urban tigers by the state forest department, they are seen venturing near the campuses of the universities situated on city outskirts, government office building premises and parks. Tiger sighting is common on Kerwa and Kaliyasot roads in Bhopal. Radio collaring of these resident tigers would facilitate monitoring of their movements in and around the city. It is also necessary for the safety of the people. Unforgettable 180 Seconds of Watchman On February 6- night this year, a tiger sighting was recorded in Bhoj Open University in Bhopal, a terrifying nightmarish experience for the university guards.   The tiger entered the bungalow campus of the university vice chancellor after scaling the boundary wall. However, wh...
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