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Showing posts from August, 2022

Tenth Cheetah Litter in Kuno Raises Population to 53 — But Can India’s Cheetahs Survive in the Wild?

 India’s cheetah population reaches 53 after the tenth litter in Kuno, but experts question whether births inside bomas signal real conservation success. The announcement of the tenth cheetah litter in Kuno National Park on March 9 has pushed India’s cheetah population to 53 individuals. The numbers appear impressive. Of these, 44 cheetahs are currently alive, including nine recently brought from Botswana, while 45 cubs have been born in India since the project began. Out of these births, 33 cubs are surviving and 12 have died.For a species declared extinct in India in 1952, the return of cheetah cubs is emotionally powerful. Government officials and conservation managers have understandably celebrated the milestone as proof that Project Cheetah is moving in the right direction. But is this a right perception?  Also read: 3 Years In: Unveiling the Truth About India's Cheetah Project Perhaps, No. When viewed through the lens of ecology and long-term conservation, the numbe...
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Marathon Tiger Rescue Operation Near Pench National Park

   A  tiger rescue - operation lasted for  almost 12 hours in  village on the edge of Pench  National Park  in Madha Pradesh . The tiger was first rescued from a well without parapet wall and then  operated upon for a protruded rectum,  believed to be the result of intense roaring and vocalization, a term used for SOS call for mother. Yelling Crowd and Tiger Roar It was  about a year old  cub  in a village located in east Chhindwara  territorial forest division,  close to Pench tiger reserve , where the cub fell down in  the well on August 25 . Excessive growth of weeds and grass around the well without parapet walls led to the mishap. After falling down in the well, the cub   managed to catch hold of an iron stand, which must have been  fitted to place a water pump inside the  well. The location is a riverine  Hardua village where the well is located. It is also a tiger movement area and...
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Half-Day, Full -Day Tiger Safaris Banned In Ranthambore National Park

 In a sudden move amidst ongoing bookings for tiger safaris in Ranthambore National Park, Rajasthan government has stopped the bookings for the full - and half- day tiger safaris. However, the three hour long morning and afternoon safaris will continue.  This will give much needed respite to the tigers from the tourism triggered stress. A study in two famous tiger reserves of Central India- Kanha national park and Bandhavgarh tiger reserve had revealed high levels of stress among the tiger population of the two parks because of the continued disturbance of noise created vehicular traffic and presence of humans. Tigers chasing tourist vehicles have been reported  almost on regular basis from Ranthambore. A frightening 19-second video of a incident, tweeted  in December 2019 , showed  a tiger fiercely chasing a safari jeep as the driver tries to outrun it. In January this year another incident was reported and  as a precautionary measure, the route wher...
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Ranthambore ,Tadoba Tigers Go Behind Bars , More Awaits Cages

Increasing incidents of   tiger human conflict is leading to more and more tigers behind bars. Accused of killing three people, a tiger from Ranthambore national park was finally sent to a cage which would be his house for the rest of his life. Another tiger was caught near Tadoba national park and sent to a transit treatment centre where the animal awaits a punishment as a State Committee forest department began a ‘trial’. Hope the committee takes an early decision on the tiger. T104, The Great Escaper   T-104 or Chikoo or Hammir , a ferocious tiger of Ranthambore was  housed for three years in a 5 -bigha  or over 3 hectare enclosure  in the core area of Ranthambore national park for the past three years. The   big cat was fed by the park management while it remained inside the enclosure . But the location where Chikoo was housed is a tiger corridor and  as and when some tiger crosses, a fight took place- between the  wild tiger ...
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All About Ranthambore National Park Visit & Tiger Safari

  As people wait anxiously for Ranthambore national park to reopen on October 1 after monsoon break, there are many things happening inside the park where some parts of the buffer zone are still open for tourists. One of the most popular wildlife tourist destinations,  Ranthambore was closed down for a three month break on June 30. Many readers send queries about the time to visit Ranthambore  and other national parks and how to book safaris to see tigers. We will  bring regular stories on the subject besides writing on the  issues related wildlife conservation.       When To Visit And How to Book Tiger  Safari   Ranthambore remains open between October and June. The winter season between October and March is considered to be the best time to visit the park as the weather remains pleasant. During the winters, the wild animals can be seen easily basking under the sun when the temperatures vary from around 10 degrees Celsius to ...
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Leopard Poaching in Kuno Midst Cheetah Translocation

  Leopards,dead or alive, seem to have been continuously creating hurdles in the ambitious cheetah translocation project.Now poaching of a leopard from Kuno  National Park created a sensation as the incident was reported at a time when the park is getting ready for the cheetah project .In fact it has happened when  a large number of forest department personnel are engaged  inside the park in catching three leopards from an  enclosure earmarked for cheetahs to be translocated from Africa. The Special task force (STF) of MP Forest department has rounded up tribals accused of leopard killing. This has also raised questions over safety of the wildlife in Kuno.  Wire Snare In Kuno Kills Leopard In fact the spotted cat was killed on August 7 when the Kuno management received a disturbing piece of information.  “We received a message about a mutilated body of a leopard lying near wire fencing on the edge of the core and buffer zone in Moravan village. The le...
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Delay In Cheetah Translocation, Indian Bureaucrats in Tizzy

The buzz created by Indian media which carried reports based upon adverse comments made by some individual wildlife experts on the Cheetah project seems to have alerted the South African government. This coupled with the presence of leopards has further delayed the project atleast for a month. Meanwhile, the top bureaucrats of Union ministry of environment forest and climate change are in a tizzy over delay in translocation of the animal, the project closely monitored by the prime minister’s office (PMO) also. Meanwhile the Union environment ministry on said the date for the re-introduction of cheetahs in the “historical ranges” of the country has not been decided yet and media reports about the big cats being stuck in transit are “completely unfounded”. What is Causing Delay ?    Cheetah was scheduled to have arrived in India by August 15 but its flight continued to be delayed by some or other reason for the past over a year. A recent tweet  from Namibia on the Independe...
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Are Leopards ,Tigers Threat To Cheetahs Coming To Kuno ?

  There is further delay in Cheetah’s flight to India. Whether the delay is caused by the threat of leopard presence inside the Cheetah enclosures   prepared in Kuno Palpur national park of Madhya Pradesh or it’s a procedural delay in signing of MoU between South Africa and India.Though an MoU was already signed with Namibia on July 21 this year , Cheetahs have yet to be translocated from this south west African nation.  Silence Over The Delay   Riddled with controversies and concerns raised by environmentalists, the cheetah project has been in the news for wrong reasons right from the beginning. Termed as a “vanity   project “and an “expensive mistake” by experts like Ravi Chellam, the cheetah project has been opposed mainly for denying lion’s entry to Kuno that was prepared for a second home to the Asiatic lion among other conservation issues. Firstly, in March this year, Namibia wanted India’s support for lifting a United Nations ban on commercial ...
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Gujarat Lions Are Weak, Lack Vigor

Asiatic lions in Gujarat are weak and may be getting weaker with time. Inbreeding is causing several genetic disorders. Their vigor and vitality are declining.  An interesting and elaborate research on the population of Asiatic lions has also shown “missing and malformed limbs” among lion cubs in Saurashtra Landscape in Gujarat, the only home to lions in India. “The lion has become a socio-political instrument in Gujarat, which despite a Supreme Court directive has not parted with founders to establish another population. Threats from epidemics loom large and currently a canine distemper virus outbreak is prevalent”, the study has warned.  Inbreeding  Effects On Vigor  On World Lion Day , as we discuss one of the most controversial subjects of India's wildlife governance, Gujarat continues to be in denial mode as far as the lion translocation project is concerned . The demographic conditions of the Asiatic Lion Landscape (ALL) in Gujarat are pathetic  and an ala...
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Golden ,Black Or White , Colourful Tigers are Cause of Concern

  Tyger Tyger, burning bright,  In the forests of the night William Blake, one of the celebrated English poets of 18th century, may have not written this poem had he seen the black tigers of Simlipal tiger reserve of Odisha. Blake’s source of inspiration, literary critics have written, was the flame-like appearance of a tiger’s stripes. But Simlipal tigers have dominant black stripes and have been in news again after camera traps captured its images in Odisha jungles in the last week of July. A black tiger was spotted marking its territory on a tree trunk at Similipal tiger reserve (STR) in the Mayurbhanj district of Odisha. Earlier, this year, we had visuals of a golden tiger coming from  Kazirangana national park of Assam. We already have white tigers and the first such animal was spotted in Rewa district of Madhya Pradesh in 1951. Actually, we can have as many as 14 types of colouration patterns in tigers including the one that was “ burning bright”  in Blake’s...
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Lion ,Cheetah And The Politics Of Conservation

After yet another flip -flop on Project Lion, Gujarat  will establish lions in the newly identified sites  only within the state. Despite Supreme Court order in 2013, Gujarat did not translocate lions in Kuno Palpur national park of the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh where Project Cheetah is being   seen as the last nail in the coffin for the lion project in Kuno. In August 2020, the Centre launched a lion conservation programme along the lines of Project Tiger and identified six sites including two in Madhya Pradesh, three in Rajasthan and one in Gujarat for the relocation of the big cat. But now the government’s 25-year roadmap for Project Lion makes no mention of relocation. The new plan focuses on “facilitation of natural dispersal” of the big cat across Saurashtra in Gujarat and “potentially” to Rajasthan by 2047. “Who stops lion from further dispersal from Rajasthan to Madhya Pradesh,” officials comment jokingly. Overly Enthusiastic Zeal of Gujarat...
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