The sprawling tiger landscape of Bhopal may not have been a designated national park or a sanctuary but the woody city surroundings have been buzzing with wildlife activities, denied and disregarded by the state forest department. There is a tiger love story unfolding in the forest, a tigress with four cubs and reports of atleast two pregnant tigresses. The tigers are multiplying on the city outskirts and so are the worries of the department. The Love Story A large contiguous forest area spread over about 150 sq square kms in the jungles around two famous dams- Kolar and Kerwa- is now home of atleast 10 adult felines. They are resident tigers of Bhopal- born and brought up in the city jungle and termed as the urban tigers. In fact the tiger landscape is spread beyond these two dams over a vast swathe of forest. If we calculate the area from the boundary of Ratapani sanctuary to Kewa , it is 200 sq kms of forest area . In fact, Bhopal's tiger landscape is a pa
Close on the heels of the tiger census data released by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi showcasing the success of tiger conservation , visuals of a tiger in a chain held by the Environment and forest minister of Arunachal Pradesh shook the country. The minister Mama Natung walks the tiger like a pet .On April 16, he also twitted the video from his official twitter handle . He also posted the video with pride on his facebook page. For record, tiger is listed in the scheduled one of the Wild Life (Protecton) Act 1972 and one can not have it as a pet .This Schedule deals with endangered species.
Violation of Wildlife Protection Act
Interestingly, while tweeting the video , mama also tagged the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and the Union ministry of Environment, forest and climate change. NTCA is the apex body for the protection and conservation of the tiger. The caption reads ,“Happy to walk with reared tiger which is the most powerful Animals Tiger, so people's around the world should Learn the Love from Animals, if you love nature will find beauty everywhere. #moefcc #ntca_india #ArunachalCMO #PMOIndia #BJP4Arunachal”.
Mama, a businessman turned politician, can be seen taking the chained tiger for a walk. For 6.6 minutes, till the video ran, the minister wearing shorts and slippers is seen pulling the chain of the tiger and patting the beast on his back. Two more men, perhaps from his staff, were also seen one by one coming and patting the tiger like a pet. There are eight wildlife sanctuaries, and two national parks in the state of Arunachal Pradesh and this include Namdaph,One of the largest national parks in India.and all of them are under Mama Nutang. In the country where tiger protection is on the top of the priority list of the government, the minister’s act raises several questions.
Some Needs to Take Cognizance
In March this year, a resident of Uttar Pradesh was arrested after he was found in possession of a Sarus Crane, a bird listed in scheduled three of the Wildlife Protect act 1972. In February last year, Mohammad Arif, 35, brought home an injured sarus crane he found in his village of Mandhka in Uttar Pradesh’s Amethi district. After he took care of it over the next thirteen months, he found himself booked under the Wild Life (Protection ) Act.
The wildlife authorities moved the crane from Arif’s house to a Raebareli sanctuary and later shifted to the Kanpur Zoo. Arif might have been unaware of the Act and that he was violating it. But Mama is the minister for environment and forest and is expected to have an understanding that his act is a violation of the Wild Life Protection Act. And if he doesn’t , someone needs to take cognizance.
By Deshdeep Saxena
Images from the minister's Video
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