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Global Warming : Another Threat to the Endangered Gharials !

Braving the blistering May afternoons on the banks of Chambal River, a dedicated team of National Chambal Gharial sanctuary scan the sand mounds spread over a long patch of the river that flows into ravines. This long walk is actually the beginning of a very delicate exercise for the ex-situ conservation of Gharial (Gavialis Gangeticus ) , a critically endangered reptile. The scanning of sands includes the sighting of nests and counting of their numbers and then collection of 200 eggs. And all this takes almost a month’s time. Chambal is one of the few habitats left in the world for these reptiles. In May end, sanctuary staff are ready for the magic moment - the emergence of hatchlings from the egg. Calling Mom from Beneath the Sand The ex-situ conservation of Gharial assumes significance and is an extremely important exercise carried out from March when the Gharials lay their eggs to May when they crack the egg with their snout to see the world . Despite ...

Male Tiger Plays Mom’s Part in Panna

When four tiger cubs orphaned in Panna national park on May 15, everybody was concerned about their safety. Wildlife experts thought that the life of the four cubs was at risk after their mother died under mysterious circumstances. Ever since, the cubs are at the mercy of a male tiger who had fathered them about 7 to 8 months ago. And this tiger is displaying some extraordinary pro social behavior. A picture released by the tiger reserve showed the new family equation: four cubs- three sitting on a rock while the fourth on the ground – enjoying the company of their ‘father’. It was clicked on May 22. The Tiger Protects the Cubs The tiger conduct has left the wildlife experts amazed. Initially, no tiger expert was sure of the safety of these cubs and the duration for which the male tiger would share his kill with the cubs. But now it appears that P243, the male tiger, is rearing the cubs like a mother. The tiger is sharing the kill a...

Red Threat on Tiger Census

Ahead of the ambitious tiger census in 2022, there are disturbing reports of disruption in the counting of the big cats in Palamu tiger reserve located in Jharkhand where Naxalites have yet again threatened the tiger estimation work. Last year there were reports that the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) officials were allegedly taken hostage by the left wing ultras in Palamu when they were carrying out the work of setting up cameras in the jungle to capture the images of the tigers for the census. However, they were released later. Palamu is not the only tiger reserve in India facing the red threat. Indravati national park in Chattisgarh, now considered as a Naxal hotspot, and Similipal in Odisha are some other national parks where the Naxals have affected the wildlife conservation projects. 2022 is an important year for tiger conservation as the tiger range countries – mainly the countries where the big cat is found in South East Asia and the Russi...

Tiger Checks in a Bandhavgarh Hotel

A luxury resort in Bandhavgarh tiger reserve is hosting an uninvited yet highly sought after guest for the past few days. The guest occupied the sprawling property all alone on May 5 and refused to move out. Elephants were deployed to vacate the hotel but in vain. Devours Buffalo and Quenches Thirst from Pool For the past three days, a 9 year old tiger code named T37 is occupying the hotel. The tiger is seen moving around in the hotel corridors. T-37 peeped into the cottages locked in the absence of tourists and decided to take rest in a veranda. Located near Dhamokhar range of the national park, it is one of the costliest properties of Bandhavgarh where who’s who of India stay during their visit to the park. After the second wave of coronavirus, the tourism activities are stopped in the park. Some time on May 4 or 5, T-37 killed a buffalo and dragged it to the open area of the resort. The tiger was taking his time while consuming the kil...

Jailed in Jungle: Why Wild Tigress Languishes in Enclosure, Needs to Be Probed

Two years ago, two wild tigers were relocated from Madhya Pradesh to Odisha under India’s maiden interstate -tiger translocation programme which failed miserably. The two big cats were shifted to Satkosia tiger reserve in Odisha after its tiger population plummeted from 11 in 2004 to 2 in 2014. One of the big cats Mahavir sent from MP was reportedly killed by poachers while Sundari, the tigress, accused of killing two persons, landed behind barbed wires in a small enclosure raising questions over the wildlife management in the country. Many wildlife experts in India feel that the Satkosia fiasco should be probed and the people responsible for the plight of the national animal should be held accountable. Condemned to Captivity Before Sundari was condemned to captivity in Ghorela enclosure in Mukki range of of Kanha National park, the tigress had already spent an agonizing period of 28 months in cap...

Future Tense: Turbulent Time Ahead for Panna Tigers

Unaware of the fact that countdown to destruction of Panna tiger reserve has begun after signing of Ken Betwa Link Project (KBLP) , yet another tigress has given birth to two cubs, filmed and photographed by tourists on April 9. The cubs were seen walking in the emerald forests with their mother code named T-151. In the past 4 months, about 15 new cubs were spotted in Panna national park. What would be the fate of these cubs in the light of the KBLP , hash tagged as dam of doom by the wildlife lovers across the country ,is uncertain. In all ,there are about 65 to 70 tigers in Panna including the cubs. Final Approval of Green Clearances Still Awaited By the time the cubs grow up , the process of the execution of the project would have begun and it would be the time to face the rising water in their habitat . Though the government has not yet announced a date when it wants to launch the project, it said the project would be kicked off soon. In fact, th...

Laughing Dove and Life Lessons for Survival

For four days in the third week of March, gusty winds lashed the city of Bhopal, the capital city of the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh . The storm was so strong that branches were broken off from trees. At many places, even the trees were uprooted by the impact. Amidst all this, two delicate chicks of Laughing Dove, barely about 14- days old, were left alone by their mother. The small chicks actually weathered the storm - not one but four consecutive nights. Clutched to the branch of a Neem tree (Azadirachta indica), the small birds were braving the thundershowers. Iron Grip, Nature's Gift Spending time in quarantine after recovering from Covid19, one morning we spotted some hectic activities at our rooftop garden where two petite chicks were hopping from one pot to another. They would take small flights and sit inside the pot for hours till their mom arrived, fed them by regurgitation –feeding in an unusual way of interlocking her beak with those...

Cry to Save Panna from Ken Betwa Project Gets Louder

A week after signing the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) for the contentious Ken Betwa river link project, considered as the death warrant for Panna national park , Madhya Pradesh chief minister enjoyed the sylvan surroundings of the tiger reserve resting along with his family in a luxury jungle resort situated in the buffer zone of the park. And as he went around a safari watching the tiger, people in Panna city took to the streets appealing to him to save the tiger the day festival of colour Holi was celebrated. Amidst the raging coronavirus, they did not assemble at one place. Instead they stood at different places of the city with slogans on placards and protested silently. They urged Shivraj to reconsider the project and the proposed felling of lakhs of trees and save the national animal-the tiger . But as he spent time leisurely in the jungle he was apparently unaware of the cry to save the same forest. "Don't Cut 23 Lakh Trees" Nature and...

Wire Snares in Maharashtra Jungles Sound Alert

After the death of three tigers in Maharashtra in the third week of March, the government of the Western Indian state is on an alert mode to check the wildlife crime especially the menace of wire snares which are laid to trap the wild animals including the big cats. Two of the three deaths looked suspected cases of poaching where claws of the tigers were also missing. With these three deaths, the tiger mortality count since January 1st this year has gone up to 14.This included two cubs which were killed by tiger named Surya in Umred-Paoni-Karhandla Wildlife Sanctuary. Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (Wildlife) Nitin Kakodkar issued directives to the field staff of the forests department to step- up patrolling in view of the Holi celebrations, during which a lot of herbivore poaching is done by deploying wire snares. One of the World Wildlife Fund(WWF) studies reported that these snares are insidious and have become a major contributor to the extintction of anim...

Ken-Betwa Project:Dam of Doom for Panna Tiger Reserve

As the two states of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh signed the controvertial Ken-Betwa linking project (KBLP), considered as an environmental catastrophe, the cost of the trees proposed to be cut is anybody's guess, especially after an expert committee report submitted in the Supreme Court recently. Besides, the best of tiger country will also be submerged and disconnected from the Panna national park which is all set to bear the brunt. All the good work of the tiger reintroduction programme in the tiger reserve is going to be flowed down in the project water. The number of tigers in Panna varies somewhere around 65-70 which includes 20 cubs. Priceless Ecology to be Submerged A five member committee of experts for the first time set a guideline on the valuation of trees and submitted a report in the Supreme Court in a case related to West Bengal where 356 trees were required to be felled. A tree’s monetary worth is its age multiplied by Rs 74,500...

8- Year After Tiger Killing, Poachers Get Jail Sentence in MP

In a rare success against the tiger killers, ten poachers were convicted by a court in Katni, a small town surrounded by thick jungles, in Madhya Pradesh . It took over 8 years’ of investigations and numerous court hearings to bring the guilty to the book. The Chief Judicial Magistrate of Katni, Indukant Tiwari pronounced rigorous imprisonment of 5 years and a fine of Rs 10,000 on each,on February 8 this year. On a cold wintery night in December 2012, the full grown tiger was killed by passing electricity from a 10000 KV supply line passing over the farm field of Pappu Kol, an electrician in a small village of Badwah ,Barahi, barely 12 kms away from Katni town. The only crime of the big cat was that it was visible in fields straying from the thick forest area in Badwah. Kol along with his nine other accomplices watched the tiger for few days and then decided to kill. Electrocution Leads to Painful Death ...

Another tiger loses life in eco-sensitive rail zone connecting India

Photographs of tiger- carcasses lying on railway tracks could never evoke a feeling of happiness. It saddens the wildlife lovers who would always want to see the majestic animal in the wild, freely taking strides or stalking a prey. But carrying such somber details become necessary to shake up and wake -up the agencies involved in development and the officials accountable for striking an equilibrium between environment and economics. Another young tiger died in the eco-sensitive zone (ESZ )of Balaghat-Gondia-Ballarshah railway tracks on March 8 . Identified as a T14, about 18 month old tigress of Navegaon national park ,located in Gondia district of Maharashtra. The Dr Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary, Navegaon is home to almost 60% of the bird species found in the entire Maharashtra. Every winter, flocks of migratory birds visit the lake. Also read: Tiger's Epic Walk Raises Serious Environmental Issues T14 was run over by a goods train around 8am to 8.15 am on M...