BHOPAL: Poacher Chopped Off Tiger’s Limb For Cooking – Plus Informative Video On India’s Tigers

BHOPAL: One of the poachers, who killed a tiger in Umaria, close to the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve two days ago, took away one of its limb for cooking.

The accused, Bhola, reportedly butchered one of the limbs of the tiger and took it away, telling his fellow poachers that he would go home, cook and eat the meat. The shocking fact has come up during interrogation of the poachers by the forest authorities.

Five accused who were arrested by the forest staff were on Tuesday produced in the court which remanded them to the custody of the forest department.

The tiger hide was recovered by the forest staff dumped near a culvert. While the skin was recovered, other parts of the body including its kidney, liver and intestine were also missing. Autopsy revealed that one of its hind limb was cut off with a sharp edged weapon, while soft organs were consumed by predators.

Bhola and his two accomplices Thakurudeen and Dasu are still at large. Efforts are on to arrest them, said R P S Chouhan, conservator of forest (CF) Umaria. We are hopeful about recovering the tiger nails which the accused had cut and taken away, he said.

Five persons belonging to Palia tribal community, Darohi village (Umeria) were arrested for electrocuting the tiger near Bandhavgarh reserve on Sunday night – a few hours after its skinned carcass was found near Ghunghuti range. The accused were identified as Ram Singh, 39, Ram Milan, 30, Rajan, 24, Sukh Sen, 32, and Raju 28. The tiger skin buried in the jungle, using salt as preservative, was recovered from them.

During interrogation, accused – Ram Milan – told forest officials that Bhola, who lured them to skin the tiger, took away the limb, for eating. He maintained that the trap was laid for wild boars, but the tiger fell into it accidentally. The tiger got killed on the intervening night of December 7 and 8.

Panicked poachers dumped the tiger body into a culvert and went back to their village. Later in the morning they discussed the matter with Bhola and other relatives. And subsequently they agreed to revisit the spot to collect its skin, bones, nails and meat.

The tiger was skinned on the intervening night of December 8 and 9.

Bhola’s attempts to extract teeth of the tiger by hitting it with axe failed, after two of the canine teeth’s broke into pieces, making the set of teeth redundant, Ram Milan told interrogators.

As his share in the kill, Bhola took away the hind limb for consumption along with three nails, said officials quoting revelations made by the arrested poachers.

News Link:–http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-12-12/bhopal/35773071_1_tiger-skin-tiger-nails-tiger-body

The following video is very informative & well worth watching, it explains the problems faced by the tigers & the villagers that are encroaching on the tigers habitat. However there are some scenes of recent tiger kills; viewer discretion advised

India: Last Of  The Tigers

Uploaded on 18 Nov 2011 – AlJazeeraEnglish

Conservationists are in a desperate and uphill battle to save India’s tigers from extinction.

Just a few of the many petitions to save the tiger:-

• http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/tigeraid_petition1/
• http://www.petitiononline.com/saveking/petition.html
• http://www.petitionbuzz.com/petitions/savethesumatrantiger
• http://www.tigertime.info/bantigertrade.html
  

Related articles

• Tragic fate of India’s tiger: Government says number of poaching deaths hits all time high (greatcatsoftheworld.wordpress.com)

Goa to be part of Tiger Reserve complex?

KERI: Bereft of any details of wildlife in Goa, including that of big cats in the state, the ‘status of wildlife in the state of Goa’ report, nonetheless, offers a roar of support to former environment minister Jairam Ramesh‘s ‘Tiger Reserve‘ suggestion.

Referring extensively to the state’s past wildlife censuses, the report by the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, states, “The tiger occupied landscape in Goa forms part of the corridor connecting Anshi-Dandeli in Karnataka and Sahyadri Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra. Goa can potentially be home to a small feeding population of tigers which would be sustained by immigrants from Anshi-Dandeli as well as Sahyadri. It would hence benefit from being incorporated as part of Tiger Reserve complex.”

The report, compiled by Bilal Habib and Gautam Talukdar of WII, has synthesized the result of the 2010 wildlife census following the MoEF-laid down protocols of phase-I of country-wide assessment of the status of tigers, co-predators and prey in India. The first census was in 2006.

The present report notes, “Goa is not a tiger range state therefore the second and third phases for nationwide monitoring programme were not carried out in Goa.” But, referring to the 2010 census that recorded the tiger’s presence in Mollem wildlife sanctuary and in the forests of Ponda and Sanguem talukas, it notes, “Tiger occupancy within the state is about 322 sq km.” It attributes this to the phase-I monitoring that reported the occupancy of six species of carnivores, with the leopard occupying the large area of 1611.28 sq km, and sloth bears, jackal, wild dog and tiger in 322 sq km.

When contacted, additional principal chief conservator of forests Richard D’Souza told TOI, “The WII report has not given specific numbers of carnivores if any, rather they have given about zoning areas.”

Amrutsingh, president, Animal Rescue Squad, Bicholim, said, “It is surprising for us that status of wildlife in the state of Goa has not mentioned anything about tiger movements, when the area has the presence of a tigress, cubs and a male tiger.”

Paresh Parob, the newly-appointed range forest officer of the Mhadei wildlife sanctuary said, “We are aware about the tigers’ movements in the sanctuary and the department has taken necessary steps for the protection of the big cats.”

Times View

After years of hearing the government deny the tiger’s presence in Goa, despite the pug marks, the scats, the cattle attacks and in 2009 a very disturbing photo of a slain big cat in Keri, the Wildlife Institute of India’s report is a refreshing change. Details would have, of course, corroborated the cause vastly. It’s now left to be seen whether the government can change its own stripes on the issue.

News Link:–http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/environment/flora-fauna/goa-to-be-part-of-tiger-reserve-complex/articleshow/14398533.cms

3 People Caught With Tiger Pelt

MYSORE: A six-month-old tiger cub has fallen prey to poachers, and is suspected to have been killed at BRT Wildlife Sanctuary, a tiger reserve in Chamarajnagar, bordering Tamil Nadu.

The poaching came to light following the arrest of three persons who were netted by a forest department vigilance squad posing as prospective buyers. They were arrested at Siddiahapura near Chamarajnagar and the tiger pelt and bones recovered from them. The officials are trying to locate where the cub was killed.

Sources told TOI that the cub may have been killed three days ago, given the freshness of the pelt. “How it died is yet to be ascertained as there are no bullet marks on the pelt. It could have been poisoned too,” the sources stated. The officials are sending the pelt and bones to the Bangalore-based National Centre for Biological Studies for further examination. The gender of the cub could not be ascertained from the pelt but said it could be a female.

The three arrested are Mahadev from Boodipadaga, Mahesh from Kullur and Narayan from Coimbatore, while two others escaped.

This is second case of poaching reported from tiger reserves in the Mysore-Kodagu-Chamarajnagar region. A tiger was killed in mid-February near Kushalnagar in the buffer zone of Nagarahole National Park, which came to light on April 7, after forest officials arrested one person at Naviluru in Periyapatna taluk in Mysore district. He later told police that they killed the tiger when they went hunting for deer and came across the big cat, and shot it.

This is story related to seizure of tiger pelt outside BR Hills tiger reserve in Chamarajnagar. This is second incident in recent times when the tiger pelt is seized in the area.

News Link:-http://m.timesofindia.com/city/bangalore/3-nabbed-with-tiger-cub-pelt/articleshow/14144446.cms

Delhi hosts global meet on tigers; concern expressed over poaching

New Delhi:  In November 2010, at St Petersburg in Russia, at a global tiger summit, 13 countries came together and agreed to work towards national and global tiger recovery plans. They pledged to work to double the global population of tigers, numbers, that in a hundred years, has fallen from an estimated 1,00,000 to 3,200.

Now as the same stakeholders meet once again in the national capital, it’s time to take stock.

In a video address to the delegates at the First Stock Taking Meeting to review the implementation of the Global Tiger Recovery Program, World Bank President, Robert Zoellick said, “This conference provides an opportunity to assess both the headway we’ve already made as well as the setbacks, to prioritize actions and define milestones for the next three years.”
 

There are three focus areas: Protecting tiger habitats, cracking down on poaching and wildlife trafficking and law enforcement in protected areas.
At the start of the three-day stocktaking meeting, Secretary, Environment and Forests, Dr T Chatterjee said, “Both at the global and at the national level, we have to research new mechanisms, which are more inclusive, where people are also involved in conservation.”

Inaugurating the meeting, Union Minister Jayanthi Natarajan said, “Our experience has highlighted the need for enlisting local public support, which is crucial for tiger conservation to succeed. The ‘exclusive’ tiger agenda of the core, complemented by the ‘inclusive’ multiple use strategy in the surrounding buffer areas have strengthened wild tiger conservation. Thus, the ‘people agenda’ ranks prominently in our ‘tiger agenda’. While we do not imagine any coexistence in the inviolate core areas, a viable inclusive agenda involving local people is fostered in the surrounding buffer. As many as 25 lakh man-days are generated annually in various States under Project Tiger through involvement of local workforce. Besides, the Tiger Conservation Plan makes it a statutory obligation for addressing both the core and buffer areas.”

She also reiterated India’s commitment to tiger conservation, including acquisition of private land for making the core/critical tiger habitat inviolate and establishment of Tiger Safari, interpretation/awareness centres under the existing component of ‘co-existence agenda in buffer/fringe areas’, and management of such centres through the respective Panchayati Raj Institutions.

No doubt, the number of tigers in the country has increased from the last census, but given that at least 30 tigers have died in the last four months alone, the problem of poaching is still very much alive.
Nes Link:-http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/delhi-hosts-global-meet-on-tigers-concern-expressed-over-poaching-211342

There were 32 tiger deaths this year: Jayanthi Natarajan

As many as 32 tigers have died this year, even as latest official data showed an increase in the population estimates of the big cats. Of these, 18 were natural deaths, Environment and Forests Minister Jayanthi Natarajan said.

Expressing concern over the endangered status of the tiger the world over, Ms. Natarajan on Tuesday said the Ministry was looking into the reasons for the deaths.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the first stocktaking meeting of the Global Tiger Recovery Program (GTRP), Ms. Natarajan said poaching was one of the reasons. Other reasons include man-animal conflict.

New forest reserves

Delivering the keynote address at the meet, she spoke about the establishment of new forest reserves to ensure a safe habitat for tigers. “We are in the process of establishing more tiger reserves. Based on 2010 assessment, a new tiger reserve — the Kawal Tiger Reserve in Andhra Pradesh — has been constituted. In-principle approval has been accorded for declaring the Sathyamangalam Wildlife Sanctuary in Tamil Nadu as a tiger reserve,” she said.

The government had launched the fourth phase of ‘Reserve Level Monitoring’ to study the big cats’ population and habitat on an annual basis. Almost one per cent of country’s geographical area was conserved for tigers as their core/critical habitat.

“India’s commitment for saving the tiger is well-known. Wild tigers thrive in 17 of our States. We have the maximum number of tigers. ‘Project Tiger‘ was launched in 1973 with nine tiger reserves. Today, the coverage has increased to 41 reserves spread over all the 17 States,” she said.

“The wild tiger continues to remain endangered the world over. Threats to the wild tiger and its habitat are due to several factors like poaching, illegal trade catering to a demand for the body parts and derivatives of the tiger, loss of habitat due to extractive industries, infrastructure and revenge killings,” she said.

Adaptive management

Ms. Natarajan favoured adaptive management to tackle country- and area-specific issues related to tiger conservation.

Last year, the government increased its allocation up to Rs. 1,216.86 crore, especially to support the States for securing inviolate space for tigers, she said.

The tiger reserves had been directed to raise a Special Tiger Protection Force (STPF); several new technologies were being used to safeguard the animal.

News Link:-http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article3423084.ece

Tiger poached in Jharan forest – Times Of India

CHANDRAPUR: A suspected case of tiger poaching was discovered in compartment No. 121 of Jharan range under FDCM north Chandrapur.

Foresters on Monday evening found a partially decomposed carcass of a full grown tiger with several of its body parts including nails and teeth missing. The carcass is around 48 hours old. Forest officers suspect electrocution as cause of death.

via Tiger poached in Jharan forest – Times Of India.

Related articles

• ╰დ╮❤╭დ╯ Extinction Is Forever ╰დ╮❤╭დ╯ (greatcatsoftheworld.wordpress.com)
• India’s Tiger Protection Force (suzanneyork.wordpress.com)