Alligator deaths triggers alert

P Naveen, TNN | Feb 19, 2013
BHOPAL: National Chambal Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh, home to ghariyals (Indian alligator), has been besieged with cases related to the deaths of the reptiles primarily due to parasitic infection of liver, kidneys and gastrointestinal tract. Eleven ghariyals were found dead in the last four months in the sanctuary- five in Bhind region of MP and six in Agra and Etawah districts in Uttar Pradesh (UP).

Autopsy reports on the ghariyals revealed irregularities in their gastrointestinal tract.

About 115 gharyials had died with the same problem in the sanctuary from December 8 to 22, 2007. Not to take any chances the authorities are in touch with experts across the country to take preventive steps to save the reptiles.

District forest officer (DFO), Morena, Vincent Rahim told TOI that there is no reason to panic as there is a difference in age, class and size of the reptiles and their causes of death. "Autopsy indicates different reasons. We are in touch with the best wildlife experts. The best veterinarians and experts have been put on alert," said the DFO adding that situation is not alarming yet.

The officials have also contacted Madras crocodile bank trust and Wildlife SOS (animal rescue organization) for further assistance to tackle the situation. As a fresh initiative, sanctuary officials have invited tender for procuring a mortuary freezer to preserve the tissues and other remains of the animals for detailed investigations.

The state officials are also in constant touch with their UP counterparts. Liver dysfunction, cardiac arrest and respiratory tract infection were the reasons behind deaths of three gharials, he said adding other two carcasses were found in a highly decomposed condition so autopsy was impossible.

Viscera of dead animals were sent for a more precise toxicological and pathological examination at Veterinary College in Jabalpur and High Security Animal Disease Laboratory (HSADL) in Bhopal and IVRI ( Indian Veterinary Research Institute) Bareilly, to find out the actual cause of death.

Officials informed that no sign of external injuries were found on the bodies of the ghariyals, which ruled out the possibility of accidental deaths in fish nets. Established in 1978, the sanctuary is spread in a 435 km stretch of Chambal river spread across Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. Total of 905 gharilas were reported in the MP part of the sanctuary in the last census in 2012.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/flora-fauna/Alligator-deaths-triggers-alert/articleshow/18565567.cms

Poachers kills another rhino in Kaziranga, chop off horn

Naresh Mitra, TNN | Feb 18, 2013
GUWAHATI: There has been no let up in rhino poaching in Assam yet. On Saturday, poachers killed another rhino at Kaziranga National Park and chopped off its horn. With the latest killing, the rhino poaching toll this year has risen to seven in Kaziranga.

The killing took place in the Kawoimari area under Bagori forest range of the park. The carcass was found on Sunday.

Park director N K Vasu said the rhino was poached in the interior parts of the park and forest officials had to fire in the air to scare a herd of elephants so that they could reach the spot.

Vasu said three rhinos were killed inside the park, while another four were poached after the animals strayed out of Kaziranga.

"We did have intelligence inputs about the activity of poachers. But unfortunately, the rhino could not be saved. On the northern bank of the Brahmaputra, poachers have stepped up their activities. There are many sand islands from where poachers operate. We are doing our best to deal with them," Vasu said.

Soon after the news of poaching spread in the fringes of Kaziranga, locals surrounded the director's and divisional forest officer's office at Bokakhat, accusing the forest department for its failure to stop killing of rhinos. Many of the protestors also planned to stage a demonstration on Monday.

In a separate event, Assamese film stars, including Nishita Goswami, joined a public campaign to save rhinos, which is also the state animal.

Kaziranga lost at least 18 rhinos to poachers last year. This is, in addition, to the 28 rhinos killed during floods between June and September last year.

Assam boasts that it houses two-third of the world's Indian one-horned rhinos. Kaziranga alone has over 2,000 rhinos. While floods are a part of Kaziranga's ecosystem, leading to the death of nearly 700 different wildlife species, including rhinos last year. However, wildlife crime experts said the spurt in poaching in recent times did not augur well for the long-term conservation of rhinos if foolproof mechanism is not put in place right now.

Wildlife crime experts said the rise in the demand for rhino horns in China and Vietnam has escalated the killings of the one-horned pachyderm in Kaziranga. Generally horns are smuggled out to Myanmar through the porous international border in Manipur.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/flora-fauna/Poachers-kills-another-rhino-in-Kaziranga-chop-off-horn/articleshow/18551335.cms

Foresters, cops hand in glove in killing fields

A haul of hunted black sniped hare and a jungle cat (endangered scheduled animal). —DC

Chennai: In 2010, a group of friends with police connections entered Kalakad Munda­nthurai tiger Reserve in Tirunelveli with telescopic rifles, guns and snares. The group, after a few rounds of liquor, hunted endangered mouse deer, wild cat, (endangered animals scheduled under the wildlife protection Act), black sniped hare and a few protected birds. After skinning, the meat was cooked and the feast served.

When they were caught red-handed by the local police, the group bribed them and petty cases were registered under the Cr.P.C. and Wildlife Protection Act, burying the issue. The clueless forest department has been maintaining silence till date for reasons best known to them. Pictures and videograph evidence available with this newspaper reveal the sorry state of affairs and unchecked poaching in the southern part of Tamil Nadu.

“When Bollywood star Salman Khan killed an endangered (black buck) deer in Rajasthan, the local wildlife officials framed charges against him and produced him in court but in Tamil Nadu, the situation is different. You can kill scheduled animals and if you are caught, you can still walk out of forest reserves using your clout,” fumes A. Rangarajan, general secretary, Tamil Nadu Green Movement.

If this is the state of a “well-protected”’ sanctuary, one shudders to think as the state of affairs in other low-profile parks and sanctuaries. We request the chief minister to initiate legal action as per the wildlife protection Act 1972 and Arms Act into these happenings and check the legality of weapons so that such incidents don’t happen again, he added.

The forest department has to initiate a quick recruitment drive with young and able field staff to effectively patrol the forests and guard them effectively. Streamlining recruitment and increasing field presence is the need of the hour and the situation of wetland birds is even worse, said wildlife activist S. Jayachandran.

“The videos and photographs are shocking and expose the poor anti-poaching system in Tirunelveli. It’s time to scale up patrolling and independent biologists and wildlife activists should be encouraged to visit the forests,” opines N. Balaji a naturalist who frequents KMTR.

A highly-placed official in the state forest headquarters told DC that the particular incident was unheard-of. “We will look into the issue and take action,” the top official assured.

A forest department official who viewed the pictures and videos available with DC said most of the animals gunned down belong to schedule 2 and 3 of the wildlife Act. As per the Act, poaching of schedule 2 (highly endangered animals) can lead to imprisonment up to three years with a fine not less than `10,000.

Mouse deer hunting will invite serious punishment and can lead up to seven years’ imprisonment as the animal enjoys the schedule 1 status enjoyed by lion, tigers and whales, the official added.

KMTR becomes a haven for poachers

Tirunelveli: The dense tropical forests of the Kalakkad-Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve (KMTR) in the south of the Western Ghats in Tirunelveli district has become a safe hunting ground for poachers despite the region being a biodiversity hot spot.

Even the authorities here have been indulging in poaching, say environmental activists, who add that though a team led by a police DSP had been nabbed by Forest department officials on December 24, 2012 in the Kalakkad forest of KMTR, they were let off on the intervention of a Congress MLA.

The Innova car (KL-01 AW 8181) reported to have been used by the illegal intruders, according to the environmentalist, belonged to the MLA’s brother. The Ervadi police who intercepted the intruders had also seized two double barrel guns, one of which was of English make.

Another complaint of 200 teak trees being felled in the Karayar range in KMTR three months ago was also swept under the carpet as the accused was one of the rangers. Deputy Director of KMTR, Gurusamy, however, said that the complaint was a false one. He, however, agreed that five men with two guns had been arrested in the Kalakkad range at KMTR, which did not fall under his jurisdiction.

The issue of smuggling of trees from the Kattalai Malai above Karayar was also brushed aside by the KMTR deputy director, who told this newspaper that the trees were being felled on a private patta land at Kattalai Malai.

He added that the Manjolai Tea Estate, run by the Bombay-Burma Trad­ing Company, had been accused of serious violations of the Forest Act and said that the government had filed a case against the estate administration in the Madurai High Court Bench seeking cancellation of the lease accorded to the company by a private party before independence. The company has allegedly encroached into forest land beyond the 8000 acres that it had leased for 99 years.

Speaking to this newspaper, an anti-poaching watcher said that poaching of wet land birds, mouse deer, wild cats and hares was rampant in the KMTR forest.

Source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com/130218/news-current-affairs/article/foresters-cops-hand-glove-killing-fields