After Mhadei find, tiger expert on big cat trail in Cotigao

TNN | May 8, 2013
PANAJI: A team of experts led by noted conservation zoologist Kota Ullas Karanth has commenced work on a comprehensive tiger survey in the Cotigao wildlife sanctuary and other protected areas after the recent success of the camera trap method.

The Goa government had recently cleared the decks for an intensive survey and within a few weeks of the go-ahead the forest department had captured a tigress on camera within the limits of the Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary.

The extensive study, which will extend for four years till 2017, will rely on refined protocols such as camera trap findings to assess the presence of the big cat and the prey base in Goa's forests.

"He (Karanth) has given a list of 45 spots in different sanctuaries to lay camera traps and line transects for the survey," said Richard D'Souza, principal chief conservator of forests. While the expert will conduct the study, the forest department will also independently do its work, especially in Mhadei.

The protected areas of Cotigao, Neturlim, Molem national park, Bondla and Mhadei form a contiguous corridor with tiger areas in Karnataka.

The tiger estimation done by the forest department in the past has shown the presence of tigers. Three had been counted in 1993, five in 1997 and 2002.

Though the forest department had been in a denial syndrome for a long time earlier, things have changed recently with significant findings.

"This vindicates the stand taken by some officials and animal lovers who have claimed the big cats' existence here for more than a decade and a half," a source said.

Referring to the work being done in the protected areas over the last few days D'Souza said, "This is the actual groundwork for the survey."

Goa's protected areas have been identified as a tiger conservation unit (TCU) along with the contiguous forest areas of Karnataka and Maharashtra in a study by international organizations.

The World Wide Fund International, US Fish and Wildlife Services and Wild Life Conservation Society, New York, in a study had categorized the Western Ghats as the second best tiger habitat in India after the Sunderbans in West Bengal.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/goa/After-Mhadei-find-tiger-expert-on-big-cat-trail-in-Cotigao/articleshow/19942067.cms

Nirmal Kulkarni, ecologist

He kept the green in tourist-saturated Goa

Ananda Banerjee 

First Published: Fri, Dec 28 2012. 05 38 PM IST

Kulkarni at his residence in Fortawaddo, Nerul, Goa. Photo: Rakesh Mundye/Mint

Updated: Fri, Dec 28 2012. 06 57 PM IST

A way from the beach parties of Goa, the systematic destruction of its pristine forests has stirred a young man to create awareness about the Western Ghats and conserve them in the state. The Western Ghats, running along the south-western edge of the Indian peninsula, are among the world’s top 10 biodiversity hot spots. They are home to one of the most significant repositories of species found only in this country—popularly referred to as endemism.

Nirmal Ulhas Kulkarni, 34, was felicitated this year with the prestigious Karmaveer Puraskaar for his role in conserving the northern Western Ghats (which led to the creation of the Bhimgad Wildlife Sanctuary) and the proposal to upgrade the Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary to a tiger reserve. “Recognition like this helps strengthen the resolve of the person and the team, as field-based research is a tiring process,” Kulkarni says. “More than preserving wildlife, it draws attention of the masses towards vital issues that are at times forgotten during the pace of daily life. It reminds everyone that people working in forests around the state need support and motivation and everyone can do their bit to conserve nature in their own backyard.”

In the last decade, around 50 new amphibian species have been discovered in the Western Ghats. Three of these—Goan caecilian (Gegeneophis goaensis), Mahdei caecilian (Gegeneophis mhadeiensis), and the Chorla Giant striped Ichthyophis (Ichthyophis davidi)—were discovered by Kulkarni. “My core contribution to Goa’s environment movement would be my training and capacity building of young nature lovers into committed wildlife activists and researchers for over a decade,” he says. “The simple approach of collecting scientific data and providing support at the grass-root level has helped to create foot soldiers for Goa’s conservation movement,” he says.

At the age of 18, Kulkarni became Goa’s youngest Honorary Wildlife Warden as well as a member of the State Wildlife Advisory Board, where he continues to serve. Kulkarni’s publication, The Goan Jungle Book, has helped create interest about the state’s lesser known wildlife. “Consistently training field staffs of the forest department, documenting human-wildlife relationships, sacred groves, the presence of large cats in Goa and the plight of bullfrogs have helped make a big difference over the years,” he says.

However, the threat of mining still looms large in Goa’s Western Ghats. The series of large dam projects that have been planned in Karnataka and Maharashtra will destroy large tracts of pristine forests. According to Kulkarni, people are aware of the threats to the region, in part due to media coverage, but they haven’t been able to relate these threats to their daily lives. “In 2013, we will try to help every lay person understand the direct link between forests, water and their daily lives, whether in a city or a village,” Kulkarni says.

Source: http://www.livemint.com/Leisure/Vd0V7bQFuS3BD4oiWPsN4H/Nirmal-Kulkarni-ecologist.html