Whole village to be moved from elephant corridor in India

Villagers voluntarily relocate from elephant corridor 

The region is home to some 1800 elephants

May 2013. Marking a significant milestone in efforts to secure a crucial elephant corridor in northeast India, residents of an entire village have literally put down in stone their willingness to relocate voluntarily outside the corridor to provide a clear passage for elephants.

Modern traditional houses

The foundation stone for a model ethnic village was laid down, marking the site of relocation of the Ram Terang villagers from the Kalapahar Doigurung Elephant Corridor. The village will have traditional style houses reflecting the culture of the area, but it will also be equipped with modern facilities and necessities such as electricity, health care and education.

Unveiling the foundation stone in the relocated area

Laying the foundation stone, Rechno Haising Ronghang, the 40th King of Karbi Anglong said, "This is a new step that will benefit wildlife as well as people. There should be no barrier when it comes to wildlife conservation. We need to think of it as something that is necessary for human survival too." He congratulated the team for the initiative that will benefit the people of the corridor areas.

People of the village celebrating their impending move

The Kalapahar-Doigurung Elephant Corridor connects Kalapahar with Doigurung-Nambor Wildlife Sanctuary and Kaziranga National Park. For 30 years the village of Ram Terang, named after the head of the village, has been situated in the middle of the corridor. As a result, human-elephant conflicts have been common and with regular loss of property and life for both the elephants and the humans.

1800 elephants

"There are about 1800 elephants in the Kaziranga-Karbi Anglong landscape making it the habitat of about 8% of India's elephants. Securing this corridor is not just about the right of passage for these elephants but also to relieve local people of losses caused due to conflicts", said Dr Bhaskar Choudhury, Regional Head (Assam).

The process of course, reaching up to this milestone was not an easy one. It began about three years ago.

"The villagers were very hesitant at first when we approached them with the idea of relocation, and naturally so, as it involved their complete overhaul of their livelihoods. However, eventually they understood the need and benefits of the efforts for animals as well as themselves. Many individuals and agencies played a very crucial role in achieving this, and we are extremely grateful to all of them," said Dilip Deori, Assistant Manager, WTI, while expressing his appreciation for the support and cooperation being shown by the local community and organisations.

The project was supported by Elephant Family, IUCN - Netherlands and Japan Tiger and Elephant Fund, and implemented by Wildlife Trust of India (WTI), to assist the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council and Assam Forest Department in wildlife conservation in the region.

Source: http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/elephant-village013.html#cr

Road mishap kills bear near Navegaon

Vijay Pinjarkar, TNN | May 9, 2013
NAGPUR: With National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) reluctant to take wildlife protection measures while widening NH-6, a speeding vehicle knocked dead an adult sloth bear close to Shashikiran hills near Dongargaon early Wednesday morning.

"The spot where the bear was crushed falls in Sadak Arjuni range and borders Navegaon wildlife sanctuary. It is single road and a corridor patch. I suspect the animal must be moving towards Navegaon when it was hit," said S V Ramarao, deputy conservator of forests (DyCF), Gondia. Wild animals dying in road hits has become common on NH6, which has been widened from two lanes to four lanes. However, there is not a single patch where NHAI has taken mitigation measures.

On patches between Sakoli and Deori, Wildlife Institute of India ( WII), Dehradun, has suggested mitigation measures like constructing underpasses but this is not acceptable to NHAI, leading to accidents. On January 28, a honey badger (chandi aswal), a rare animal, was knocked dead at the same spot. The Supreme Court has already taken serious view of high mortality of wildlife on roads passing around protected areas (PAs) due to lack of mitigation measures. NHAI is yet to wake up.

Ramarao said the mishap occurred in the wee hours. There is a blind turn at the spot and the speeding vehicle must have hit the bear when it suddenly came out of the bushes to cross the road. The carcass was shifted the Dongargaon forest depot where a post-mortem was performed. Sawan Bahekar, honorary district wildlife warden of Gondia, demanded signboards at vulnerable spots and speed restrictions. "How many more wild animals will keep dying like this," he asked.

Initially officials felt it might be case of poaching but Ramarao said the bear died due to severe internal injuries. The head of the animal was crushed completely and it died on the spot.

Death Dance On NH6

January 7, 2011: A leopard died after being hit by a vehicle near Talegaon ghat under Wardha forest division

May 15, 2011: A full grown leopard knocked dead near Baghnadi between Deori and Rajnandgaon by an unidentified speeding vehicle

Sept 18, 2011: A sambar knocked dead in Duggipar beat under Sadak Arjuni range in Kohmara in Navegaon-Nagzira corridor

On Nov 23, 2011: A full grown leopard knocked dead in the evening near Bazargaon paper mill near Nagpur in Kalmeshwar forest range

Dec 22, 2011: An adult leopard died in road hit near Dongargaon

Jan 6, 2013: A jungle cat found dead near Hardoli, 35km from Nagpur on Amravati Road. The carnivore was hit on its head and died due to excessive bleeding

Jan 28, 2013: A honey badger knocked dead near Dongargaon of Sadak Arjuni forest range in Gondia

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/City/Nagpur/Road-mishap-kills-bear-near-Navegaon/articleshow/19959473.cms

Buying land to return it to nature

Ananda Banerjee,  Live Mint

Some government, non-government bodies, individuals are trying to push back against relentless development

WTI purchased 26 acres of land along the Thirunelli-Kudrakote corridor in Kerala to restore the degraded habitat
and protect wildlife. Photo courtesy WTI

Given the relentless pace at which wildlife habitat is being devoured by the march of development, some government agencies, non-governmental organizations and individuals have been trying to push back—by buying land and letting nature reclaim it.

The past decade has seen a conscious effort to secure wildlife habitats to protect forests.
A recent exercise involved the purchase of 26 acres along the Thirunelli-Kudrakote wildlife corridor in the Wayanad district of Kerala that comes under the watch of the non-profit Wildlife Trust of India (WTI). In the past few months, camera traps have recorded three tigers crossing the corridor.

The land was purchased by WTI with the help of the World Land Trust (WTL), IUCN-Netherlands and the Elephant Family to restore the degraded habitat and protect wildlife along the stretch. The 38 families in four villages in the area were relocated to an alternative site. The exercise cost in excess of Rs.2 crore.

Corridors between two sanctuaries (protected areas) are absolutely critical to wildlife for species dispersal, allowing exchange of individuals between populations and preventing inbreeding, among other ecosystem linkages. The land bought by WTI is gradually being handed over to the Kerala forest department for incorporating it as part of the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary.

The Thirunelli-Kudrakote corridor connects the Brahmagiri Wildlife Sanctuary (18,100 hectares) bordering Karnataka and Kerala, with the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary (11,000 hectares) and the Wayanad north division (21,400 hectares) in Kerala. The stretch is part of a larger swathe of about 12,000 sq. km, with an elephant population of more than 6,300. This by itself constitutes one-third of India’s endangered Asian elephant population, which keeps moving up and down the corridor for food and social bonding.

Buying land back from the villagers has not only secured the corridor for the safe passage of elephants and other wild animals, but also helped reduce human-elephant conflict in the area.

“The people are able to harvest and are spared sleepless nights guarding their crop and houses from elephants,” said Sandeep Tiwari, deputy director, WTI. “The initiatives have also helped in improving the lives of these families as they now have access to education and healthcare centres and opening up employment opportunities.”

How much forest is cut down for development needs? The government’s 11th Plan (2007-12) was particularly severe in terms of loss of forest cover, according to a report by research and activist group Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). Land was diverted for development projects with scant consideration for wildlife, water and rural communities, it said.

The CSE study looked at five key sectors—thermal power, hydropower, cement, iron and steel, and mining—that have impacted forests. The report said 8,284 projects were granted forest clearance and 197,907.61 hectares of forest land diverted between 2007 and 2011. In the past three decades, 815,534.48 hectares of forest have been cleared for 23,404 projects (see graphic).

India is urbanizing rapidly, and there is heavy pressure on land and natural resources as the population increases. According to a study by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham), the number of towns has grown from 5,161 to 7,935 in the decade ended 2011, and this may near 10,000 by 2030. Demographic projections show that by then, the proportion of people in urban areas may swell to more than double that in rural areas.

The loss of forest habitat is a reason for declining wildlife populations across the planet. In this scenario, buying land to secure wildlife habitats has given conservationists a method to arrest habitat loss. As renowned conservation biologist Richard Cowling said: “Conservation is 10% science and 90% negotiation.”

Acquiring land for conservation is not new. In the book Buying Nature, authors Sally K. Fairfax, Lauren Gwin, Mary Ann King, Leigh Raymond and Laura A. Watt document the process of land acquisition as a conservation strategy in the US in the last 200 years.
One such current initiative is the American Prairie Reserve, a collaborative effort involving conservation agencies such as the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the National Geographic Society that aims to acquire land in north-eastern Montana in the US to create a seamless protected area.

“Imagine a grassland reserve of three million acres—a wildlife spectacle that rivals the Serengeti and an awe-inspiring place for you and your children to explore,” says the American Prairie Reserve website.

“Imagine helping to build a national treasure.”

Eric Dinerstein, lead scientist and vice-president, conservation science, WWF, said: “By 2022, I dream of 10,000 bison thundering across 1,000,000 acres with wolves in hot pursuit.”

Back in India, between 2001 and 2003, WTI managed to secure the Kollegal or Edayarhalli–Doddasampige elephant corridor for about Rs.70 lakh. The elephant range to the east of the Biligirirangan Hills had been divided by a long strip of cultivation that cut off the Biligiriranga Swamy Temple (BRT) Wildlife Sanctuary from the forests of the Kollegal division. A narrow corridor now exists between the villages of Kurubaradoddi and Aandipalya along the Kollegal-Satyamangalam highway.

WTI acquired 25.4 acres for the corridor in Aandipalya village from 17 landowners. The land has been transferred to the Karnataka forest department through a formal memorandum of understanding (MoU) to maintain it as an elephant corridor, ensuring connectivity and incorporating it as part of the BRT Wildlife Sanctuary. This is the first ever privately bought corridor to be added to a protected areas in Asia.

In the North-East, with financial support from WLT, which pioneered the buy-an-acre concept of acquiring land for conservation, WTI is working with the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC), the Meghalaya state forest department and the local community to secure wildlife corridors and the restore wildlife habitat.

As much as “4,150 acres have been secured with notification of 10 Village Reserve Forests,” said WTI’s Tiwari.

WWF-India is keen to follow the model, but rocketing land prices are a stumbling block.
“We are looking across various landscapes to acquire land and hand it over to the forest department,” said Ravi Singh, WWF-India’s secretary general. “Whatever we are doing to get forest land back is being done discreetly as any overt signs may send the land prices spiralling.”

Land for Project Tiger

Project Tiger, the government’s flagship conservation programme that turns 40 years old this month, has secured 2% of the country’s geographical area as tiger reserves. The area under the project gets the highest legal protection under the Wildlife Act. The central government’s programme not only secures the existence of the tiger, but also a gamut of species that thrives in those areas.

Launched in April 1973 in nine reserves across an area of approximately 14,000 sq. km, the project has expanded, especially in the past decade, from 25 tiger reserves in 2001 to 43 now. Project Tiger has secured an area of 66,274.68 sq. km across 17 states in the country.

Under the project, the central government provides 100% monetary assistance to states for strengthening protection; creating basic infrastructure for management; habitat development and restoration; water resources; eco-development programmes; village relocation; use of information technology (IT) in crime detection; monitoring of tiger populations; and carrying out estimations of tigers, co-predators and prey animals among others.

Private forests

Apart from government and non-government initiatives, a few individuals too have acquired land adjoining wildlife sanctuaries across the country and then allowed natural forest regrowth to take place as part of conservation. Most of them refused to speak on record.

One of them is Romulus Whitaker, popularly known as the Snake Man of India for his specialization in reptiles.

Whitaker set up the Agumbe Rainforest Research Station (ARRS) in Karnataka as a field station for the study of rainforest ecology in 2005 on a four-acre plot surrounded by forests. The land was bought with money willed to him by his mother, Doris Norden Chattopadhyaya.

Agumbe is a village in the Western Ghats in Shimoga where, in 1971, Whitaker spotted his first king cobra. He’d always wanted to set up a research base in the area.

In 2005, Whitaker also received the prestigious Whitley Fund for Nature award, which helped him set up basic infrastructure and convert an old farmhouse into a full-fledged forest research base.
“During the setting up of the field station, we had visits from leopards as well as a couple of king cobras, which to us ‘certified’ the place as the ideal field station,” he recalled.
Today, ARRS has 10 acres of land thanks to additional acquisitions and recently came under the administration of the Madras Crocodile Bank Trust, which Whitaker set up in the 1980s to study reptiles.

Wildernest, in the Chorla Ghat area of Goa, has secured 450 acres and is perhaps one of the largest private reserve corridors for forests across two sanctuaries as well as two states—between the Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary in Goa and Bhimgad Wildlife Sanctuary in Karnataka. The Wildernest team runs two independent research stations like ARRS, one in the Chorla ghats and the other at Kuveshi near Castle Rock.

The Sai Sanctuary located in the Western Ghats is another example of a private forest reserve. It’s home to large carnivores such as tigers and leopards, along with elephants and 300 species of birds.

From the initial purchase of 55 acres of private forested lands in 1991, the reserve managed by the Sai Sanctuary Trust has grown to more than 300 acres and today offers a buffer to the National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries along its borders—Brahmagiri, Nagarhole and Bandipur.

Securing land, especially degraded forests and leaving them for nature to reclaim, is a sustainable model to restore forests and protect biodiversity. But it’s an uphill task with land costs surging the moment there’s a hint of demand. Also, in a burgeoning economy in which development is the buzzword, it can be a struggle to find the right balance between conservation and economic growth imperatives.

Source: http://www.livemint.com/Politics/df1ep278rRHJ7JaeI6ohrL/Buying-land-to-return-it-to-nature.html

Officials, civil society join hands to restore wildlife corridor

Subhash Chandra N S Bangalore | Deccan Herald

Govt declares Kaniyanapura and nearby villages as reserve forest. This is one classic example of how concerted efforts by government officials and civil society can make a difference to conservation. 

Sustained pursuance of the case by a few bureaucrats and wildlife activists has ensured that revenue land, over 5,000 acres, falling in a critical wildlife corridor at Kaniyanapura is declared a reserve forest. The efforts bring to an end the two-decade old issue of protecting the Kaniyanapura elephant corridor - which links Bandipur Tiger Reserve and Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary in Tamil Nadu.

Kaushik Mukherjee, former additional chief secretary, B J Hosmath, field director, Project Tiger, Sanjay Gubbi, member, State Board for Wildlife, Basavaraju, assistant commissioner, Kollegal and Manjunath, tahsildar, Gundlupet have together got thousands of acres of revenue land, which had features of forest, declared reserve forest.

“A notification under Section 4 of Karnataka Forest Act has been issued with an intention to provide legal status to this forest patch,” Kumar Pushkar, Chief Conservator of Forests, Bandipur Tiger Reserve, told Deccan Herald. The notification - dated February 2, 2012 - grants reserve forest status to more than 5,000 acres of revenue land to ensure their protection.

Pushkar said the corridor was very important as far as wildlife protection is concerned as almost all animals, including tiger and elephant, use this stretch for their movement. He said declaring such a huge stretch of land as reserve forest was not an easy task. Not doing so would have been a great loss to wildlife as the notified area binds north and south ears of the corridor, he said.

“This area had become a hub of numerous activities. We would have lost the habitat. By declaring it reserve forest, we have secured it for wildlife,” he said.

“This is the patch which connects Biligirirangana Hills Tiger Reserve and Satyamangala forest with Nagarhole and Bandipur,” he added.

The revenue land falling in the limits of Chikyelchetti, Bachalli, Kebbepura, Kaniyanpura, Mangala, Yeriyur, Heggavadi and Kundukere villages have forests that connected the two important protected areas within the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve.

“Despite a Supreme Court order that land with characteristics of forests should not be diverted for non-forestry activities without proper permissions, several resorts and private farms had come up here. Many of them were illegal and had reduced the corridor to a chicken neck in some locations,” explained a wildlife expert who has conducted a study of this corridor.

Sanjay Gubbi conducted a quick survey of the area with the help of volunteers from Vanya and Aranya wildlife groups in 2011. An area of 9,662.3 acres was found to have forest cover and a report was submitted to the government recommending that these areas be declared reserved forest.

Finding that an area of 5,599.05 acres was not diverted to private use, the department officials made a proposal to the government to declare it reserved forest under the Karnataka Forest Act, 1963. This finally led to the notification declaring the area as reserve forest.

Source: http://www.deccanherald.com/content/257712/officials-civil-society-joi

PM urged to announce special package to address man-animal conflict

TNN | Apr 19, 2013
NAGPUR: Following unprecedented rise in man-animal conflict in which eight villagers were mauled by a problem leopard in 25 days, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has been urged to announce a special package to implement 'alternate livelihood programme' for minor forest produce (MFP) and livestock dependent families living in Tadoba landscape and wildlife corridors.

Satpuda Foundation, which is a member of the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL), has demanded a special package from the Prime Minister, who is also the chairman of NBWL. In a letter to the PMO on Wednesday, the Satpuda Foundation chief Kishor Rithe said that there are at least 189 spots in TATR landscape where there is presence of big cats.

Explaining the problem, Rithe said that communities living in Tadoba's buffer villages and wildlife corridors mostly depend on MFP like bamboo, mahua flowers and tendu leaves for livelihood. Wild animals, who are not so familiar with humans, tend to attack villagers who enter the forest to collect these forest produce or to graze livestock.

From 2007 to 2013, around 83 human deaths and around 5,861 cattle kill cases have been recorded in Chandrapur district alone, as against 223 human and 21,775 cattle kills in the entire state.

The Satpuda Foundation has sought PMO's intervention to implement preventive steps rather than simply paying compensation.

"It is high time, that a special package to solve man-animal conflict is implemented under alternate livelihood programme for MFP," said Rithe. The Satpuda Foundation will also write to MLAs and MPs in Vidarbha to gather support to design and implement such package.

The copy of the letter has also been sent to Jayanthi Natarajan, Union environment and forest minister, and Montek Singh Ahluwalia, deputy chairman of Planning Commission.

Trail of death

* March 24: Anusaya Shende, Usrala Chak (Saoli)
* April 6: Dhrupada Madavi, Sadagad (Saoli)
* Leopard caged and released in Girghat (TATR)
* April 10: Tukaram Dharne and Malan Munghate ((Adegaon)
* April 10: (Wrong leopard caged)
* April 11: Lalita Pendam (Pathri)
* April 12: Nileema Kotrange (Chorgaon)
* April 17: Kirti Katkar (Payali)
* April 18: Gopika Kalsarpe (Kitali)

(Six deaths after release of problem leopard in TATR. On April 16 Laijabai Fukat was killed by a tiger in Ranbodi in Umred-Karhandla)

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/PM-urged-to-announce-special-package-to-address-man-animal-conflict/articleshow/19623792.cms

Speeding train knocks dead tiger cub, injures another

Vijay Pinjarkar & Mazhar Ali, TNN Apr 16, 2013
NAGPUR/CHANDRAPUR: In a big blow to tiger conservation, a 10-month-old tiger cub was knocked dead and another critically injured by a speeding train near Kelzar on Gondia-Chandrapur railway line late Sunday night. This is the sixth tiger death in the state this year but perhaps the first ever in which a train was involved.

The tragedy took place around 10.30pm on Sunday when the Gondia-Chanda Fort passenger was approaching Chandrapur at a speed of 80 kmph. The driver of the train saw the tiger family, which included a tigress and three cubs. Locals say they knew about presence of a tigress with four cubs in the area.

Officials suspect that while the tigress and one cub crossed the railway line, the remaining two, both females, were hit in an attempt to follow them.

Sources say the driver blew the whistle after which the tigress and a cub jumped across the track. However, two cubs were slow to react and were knocked by the speeding train. The incident took place in compartment number 430 under Chichpalli range. The injured cub has been shifted to Nagpur at Seminary Hills nursery at 10pm.

The incident was reported by train guard R M Lohar to Chanda Fort station master who informed forest officials at 11.15pm. RFO VW Morey with his team launched search along the tracks during the wee hours and the trackers traced the carcass. The injured tiger cub was hiding in the bushes around 50 meters from the track and was traced in the morning.

"The cub that was hit died of head injury. Another cub suffered a fracture in its right hind leg," said BSK Reddy, CCF, Chandrapur Circle.

Pradeep Kumar, senior divisional commercial manager (SrDCM) of South East Central Railway (SECR), said the Gondia-Chanda Fort line was converted into broad gauge in 1999 after getting necessary environment clearances.

The mishap underlines the lack of vision and callousness on part of the then forest officials who gave forest clearances to the project without seeking any mitigation measures. ""We were not asked for any mitigation measures then. However, if forest authorities make a request, we will consider restraining speed of passing trains in forest patches,"" Kumar told TOI.

The railway line passes through the corridor between Tadoba and Chaprala sanctuary at Kelzar. "It further passes through forests touching Nagzira sanctuary in Gondia," said Kishor Rithe, member, National Board for Wildlife (NBWL).

Reddy said he will write to the railway officials to limit speed of trains which they pass through wildlife rich forest areas.

"There have been many incidents of sloth bears, leopards, Indian gaurs, and wild boars dying due to train hits in the past," said Bandu Dhotre, honorary district wildlife warden.

The injured cub that sat in the thickets was tranquillized Tadoba divisional forest officer (DFO) G K Vashisht. It was later shifted for treatment to Nagpur late night under the supervision of Dr Chitra Raut and Dr P D Kadukar. Head of forest force (HoFF) AK Joshi, APCCF SS Mishra, Tadoba field director Virendra Tiwari and others visited the spot. They said search operations to track the tigress and other cubs will continue.

Greens express shock

Greens are dismayed over the death of tiger. Harshawardhan and Poonam Dhanwatey of Tiger Research and Conservation Trust (TRACT) said the railway track is becoming a death trap for wildlife. Suresh Chopne of Green Planet said MP Hansraj Ahir will be urged to take up the issue with the environment ministry.

"Last month, a sloth bear was killed near the same spot. In this case, was the tigers' mother missing? This could have led the cubs to cross the track by mistake," said Kishor Rithe of Satpuda Foundation. Prafulla Bhamburkar of Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) wanted railway ministry to make budgetary provision for wildlife in such areas.

Source: http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-04-16/nagpur/38585770_1_tiger-cub-injured-cub-tigress

When the tiger shows us the passageways

While experts dither over corridor viability, big cats from Rajasthan offer some lessons
Jay Mazoomdaar
IT WAS Jaipur, late 2007. A few months before the PMO cleared the plan to fly in tigers to Sariska from Ranthambhore, an IAS officer was holding forth on the subject at a private function. “Let’s build a corridor for tigers; 100-metre wide. How much land (do) we require? It’s not even 200 km between the two forests,” he said, clearly exasperated by the delay. Just 140 km, a colleague assured him, and generously proposed that the width of the passage be doubled: “We will put trees and all. It will be fenced and safe.” The enthusiasm was infectious till a senior forest officer jumped in to play spoilsport.

As forests get fragmented due to rapid incursion of roads, railways, mines, cropland or settlements, maintaining connectivity and therefore healthy gene flow among small wild populations is becoming more challenging than ever. More so, because the popular perception of a wildlife corridor, particularly to those in the corridors of power, is indistinguishable from say, freight corridors.

The term corridor gives an impression of linearity. But animals seldom move like crows fly. The shortest course we chart out for tigers at official meetings and even in research papers may not suit them at all. The route may not have enough water sources or vegetation cover in which they can sneak around. Or it may be just too crowded.

For many years now, experts and officials have been wondering how to make the 2-4 km stretch between Ranthambhore National Park (RNP) and Keladevi Wildlife Sanctuary (KWLS) — both part of the Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve (RTR) but separated by the Banas river — a safe animal corridor so that tigers from the park can populate the sanctuary.

The ravine wilderness that connects RNP and KWLS is being flattened for agriculture by local villagers who have established several hamlets to manage their new cropland. Though ecologically vibrant, ravines are classified as wasteland, reclamation of which is officially encouraged. Illegal sand mining on several stretches along the Banas further chokes this passageway. Unsurprisingly, of the 50-odd Ranthambhore tigers, only one is settled in KWLS, crowded by dozens of villages and their livestock.

But while the close proximity of RNP and KWLS makes restoring connectivity look feasible, any prospect of reviving the Ranthambhore-Kuno corridor has long been written off. Tigers from Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh mated frequently till the trans-Chambal link snapped three decades ago. While Kuno remained connected to other MP forests, Ranthambhore became an island, hemming in its then population of 14 tigers.

The numbers have multiplied almost four-fold in RNP since. But the only way the Ranthambhore tigers can escape disastrous consequences of inbreeding is through revival of the gene flow from MP. But nobody gave the lost corridor a chance. Once the resident tigers of Kuno were poached, it was readied for lions from Gujarat. When Narendra Modi refused to oblige, the focus shifted to reintroducing cheetahs from Africa.

BETWEEN RTR and Kuno, the Chambal river forms the boundary between Rajasthan and MP. In this stretch, five Rajasthan rivers — Mez, Chakan, Kharad, Kundli and Banas — join the Chambal from the north. Another six tributaries — Kalisindh, Parbati, Seep, Param, Doni and Kuno — reach from the south.

Dispersing tigers prefer to keep to watercourses. Each of these meandering rivers connects RNP to neighbouring forests. Along the Chambal axis, Chakan, Kharad and Kundli lead to Sawai Mansingh sanctuary while Mez offers passage to Ramgarh Bishdhari forests. Kalisindh is the access to Darrah sanctuary while Parbati reaches the forests of Baran district. Kuno and Param rivers pass through the Kuno sanctuary while Doni and Seep flow in the larger Kuno landscape.

In the recent past, Ranthambhore tigers have travelled far and wide — Kota, Bharatpur and Mathura — as the rivers flow. There was no reason why they, if their nerve held, would not reach Kuno in MP. In fact, quite a few floaters — the last one in 2010 — ventured south inside MP across the Chambal, but eventually moved back to Rajasthan.

So, many considered it a fluke when a Ranthambhore male (T38) walked out of RNP’s Sultanpur area in late 2010 and reached Kuno in January 2011. The itinerary is sketchy but T38 walked southeast to cross the Banas and spent two weeks in a patch of ravine forest before crossing the Chambal at its confluence with Param and then followed the river upstream to reach the heart of Kuno. It was a leisurely journey, with many stopovers and kills.

Yet, T38 was merely considered lucky, till a sub-adult tiger decided to match his skills last month. One of the three cubs of T26, the young male left RNP’s Khandar area on 23 January. It reached the Banas the next day and apparently sensing mining activities to its right, turned left along the river, crossed a couple of roads, and climbed atop the hills of KWLS using the only available pass by 26 January. Unimpressed by the mess inside Keladevi, it charted its course down to the Chambal river and across to MP in the next five days.

Here, its intuition took over again and it chose to follow the Kuno river southward. Parallel to the Chambal runs a 12- feet deep irrigation canal that briefly goes inside a tunnel while passing over the Kuno. The tiger reached the other side of the canal walking under this tunnel on 5 February and, as if to reward himself, made its first kill in MP soon after. Then it slowed down in the comfort zone of reserve forests south of Kuno sanctuary that offer ample feral cattle. The tiger has made three more kills since and is not showing any urgency to head southwards along the river. It has already walked at least 80 km, more than the linear distance between RNP and Kuno, without being spotted even once, and is a day’s walk away from joining predecessor T38 inside the sanctuary.

Unlike T38 in 2011, T26 junior is being tracked daily by the forest departments of the two states with the help of TigerWatch, a Ranthambhore NGO, and village wildlife watchers appointed for the task. Tired of waiting for lions, and now cheetahs, the guards at Kuno sound both excited and nervous to be hosting tigers again. Veterans, who still remember Kuno’s last tigers, are wary of poachers even as they pray that the next Ranthambhore crossover is a female.

The remarkable journeys of the Ranthambhore duo have three lessons for us. The wild does not need handholding and knows what it is up to. The river courses, and the surrounding ravines, must be secured and monitored for tiger migration. Every tiger in transit needs rigorous tracking to avoid poaching or conflict.

Meanwhile, with RNP finally having surplus tigers and habitats not improving in KWLS, dispersal of cats outside the reserve will continue. As a bunch of cubs get ready to break free in the coming months, Kuno is likely to welcome a few more tigers, hopefully females this time, from Ranthambhore.

Once the settlers start breeding in Kuno, young tigers will eventually venture further south inside MP to find partners or perhaps individuals from MP’s northernmost tiger pockets will come checking at Kuno. With time, the reverse wild traffic will hit Ranthambhore, carrying fresh genes to Rajasthan in many decades.

If only we take cue from the tiger instead of deciding for it.

Source: http://tehelka.com/when-the-tiger-shows-us-the-passageways/

Gunshots return to gag lion roar in Amreli

Vijaysinh Parmar, TNN | Feb 19, 2013

Wildlife experts say that there should not be any activity
in the 10-km periphery of a wildlife sanctuary and
government must declare it as a silent and
eco-sensitive zone.

RAJKOT: For most part of the year, it's only the roar of Asiatic lions that breaks the tranquility of Mityala Wildlife Sanctuary in Amreli district. But for the next two months, gunshots will rent the air, forcing the lions to run for cover.

Amreli district police started their annual firing practice near Khambha town, barely half a kilometre from the sanctuary. Till March 31, 950 cops will be firing not less than 30,000 rounds in this hilly area, which wildlife activists say is the natural corridor for as many as 15 Asiatic lions.

About 70 policemen of various ranks have to undergo the annual practice daily by firing 32 rounds each. This translates into nearly 2,100 rounds being fired close to the sanctuary.

"We have written to the concerned government departments to find an alternate firing range as this one is very close to the wildlife sanctuary, " said Vimalsinh Rathod, a wildlife activist in Khambha. In fact, one lions had preyed on a goat in a private farm which is a stone's throw away from the range.

"Wildlife experts say that there should not be any activity in the 10-km periphery of a wildlife sanctuary and government must declare it as a silent and eco-sensitive zone.

Deputy conservator of forests, Anshuman Sharma said that he will look into this matter.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/flora-fauna/Gunshots-return-to-gag-lion-roar-in-Amreli/articleshow/18567658.cms

Now, a bison mowed down by train

SHIV SAHAY SINGH

• State and Railways have given conflicting versions of elephant deaths
• Incident occurred at spot where there are no speed restrictions on trains: Minister

Train was running 15 km/hour over speed limit, inquiry launched into incident

Hours after three elephants were mowed down by an express train in the Buxa Tiger Reserve of West Bengal’s Jalpaiguri district, a bison died after being hit by another train in the same district late on Saturday.

Sumita Ghatak, Divisional Forest Officer, Jalpaiguri, told The Hindu over telephone on Sunday: “The incident occurred in the Odlajhora forest when the Howrah-bound Kanchan Kanya Express hit the animal [when it] was crossing the tracks.”

Meanwhile, the State government and the Railways have given conflicting versions about the death of three elephants.

While the State’s Forest Minister, Hiten Burman, said the train was running at a speed of 70-75 km/hour — as against the permissible limit of 50 km per hour — Minister of State for Railways Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said the incident occurred at a place where there are no speed restrictions on trains.

“We have ordered an inquiry into the incident. The report will be placed before Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who will take the matter up with the Railway authorities,” Mr. Burman said.

A meeting of the officials of the Forest and Railway departments will be held on Monday in Alipurduar in the district to discuss the situation and prevent any recurrence, he said.

Mr. Chowdhury said he had directed the officials of the Railway Board to find out whether there were any lapses on the part of Railways officials.

“Ideally, there should be no trains plying through these areas because of the elephant corridor, but if we [adhere to] that then we will loose our connectivity with large areas in north Bengal and the northeastern States,” he said.

Such incidents in north Bengal have shot up since the railway line passing through the region was converted from meter-gauge to broad-gauge in 2004. Since then, more than 30 elephants have been killed while crossing the tracks in the area. Seven elephants were killed in September 2011 after being hit by goods trains in the Banarhat area of the district.

Source: http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/now-a-bison-mowed-down-by-train/article4281310.ece

Need corridor so tigers don't fight to death

IANS Dec 28, 2012, 10.08PM IST

JAIPUR: Even as the Wildlife Conservation Society recently reported a 50 percent increase in the population of tigers in the wild in India with their population now estimated at 3,200 after years of dangerously dwindling numbers, there is fresh cause for worry for tigers in sanctuaries.

As tiger-numbers increase in reserve areas, territorial fights are becoming frequent. In Rajasthan's Ranthambore National Park, the large number of tigers dying because of such fights has led to the state government planning for a corridor connecting this sanctuary with the adjoining Keladevi Sanctuary, an official said Friday.

The new corridor will come up at an estimated cost of Rs.200 crore.

About 45 villagers will need to be relocated to create the corridor, an official said.

The decision to create such a corridor was taken following the mysterious death of a yet-to-identified tiger in Ranthambore recently. Senior forest department officials said preliminary investigation hints at the possibility of the majestic cat being killed in a territorial fight.

"The state government has sought Rs.200 crore from the central government for developing the corridor. We are hopeful of receiving the money in the near future," a senior forest department officer told IANS.

Four tigers were killed in territorial fights over the past four years in Ranthambore National Park, leaving environmentalists worried that as the tiger population increases, there is also need to create a habitat in which they can thrive.

The tigers are overlapping each other's territory. To get their share of space, the big cats are fighting each other to death in the reserve in Sawai Madhopur district, some 150 km from Jaipur, wildlife experts said.

A tigress died in the reserve area Dec 23, and the death was attributed to a territorial fight with another cat. The mutilated, maggot-ridden carcass of the tigress was recovered from the reserve's Gilai Saga-Khadar area early Sunday morning, officials said.

A senior forest department officer told IANS that a probe has been launched into the animal's death.

"Prima facie, injuries suggest the death occurred in a territorial fight with another tiger. However, we are awaiting the post-mortem report to ascertain the cause, and rule out poaching," a wildlife officer said.

The number of such fights had been increasing in the recent past, the officer said.

A tiger named T-36 died of serious head injuries during a territorial fight with T-42 Aug 22, 2010. The body of tigress T-4 was found April 4, 2009. Officials had concluded that she was attacked by another tiger in a territorial fight.

Similarly, tigress T-15 was killed Sep 1, 2008.

According to a census conducted by the state forest department in 2009, there were 40 tigers in and around Ranthambore National Park and Sawai Madhopur wildlife sanctuary. The census conducted in the core division from April 30 to May 10, 2009 revealed that there were 14 males, 16 females and 10 cubs.

However, a recent survey found that the number of tigers has increased to 52, including 26 cubs.

"The core area of the reserve is spread over 1,113.36 sq km. Besides, the buffer zone earmarked by the state government around the reserve is 297.9 sq km. The area is inadequate for housing 52 tigers," a wildlife expert said.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/flora-fauna/Need-corridor-so-tigers-dont-fight-to-death/articleshow/17799464.cms