The New King!

As they say time never stops for anyone. Bamera took over his father’s dynasty in no time. He made his plans clear when he started visiting the grasslands of Tala. He has been known for aggressively expanding his empire’s frontiers. In 2010, Bamera came up front with his father B2. The father was badly wounded and had to step back. With the death of B2 in 2011, it was time for all to bow down to the new king in Bandhavgarh!

It is very hard for tiger cubs to survive till maturity. To get rid of the future rivals cubs lose their lives to males other than their own father. Some vanish in search of a safer haven and never return to their usual territory while some go missing forever. Poached or even killed in territorial mishaps.

Born to a very courageous mother Chakra, Bamera had to leave tala at a very young age in search of territory. B2 was in his prime and was not letting any tiger intrude, be it his own son. Bamera had to fight his way up the chain of command. It was B2’s own blood who could take on him and conquer him. With time he grew and was all set to win it from his father.

The ancestry of “Charger” and “B2” has now passed on to all together a new generation of tigers. Today the new king has taken over most of the region of Tala. The king has about 5 females in his kingdom. Bamera keeps exploring his dynasty, while keeping an eye out for his enemies and has built his empire strong and safe for his cubs to grow. 

Here are a few pictures I have clicked of Bamera.

Bamera near Siddhababa temple, Bandhavgarh National Park.

The Kings Share

The fall in number of Tigers in the census of 2007 was at last taken seriously

by the Government of India. The Finance Minister Mr. P. Chidambaram alloted a grant of Rs. 50 Crore for the protection of tigers following pressure from International conservationists to save the last tigers of the country.

While presenting the budget of 2008-09 Chidambaram told "The number 1,411 should ring the alarm bells.. The tiger is under grave threat." Further Chidambaram said that the National Tiger Conservation Authority would be granted Rs. 50 Crores to "raise, arm and deploy" a Tiger Protection Force.

The Project Tiger plans to create eight new Tiger Reserves across the country at a cost of $153 million. An estimated 2,00,000 people from across 250 villages will be relocated as the human interference in tiger territories and encroachment are considered equally dangerous as poaching.

THERE IS STILL SOME HOPE FOR THIS BEAUTIFUL CREATION OF GOD.

The Diminishing Pugmarks

February 19, I am one year old in the Blogging World today. The day I posted the first entry on my Blog, The tiger count in the country was estimated about 3500-5000 (Approx). But after the 2007 census, a mere 1500 wild cats roam free in India.. 1411 to be more precise..

The very first post on my blog was “Is capital punishment enough for people involved in Poaching”. Every one had a different view. Some felt it is the correct punishment but some on the other hand felt that poachers should be fed to the tigers. Here are the views of a few people about this. Click here

I personally feel that people involved in poaching should be hanged. But sometimes I feel that tigers should also be given a chance to deal with these killers the way they want. Not just feeding them but throwing them to hungry predators. But I know this is next to impossible. According to the Official figures the population rose from 3508 in 1997 to 3642 in 2002. But in 2008 there is a fall of 60%. The figures of 2007 shows that only 1411 tigers are left in the country known as "The Land Of Tigers".

There are several methods for Tiger Census. Prey density estimation, radio telemetry, digital photography of pugs, camera trapping method, Identification using DNA from Tiger droppings and the very famous Pugmark Method. Camera trapping method is not practical especially where there are 1 or 2 Tigers per 100 sq. kms. This method was confined to a few major tiger habitats. The Final figure was an outcome of the new and advanced techniques used in 2007 census.

Encroachment by humans in their natural habitat and poaching are the prime reasons for the fall. Relocation and Resettlement is only done on papers and is never taken seriously.

How long are we going to remember these figures? It is quite possible that some might think about this issue after the next census. Wouldn’t it be a little too late? A decline of 60% in a decade makes the picture very clear. There is still hope if saving tigers is taken as a priority.

The World would not be as Beautiful as it is, Without Tigers…. !!!!

BATTLE TO SAVE THE TIGER..

Another Sariska in the making…. ??
The Orissa Government claims that there are 101 Tigers in Simlipal National Park. While the official figure of the census has reported the presence of not more than 30 tigers in the park. This clearly proves that the Government has failed in tiger conservation.

A couple of days after the Chief Minister of Orissa denied the figures of the report, NDTV had posted pictures that clearly show poachers in the core area of the park. Poachers were armed with bows and arrows and had dogs along with them. No one is allowed in the core area of a protected forest and it is to be heavily patrolled. The photograph clearly show that there is absolutely no patrolling in the forest.

Is this the making of another Sariska.. ??

I DO NOT HOLD ANY RIGHTS OF THE PHOTOS USED IN THE POST.
Photograph of Poachers in Orissa taken from NDTV.
I THANK THE OWNERS FOR ALL THE PHOTOGRAPHS.

Poachers Vs. Predators

SEVERAL ARRESTS AND SEIZURE OF TIGER SKINS, BONES AND IRON TRAPS ARE A CLEAR INDICATION OF POACHERS BEING EXTREMELY ACTIVE IN THE NATIONAL PARKS..

THE MOST COMMON WAYS OF POACHING ARE POISONING, TRAPPING, ELECTROCUTION AND SNARING..
THE POACHERS OFTEN TEMPT THE VILLAGERS LIVING NEAR THE TIGER HABITAT AS THEY KNOW THE MOVEMENT OF THE TIGER BETTER THAN THE POACHERS.. SOMETIMES THE POACHERS EVEN OUTSOURCE THE JOB TO THE VILLAGERS, AND THE JOB IS DONE FOR NOT MORE THAN A SUM OF THREE TO FIVE THOUSAND RUPEES..

ON JUNE 7 A TIGER SKIN WAS RECOVERED FROM ERAMANGALAM IN KERELA.. LAST WEEK TWO TIGERS WERE FOUND DEAD UNDER SUSPICIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES IN KARNATAKA'S BANDIPUR RESERVE.. ON MAY 16TH THE CID FOREST CELL OF THE KARNATAKA POLICE HAD SEIZED A TIGER SKIN IN NAZARBAD.. THIS ANIMAL WAS POISONED A MONTH BACK.. 106 PIECES OF TIGER BONE WAS SIEZED FROM THE HOUSE OF NAWAB ALI IN SATNA DISTRICT OF MADHYA PRADESH ON 29TH MAY.. ON 31ST MARCH A TIGER WAS FOUND INJURED AFTER BEING SHOT BY POACHERS.. IT WAS PARALYSED.. THIS ANIMAL WAS SHIFTED TO NANDANKANAN ZOO..


I CAN STILL REMEMBER AN ARTICLE PUBLISHED IN THE TIMES.. A YEAR AGO.. STATING.. A TIGER WORTH 20 CRORES IN THE FOREIGN MARKET IS SOLD FOR NOT MORE THAN 20 THOUSAND IN INDIA.. 

THESE VILLAGERS DONT KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING.. THEY'RE
 NOT ONLY KILLING TIGERS BUT AT THE SAME TIME THEY'RE KILLING 
THEMSELVES.. SOMETIMES THEY KILL TIGERS IF THEY FEAR THE DANGER
OF THEM KILLING THEIR LIVESTOCKS.. AND SOMETIMES THEY DO THIS AS A PART OF VENGEANCE..

THE FINAL TIGER CENCUS FIGURES ARE EXPECTED TO COME BY THE END OF THIS YEAR.. AND I WOULD NOT BE SURPRISED IF THE FIGURE FALLS EVEN LOWER..

IS THIS THE TREATMENT OUR NATIONAL ANIMAL DESERVES FROM US ??

PREDATOR OR PREY !!!!

HALF OF THE TIGERS POPULATION OF THE WORLD IS IN INDIA.. BUT THERE ARE STILL A LOT MANY STEPS TO BE TAKEN TO SAVE THIS ANIMAL..

THE FIRST CENSUS ON TIGERS WAS DONE WAY BACK IN 1973 UNDER THE PROJECT TIGER.. NUMBER ESTIMATED WAS 1827 THAT TIME.. BUT THERE WAS A RISE IN THE NUMBER OF TIGERS TILL 2002.. THE NUMBER CAME UP TO 3700 BY 2002..

IN 16 OF THE COUNTRIES 28 TIGER RESERVES ESTIMATES INDICATE A FALL OF 50% IN THE NUMBER OF TIGERS IN 2006-2007..


TIGER POPULATION IN MADHYA PRADESH AND CHHATTISGARH IN 2002 WAS ESTIMATED TO 710 TIGERS .. BUT NOW IT HAS FALLEN TO 290 (DECLINE OF ABOUT 61%).. MAHARASHTRA HAS 95 TIGERS IN COMPARISON TO 238 IN 2002.. WHEREAS RAJASTHAN HAS 32 TIGERS LEFT OUT OF THE 58 IN 2002..

A FINAL CENSUS IS EXPECTED TO COME BY THE END OF 2007..

THE MINISTRY OF ENVIORONMENT AND FOREST HAS TERMED THIS REPORT UNOFFICIAL.. WII IS A PART OF THE MINISTRY AND THE GOVERNMENT HAS SANCTIONED Rs. 130 MILLION FOR THE CENSUS.. THEN HOW CAN IT BE CALLED AN UNOFFICIAL REPORT..

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SOME PHOTOS AND VIDEOS ADDED IN THE PICTURE AND VIDEO GALLERY SECTION FOR EVERYONE TO DOWNLOAD.. IF THIS CONTINUES.. WE WILL HAVE TIGERS LEFT IN BOOKS AND PHOTOS ONLY..

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"SAVE THE TIGER"

Failure of Project Tiger in Rajasthan.

The Rajasthan government is in a spot following a CAG report indicating it for failing to save tigers in the state.

The report said the poplulation has reduced drastically from 47 in 2004 to 26 in 2006 in Ranthambore Tiger Reserve and from 16 to nil in Sariska Tiger Reserve. "This shows the failure of project authorities and monitoring system at government level" said the report.

"Project Tiger" was launched in 1973 as a Centrally-Sponsered scheme. It covered Ranthambore and Sariska Tiger Reserves to help conserve Tigers and preserve the eco-system. "The objective of saving tigers from imminent extinction seems far from being realised as effective measures to stop degradation and fragmentation of thier habitats were not taken during 2000-2006." the report said.

There were delays in transferring funds, failure in fixing time schedules for achieving targets and improper management of the reserves, it added.

According to the report. the presence of 74 villages inside the protected areas (PAs) of the sanctuaries are the main cause of the depletion of forest areas. Chopping trees for timber, fuel etc causes great damage to the habitat of animals.

To minimise the negative impact of these villages on the PAs, relocation of these villages was essential. However, of four villages in Ranthambore only one village, Padra, was sanctioned a relocation package of Rs 1.46 crore in August 2001.

While the process was to be completed by March 2003, scrutiny revealed that out of 111 families, only 59 were relocated after incurring an expenditure of Rs90.76 lakh in March 2006. Remaining 52 familiescould not be relocated due to allotment of unsuitable agricultral land and delays in constructing houses.

The report availability of communication network equipment and arms for protecting wildlife in tiger reserves was insufficient. "Against the requirement of 26 revolvers and 73 guns in both the reserves, only seven revolvers and eight guns were available."

"Schemes and works executed under India-Eco Development Project such as providing of LPG connections, immunisation of cattle among others could also not achieve the desired objectives." CAG said.

As stated by The Times of India, Dated 20/03/2006. Page 6.

Project Tiger Reserves in India

Bandhavgarh National Park
Check out the place where firstly and formostly the white Tigers of Rewa were discovered Bandhavgarh. This park is some of the left out preserved wild pockets of Madhya Pradesh of what were once splendid forests that extended across the whole of Central India.


Corbett National Park, U.P.
Corbett is India's first and finest national park spread along the banks of the Ramganga River, in the foothills of the Himalayas. A well-protected wild habitat, Corbett provides an unforgettable experience to a nature lover.


Kanha National Park
Ever though what it feels like to visit a tiger country, then visit the state of Madhya Pardesh, check out the wilds of Kanha and see for yourself why this place is called a wild hideout taken straight from the famous "Jungle Book".


Ranthambore National Park
A nearby attraction of Sawai Madhopur, in the state of Rajasthan, Ranthambore National Park is an outstanding example of Project Tiger's efforts at tiger conservation in the India.


Sariska Wildlife Sanctuary
Probably the most visited park in India, Sariska was also a hunting reserve previously just like other national parks in India. The reserve was declared a wildlife sanctuary in 1958 and came under the "Project Tiger" as a tiger reserve in 1979.


Sundarbans National Park
Come to Sundarbans where adventure awaits you at every corner. Known as the largest estuarine delta in the world, this Tigerland vibrates with countless forms of colourful life.


Bandipur & Nagarhole National Parks, Karnataka
Two of the most attractive national parks of Karnataka are Nagarhole and Bandipur. Even if separate entities, they are a part of a large neighboring wildlife reserve that also includes Madumalai Sanctuary of Tamil Nadu and Wynad Reserve of Kerala.


Dudhwa National Park, U.P.
Also popular as a Tiger Reserve, this national park is located in the district of Lakhimpur, along the Indo-Nepal border. Another major attraction of this wild reserve is the Barasingha or the Swamp Deer, found in the southwest and southeast region of the park.


Manas Tiger Reserve, Assam
Assam is the state of the Great One Horned Rhino. Beside the Kaziranga there's Manas another habitat of the Rhino's, located in one of the remotest region among the foothills of Himalayas.


Nandankanan Zoo, Orissa
A combination of a beautiful botanical garden, a zoo and a sanctuary, Nandankanan, is situated 20-km from Bhubaneshwar, and is popularly known as the "Garden of Pleasure" in Orissa. The zoo at Nandankanan is world famous for its White Tigers.


Read this in some website..

Regards..

Aman..