Birds avoid dry Keoladeo sanctuary

BHARATPUR: The green cover at the Keoladeo National Park after the recent short spell of rain is alluring but it cannot get more deceptive than this - the famed bird sanctuary is devoid of its life line, the winged guests.
All one gets to see in the park are a few birds, most of them only the local species. Among the monsoonal birds, only a handful of openbill storks are seen - small colonies of these birds nestled on a couple of trees, in a small portion of the park.

The beauty of the winged visitors at the Unesco's world heritage site begins and ends there. Even these few birds are likely to fly away soon, the reason being shortage of water in the park.

There is little hope that the monsoonal birds, which normally arrive in the park by July-August , will been seen this time too. Forest officials and bird watchers believe that unless immediate arrangements for water are made, no monsoon birds would be breeding in the park. The minimum requirement of water at the park is 500 MCFT (million cubic feet) annually, but all that it has got this season till now is less than 50 MCFT.

Since, the water bodies in the park are completely dry. the winged visitors avoided the park.
Recent spells of rain have ensured a little more than five feet of water in the nearby Ajam dam.

However, only after the level crosses about eight feet, the water would spill over into the artificial ponds and lakes in the park. Despite it being the monsoon season, the only source of water for the birds in the sanctuary are the 11 bore wells across the forest area. However, the amount of water pumped out is far from enough.
"The situation is almost like in 2009 when the open-bill storks and other birds have had to abandon their nests and eggs, which later became food for snakes and monkeys .

This year, though a few birds have started nesting, breeding has not yet begun. Unless a miracle happens, other breeding birds might not even be visiting the sanctuary ,'' an official said. The release of water from the Panchna Dam in Karauli district in August 2010, had brought in a new lease of life for the bird sanctuary.

A tigress and three tigers missing from Ranthambore

JAIPUR: Three tigers and one tigress are reportedly missing from the Ranthambore national park and are untraceable for the last few months.

"One tiger is untraceable since December last year and the others are missing since February this year. They do not have radio collars and our effort to trace them is on," Principal Chief Conservator of Forest and Chief Wildlife warden U M Sahai said.

No signs of territorial fight have been detected yet and the teams of forest department are making efforts to locate them, he added.

"In monsoon season, tracking big cats becomes difficult. They are missing for months even then it would be too early to anticipate that they are dead because it (missing) happens many times due to various reasons," Deputy Conservator of Forest- Ranthambore Y K Sahu said.

"No dead body has been found yet," he said. "We are hopeful that they would be traced after monsoon gets over. Tigers T21, T29, T40 and tigress T27 are missing," Sahu said, adding, there are more than 40 tigers, tigresses and cubs (in all) in Ranthambore.

The famous Ranthambore national park is located in Sawaimadhopur district, 130 kms from here in Rajasthan.

Role of Eco Task Force in Restoration of Degraded Ridge Ecosystem ‘The Bhatti Mines’ Delhi

Located in southeastern part of southern ridge in Aravalli valley bridging the two states Delhi & Haryana, Bhatti mines was a home to many wild animals and native flora of Aravalli ranges till  1900 AD. But due to  over expansion of Delhi it lost its wilderness in the process of urbanization in NCR. Over use of land specially for mining in the area made it lifeless with respect to its original natural glory which continued for many decades before the Territorial Army or Eco Battalion officially took over it from Delhi govt. in 2001.

Eco task force at Bhatti Mines, New Delhi

  E.T.F. also took nearly 4 years to permanently stop all illegal mining work and restore its original glory as a wildlife sanctuary in its approximately 4000 acres of land.

Today E.T.F has completely transformed   this ecologically degraded ecosystem into a very lively ridge ecosystem through   sustainable developments in the area by the plantation  of species of trees native  to Aravallli like Butea monosperma, Salvadora, P.cineraria, A. nilotica , Anogeissus pendula etc. 

Butea monosperma in Bhatti Mines 

The depressions formed due to mining were used as water bodies there are 36  such water bodies.today. Many small to big check dams were  constructed in the area where ever there was a natural water fall   and man made or natural depressions were present as a result water table came up. In the year 2011 there was indeed good rainfall so all the water bodies filled up uplifting and restoring the water table in the area. Today because of this effort of E.T.F. the faunal diversity has started blooming and over 100 species of birds can be sighted here including many migratory species ( Winter & Summer) like Green Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper, Crested Pied Cuckoos, Eurasian Golden Oriole etc other than many rare and resident species like Sirkeer Malkoha, Jungle Bush Quail, Barred Button Quail, Eurasian Eagle Owl, Eurasian Thick Knees and  recently photographed Painted Sandgrouses etc. Many species of butterflies like Blue, Plain and Striped Tigers, Pansies, Blues etc.Many reptiles like Monitor lizards, Sand and Garden Lizards ,Cobras, Kraits and recent addition of Saw scaled Viper are such  examples of the sustainable development and its restoration. 

 Painted sandgrouses-Pair seen in Bhatti mines

Among mammals are the 3 species of Mongoose, Indian Crested Porcupines, Golden Jackal,Bluebulls,Black Napped Hare and a pack of Striped Hyena are the latest additions in the list as the topmost occupants of the food chain  are breeding in Bhatti Mines.

MAMATA BANERJEE VISITS SANCTUARY IN WEST BENGAL

SUKNA (WB): West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee visited Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary, a day before signing of the tripartite agreement on the contentious Darjeeling issue. 


The locals entertained her with tea and told her about problems they face in the forest during her one-hour stay. 

Banerjee was presented 'khada', a silk scarf for ceremonial occasions, by the locals. 

The chief minister was accompanied by Trinamool leader and Union minister Mukul Ray and some journalists.


Coincidentally this place is also the site of numerous elephant accidents on train tracks.This 168-km stretch between Alipurduar and Asansol, on an average, takes the toll of five elephants every year and injures scores of other animals. In September last year, seven elephants were mowed down in an incident at this site. In another incident in November, a 10-ft tall n adult tusker was fatally wounded by a goods train in the Mahananda wildlife sanctuary between Gulma and Sevoke. 


Naturist organizations and environmentalist have requested the Railways and departments concerned to stop running trains on this track during night hours and double the line (that passes through Jalpaiguri and Falakata) to minimize traffic on the Dooars track. "We suggested that if the trains run on a track parallel to this line, the conflict would minimize. But the Railways refused citing the reason that that the parallel line will not be able to take the load of trains that runs to and from Guwahati," said Animesh Basu, coordinator of Himalayan Nature and Adventure Foundation.

"The most tragic part of this is that the political parties are very much indifferent to the issue as the victims are not voters," he added.

Meanwhile, the forest department has started an extensive search operation in the adjacent areas to trace if any other elephant of the herd was injured on Saturday night. They have lodged a complaint with the Banerhat police station.

The rail line through the Dooars might have proved a boon for the area residents, but it has turned to be a curse for the wild lives. When this track was being converted into broad gauge in 2002, nature lovers had protested. The WWF had also filed a case in the Calcutta high court. But the court had given the permission and asked the railways to follow certain directives so that the line did not prove fatal for the animals. But the norms are hardly followed. 

NTCA TO STUDY ADANI IMPACT ON NAGJIRA WILDLIFE SANCTUARY

NAGPUR: The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), a statutory body under the ministry of environment and forest monitoring tiger reserves in the country, will study adverse impact onNagzira wildlife sanctuary with the diversion of 163.84 hectares forest land for Adani power project in Tiroda in Gondia district. 

A proposal for diversion of 163.84 hectares of forest land in Garadi village for establishment of 1980 MW coal-fired power plant at MIDC Tiroda is under consideration of the MoEF. The Adani Power Maharashtra Limited (APML) plant falls within 10 km of the forest land proposed for diversion and hence the study. 

NTCA sources told TOI that the Authority had on July 1 written to three leading institutes in India to quote rates to take up the study. They are National Environment Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), Nagpur; Pollution Control Research Institute (PCRI), Haridwar; and Environment Protection and Training Research Institute (EPTRI), Hyderabad. 

"NTCA proposes to study adverse impact of gaseous and particulate emissions and additional thermal load from the proposed power plant on the flora and fauna in 152 sq km Nagzira sanctuary. We will recommend appropriate mitigation measures to eliminate and minimise the impact," said sources. 

If NTCA is to be believed, MoEF has almost made up its mind to divert the said land to APML. TOI on January 1 was first to report about MoEF readying to divert the land close to the sanctuary. Union environment minister Jairam Ramesh is already under pressure from his cabinet colleagues to clear coal blocks for power projects. Government is keen on putting Adani plant on fast-track. 

Adani is coming up with 3,300 MW power plant in Tiroda. Work on first phase of two 660 MW units is in full swing and the company needs 163.84 hectare forest land for expansion. It has applied to the MoEF for diversion of the proposed land under the Forest Conservation Act (FCA) 1980. 

Wildlife experts recalled that MoEF's move would be a u-turn by Ramesh, who, during his Nagpur visit on September 13 last year, had said that if the land was close to Nagzira, then permission to divert it would not be granted. Ramesh has already agreed to make Nagzira-Navegaon a tiger reserve. 

"The grant of diversion of forest land will be in contravention to MoEF rules that state that any proposal falling within 10 km of sanctuary or national park should be referred to National Board of Wild Life (NBWL) which is not being done in the case of APML," they said. 

Earlier, two offences have been registered against the APML for violating the FCA twice - once on May 16 and another on June 4. Even after a year, the forest department has taken no action against the power company for those violations. In June 2010, a six-member committee headed by then PCCF (wildlife) and now head of forest force (HoFF) A K Joshi had visited the proposed site and studied the impact of diverting the said land on wildlife and tigers. 

The panel has already stated that diversion of said land to APML would impact Nagzira, which is just 8.5 km from the plant's boundary. 

MAN ANIMAL CONFLICT CONTINUES IN MANAS NATIONAL PARK

GUWAHATI: No longer called the World Heritage Site in danger, the picturesque Manas National Park, home to many endangered species like the Royal Bengal Tigers, is still witnessing man-animal conflicts. 

Environmentalists, who rejoiced over the Unesco's recent decision to remove the famed park from the list of World Heritage Sites in danger, now express concern over the increasing conflict between man and animal. 

"Growing incidents of human-animal conflict have posed a serious threat to the animals in the Manas biosphere," Dr Pranjit Basumatary, member of the Wild Trust of India, said. 

The park had suffered ravages in the 90s during the height of insurgency by the then Bodo Security Force, later rechristened as the National Democratic Front of Bodoland, and the ULFA, which had resulted in the loss of infrastructure and animals. 

The state-of-affairs had prompted the Unesco to declare the park as a World Heritage Site in danger. 

But the subsequent restoration of peace and formation of the Bodoland Territorial Council led to the revival of the park and the World Heritage Committee noted that the universal value for which the property was inscribed on the heritage list was recovering from the damage suffered during the unrest. 

Dr Basumatary said ever since the creation of a transit centre for rescue and rehabilitation of wildlife, as many as 450 schedule one wildlife species have been rescued and nearly 80 per cent of them successfully rehabilitated.

DOMINO EFFECT - FLOODING OF MANGROVES TRIGGER DISAPPEARANCE OF TIGERS

While tigers are a highly adaptable species, thriving in the snows of Russia to the tropical forests of Indonesia, the Sundarbans ecosystem has become an isolated refuge, boxed in by humans and the sea. Although there is considerable uncertainty regarding the degree of future habitat loss due to [sea level rise], it is still imperative to act now to mitigate the potential habitat loss. If we fail to act globally, regionally, and locally to conserve the Sundarbans, our collective inaction may result in the tiger joining the polar bear as early victims of climate-change induced habitat loss.

according to a new paper in the journal Climatic Change, there is another, unexpected example of charismatic megafauna whose future may be in question as a result of global warming: The Bengal tiger - or at least, one isolated population thereof.

However, sea level in the Sundarbans rose by between 4 and 7.8 mm a year from 1977 to 1998 - the level increasing from east to west - as a result of a combination of global sea level rise, sedimentation,  withdrawal of water, oil, and gas, and subsidence. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimates a similar, global rate of increase in sea level, of around 4 cm a decade, suggesting that somewhere around the year 2070, sea level in the Sundarbans could be 28 cm higher than it was in 2000.

It's no secret that Bengal tiger numbers have declined; the species now occupies only about seven percent of its historic range and is believed to total fewer than 4,000 in the wild. In Bangladesh, tigers are restricted to the Sundarbans, one of the largest mangrove forests in the world; a 2009 study estimated the population numbered about 500 animals.

The paper's authors used a detailed analysis of the topography of the Sundarbans to calculate the likely impact of increasing levels of inundation. By the time it reached 28 cm, they calculated, available habitat suitable for tigers would have declined by 96 percent, and the population would likely be substantially reduced, to perhaps as few as 20 breeding adults. At that size, the population would almost certainly no longer be viable.

SUNDERBANS - FUTURE IN QUESTION

There is precious little real on-the-ground cooperation between India and Bangladesh on the issue of climate change and the management of the largest mangrove forest in the world -- the Sundarbans.

 We know, of course, that the Indian Sundarbans has better WILDLIFE management and enforcement than the Bangladesh side. And that Bangladesh however has more professional and transparent field biology research being conducted. This is based on the research papers published and the protection policies in place (no open fishing, honey collection, firewood collection or domicile in the Indian 1,330 sq. km. tiger reserve core).

This said, the mistake good people make is to presume that only the 'poor' are responsible for deforestation. In truth it is the illegitimate development ambitions of India's urban and rural rich, plus the economists and developers we appoint to powerful positions, who should be held accountable. And it is to feed OUR insatiable urban demand for power that dams, coal-fired thermal plants are planned and (heaven save us!) even a nuclear reactor just upstream of the Sundarbans. Our demand for steel and alluminiium prompts Dr. Manmohan Singh and Dr. Montek Singh Ahluwalia to insist that iron ore and bauxite be mined from fragile forests.

As for the brave and proud people of the Sundarbans, they are being lulled into a false sense of security by urban human rights groups, social activists and scientists who are brimming with new ideas but have little ground experience. Positing anthropomorphism as science they opine: "Let the poor stay on in the Sundarbans. Their traditions will deliver sustenance tomorrow, just as they did for centuries."

Such well-meaning people may need to re-evaluate the lethal threat that the dynamic Sundarbans ecosystem (always a product of powerful tides and shifting mud) now poses. This 10,000 sq. km. mangrove forest is undergoing a period of dramatic metamorphosis that no humans have ever before witnessed. Extreme climatic events such as cyclonic winds in excess of 200 kms, coupled with sea surges exceeding 15-20 metres could, for instance, turn dwellings into matchwood within an hour, leaving fresh water sources and fields salinised for years.

The people of the Sundarbans ARE in harm's way. Anyone who argues otherwise is playing with their lives. In as orderly a fashion as possible, therefore, people will need to be enabled to move northwards over the next decade or so. Where? No one can say until dedicated teams of experts are mandated to find out. At whose cost? Yours and mine... provided we actually do care for the least empowered in our midst.

This has NOTHING to do with tigers. NOTHING AT ALL. Sundarbans' tigers are, in fact, even more threatened by climate change than its human communities. Panthera tigris actually has no escape. Its in an ecological cul de sac and no science or hand-wringing will save them if and when climate change moves into higher gear.

We have a new government in West Bengal today. I personally hope that its thinkers and advisors will find the courage and wisdom to escape the clutches of ideology and ego. After a professional risk analysis is done for the Sundarbans and IF it emerges that the Sundarbans ecosystem may well be a sinking Titanic, then the issue before us would be whether rich and poor should be evacuated in an orderly fashion, over the next decade... or within weeks and months under the terrible weight of death, destruction, panic and social unrest.

NEW MINISTER OF ENVIRONMENT AND FORESTS APPOINTED

The unusually calm Jayanthi Natarajan had an unexpected welcome at the environment ministry when representatives of NGOs dressed in animal colors offered her a bouquet and were carrying placards saying, “With love and hope. Welcome to our ministry. Animals of India.” Natarajan, 57, and lawyer by profession, had nothing to announce unlike her predecessor Jairam Ramesh, who declared his environmental reform agenda on first day in office but faced a barrage of questions on Ramesh’s policy on go-no go for coal mining and his speaking orders.

But her simple and straight reply was: “No minister in UPA had been a roadblock to UPA. I think Jairam Ramesh did admirably well”. It had some truth as Ramesh approved 97% of the projects, unlike the popular perception that he was blocking projects. While so many projects were cleared the institutions such as Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) mandated to monitor these projects remained ineffective.

“I expect she will go for strengthening regulatory institutions and systems which is a cause of present environmental mess,” said Sunita Narain, Director General of NGO Centre for Science and Environment.

Two areas that could be on Natarajan’s agenda are people’s participation in forestry and better utilization of Compensatory Afforestation Fund (CAMPA). She will have to work to strengthen National Green Tribunal, which has only one bench for entire India.

Environmental activists wanted Natarajan to slow down Ramesh’s pace and ponder before making decisions.

“Decide slowly, coolly and maturely,” was advice of Valmik Thapar, member of National Tiger Conservation Authority, to her.

BHOPAL's VAN VIHAR SHELTERS ORPHANED TIGER

The tiger at Van Vihar, Bhopal

 After a five-day journey covering 2012 kms, the male tiger on its way from the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC) in Assam safely reached its destination, the Van Vihar National Park, on Friday evening.  

The four year old animal was accompanied by an IFAW-WTI team including two veterinarians and two animal keepers.

“Our prime focus through the journey was to ensure the animal’s safety and to minimise the stress on it. The weather was favourable for the most part of the journey and we’re glad that it is now in a safe environment,” said Dr Anthony Nokso Phangcho, who looked after the tiger along with Dr Anil Deka and animal keepers Lakhiram Das and Tarun Gogoi. 

“With the arrival of this animal, the count of Royal Bengal tigers here has reached 10 and breeding among the big cats is likely to get a boost," said SS Rajput, Acting Director of the Zoo. “This being a wild tiger will benefit the gene pool of tigers at Van Vihar.”

The tiger, Vivek, was rescued from a tea estate by the Assam Forest Department and IFAW-WTI veterinarians in December 2007.

“Of the 12 tigers handled so far by WTI, Vivek has stayed the longest in captivity,” said Dr NVK Ashraf, Chief Veterinarian, WTI. “While other tigers spent less than a year with WTI, Vivek had to wait for three and half years to get his placement right. He will now contribute to the National Tiger Conservation Breeding program at Van Vihar Zoo in Bhopal.”

ACCEPT AND SAVE OR DENY AND LEAD THEM TO EXTINCTION? - AUTHORITIES UNDECIDED

The Big Cat Crisis

The Big Cat Crisis comes to us from at least two clear directions. Lions in Gujarat are being poached for the first time ever with a clear commercial motive in mind. Where the tiger is concerned it is about the numbers of how many are there (or not there) in the wild.
There are confirmed reports of the poaching of eight lions from in and around Gir in the last few months. The claws and bones of the animals were found missing indicating that the Asiatic lion too has started to figure in wildlife trade. It is also important to note that in the last four years another 20 odd of these extremely endangered cats have fallen to their death into open wells that dot the Gir landscape in their hundreds. The combined implications can only be considered ominous. If that was not enough the controversy over moving some lions from Gujarat to Kuno-Palpur continues unabated. Whether it is a strategy that will work in the long run is something that one can know only if it is tried. The message from the Gujarat Government is that they rather have the lion die in Gujarat; sending the animal outside the state is out of the question.
In the case of the tiger it continues to be an issue of their numbers. As we go to press there is much anguish being expressed over the fall in numbers of tigers as reported by the Wildlife Institute of India. Estimates based on a new counting protocol indicate that tiger numbers could be about half (or even less) of what were reported in the last census five years ago. Those figures from some of the main tiger states is rather alarming: In Madhya Pradesh from over 700 in 2001-02 in to less than 300 now; Maharashtra – from 238 to about 100 now and in Chattisgarh from 227 to only about 30 (the Indravati Tiger Reserve was not included in the count).
What this can only mean is that a large number of them have died (many poached) in the intervening period – if this is not a big crisis, what can it be? It also points out to the huge inadequacy in the process and attitudes in the earlier methods of counting.
Initial government responses have been rather characteristic – a combination of denial and skepticism – a refusal, it seems, to accept the figures that are coming out. MoEF secretary Dr. Pradipto Ghosh (he has since retired) was reported as having said that these numbers could not be compared to those from the last census and that, in fact, there was nothing wrong with the pugmark method.
The numbers from the counts still perhaps need a final confirmation and validation. Some correction could still perhaps happen. Yet, it would be difficult to deny that we have a serious problem on hand; and that denial would be the most inappropriate way of dealing with the issue.
The combination of responses needed is also well known to us…more numbers and better trained/equipped ground staff, rapid response teams, joint operations with local communities, winning communities over to conservation rather than making them enemies prone to being exploited by poachers and hands-off tiger habitats to 'development' projects.
The direction, however, to finding a solution would be to acknowledge and accept that we have a problem in the first place. The rest can be then made to happen.

AMU PROFESSORS HOLD BLACK BUCK IN CAPTIVITY

Five AMU professors booked for keeping black buck in captivity

 Jul 12, 2011, 03.30pm

LUCKNOW: An FIR has been registered against five professors of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) for allegedly keeping a black buck in captivity at the varsity campus in Aligarh, police said here on Tuesday.The AMU professors who have been named in the FIR are Chairman Department of Wildlife Sciences Prof Jamal Ahmed Khan, Readers Afifullah Khan and Satish Kumar and faculty members Prof H S A Yahya and Dr Orus Ilyas, they said.The FIR was registered on July 9 by master trainer at the Animal Welfare Board Naresh Kadyan, the police said.The accused have been charged with sections related to cruelty towards an animal and keeping it captive, they said, adding that wildlife activists are demanding that the professors be charged under the more stringent Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.The wildlife activists also alleged that though the black buck was rescued by the UP Wildlife Department after the complaint was lodged, no legal action was initiated against the offenders.The professors were not available for comment. Such incidences make us wonder about the followers if the leaders behave in such a callous and atrocious manner.

POACHER GETS HUNTED AT LAST - SARISKA TIGER KILLER PUT BEHIND BARS

File photo: A royal Bengal tiger

Sariska poacher finally convicted, gets maximum imprisonment

Alwar, June 20, 2011: In a landmark judgement, the Court of the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate - II, Alwar, Rajasthan convicted noted wildlife poacher Juhru and his associates, Tayyeb, Ramzan, Noora and Jiwan Das, sentencing them to a maximum imprisonment of seven years and a fine of Rs 50,000, in a case related to tiger hunting in the Sariska Tiger Reserve in 2005.

According BS Nathawat, ACF Sariska Tiger Reserve, the hunting took place in Routkhola beat of Akbarpur range, Sariska Tiger Reserve. The case was investigated by Range officer, Akbarpur.

“The maximum imprisonment for wildlife crime till 2002 was six years,” explains Ashok Kumar, Vice Chairman, Wildlife Trust of India. “It was increased to seven years after an amendment, and this is the first time that a Court is awarding this in India. Juhru is one of the notorious poachers of the Sariska Tiger Reserve area, and has a total of 14 wildlife cases pending against him in Sariska alone. Six of these cases concern tiger poaching. This sentence shall hopefully help the other cases as well.”

Unlike Sansar Chand and Shabbir Hasan Qureshi who are essentially wildlife traders, Juhru is a poacher involved in hunting protected wildlife as well as illegal trade. So far he has been convicted in two cases of leopard poaching with his accomplices in January and March 2009. He was sentenced to subsequent jail terms of five years in each of these two cases.

Juhru had challenged his convictions before the Rajasthan High Court, Jaipur Bench and applied for bail while his Revision Petition was pending adjudication but the High Court refused to grant him bail. He then filed a Petition in Supreme Court of India requesting for bail.

On the basis of a misleading statement that ‘he had spent four and a half years in jail out of a total sentence of five years handed out to him’, he had succeeded in getting bail from Supreme Court in September 2010. However, the Supreme Court recalled its earlier order of grant of bail, when it was pointed out that Juhru had spent only about one year and eight months in Jail.

Later in December 2010 Juhru was apprehended from his hideout by a joint team of Rajasthan Police and Forest staff led by the Additional Superintendent of Police of Alwar.

Wildlife Trust of India assisted the Sariska Tiger Reserve authorities in this case. It is likely that Juhru and his associates will appeal to higher courts for relief. Wildlife Trust of India will watch and intervene in the higher Courts of law.

COMPASSION FOR CONSERVATION - A WORTHY EXAMPLE FOR ALL TO FOLLOW

A hand raised Grizzled Giant Squirrel

Conservation or compassion? No strings attached!

Shenbagathoppu (Tamil Nadu), June 22, 2011: The Paliyan, also known as Palaiyar or Pazhaiyarare, is an indigenous forest tribe of the Western Ghats of Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Traditionally nomadic, residing in rock caves and crevasses, they have only recently transformed their lifestyles to suit present-day requirements. Listed as one of the scheduled tribes of India, they are now traders of forest products, food cultivators and bee-keepers.  

In Shenbagathoppu in Tamil Nadu, the Paliyans are conservationists in their own right. They rescue young Grizzled Giant Squirrels that fall out of their nests or are orphaned. With some assistance and guidance from the Wildlife Association of Rajapalyam (WAR) and the Tamil Nadu Forest Department, these orphaned squirrels are hand-raised by the Paliyans. Kept in cloth baskets and hammocks, like their own children, these baby squirrels are tenderly cared for until they are old enough to fend for themselves.

“Without any advanced equipment or facilities, the young ones are given milk using a ‘Paladai’ until they can feed by themselves,” says A Palaniraj, Forest Range Officer, Srivilliputhur. “The Paladai is a traditional oil lamp used in temples of southern India which doubles up as a feeding cup for human babies that don’t feed well.”

A traditional "Paladai"

This primeval feeding cup is now being used as one of the latest designs in bottle feeding systems in the United States.

Listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List, under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act (1972) and Appendix II of CITES, there are currently less than 500 Grizzled Giant Squirrels in India.

“Although the species has been on a steep decline due to habitat loss, it has expanded its range in and around Srivilliputhur Grizzled Giant Squirrel Sanctuary in Tamil Nadu,” says Dr Justus Joshua who has done his PhD on the Ecology of the Endangered Grizzled Giant Squirrel in Tamil Nadu. “The primary reason for the spread is the shift in land use patterns from a previously tapioca dominated landscape to tree crops. Tree crops such as mango, coconut, gooseberry and tamarind are more profitable for the locals and at the same time provide an abundant supply of food which the squirrels benefit from.”

The Grizzled Giant Squirrel (Ratufa macroura) is the smallest of the giant squirrels. It has white-tipped hair which gives it a grizzled appearance and hence the name. The species is endemic to the Western Ghats of India and the highlands of south-western Sri Lanka, which together form one of the 34 biodiversity hotspots of the world.

SEIZED SLOTH BEAR CUBS INDICATE SHIFT IN WILD TRADE

The two sloth bear cubs seized in Orissa

New Delhi: Two sloth bear cubs were seized and two traders arrested in Keonjhar district in the east Indian state of Orissa by Police authorities, yesterday.
The seizure reveals new source areas in sloth bear trade, even as joint action by the Orissa Forest Department and the World Society for Protection of Animals – Wildlife Trust of India (WSPA-WTI) has prevented removal of bears from the wild in Sambalpur district – the epicentre of this illegal trade in the country until 2008.
“Traders visited Sambalpur for cubs that are subsequently sold to Kalandars. We have been able to successfully cut this district off from the trade over the past two years through various community initiatives. Our team has also been assisting the Forest authorities to identify and monitor bear dens to prevent poaching of the cubs, tackling the issue from the root,” said Ashok Kumar, Vice-chairman, WTI.
In Sambalpur, WSPA-WTI helped the Forest authorities to create Village Protection Committees to protect bear dens around villages in sloth bear habitats. Comprising local villagers, the committees have identified and are monitoring the dens and areas around them to prevent poaching of cubs.

Village Protection Committee members along with WTI field officer Rudra Prasanna Mahapatra patrol sloth bear habitat in Sambalpur

“However, the traders are now looking for alternatives. Areas like Keonjhar that are located near state boundaries and have sloth bears in the wild should be monitored to curb this trade,” added Kumar.
The two cubs were confiscated in Juhupura town in an operation carried out by a team under the supervision of the Superintendent of Police, Keonjhar, Ashish Kumar, based on undercover information provided by WSPA-WTI.  The cubs, about two-months-old, were reportedly picked about three weeks ago from forests near Juhupura.
WSPA-WTI runs the Sloth Bear Conservation and Welfare Project to assist Forest Departments in various states including Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Chhattisgarh. The project deploys a holistic approach by rehabilitating Kalandars, spreading awareness through campaigns, trade control, strengthening protection in sloth bear habitats, as well as intelligence gathering.
“Our team has found that traders from villages in eastern UP and Bihar are scouting these potential trade areas and placing their ‘demand’ for bear cubs to the tribal communities. Stopping these trade instigators is the major challenge to sloth bear conservation today,” added Kumar.