The year 2008 has been good for India as we become more consciencious towards our wildlife and ecology in general.
Until now I used to be the type who felt outraged at all atrocoties and neglects committed against animals and then feel helpless as most of us couldnt do anythg about it except get depressed. Yet there should be a poll facility or a group that gathers public opinion on these issues and forwards it to the concerned authorities to at least sensitise them?We must thank leading newspapers who gathered online comments and views from people and dispalyed them while shocking wildlife news was still hot and on people's minds. Personally, I think THese newspapers have done their bit :
THe HIndustan TImes
THe TImes of India
THe HIndu
to widen consciousness of these issues in the minds of the public in general. APart from publishing wildlife news, they have even begun to do interviews, write ups and columns on wildlife issues.Our reporters are an enlightened lot and write well researched articles.
THnakfully , we too as responsible citizens have embraced a few things with a burden on our conscience like switching to unleaded petrol cars, CNG engines, and a lot of us have begun to see and experience the great beauty and greenery of India with greater enthusiasm and appreciation.
THank God there has been a mindshift from sitting in a comfortable 3 or 4 star hotel for a holiday to roughing it out in the wilds or in the mountains or in the waters.Not only a holiday or a weekend in these pursuits more refreshing and lighter on the pocket, but is an emotional meeting with nature as it is. It brings a nostalgia for things that are not concrete, electrified and mechanised.
THe news of february 2008 is :
Rhinos at Risk in India's Celebrated Park
By Cher C.
The very first month of 2008 brought sad news for the wildlife lovers. The celebrated Kaziranga national park in Assam of Northeast India has witnessed the loss of three endangered one-horned rhino within January. ...
Care2 News Network - http://www.care2.com/news/
Tibetans say China forcing them to flout wildlife laws
Phayul - Tibet
A source in India claimed that Chinese local banks were also offering loans to buy the traditional dresses, expensive because they contain banned animal ...
India pledges £76m to save its tigers
Channel 4 News - London,UK
"One particular thing there's always been a lack of money for is moving people," said Vivek Menon, the executive director of the Wildlife Trust of India, ...
DIIR releases a Documentary on Wildlife Protection
Phayul - Tibet
The traditional Chinese medicine consume far greater number of tiger bones, but the photogenic Tibetan dress trimmed with animal skin has drawn more global ...please go to phayul.com and see this documentary on how the Dalai Lama has brought about a change in the traditional attitudes of the tibetans towards wearing furs and skins as a status symbol.
Here is news of MArch 2008
Increase in tiger population in Tamil Nadu
Tirunelveli ( Tamil Nadu ), Mar 8 (ANI): A Tiger census was conducted by Tamil Nadu Forest and Wild Animal Department officials with the help of 150 college students in Kalakad-Mundanthurai Tiger Rese...
Mass nesting of endangered Olive Ridley turtles starts in Orissa March 8th, 2008
Ganjam (Orissa), Mar 8 (ANI):
Conservationists, residents and wildlife officials in Orissa kept vigil on Friday as thousands of endangered Olive Ridley turtles arrived at a beach for the annual mass nesting.
The benign creatures swimming up to shore swarmed the sandy nesting grounds near the Rushikulya River in Ganjam district with the commencement of the nesting season.
"Last year, there was no mass nesting. The exact reason is not known why mass nesting did not take place last year. We are happy that mass nesting has again started this year and quite a large number of turtles have come and nested during the current breeding season," said Basudev Triparthy, a scientist with the Wildlife Institute of India.
The Olive Ridley turtle, which can grow up to 75 cm (2.5 feet) in length, is found in tropical regions of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans.
With each turtle laying an estimated 120 eggs, large stretches of nesting grounds are now packed with them.
Ashok Kumar, a visitor said the laying of eggs by the turtles was an amazing phenomenon to witness.
"It is very interesting to watch how they lay eggs and again fill it up, and thumping it then going back. I think the government should spread more awareness among people especially those living around this place so they are more conscious," he added.
For the protection of the turtles and their eggs, forest officials and protection groups have divided the entire stretch of beach into 35 segments, each to be manned by 2 persons to keep away any harm either from animals or humans.
Rabindranath Sahu, Secretary of the Rushikulya Sea Turtle Protection Committee, said all efforts are being made to protect the turtles.
"These turtles lay eggs which are left here for at least one and a half months. These eggs need to be protected from jackals, dogs and hyenas. Our entire team of volunteers and people from the forest department work with the scientists through the entire season," he added.
Besides protecting the creatures, members of the group also involved in the counting of eggs and marking of the Olive Ridley turtles to keep track of them.
Around 60 forest department staff and 40 residents are participating in the drive to protect the turtles. According to officials, at least 18,000 turtles had so far arrived for nesting.
In 2004, over one million turtles came to the Orissa shores to dig, pits and lay eggs, the largest concentration being at Gohirmatha beach.
Such large concentrations only occur at a few sites in the world.
In 2000, only 700,000 turtles arrived but in 1997 and 1998, the turtles skipped the annual ritual and there was no mass nesting at all.
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Delhi gets quarantine facility for wild animals
7 Mar 2008, 1047 hrs IST , IANS
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NEW DELHI: Leopards, jackals, snakes and other wild animals straying into human habitations in states neighbouring the capital will now be kept at a special quarantine facility being constructed in the Delhi Zoo.
The quarantine, being set up adjacent to the wildlife hospital in the zoo, will cater to rescued and displaced wild animals, an official said.
The facility will also be used for animals that need to be kept in isolation, including animals brought from foreign countries, or other Indian zoos, and as a transit point for rescued and displaced wild animals.
Wild animals rescued by forest officials from neighbouring areas will be housed here for relief and medical aid.
The foundation stone of the building, being constructed by the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), was laid by Meena Gupta, secretary, MoEF.
March 2008
Two endangered bear cubs rescued from poachers in India
Two endangered bear cubs rescued from poachers in India may have been destined for the trade in bear paw soup - a delicacy in some south east Asian countries. The cubs, a male and a female of less than 12 weeks old, were found to be severely traumatised and dehydrated when they were rescued.
The successful rescue operation was carried out by IAR's Indian partners Wildlife SOS in conjunction with the Andhra Pradesh Forest Department. Once the cubs are pronounced fit to travel they will be moved from a temporary holding centre in Hyderabad to one of the permanent rescue facilities funded by International AnimalRescue.
The poacher-trader Malang Shah, aged 23 years, has been sent to Judicial Custody.
Barely 60 days after Wildlife SOS rescued a two week old bear cub from a poacher in Orissa, its Surveillance Network 'Forestwatch' received an intelligence report from Andhra Pradesh about two young cubs brought secretly into Karim Nagar district in the state.
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Elephant village coming up in Maharashtra |
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New Delhi, PTI: |
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Close on the heels of a ban on elephants being forced to walk the streets of Mumbai, Maharashtra has planned to set up a santuary that will primarily be home to the numerous pachyderms who are rescued from roaming the roads of the metropolis.
The Maharashtra government has earmarked land near Kolhapur for the 'Elephant village' that will in addition to housing the gentle giants and providing them fodder also cater to mahouts and their families.
"Land has been earmarked for the rescue centre for elephants. "Elephants do not belong to the cities. The idea is to return the elephants to the natural surroundings of the forest where they have a lot of water and plenty to eat, " says Mike Pandey, wildlife photographer and conservationist.
The sanctuary that is aiming to shelter 30 elephants will be a public private partnership with the government of Maharashtra, the Earth Matters Foundation, Peta and Health and Suffering. Experts drawn from the government and social organisations concerned will survey the allocated land and work on the shelter will begin soon in October, say officials at Peta.
"The Maharashtra government has been very cooperative and acted in a responsible manner to our petition for land and alloted us a landlocked place in Kolhapur," says Sachin Bangera of the People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta), which has been campaigning for compassion towards elephants.
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> > *Stones, poison kill 21 straying leopards*
> > G.S. RADHAKRISHNA
> >
> > *Hyderabad, April 22:* The hungry, thirsty visitors had stolen in unnoticed. Twenty-one of them were spotted and stoned to death or poisoned. The rest, about thirty-odd, slunk back to their parched homes. A frightening example of cynical hospitality? Not really, just one more case of man-animal conflict in a summer-scorched, arid zone. If last year's unwelcome guests were elephants driven towards Andhra Pradesh's towns and villages from their dry, grass-depleted dwellings, this year's visitors were leopards. The sleek, spotted cats — some 55 of them — had entered villages and even outskirts of cities like Visakhapatnam and the capital Hyderabad in search of food and water after the summer heat dried up water bodies and drove smaller animals — prey for the big cats — out of forests. Figures show the 21 leopards killed since last April were either stoned to death or died after consuming poisoned food and water placed by villagers
A REMARKABLE PUBLIC INTEREST PETITION
Kaushalendra Singh a wildlife enthusiast from Lucknow has filed a remarkable PIL to save a young male tiger facing shooting orders at the hands of the State Wildlife Deptt for having eaten three humans.
His plea is equitous too. He says that every year thousands of our countrymen die by snake bites but the Government Of India does not issue killing orders against the snakes . On this ground he has been given relief by the Lucknow High Court and the tiger now must be trapped alive and not shot down.Long Live The Judge!!!! Bless you Sir!!!!
Phew!!! a few more days for him to live and let us see what is the turn the events take.kkkkkk
The PIL tiger has been shot dead.
Nothing came of Kaushalendra SIngh's case.THe tiger was shot first on 8th of Feb that left it wounded but mobile. A crackshot from Hyderabad was called in at p and he did him in.I have been spreading this news out of frustration and impotence.
