Govt plans to import African cheetah

NEW DELHI: Armed with 'scientific evidence' that the African cheetah is 'not an alien species' and can survive in India, the government is planning to petition the Supreme Court to allow the import of the animal that became extinct 60 years ago.
The environment ministry's proposal comes after the apex court last month quashed the Rs 300 crore project to import and re-introduce the Namibian cheetah in India. The court had termed the environment ministery's decision as 'arbitrary and illegal' and a clear violation of the Wildlife Protection Act.

The first batch of cheetahs from Namibia was to reach India by mid-2012 and was to be reintroduced in Madhya Pradesh's Kuno Palpur wildlife sanctuary. But the idea was dropped after the apex court's slammed the ministry for poor planning.
Eager to import the cheetah, the ministry has now decided to present "scientific evidence" to support its project to import the lithe and one of the fastest animal.
"We have decided to approach the Supreme Court based on scientific evidence that the African cheetah is not alien to India and can survive here," a senior ministry official said on condition of anonymity.

The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), which is handling the programme, has called a meeting of the Project Cheetah task force on May 23.
"The task force will discuss it and give clearance," the official said. The task force will convey its decision to Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan. She will then give a go-ahead for the proposal to be convyed to the Supreme Court," the official said.
As the Supreme Court had rejected Kuno Palpur Wildlife Sanctuary for re-introducing the cheetah on various grounds, including the fact that the Asiatic lion from Gir is also being re-located there, the ministry has now proposed two new sites as the habitat for the cheetah.

"We are proposing Nauradehi Wildlife Sanctuaries (in Madhya Pradesh) and Shahgarh Landscape (in Jaisalmer in Rajasthan) after our first choice was rejected," the official said.
The sites were selected in 2009 based on a detailed study by the wildlife experts.
The official defended the earlier proposal of re-locating the cheetah, saying the apex court was "not properly appraised" about the scientific evidence that backed the project.
"The cheetah which existed in India is only genetically different from African Cheetah and not an alien species. It can survive in the sites that our wildlife experts have selected," the official said.
Today, the cheetah is found only in the arid regions of eastern Iran in Asia and in Botswana, Namibia and South Africa.

Tiger reserves to get full-time wildlife vets

NAGPUR: In a bid to tackle man-animal conflict and give conservation a boost, the state government has decided to hire independent wildlife veterinarians in all four tiger reserves in the state. After recent deliberations over raging man-animal conflict in Chandrapur, principal secretary (forests) Praveen Pardeshi, chief wildlife warden SWH Naqvi and field directors of tiger reserves decided to appoint wildlife vets. Directions to recruit trained vets on contract basis in Tadoba, Melghat and Pench in Vidarbha have been issued on May 7. Pardeshi has asked field directors to recruit vets from funds under tiger conservation foundations (TCFs) on a honorarium of Rs 30,000. They have been asked to get in touch with deans of veterinary colleges and teachers to get suitable candidates. Help has also been sought from state animal husbandry commissioner.

Presently, the department has only one wildlife vet, Chitra Raut, posted at Nagpur. In case of emergencies, help from senior experts from Nagpur Veterinary College is taken. Although vets in Nagpur respond immediately, on many occasions doctors were not available in case of emergencies, proving fatal for wild animals.
Recently, when a tiger cub was hit by a speeding train and shifted to Nagpur, Raut had gone to Chandrapur to bring the animal back.
"We are making provision in the TCF budget to appoint wildlife vet on contract. There is also plan to redesignate posts of medical officers available with the department," said Virendra Tiwari, chief conservator of forests (CCF) and field director of Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve ( TATR) in Chandrapur.

However, Sarjan Bhagat, additional principal chief conservator of forests (subordinate cadre), said there are six posts of medical officers with the forest department but only one from Yavatmal Circle could be made available as officers at other places like Gadchiroli and forest training colleges have said they need posts of medical officers for staff and villagers.
"We will send a proposal in this regard to the government," Bhagat said.

Russia to test drones to track wildlife, poachers

MOSCOW: In a bid to track its wildlife and hunt down poachers, Russia is all set to test unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) at a nature reserve on the country's Pacific coast this summer.
The drones in question, weigh about two kilogramme each and have a range of 60 km. They would be equipped with inexpensive cameras capable of snapping a shot every two seconds.

"UAVs are silent and can fly at a very low altitude to produce high-resolution imagery and detect poachers, their boats and vehicles," said Alexandra Filatkina, deputy director for development at the Kronotsky nature reserve on the Kamchatka Peninsula.

The peninsula is in far eastern Russia, lying between the Sea of Okhotsk on the west and the Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea on the east. Its area is approximately 140,000 sq. miles (370,000 square km).
Kamchatka's mineral resources include coal, gold, mica, pyrites, sulfur, and tufa.
Aerial imagery makes it possible to spot not just the trails of motor vehicles, but illegal logging sites and waste dumps as well, Filatkina added.

The drones will be "road tested" at Kronotsky to see whether they can be used in other wildlife sanctuaries across Russia, especially in patrolling for poachers and other lawbreakers, as well as to detect and contain forest fires, she said.
The plan's authors likewise hope the drones will greatly reduce the cost of aerial monitoring, necessary for track certain animal populations - like brown bears, reindeer and snow sheep.
Last year, the South Kamchatka Federal Reserve spent over $32,000 on monitoring brown bears alone.

Chambal ravines all set for 'wild' makeover

LUCKNOW: Chambal, once considered as a safe haven for dacoits and criminals, is all set to assume a new tag. If all goes well as per the plans of the Uttar Pradesh government, then the region may become a major hub of wildlife tourism, which will have everything including river cruising and river safari.

The state government has made Uttar Pradesh Awas Vikas Parishad the executing agency for development of the sanctuary, while sanctioning Rs 4.5 crore for its makeover. Being home to the last of the gharials, along with eight rare species of turtles and Gangetic dolphins, the sanctuary never got its due share of recognition.

Sujoy Banerjee, DFO, National Chambal Sanctuary said,"The project is to be completed within four years. A proposal to start boat rides at Nadganwa has been submitted to the chief wildlife warden" . Nadganwa, which is about 70 kilometres from Agra, offers a glimpse into Chambal's magnificent wildlife. Though boat rides at Nandganwa would be costly, officials are of the opinion that expensive ticket would bring only genuine bird-watchers to the place. The proposal has fixed Rs 750 as ticket price for foreigners for an hour-long boat ride, while for domestic tourists, it has been fixed at Rs 200. Besides, the cost of petrol which would go into running the boat would also have to be realized from the visitors.

Initially, the department would put to use only the boats meant for patrolling the area as they want to bring in lesser number of tourists and the ones who are actually interested in wildlife, as that will not disturb the ambience and the wildlife habitat.

The 425 kilometre stretch of Chambal river was declared a protected area in 1979. The river culminates at Bhare in Etawah, where is merges with the Yamuna. The sanctuary area runs along three states of UP, MP and Rajasthan. UP has 150-kilometre-long stretch of the river sanctuary running along Bah (Agra) and Etawah.

Interestingly, the sanctuary is approximately 77 kilometres away from the Taj Mahal. The plan is to attract the Taj-bound tourists to Chambal sanctuary, by offering river cruise and river safari. And, to do so forest department has identified spots along the river, which can be developed as tourism sites. These include four ghats of Sehson, Udi, Panchnada and Bhare, along Chambal, a forest official said.

Etawah already has a Lion Safari coming up, which will hardly be an hour-long drive from Agra. Developing Chambal sanctuary will build a tourism corridor between Agra and Etawah. The government is of the opinion that this will not only supplement the incomes of those associated with tourism industry, but also create additional employment opportunities for ancillary units.

The major advantage, which the sanctuary enjoys is its serene ambience, despite the fact that it's close to Agra. It has no industries along its banks and that makes it one of the cleanest rivers. Among the major wildlife attractions are ghariyals, which are critically endangered. Apart from 200-250 ghariyals found in Nepal, most of the remaining 1,500 are found in three Indian rivers - Son, Geruwa and Chambal. The Chambal sanctuary shelters close to 700. "This year around, since the monsoon was delayed, the new hatchlings haven't been washed away, and one can see them along the river," said the DFO.

Besides, eight of the rare turtle species, including the red crowned roof turtle, and critically threatened gangetic dolphins are found in the sanctuary area. The sanctuary is also one of the important bird areas and a proposed Ramsar site (identified as an important wetland for conservation). It's a famous spot for sighting birds like Indian Skimmers.

Two bird sanctuaries, Patna in Etah district and Saman in Mainpuri, are located very close to the sanctuary. The region has also the maximum population of Sarus crane and has hundreds of migratory birds visiting it in the winter season.

Courtesy: The Times Of India, Chambalsafari.com

SEA SHEPHERD NEW SHIP REVEALED!!!

Photo Details
Photographer: John Wilson
Captured: December 06, 2012 IMO: 9053452
Location: Brisbane, Australia
Photo Category: Research and Survey Vessels
Description:
Research vessel SAM SIMON at Brisbane 6 Dec 2012.
Built: 1998 484 GT 323 DWT 55.5m x 9.8m x 3.5m 12 knots
Flag: Australia ex SEIFU MARU (10), NEW ATLANTIS (12)
Owner/Manager: Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, Melbourne
Vessel is named after Sam Simon, creator of The Simpsons who financed the purchase of the vessel.

Vessel Identification

Name: Kaiko Maru No.8
IMO: 9053452
MMSI: 431107000
Callsign: JIVB
Last known flag: JAPAN
Former name(s):
- Seifu Maru (not Yet Confirmed)

Technical Data
Vessel type: Research/survey Vessel
Gross tonnage: 484 tons
Summer DWT: 323 tons


Additional Information
Build year: 1993
Builder*: Ihi Marine United Tokyo
Tokyo, Japan

Great Indian Bustard sighted in Chelugurki

Two Great Indian Bustard (GIB) (Ardeotis nigriceps) were sighted on Friday, foraging in a field in Chelugurki village, 25 km from Bellary, by budding naturalist Preeth Khona (17). It was Preeth’s lucky day as he spotted the birds, not while on a search mission, but while heading to Bangalore.

The news of fresh sighting of the Great Indian Bustard, which is critically endangered, has brought cheer to ornithologists, birdwatchers and wildlife activists.

Chellaguri is located 60 km south of Siruguppa taluk, where the bird was spotted in 2006 and sighted again in 2008. It was also found that they were breeding.

In addition to Siruguppa taluk, situated on the banks of the Tungabhadra in Bellary district, Bellary taluk has emerged as one among the few pockets in the country where the Great Indian Bustard survives.

Santosh Martin and Samad Kottur have been documenting and researching these birds since 2006, and Preeth, Shruthi Punyamurthy and Sunaina Martin are members of a search team that they lead.

The team had earlier combed Chelugurki village and had interacted with the residents while searching for the Great Indian Bustards and caracal (a cat species).

LAST SIGHTING

GIBs were last sighted in Chelugurki 10 years ago by Vijay Mohan Raj, Director, BRT Tiger Reserve. But after that, several searches did not yield any results. Mr. Martin, who is also District Wildlife warden, told The Hindu.

According to him, these birds migrate between the black buck habitats of Rollapadu and Adoni in Andhra Pradesh and Siruguppa, Chelugurki, Koppal, Gadag and Rannebennur in Karnataka. However, the Ranebennur Blackbuck Sanctuary has not had any sightings in the last 15 years.

“Karnataka has a good breeding population of GIBs and their conservation has to be taken up by the government. No significant effort has been made so far,” Mr. Martin said.

Courtesy:The Hindu

India loses a leopard a day

More bad news for India's wildlife: 252 leopards died in the first nine months of 2012 - one every day.

This is a big jump from the figures between 2000 and 2010, during which about four leopard deaths were reported every week. The finding comes two days after


HT reported that 69 tigers and 39 rhinos have died in the first nine months of this year.
Data with the Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI) shows that leopard deaths in 2012 have been highest since the data was first made available in 1994. More than half the deaths were because of poaching, the NGO claims.

Though leopards are protected under the Wildlife Protection Act, their killing continues unabated.

"Without a strategy to tackle illegal trade, leopard numbers may decline as rapidly as tiger numbers," says Divyabhanusinh Chavda, member of National Board for Wildlife and chairman of World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), India.

Uttarakhand has emerged as a major source of leopard body parts while Delhi is the epicenter of illegal trade.

About 90% leopards are poached for their skin, which is eventually traded to Myanmar, Laos, China, Vietnam and Cambodia.

Courtesy: Hindustan Times