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Bigcats News
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Two rare Indochinese tigers on Friday were thrown down to the ground from a truck that was being chased by police in Nghe An Province in central Vietnam for allegedly carrying the endangered animals for sale.
At around 8:30 pm, local patrolling police found a suspicious-looking truck without a plate number traveling on a section of National Highway 1A that runs through the province so they pulled the vehicle over for checking, according to Dinh Trong Huynh, deputy chief of the Quynh Luu District police. However, the truck driver ignored the police’s order and sped away, Huynh said. During the chase, people on the vehicle threw out the two tigers, one weighing 90kg and the other 75kg, to obstruct the police. The anesthetized cats were later identified as endangered Indochinese tigers. The mammals were taken to the Pu Mat National Park in Con Cuong District for care on the same day. Police are hunting for the poachers.  *This image is copyright of its original author
Did they catch the drivers?
They better have, and make them pay dearly for what they are doing.
How can this happen?
High speed pursuits here end with the drivers Always being captured. I mean always. Unless this is complete lack of man power, or competence, how is it possible? Really disapointing to hearm that such high risk crimals are able to evade capture so easily.
Dollar is single & ready to mingle
So finally he is & on the move. T25 aka Dollar male is again in the news for territory infringement & eyeing other’s girls. After all he has been single for quite some time now. After translocation of his daughter’s to Sariska, he did try to woo T19 by challenging Star and was partially successful in mating with her. However the current queen of Ranthambhore did not repeat the mistake her sister T17 did & is raising a litter sired by Star.There was not much news of Dollar this summer apart from few odd sightings & suddenly he makes a bold move. His regular presence in Bakola, territory of T6 aka Romeo is surprising. Was this in search of new land or a new partner ?? Well has to be girl, skewed sex ratio in park leaves him little choice but to steal someone else girl.The resident female T41 is currently raising single female cub fathered by T6.  *This image is copyright of its original author Laila aka T41Apparently he was sighted mating with T41 on 15th June evening…not sure if T41 aka Laila is looking for some fun behind Romeo’s back OR was just an effort to keep the challenger away from her young cub.Would be interesting to see if this one time affair grows further & how does Romeo reacts to this open challenge.This one or that one, dollar’s intentions are pretty clear….he needs to mate & increase his bloodline. He was on the move again, this morning with a new girl apparently mating….Well I wish you all the luck dude but need to slow down, can’t make up for loss of two years in two weeks :) isn’t it??
Hey All,
Meet Mr. Mohan Singh, one of the most dedicated and experienced forest guards of Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve, a real life Hero, an unsung one at that. Forest guards accept situations like animal attacks, accidents, and poacher attacks as occupational hazards and Mohan Singh is no exception. Originally from the Lahpur guard post (outside tourism zone), his extraordinary skills of tracking Tigers on foot is a stuff of legend and he remains the go-to man for the Forest department when it comes to keeping a close watch or tracking Tigers who need to be tranquilized (for medical treatment). Mohan Singh has been entrusted with the job of monitoring the legendary Tigress Machhli (T-16)every single day since Mid-March 2014. Our constant interaction with him reiterates the fact that Machhli still manages to kill on her own, albeit infrequently, at the ripe old age of 18 ! Equipped with a bottle of water, a point & shoot camera and a modest lunch comprising of Rotis (Indian pancake) with raw onions & chilli, his day begins at 5.30 in the mornings when he walks all the way from his home to the entrance gate to the Park. He gratefully accepts to hitch a ride on safari vehicles to Machhli’s current area of residence. He then begins patrolling on foot, meticulously looking for fresh pugmarks, scat etc. Once he manages to sight Machhli, he chooses a safe vantage position to sit down and make notes of her well-being, at times even handling her scat to ascertain contents of Machhli’s previous meal. Machhli acknowledges his presence and doesn’t shy away from him. Needless to mention, he skilfully avoids direct confrontation with any other Tiger in the vicinity. His day ends at 6.00 in the evening when he begins his trek back to the exit gate, appreciating any safari vehicle willing to drop him. Mohan Singh is symbolic of those hundreds of unknown and unheard of protectors of our forests and the wildlife in them. It’s not just a job for them but a lifetime commitment to protect our jungles; they risk their lives every single day for the cause. It’s not an easy life, patrolling for kilometres on end, living in minimalist field camps to survive, braving the harsh varying Indian weather all year round, battling against all odds to act as the first line of defence for our Tigers. He probably might never get a lifetime achievement award or actually be recognised as a conservationist by the modern world. People visiting Ranthambhore to see Tigers might perhaps never know or realize the sacrifices made, the lives spent and the blood and the sweat shed by the likes of Mohan Singh to save our Tigers. Almost on a daily basis, India's forest guards face harsh realities while safeguarding the country's wildlife. In addition to adverse field conditions and chance encounters with animals, they also often find themselves in combat situations with much better-armed criminals. More often than not, the sole breadwinners in their families, their difficulties aggravate in case of permanent injuries or even death during these encounters, affecting their morale while carrying out their duties. Here’s hoping that Mohan Singh’s story and his contributions towards protecting our Tigers are now known to the world and inspires many more people to join forces to save the Tiger and thereby, wildlife.— with Minh Ha and 28 others.  *This image is copyright of its original author https://www.facebook.com/tigertrackersindia 
Lions outside Gir get radio collars
The Wildlife Institute of India with the sanction of Gujarat's forest department has radio-collared some lionesses which live outside Gir sanctuary to track their movements and behaviour. This is the first time that the apex wildlife body will use the global positioning system to tag and track 10 lionesses in various pockets outside the sanctuary. Sources said, "This mode will enable us to keep track of each and every movement of the lions. Even by logging in once a week, we can get data regarding the big cats' movements and behaviour." Yadvendradev Jhala, scientist and researcher of the WII, said the study is also aimed at knowing the behavior of Asiatic lions near villages. "The study will help us ascertain how much area a breeding female requires for prey-hunting and rearing her cubs. The radio collars will enable wildlife managers to keep track of the entire lion population. Which will mean better protection for them," Jhala said. Jhala added, "The study will reveal the movement pattern of lions and whether they return to the sanctuary frequently. Recently we collared four lionesses in different prides. We now plan to collar another six lionesses. We will keep watch over these 10 lionesses with their cubs. This will enable us to know movements of the entire group." The study is being undertaken by Jhala along with Stotra Chakrabarthy, research biologist of WII with the help of Anshuman Sharma, DFO Dhari and a team of four expert trackers and research assistants of WII. As per the May 2010 census, there are 130 lions outside the sanctuary. But this number has increased since May 2010. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/...684910.cms
Two college students, two others held with tiger skin
Four people, including two college students, were arrested and a tiger skin was seized at Karumathampatti on the outskirts of the city on Saturday. The arrested persons were identified as P Manisekaran (50), a TNSTC bus driver, R Radhakrishnan (27), a hotel owner, T Vigneshkumar (21), all from Brindavan Nagar at Karumathampatti and M Thiru Vignesh (21) from Telugupalayam. Vigneshkumar and Thiru Vignesh are engineering students.Coimbatore forest range officer (additional charge) R Karunamurthy, forester SM Sasikumar and forest guard Thilagar were inspecting the progress of the social forestry scheme at Brindavan Nagar at Karumathampatti on Saturday. Meanwhile they got a tip off and waylaid Vignesh Kumar and Radhakrishnan who were on a motorcycle. "I checked their bag and found a tiger skin which is around 10 years old. They animal may have been four years during its kill," said Karunamurthy. Following enquiries, forest department officials picked up Vignesh who revealed that he stole the skin from a god man in Karnataka. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/...641573.cms (06-16-2014, 09:26 PM)'sanjay' Wrote: Two rare Indochinese tigers on Friday were thrown down to the ground from a truck that was being chased by police in Nghe An Province in central Vietnam for allegedly carrying the endangered animals for sale. Some pics  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author
Great Work By Tiger Time
Tiger tracking and Counting in Kaziranga by Tiger Time, A campaign of David Shepherd wildlife foundation As part of the All India Tiger Monitoring (AITM) programme the teams that TigerTime and our loyal supporters fund in Assam have been busy counting tigers. Counting and measuring pugmarks (tiger pawprints) is now a thing of the past and instead the teams set up camera traps around the national parks. Placed on either side of a path or between trees the cameras are triggered when an animal breaks the infrared beams and is photographed from both sides. This is important as tigers have different stripe patterns on either flank so to build up a true picture of tiger numbers and to identify individuals two pictures work best. =16pxThe traps also record prey species and occasionally poachers. These pictures show some amazing images of the beautiful tigers that live in Kaziranga, a UNESCO World Heritage Site on the banks of the Bramaputra River and which, through your donations we are helping to protect. The team are currently inputting the data and we'll have more information on tiger numbers soon. For now, simply enjoy! You can find out more about our work in Kaziranga which includes monitoring, anti-poaching, wildlife crime investigation and community outreach by clicking here. Please help us continue our important work to protect the tigers of Assam by making a donation here. Thank you  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author
Fastest conviction in a case of tiger poaching
In what is being hailed as the fastest ever conviction in a tiger poaching case, three persons were sentenced to a five year jail term each by Chief Judicial Magistrate Jayant Raje in Amravati Wednesday. Brothers Madhusingh Rathod and Chintaram Rat-hod along with Vinod Pawar were convicted of killing a tigress in March 2013 on the basis of a forensic report by Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad, which confirmed that the DNA of the rotten flesh and blood recovered from the spot matched the samples of the accused persons’ nails. The court ordered separate trial of a fourth person for turning hostile after agreeing to become approver. The poaching cases had rocked Maharashtra between 2012 and 2013 and left over 16 tigers, two leopards and a sloth bear dead. Officials acted on a tip off on March 4, 2013 about tiger poaching at Dhakana near Melghat Tiger Forest Reserve. Six persons were arrested and their nails clippings were sent for DNA analysis. A cyber cell was set up at the forest department to trace call records and identify how the skin and bones of the tigress were sold to persons in Delhi and Nepal. “It has been the fastest conviction ever,” Pravinsingh Pardeshi, principal secretary, Department of Forests, Maharashtra, said. Since the arrests were made and court cases were filed, the entire process took seven to eight months. A total of 45 persons were arrested and 10 cases were filed, he added. Vishal Mali, assistant conservator of forest, Gugamal Division, Melghat Tiger Project, said investigations showed “a huge racket was in place”. One Ranjit Singh from Hoshiarpur in Punjab was arrested for purchasing the skin and bones from poachers and then selling it to one Sarju from Haryana. Sarju was tracked through phone records and caught with tiger bones and Rs 2.75 lakh in cash. He told forest department officials the skin and bones were sold to one Chacha alias Suraj Pal in Delhi. During a raid at Pal’s house by the Delhi Police, 18 tiger claws Rs 50 lakh in cash was seized. Investigators also said Singh had switched 36 mobile phones and SIM cards to evade arrest. Honorary wildlife warden at Amravati Vishal Bansod said the poaching of one tigress had exposed a vast network. “We eventually discovered the amount involved in selling the skin and bones of the tiger was nearly Rs 1 crore,” Bansod said. |
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