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Bigcats News
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T85 Pacman is dead in a territorial fight (Source FB post)
 *This image is copyright of its original author Photo credit: @mukeshkorti  (02-02-2019, 10:09 AM)sanjay Wrote: T85 Pacman is dead in a territorial fight (Source FB post) Any idea on who killed him? 
'Marbled cat' photographed for the first time in Nepal
January 28, 2019 08:39 AM Giriraj Baskota  *This image is copyright of its original author The rare marbled cat seen through the camera-trapping method in a forest of Panchthar. Photo: Giriraj Baskota/Republica PANCHTHAR, Jan 28: The rare marbled cat scientifically known ~IPardofelis marmorata~I, has been spotted in Nepal for the first time in history. A team of wildlife researchers photographed this mysterious cat through the camera trapping method.
It was captured in Yangwarak Rural Municipality-2, Falaicha of Panchthar at an altitude of 2,750 meters. Researchers from Lincoln University, New Zealand and Red Panda Network (RPN) found the existence of this cat as part of a research initiated by a lead author of Red Panda Network (RPN) Sonam Tashi Lama.
"This has been confirmed by the camera footage kept at Red Panda's Panchthar-Taplejung-Ilam(PTI) corridor," said Lama, adding," This is an exciting news for wildlife biologists and conservationists in the country.” The first picture of the cat was captured on January 21. According to Lama, the use of camera traps as a wildlife monitoring technique helped them to take the first picture of this rare cat in Nepal.
With this, the number of species of cats found in Nepal has reached seven. "Cameras are revolutionizing how we detect and count cryptic species," said Adrian Paterson, associate professor of Zoology and Head of the Department of Pest Management and Conservation at Lincoln University, New Zealand and co-author of the research paper. “This is a great example of benefit of the camera trapping method. This will definitely contribute to the protection of wildlife here, “he added.
It took around six months for the researchers to collect details for the research. There are around 107 places in PTI corridor where cameras have been installed to monitor the activities of wild animals. The marbled cat is an arboreal small felid slightly larger than a domestic cat with irregular, large and dark-fringed markings and a long bushy tail.
It is believed that this endangered cat is found in 12 countries of the world. RPN has issued a press release stating that the marbled cat has been photographed for the first time. "This is a great achievement. This is an important finding for future researches," said Lama who is also the coordinator of the network.
A decade ago, RPN had conducted a similar research to find out about this cat but did not succeed. However, it has been successful this time with the help of the camera trapping method.https://myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com/n...b7EyyFABv4
Ambulance, hospital in the offing for Asiatic lion
Kalyan Ray, DH News Service, New Delhi, Feb 08 2019, 21:30pm IST updated: Feb 08 2019, 23:53pm ist  *This image is copyright of its original author The Gir National Park currently houses more than 600 Asiatic lions. AFP file photoA dedicated ambulance and a new veterinary hospital are among the sops that the central and Gujarat governments plan to bring in for better conservation of the Asiatic lions at their only home in Gir forest. They would be part of the new Asiatic Lion Conservation project, launched on Friday by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest in collaboration with the Gujarat government. The hospital would come up in Gir for which Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izzatnagar, has been appointed as a consultant. The Gir National Park currently houses more than 600 Asiatic lions. With the rise in lion population, the Gujarat government has in the past notified the adjoining areas of Girnar, Pania and Mitiyala as sanctuaries to widen the protected area network. To further improve the world's only habitat of the Asiatic lion and protect them better in the wild, the two governments joined hands for the three-year-long conservation project costing Rs 97.85 crore. The cost would be shared at the 60:40 ratio between the centre (Rs 58.71 crore) and the state (Rs 39.14 crore). Union Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan presented the first instalment of Rs 17.03 crore to Gujarat officials, who said the money would be a part of a bigger and ambitious Rs 350 crore project to improve the lion conservation measures. But five years after a Supreme Court judgement on the second home for Asiatic lions, the officials said there was no decision on the translocation of lions from Gir to Kuno Palpur sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh, identified as the potential second site way back in 1993. While the apex court asked the ministry to take “urgent steps for re-introduction of Asiatic lion from Gir forests to Kuno”, Soumitra Dasgupta, Inspector General of Forest at the ministry said an expert committee created for advising the government on the translocation met six times since its formation in 2013 and was yet to submit its recommendation. “But we have not shut our eyes to the issue,” observed Vardhan. One of the key reasons to find out a second home for the lions was the threat of a disease outbreak that can wipe off the population in the wild. Last year, at least 24 lions died at Gir because of an outbreak of Canine Distemper Virus. “We imported vaccines from Atlanta, USA last year and used a part of the dose. The rest are with us and can be used if there is a need,” said R Kumar, Additional Chief Secretary, Gujarat. https://www.deccanherald.com/national/am...17428.html Centre allocates Rs 59 crore for Asiatic Lion conservation in Gujarat's Gir The minister assured the state that this project will be a model scheme in the times to come and would not be like a routine affair. PTI| Feb 08, 2019, 06.23 PM IST  *This image is copyright of its original author The project will use modern information and communication technology for conservation and protection efforts of the Great Gir Region.NEW DELHI: In a bid to protect and conserve lions, identified as one of the endangered species by the government, the Ministry of Environment Friday launched a three-year Asiatic Lion Conservation Project in collaboration with the state of Gujarat, which is the last habitat of the big cat. The Rs 98-crore project, for which the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has allocated Rs 59 crores, spans three years -- 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2020-21 -- will focus on better management of the lion habitat, disease control and veterinary care for them. While launching the project, Union minister Harsh Vardhan released an amount of Rs 17 crore to the Gujarat government for the implementation of the project aimed to protect over 600 lions in the state's Gir sanctuary in its first year. The minister assured the state that this project will be a model scheme in the times to come and would not be like a routine affair. "I am very happy that efforts are being made to conserve lions. It is god's blessing that such initiatives are taken for the wildlife in our country. I assure the Gujarat government that this will not just be a routine project but a model scheme for wildlife in India in the times to come," Vardhan said. The project will use modern information and communication technology for conservation and protection efforts of the Great Gir Region, including GPS-based animal and vehicle tracking, automated sensor grid with movement sensors, night vision capability and real-time monitoring and report generation, the government said. In addition, a Gujarat government official said that Rs 80 crore will be spent on specialised veterinary hospitals and full fledged ambulances for lions. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/new...902744.cms Rs 59 cr for lion conservation IANS | Updated: Feb 9, 2019, 06:15 IST  *This image is copyright of its original author representative picture
With the aim to protect and conserve the world’s last ranging free population of Asiatic Lions, the Ministry of Environment on Friday launched a three-year Asiatic Lion Conservation Project in collaboration with Gujarat. The project, at an estimated cost of Rs 98 crore, for which the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change has allocated Rs 59 crore to Gujarat’s Gir sanctuary, will span over three financial years -- 2018- 2019, 2019-2020 and 2020-2021. https://ahmedabadmirror.indiatimes.com/a...908005.cms 
Stripes clicked in Gujarat after 27 years!
(Read @Sanju's post for better details: LINK) On Saturday, the picture landed on the mobile of principal chief conservator of forest (PCCF) Akshay Saxena who has ordered an intensive search operation to confirm the animal's presence.
 *This image is copyright of its original author Almost a year after a tiger attacked a man near Dangs at Maharastra-Gujarat border & 27 years after tiger presence was recorded there in the state in 1992, one have reportedly been photographed in Gujarat while crossing a road through the wilderness near Boriya village in Lunawada taluka in Mahisagar district, adjoining Madhya Pradesh. "While returning home from school in evening, I was shocked to see a tiger just 40 feet away from my car. As locals have been talking about tiger’s presence in the area, I immediately clicked its pictures from inside my vehicle," said Mahesh Mahera who teaches in Guliya primary school in the same area. Mahera confessed to have shared the tiger’s pictures with his friends who alerted the forest officials, who are trying to check the authenticity of it & placed camera traps in the area. "We are looking for scat (tiger feces), pug marks, big animals killed. Three camera traps have been mounted and more will be placed soon to capture visual evidence of tiger," said Saxena. The PCCF said if tiger’s presence is confirmed in Gujarat, the department will have to go back drawing board to redesign the wildlife conservation programme for Big Cats. Last time, tiger had hit headlines in the state when direct sighting of tiger was reported a tiger in July 2018, about 150 km away in Tapi District, when it attacked a man trying to chase away curious onlookers. Sporadic reports kept surfacing & locals have tried killing of goats & an ox, but this is the first confirmation of tiger. Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/artic...922539.cms https://navbharattimes.indiatimes.com/st...923476.cms
Pug marks and scat hint at tiger presence in Lunawada
Himanshu Kaushik | TNN | Feb 11, 2019, 05:28 IST  *This image is copyright of its original author Picture for representational purpose only. AHMEDABAD: Quote:Fresh pug marks and scat (faeces) have confirmed the presence of tiger in the Lunawada area. Earlier, teacher "Mahesh Mehra" had submitted photographic evidence of a tiger crossing a road and disappearing into the wilderness of Boriya village in Lunawada taluka in Mahisagar district. With these findings corroborating the visual evidence, the forest department has started a drive to ascertain presence of tigers in the state and has also sent the scat for analysis. Incidentally, tiger was last sighted 27 years ago along the Dang border in Gujarat in 1992. The photograph which went viral kicked off a discourse that the big cat has finally returned to the state. A senior forest officer said that the area in which he was spotted has been thoroughly scanned and pug marks were found which indicates its presence. The marks do not appear to be that of a leopard, but of a bigger animal, he said, adding that the department is searching for more such marks. Moreover, the search also found droppings (scat) of wild animals, the size of which too indicates that of a big cat. “We are analysing the droppings recovered to ascertain that it is of a tiger. The department is also analysing the compensations paid for the domestic animals that were killed by wild animals,” said principal chief conservator of forest (wildlife) AK Saxena. These are early indication of the presence of a big cat in the area, and the department is not leaving any area uncovered to get more traces. “We have placed two camera traps and will add more cameras,” Saxena said. Quote:Though Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh are located 100km away the Gujarat border, the sudden arrival of the big cat took foresters by surprise. “We are trying to check and confirm more direct or indirect evidence of the animal’s presence,” Saxena added. Another senior forester in the area said the department is collecting data of all the compensations that had been paid in the past four months to ascertain the number of big animals that were killed by wild animals. So far the department was not admitting the presence of big cats in the area, but this is the first time that it has admitted that the scat and pug marks could be that of a tiger. The officer further said that once the state government gets a confirmation of tiger presence in the area, the National Tiger Conservation Authority https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city...934903.cms
Trapped in net, leopard dies after being attacked by locals
tnn | Feb 11, 2019, 05:00 IST  *This image is copyright of its original author the hunter hunted down Allahabad: A 10-year-old adult leopard which was stuck in a trap net used for catching wild boars died after local villagers attacked it sticks and weapons, in Mandhata area of Pratapgarh on Saturday. An FIR has been lodged against 10 persons. The cable net was laid to trap wild boars to prevent them from damaging fields of local farmers. District forest officer (Pratapgrah) RB Ahirwar, said, “The local farmers had hired some professionals to capture wild boars in trap nets to prevent them from damaging their crops. However, the leopard strayed out of the nearby Kushfara jungle and got stuck in the net.” The leopard was attacked by local villagers and the animal died of strangulation. The veterinarians found out the cause of death after postmortem examination, Ahirwar added. As per reports, the professionals hired by local farmers laid down the nets near Shanidham temple for trapping the boars a few days back. On Saturday, after the leopard was trapped in the net some villagers allegedly attacked it with sticks and other sharp weapons. Teams of police and forest department officials reached the spot and took the leopard’s body in custody. The body was later sent for postmortem examination. Ahirwar said that a named FIR, under the suitable sections of the Wildlife Protection Act, had been lodged against 10 persons. In December 2017, residents of Budepur village, under the jurisdiction of Baghrai police station, had killed a leopard which had fallen into a dry well. When the villagers spotted the big cat in the well, they filled it with dry grass and set it on fire. By the time forest officials arrived on the spot and rescued the animal, it had died. The DFO, said, “We have been keeping a vigil on Kushfara jungle along with other forests of the district. This incident is an isolated case of a leopard venturing into a human settlement.” https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city...TOIDesktop  (02-11-2019, 11:44 AM)Lycaon Wrote: @Sanju and @Rishi Offical number is between 12000-14000 (didn't cover every corner of the country though) but that's from 2015. It increased in almost all states after that... Present numbers is not known yet. Edit: Read this, it's from this month, analysing the last year. https://www.ranthamborenationalpark.com/...ths-india/
Lion fell into well...
Amreli Divyabhaskar 11-02-2019  *This image is copyright of its original author See the lioness fell into well video here: https://www.divyabhaskar.co.in/news/MGUJ...=fbo&seq=1
Tiger in Gujarat
See the video here: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/videos/city/ahmedabad/alarming-striped-big-cat-spotted-in-gujarat-after-27-years/videoshow/67925960.cms?from=mdr Tiger signs: Claw, pug marks found Himanshu Kaushik | tnn | Updated: Feb 12, 2019, 06:00 IST @Lycaon @Rishi  *This image is copyright of its original author Claw marks on a tree and pug mark (L) AHMEDABAD: The chance sighting of tiger by a teacher in Lunawada has sent the Gujarat forest department into a tizzy, with officials combing the area for the last two days. They have now found hair and claw marks on tree bark in the vicinity of the sighting lending further credence to the claim that tigers have indeed returned to the state after 27 years. Forest officials said that since Saturday evening, when the first news of tiger presence backed by photographic evidence was received, they launched an aggressive drive to verify the information. Quote:Besides pug marks and scat of big cats, the authorities have now found at least six hairs that have been sent to the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology laboratory in Hyderabad and the wildlife institute of Dehradun. The teacher, Mahesh Mahera, who first sighted the tiger crossing a road and disappearing into the wilderness near Boriya village in Lunawada taluka, Mahisagar district, had captured photos of the big cat on his mobile phone on February 9. Quote:“We are waiting for confirmation from the laboratory. Moreover, we have also sent the scat for analysis. However, the hair appears to be hard and I feel it can be of a wild boar. We are waiting for final confirmation from the laboratory,” said R M Parmar the district conservator of forest from Mahisagar district. “I have taken photographs with the exact location along with the latitude and longitude of the spot where the hair and claw marks were found,” Parmar added. Forest officials said that the photograph of the tiger sighting that has gone viral was clicked on the outskirts of Boriya village, while the droppings and hairs were also found in the same area. An officer said that claw marks were found on a tree less than 1km from the village. Quote:The forest department will analyse the compensation paid for domestic animals killed by wild animals in Mahisagar and Lunawada area to find if big animals were killed or not. “A tiger would need at least one big kill in a gap of three days,” said a forest officer. Did the feline come from Melghat? Experts believe that the tiger photographed by teachers near Boriya may have come from Melghat in Maharashtra and had entered the state through the Madhya Pradesh border. Y V Jhala, an expert on the big cats, said Melghat tiger sanctuary is the closest to the Gujarat border. The region links with the Satpura range, Pench National Park and Kanha Tiger Reserve. Experts said the possibility of a lone tiger entering the state from Melghat could not be ruled out. It could have strayed away from the sanctuary and entered Gujarat. Since there is a natural wildlife movement corridor between Pench and Kanha with Melghat the tiger could have strayed to Gujarat from there. Jhala said once the tiger is identified it would be clear from where the tiger had come. A forest official said that a lone tiger which was spotted in Jhabua in January 2018 could have entered Gujarat and kills made by it could have been "misconstrued" as that by a leopard. A male tiger had travelled 250km over the past year, looking for a mate in the jungles of Madhya Pradesh’s Dewas, Ujjain, Dhar, and Jhabua districts. The three-year-old tiger was seen moving between Banswara in Rajasthan and Jhabua in 2018 January. Gujarat’s border lies "west" to that passage of the tiger, and the closest point on the border from the the Jhabua tiger’s passage is 30km. WII officials said that after the January incident, the WII had installed CCTV cameras along the Gujarat border, but they could not find any traces of a tiger. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com//art...=TOIMobile  *This image is copyright of its original author https://www.jagran.com/uttar-pradesh/pra...36720.html |
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