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Bigcats News
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Not exactly 'big' or 'small', but a cat thought to be extinct in the wilderness of the UAE, that is the Arabian caracal (Caracal caracal shmitzi), was sighted with the help of a camera trap in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi (the largest of the Emirates that make up the UAE) after 35 years, this has been widely reported in the local media: https://www.emirates247.com/news/emirate...3-1.680118, https://www.thenational.ae/uae/environme...s-1.829133
Courtesy, EAD (Environment Agency Abu Dhabi), which reported the sighting, above is the image obtained from a camera trap in the area of a mountain called "Jabal Hafeet":  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author
Another big cat enters Kawal Tiger Reserve
This tiger's arrival has cheered officials belonging to the reserve, spread over Nirmal, Mancherial, Adilabad and Kumram Bheem Asifabad districts. AddThis Sharing Buttons Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest By AuthorPadala Santosh | Published: 24th Feb 2019 12:02 amUpdated: 23rd Feb 2019 10:50 pm  *This image is copyright of its original author A four-year-old male tiger which was was poached at Shivvaram of Mancherial district in January. —File photo
“Animal trackers and staffers of a base camp have been noticing the pugmarks of the big cat in Khanapur and Pembi Forest Ranges, which form the core area of the Kawal Tiger Reserve, for the past three days. However, it has moved into wild of Jannaram forest division. Steps were taken to protect the carnivore,” Nirmal District Forest Officer VSNV Prasad told ‘Telangana Today’ and added the tiger’s gender had to be ascertained. This tiger’s arrival has cheered officials belonging to the reserve, spread over Nirmal, Mancherial, Adilabad and Kumram Bheem Asifabad districts. Forest officials believe that the big cat may have strayed into the wild of Nirmal from Tippeshwar Wildlife Sanctuary of Yavatmal district in Maharashtra in search of prey and to own a new territory. Since tiger is a territorial animal, it migrates to forests that boast of prey base and suitable for inhabitation of the carnivores, says a forest official. Kawal Tiger Reserve, the country’s largest reserve with core zone spread over 893 sq km and buffer zone over 1,120 sq km, covering certain forests of the four districts, saw the migration of two tigers in 2018. However, one was killed after poachers set an electrified snare in Pembi Forest Range in November last while the other met the same fate in Shivvaram forests of Jaipur mandal in January. Following the back-to-back poaching incidents, the authorities of the Forest Department and the reserve had come under severe criticism for failing to protect the big cats. Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar sounded tough against the menace of poaching and smuggling of teakwood. It has to be seen whether at least this tiger would survive in its new territory.  (02-24-2019, 05:37 PM)Rage2277 Wrote: wonder how long he'll last,no photos yet though Before him, 2 tigers entered but, poached and last one in Jan. The biggest problem for wildlife in Telugu states, is no interest or concern towards conservation by neither people nor govt and Poaching than habitat destruction. Govt never showed interest to conserve. Imagine the country's biggest tiger (NSTR in AP) reserve has some 10's of tigers in number even after getting rid of Maoists and Naxalites. Lame officials. and None of the reserves have safari facilities..
Natural mating raises hope for Persian leopard conservation
 *This image is copyright of its original author Two Persian leopards mated naturally for the first time at Tehran Zoological Garden on Wednesday and will breed by the next 100 days in case of reproductive success, Mehr news agency reported. After diagnosing the female leopard and checking the male leopard sperm, their reproductive health has been ensured, so we decided to take hormonal interventions in order to increase the probability of estrous detection and insemination, Iman Memarian, Tehran Zoological Garden director said.
Quote:Given that Kija, the female leopard, and Gaspar, the male one, are both healthy, there is a very high chance of achieving a live birth within less than 4 months, he highlighted. Leopard litters typically contain two cubs, although litters can number up to "six" cubs, he said, adding, Kija may give birth to a litter of one or two cubs, while it is not farfetched that the number of cubs increases due to natural mating.
Gaspar sent to Iran since a year and a half ago, he stated, adding that this natural reproduction success has happened for the first time in the country.
Emphasizing on the importance of success in captive breeding or artificial insemination of Asiatic cheetahs
 , he noted that although cheetah’s reproduction is more complicated due to low quality of sperm, we hope that this pave the way for cheetahs breeding as well.The Persian leopard is listed as Endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List; the population is estimated at fewer than 871–1,290 mature individuals and considered declining.
According to the Department of Environment, 156 leopards have been killed in Iran from 2005 to 2014, nearly 20 leopards a year. Studies indicate that currently there are less than 500 leopards nationwide.
Persian leopards are mainly threatened by poaching, depletion of their prey base due to poaching, human disturbances, habitat loss due to deforestation, fire, agricultural expansion, overgrazing, and infrastructure development.
In Iran, primary threats are habitat disturbances followed by illegal hunting and excess of livestock in the leopard habitats. The leopards’ chances for survival outside protected areas appear very slim.
Related News
India Eco Watch: Major ecological happenings of the week (Feb 18-24)
 *This image is copyright of its original author Credit: Getty African Cheetahs to be translocated to India: NTCA The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) told a bench of the Supreme Court on February 22, 2019, that African cheetahs would be translocated in India from Namibia and would be kept at Nauradehi wildlife sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh. According to a news report, the authority further told the apex court that the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) had given a ‘no objection’ for the translocation. When an objection was raised as to why Asiatic Cheetahs could not be imported from Iran rather than African ones, the court decided to post the hearing for March 12. The Indian Cheetah was declared extinct in 1952. Now, ‘safe zone’ for vultures across southern states Forest officials and experts have decided to set up a ‘Vulture safe zone’ across the states of Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The decision was taken at a recent vulture conservation workshop held at Waynad, Kerala by the state forest department, according to a news report. As part of the plan, the states have decided to create a common platform so that forest officials from the states in the region can discuss vulture conservation issues and implement guidelines in protected areas. As a first step, a synchronized survey would be conducted across the southern states from March 15-17. Genetic studies on population estimations and radio collaring will also be started. Two sloth bears found dead in Odisha’s Balasore Two sloth bears were found dead near a river at the Jambudiha village under the Nilagiri forest range in Odisha’s Balasore district on February 19, 2019, according to a local media report. The carcasses of the bears were first spotted by local village residents, who informed the Forest Department. Though the exact reason of the deaths is not known, theories range from electrocution to poisoning. The Tinikosia, Swarnachuda and Kuladiha forests in Balasore district are home to many sloth bears. Prior to the February 19 incident, two bears were found dead at Chalanapala, also in Balasore on January 28 and February 17. Bhoramdeo in Chhattisgarh will not bea tiger reserve --->(@Rishi) The proposed project to declare Bhoramdeo in Chhattisgarh as a tiger reserve has been shelved as per news reports. This was announced by the state’s Minister of Forests, Mohammed Akbar on the tenth day of the State Assembly’s latest session on February 21, 2019. The minister said that a lot of villages spread over an area of 8,000 sq km would have been affected if the proposed tiger reserve had been given the go-ahed. Bhoramdeao lies in the Kabirdham district of Chhattisgarh. It is known for a famous Hindu temple complex that is built at the foot of the thickly forested Maikal range of hills. 36 quarantined lions to be brought back to Gir A total of 36 Asiatic lions, that had been quarantined in rescue centres of the Gir National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary after an epidemic of Canine Distemper Virus (CDV) had swept through these protected areas in September, 2018, are to be released into the wild again. It will be a challenging task, according to experts quoted in a number of news reports as the animals have become habituated to humans. Moreover, the area of Gir from where they were taken in 2018, has been taken over by new lion prides and releasing them there could cause territorial fights. The Gujarat Forest Department will take a final decision on when and where to release the lions.
16 arrested in tiger poaching case Telangana
Those arrested include seven activists of a Chandrapur-based voluntary organisation As many as 16 persons were arrested by Ramagundam police on Wednesday in what is being billed as one of the largest, if not the largest ever set of arrests of people involved in wildlife poaching in Telangana as well as in the erstwhile united Andhra Pradesh. Seven of those arrested are from Maharashtra. Four others were arrested earlier in the same case after the skin of a male tiger was seized from a house in Mandamarri on January 24. The tiger was killed on January 7 near Shivaram village of Jaipur mandal in Mancherial district. Four persons, all involved with killing of the tiger and trying to sell its skin and claws, were arrested within a few days of the seizure. This is one of the largest such instances of a coordinated crackdown on poachers and those associated with a single case of poaching of a wild animal, a forest department official told ‘Telangana Today’. Those arrested on Wednesday include three accused of poaching the tiger, two animal trackers of the Forest Department, five brokers, the head and six activists of a Chandrapur-based voluntary organization. Officials of the police Task Force also seized a motorcycle, two four-wheelers, iron wire snares and Rs 4.80 lakh from the groups arrested on Wednesday. According to Ramagundam Commissioner of Police V Satyanarayana, the three poachers held on Wednesday were Nakka Mallaiah, Thokala Bucchirajam and Thokala Shekhar, all from Shivaram village. Trackers also held Two animal trackers from the State Forest Department, Md Shareef and Thokala Rajalingu, were also arrested. Four others who tried to broker a deal to sell the skin of the poached tiger – Ilaveni Anjaiah from Mandamarri, Cheneli Purnchander of Godavarikhani, Koyala Pandu from Asifabad, and Ilaveni Lingaiah, a native of Choppadandi, were among those who were caught. Confirming the role of an NGO from Maharashtra, Tiger Hunt Ending Association based in Chandrapur, in the case, Satyanarayana said they arrested Nanda Kishore Pimple, the NGO’s president along with Piyush Barde, Ashwin, Rakesh Chakravarthi, Thomas Thodase, all THEA members. They were helped by Gurnele Suresh, a sarpanch from Devada in Maharasthtra. Pimple and other THEA members were involved in hunting of big cats by luring poachers with offers to buy skins of tigers after which they used to dupe the poachers. Information leaked to hunters “The two trackers leaked information on the tiger’s movements to the hunters. They encouraged the hunters to poach, citing huge profits in selling skin and claws of the big cat,” Satyanarayana said. Satyanarayana said the poachers then tried to sell the skin and the nails with the help of Sailu, Komaraiah, Anjaiah, Pandu, Suresh and Nanda Kishore. They entered into a deal with THEA activists on January 23. Their act was exposed when one of the activists passed on the information to forest officials after stealing cash Rs 4.8 lakh by promising to double the amount by keeping it on the skin of the big cat. 
Disturbing developments;
Well done geniuses... Sources: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city...145439.cms? https://www.haribhoomi.com/chhattisgarh/...achanakmar  (02-25-2019, 05:25 PM)Pckts Wrote: I believe helicopters arrived yesterday, finally! Normally the forest-floor catching fire during the dry season is a natural thing. It starts, spreads with the strong summer wind in a predictable direction & dies out or put out. The bigger trees & some tough shrubs survive, albeit charred, to grow leaves again while the undergrowth gets cleared to give way to the next generation of seasonal plants as monsoon arrives soon after. For example; in Kaziranga the FD set the fire themselves every year so that instead of starting naturally, haphazardly it grows & spreads in a controlled manner. Sometimes artificial wildfires are created to get a region rid of invasive plant species (like lantanna in this case).  *This image is copyright of its original author This case was an exception in the sense that it was one of the largest. The culprits lit several fires at multiple places & it grew out of control. Due to this being February and the wind velocity low, this untimely fire moved quite slowly, doing more thorough damage to the region. But also loss of wildlife was fairly low because of that, according to FD almost negligible. However as rains are not coming for another 3-4 months, the forest are going to lie barren for a while. (02-25-2019, 06:08 PM)Rishi Wrote:(02-25-2019, 05:25 PM)Pckts Wrote: I believe helicopters arrived yesterday, finally! The fire in Bandipur seems really bad, not like a controlled burn. It really looked like they were completely unprepared for this which is a shame. I heard their fire roads were/are non existent? I have a video of the helicopters dropping water but I wish they had a better aerial view to take in the damage. Bhagya Lakshmi Indian Air Force Helicopters have been sent to #Bandipura... #Save_Bandipura #Save_Forest
In A First, Tiger Faeces Being Collected To Estimate Population
Quote:The experiment ''scats'' is being conducted for the first time in uneven terrains where installing cameras to capture the movement of tigers is tough, a National Tiger Conservation Authority official said  *This image is copyright of its original author The method will help identify footprints of tigers in abnormal terrains, naxal-affected areas (like mine) In a first, wildlife officials are collecting tiger faeces to estimate the population of the big cats in erratic terrains and insurgency-hit areas in the country, with a report likely to be released next month. The experiment - "scats" - is being conducted for the first time in uneven terrains like those in northeastern states, and naxal-affected areas, where installing cameras to capture the movement of tigers is tough, a National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) official said. The official said tiger faeces are being used for genetic sampling and estimating the big cats population for the 2018 Tiger Census. Explaining the methodology of ''scats'', an official of the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), an autonomous institution of the Environment Ministry, said the technique involves making polygons - squares in this case -- of 25 sqkm each in an area of 400 sqkm in the northeastern region, and then physically going there and collecting faeces for genetic sampling. "Such methodologies are helpful in uneven terrains and insurgency-hit areas where camera installation is impossible," Ujwal, project scientist, Tiger Cell, WII, said. NTCA senior official Amit Malik said this genetic profiling of tigers will help in identifying footprints of the big cats in areas where camera trapping is tough. "Scats will give us an indication of the numbers and help us identify distribution and footprints of tigers in abnormal terrains and naxal-affected areas. We are doing this for the first time," Mr Malik said. For the first time, India will be presenting a sub-continent report on tiger count in association with bordering countries- Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh, the NTCA official also said. With the census report expected to be released by March-end, wildlife officials are anticipating a sharp rise in tiger population across the country. The WII says the report is expected to be released in May-end. Y V Jhala, senior scientist, Tiger Cell, WII, said the process of tiger census began in October 2018 and is about to get over but the results are expected at the end of May. He said it is an exercise that covers 18 tiger reign states with 50 tiger reserves along with areas beyond these reserves where tigers can be found.
Kuno is approved as Lion reserve and ready to recieve Lions, CM writes to PM
 *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author Quote:Cheetah going to be welcomed in Nauradehi WLS and Kuno NP ready for the Asiatic lions@Lycaon @Wolverine Madhya Pradesh can once again going to become cheetah's Kingdom. The Cheetah was extinct 72 years ago from the state.  *This image is copyright of its original author Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath with Prime Minister Narendra Modi (File photo) CM Kamal Nath has resumed his efforts to bring the Lion to Madhya Pradesh from Gujarat. National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) is once again preparing to settle cheetah here. This is the reason why the NTCA implementing Supreme Court orders to transfer the Cheetah of Namibia by selecting Nauradehi for it. Madhya Pradesh forest department had notified Kuno as a ‘national park’ in compliance with the last condition imposed by a Supreme Court-appointed committee for ‘translocation of Asiatic lions from Gir in Gujarat.’ The notification was published on December 14, minutes after Congress announced Kamal Nath as the new chief minister of the state. Nath had promised officials to take up the matter towards a logical conclusion. Shivraj never spoke on this issue publicly considering Modi’s possessiveness for Gir lions. On the other hand, after the change of government in the state, preparations for the renewal of the Lion in Palpur National Park have been started. Writing a letter to give permission for transferring lions to Madhya Pradesh, the ball has been thrown in the court of the central government.  *This image is copyright of its original author At the sixth meeting of the expert committee on translocation of Asiatic lions, the MP government was asked to notify the area by February 2017, but competent authorities kept it pending knowing the then government’s stand on the subject, said sources. In January 2017, Gujarat’s forest department had placed its objections before the 12-member committee and demanded that 36 studies be completed before the endangered Gir lions can be transferred to MP. Issues like prey base, habitat, vegetation and weather are said to be conducive for shifting the lions to Kuno sanctuary. The MP forest department had promised to complete all formal processes of declaring Kuno as a ‘national park’ by the end of February. The expert committee had visited Kuno in December 2017. After spending nearly five hours at the sanctuary, the panel members had found the atmosphere in Kuno-Palpur suitable for shifting of lions. Gujarat, too, could not question much on MP’s preparedness to host the lions, sources said. While MP won the eight-year-long legal battle with Gujarat in 2013, the latter had been dilly-dallying on compliance. MP government circles had gone to the extent of suggesting that they were not averse to retaining the tag of ‘Gir' or ‘Gujarat' to identify the relocated lions at their new home in Kuno-Palpur. If everything goes fine then the wildlife lovers of the state can get double happiness soon along with Cheetah. In fact, there has been a long dispute between the two states for bringing the Lions to Madhya Pradesh from the Gir Sanctuary located in Gujarat. After going to the Supreme Court and ordering the transfer of lions, the Gujarat government imposed restrictions on lion-friendly arrangements. The Union Ministry of Environment and Forests expressed concern over the fact that the lion is on the verge of extinction. Therefore it is important to build their second Lion reserve. If the Asiatic lion was tied in the same place then this species would be extinct. Now the State Government has written a letter to the Central Government and requested to give permission to send the lion, giving details of arrangements made in Palpur. It has been mentioned in the letter that with the increase of the area of Kuno, it has been declared as National Park. Also, the preliminary conditions set out to bring the lion have been completed.  *This image is copyright of its original author Demand for bringing lions into Palpur reserve by RSS symposium RSS Mohan Bhagwat Keshav Kuti Jabalpur Organized Forest and Environment Seminar for Asiatic-Lion Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh chief Sarasangh Chowk Mohan Bhagwat's organized a seminar on Monday, February 25, in the Keshav Kuti Jabalpur, RSS Forest and Environment. In this seminar, former MLA and Environmentalist Dr. Nishith Patel demanded transfer of Asiatic Lion to Kuno National Park. Shri Bhagwat requested that the Central Ministry of Forest and Environment and the Government of Gujarat should be Instructed for speedy action in this regard. http://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2...43720.html http://theindianawaaz.com/kamal-nath-ask...a-pradesh/ http://www.uniindia.com/lion-issue-mp-cm...11724.html Mr. Patel also informed Mr. Bhagwat that the recommendations of the Indian Forest Organisms and the Committee constituted for the transfer of Kuno National Park have also been implemented by the then BJP Government of Madhya Pradesh. Large amount of money spent by the state government on this.  *This image is copyright of its original author Dr. Nishith Patel, former MLA and Environmental expert, said in the seminar that the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests has expressed concern over this matter and said that it is necessary to build a second reserve for the endangered Asiatic Lion. If the Asiatic lion is kept in one place then it will get some genetic disease and abnormalities due to "Inbreeding" then this species will become extinct. Kuno National Park of Madhya Pradesh is the most suitable place for the Asiatic Lions on the earth. -------------- Area double Along with displaced and rehabilitated 24 villages (1543 families or households in which most of the inhabitants were Saharia tribal people and small percentage were Jatav, Brahmin, Gujjar, Kushwaha and Yadav) in Palpur National Park, now its area has increased to 800 sq.km by Madhya Pradesh govt. Earlier its area was half of it. A pleasant atmosphere without Human disturbance like in Gir has been created for lions. The letter sent to the Center has been told that a Committee of Indian Forest Organizations and Expert Committees of wildlife experts was constituted to resolve the objections raised by the Gujarat government. On whose recommendations, all the conditions have been fulfilled, which were obstructing the transfer of lions. The Wildlife Institute of India ( WII ) has given green signal while expressing satisfaction over all the arrangements. This is the case Work is being done on the project to set up Asiatic lions in Kuno Palpur since 1993. Madhya Pradesh government became active only after the recommendation of sending them to other parts for their species survival due to infectious dreadful diseases or natural calamities. In 2003, the reserve was ready for lions. But the Gujarat government refused to send them. Since then, this dispute has come up. ------------------- NOC found to bring cheetahs Quote:The NOC (Nodal) International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has been given to India for the conservation of extinct cheetahs in the Nauridehi WLS, located in the Sagar division of the "Pradesh" state. The NTCA is taking action of proposal in Supreme Court decision to relocate cheetahs from Namibia. NTCA told the court that the experts team has studied the impact of climate change, biodiversity and sustainable development and they are fully satisfied. Quote:Wildlife Institute Dehradun is collaborating on this proposal to rehabilitate the species of cheetah in the country. It is known that Cheetah was last seen in India 72 years ago. The government tried to save it that it had already died in 1947. After this, there was no trace of cheetah's presence in the survey conducted across the country. So, five years later, in 1952, it was declared as extinct. Namibia is the one of the few countries in the world where cheetah is found. Madhya Pradesh's Tiger found in Gujarat. Tiger disappeared from Madhya Pradesh for two years found in Gujarat. It has been revealed from photographs. The Forest Officers of the state wrote a letter to the Gujarat government and said to keep our tiger in safe custody. According to the officials, the tiger got out of Kanha National Park and the forests reached Gujarat. Presently this tiger is in the shrinking forests of Gujarat. Whose continuous report is being recorded. According to sources, in January 2017, a tiger was seen roaming in the hills of Nagda. Now it is revealed to be in the Gujarat forest area. It is reported that this tiger has reached Gujarat by traveling 300 kilometers distance through dense and hostile human matrix. |
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