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Bigcats News
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Over a week ago, 12 tigers and 5 lions had been relocated to a sanctuary in South Africa after being rescued from circuses in Guatemala following years of abuse and confinement: https://apnews.com/a750c6dbc0e34788898d9e4e95bbae43, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-safri...SKBN1ZK2OX, https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-512146...t-new-home, https://edition.cnn.com/videos/world/202...dn-vpx.cnn
AP:  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author 
Getting what he deserves!
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2020/01/tiger-king-joe-exotic-sentenced-22-years-violence-tigers-murder-hire/?fbclid=IwAR1xhe5PrS0ehaoSgxVR93Q72ATPMrE1DcOC9MpiZ7SQkNJdrOroCJNjtIc#close An undercover U.S. Fish and Wildlife agent displays one of five tiger skulls excavated from what is now Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park. They were evidence in a trial that convicted breeder Joe Exotic of killing, selling, and illegally transporting tigers—and the two murder-for-hire charges. PHOTOGRAPH BY STEVE WINTER ANIMALSWILDLIFE WATCH 'Tiger King' sentenced to 22 years for violence against tigers and people Once the leader of a large tiger breeding and cub-petting organization, the judge ruled Joe Exotic can never possess tigers again. 6 MINUTE READ BY SHARON GUYNUP PHOTOGRAPHS BY STEVE WINTER PUBLISHED JANUARY 24, 2020 JOSEPH MALDONADO-PASSAGE, BETTER known as “Joe Exotic,” shuffled into federal court in Oklahoma City on Wednesday for sentencing, his hands and feet shackled. He wore an orange prison jumpsuit. Until his arrest in September 2018, he’d run one of the largest tiger breeding and cub-petting and photo op attractions in the U.S., sometimes putting on shows dressed as a Las Vegas-style performer. But the man once hailed as “The Tiger King” was now subdued, haggard. There was no trace of the confident, effusive showman I’d observed during his seven-day trial last spring. On April 2, a jury convicted him on two counts of murder-for-hire and 17 wildlife charges, which we’d reported as part of a larger story examining why 5,000 to 10,000 captive tigers live in the US, who owned them—and why. Joe Exotic wept as he pled with the judge for leniency. “I broke no laws,” he said. He claimed ill health. He said he owed his victim, Carole Baskin, an apology and then blamed her, the government, law enforcement, his employees and others for his current plight. His face remained emotionless as Judge Scott Palk issued his sentence: 264 months, or 22 years in prison. For the 56 year-old, it’s essentially a life sentence. Picture of three tigers bathing in a metal pool in a field Clay, Daniel, and Enzo, three of 39 tigers rescued from an animal park in Oklahoma, gather at a pool at the Wild Animal Sanctuary in Keenesburg, Colorado. These cats will live out their lives here, with proper nutrition and vet care. PHOTOGRAPH BY STEVE WINTER Joe Exotic had tried to hire two different hitmen—an employee and an undercover FBI agent—to kill Carole Baskin, founder of the Big Cat Rescue Wildlife Sanctuary in Florida. She was his sworn enemy. Her “911 Animal Abuse” website profiled people who mass-bred tigers, separated cubs from their mothers at birth, and used them as photo props. The site rallied protests against the lucrative traveling shows that Joe Exotic staged at malls and fairs. It ruined his business, he threatened her on social media and in public—and then he tried to get her killed. Baskin was given the chance to speak at the sentencing. “The conviction of Mr. Schreibvogel Maldonado Passage was made based upon only a handful of vivid examples of his malicious intent to murder me,” she said. “As you consider his sentence, I would just like you to take into account that if this vicious, obsessed man is ever released from jail, my life and my family’s lives, will return to what it was like during the decade leading up to his arrest.” Each of the murder-for-hire counts carried a 108-month sentence, to be served consecutively. The wildlife charges brought another four years in prison. Joe Exotic was convicted of killing five tigers, shooting them in the head to make room for other cats. He sold and trafficked tigers and other endangered species and falsified government documents to hide his activities in violation of federal laws. TODAY’S POPULAR STORIES SCIENCE These lava lakes drained catastrophically—and scientists caught it in action SCIENCE New coronavirus can spread between humans—but it started in a wildlife market ANIMALS These birds 'retweet' alarm calls—but are careful about spreading rumors “All of the sentences reflected the judge’s understanding of the gravity of the defendant’s conduct,” said environmental crimes prosecutor John Webb. Baskin said she was “relieved that Maldonado-Passage will be behind bars for so many years.” In his pre-sentencing statement, Judge Palk said that Joe Exotic was “consumed, if not obsessed with silencing Carole Baskin.” He also highlighted the defendant’s ongoing lack of respect for the law: Joe Exotic had been recorded on a phone call trying to broker the sale of lion cubs while awaiting trial in Grady County Jail. The judge cited a pattern of “systematic trafficking of animals” and noted the seriousness of the wildlife crimes, which he called “significant in volume.” Joe Exotic’s lawyers requested that he be allowed to again own wild animals after his release from prison. Judge Palk was adamant in his denial. He “has demonstrated his willingness to circumvent the regulatory statutes,” the judge said, which “ leaves zero wiggle room” that he will ever be involved in possession or care of animals again. Over the years, Joe Exotic has attracted lots of attention: hundreds of news stories, podcasts and now, a TV series that will be produced by Saturday Night Live star Kate McKinnon. He’s an extremely colorful character who lived in the limelight for decades—he even ran for president and Oklahoma governor—and there’s irresistible film noire appeal in a murder-for-hire charge. But what Joe was doing with tigers at Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park, which remains open, appears to be endemic in the cub-petting industry. (Discover the dark truth behind wildlife tourism.) Picture of a tiger cub sitting in front of tourists, holding a purple toy Tourists watch a tiger cub play with a stuffed toy during a petting and photo opportunity at Myrtle Beach Safari. Visitors may be unaware of the breeding practices necessary to create these cubs—or what happens to many captive tigers when they become too big to interact with the public and can’t be used for breeding or display as adults. PHOTOGRAPH BY STEVE WINTER Testimony from numerous witnesses during Joe Exotic’s trial revealed that selling and trafficking tigers and other endangered species, falsifying government documents, money laundering, tax evasion and other criminal activity may be occurring at numerous other venues. During the sentencing hearing, defense lawyer William Earley noted “I think there’s plenty of evidence that others were involved in similar violations of the law.” In our earlier reporting, we mapped a nationwide US tiger trade network. Lax laws and limited government oversight have allowed these businesses to thrive despite years of repeated violations for abuse, neglect and potential danger to animals and the public. Very few have lost their U.S. Department of Agriculture exhibitor’s licenses. “The USDA should have shut down Joe Exotic’s business two decades ago,” said Brittany Peet, director of captive animal law enforcement at the PETA Foundation. “He may be the first captive-animal abuser to go to prison for killing and trafficking in captive big cats, but he shouldn’t be the last, and PETA is calling on the U.S. Department of Justice to finish what they started with Joe Exotic by taking on the U.S. captive tiger trafficking network and shutting it down once and for all." While he wasn’t criminally charged with animal abuse, Joe Exotic’s treatment of animals brought him scrutiny from many involved in animal welfare. Back in 2011, an undercover investigation by the Humane Society of the U.S. found tigers and other species “caged in barren conditions, punched, dragged and beaten as ‘training,’ and bred to provide infant animals for public photo shoots and then offloaded when they were no longer useful,” said Kitty Block, the nonprofit’s president and CEO. Year after year, he was cited by USDA for violations of federal Animal Welfare Act standards. The landscape may be changing around this issue. In the last days of December, the U.S. House of Representatives gained enough sponsors to move forward with The Big Cat Public Safety Act. The U.S. currently has no federal law governing big cat ownership, though these predators can weigh up to 500 pounds and may reach 10 feet long. This bill would prohibit ownership of big cats as pets and outlaw hands-on contact with cubs. Newly-introduced state laws in Virginia and Oklahoma would also make public contact illegal. A few of the largest cub-handling attractions are being investigated or face lawsuits involving endangered big cat species. In December, Myrtle Beach Safari in South Carolina was raided as part of an investigation into possible lion trafficking. Florida’s Dade City Wild Things, which once allowed visitors to swim with cubs, is amidst a lawsuit alleging that its practice of pulling cubs from their mothers at birth, forcing them to interact with the public and housing them in small cages violates the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Wildlife In Need in Indiana is under an injunction barring it from prematurely separating mothers and cubs as part of a pending lawsuit. A court order in that case established that declawing endangered or threatened exotic cats to make public contact easier—without medical necessity—violates the ESA. There has been growing public protest over itinerant tiger exhibits and performing acts at state and county fairs. In October, California banned the use of wild animals in circuses. The situation in the U.S. has also sparked international scrutiny. The U.S. is one of six nations under investigation for possible tiger trafficking by the Secretariat of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, a treaty signed by 183 nations regulating that trade. The U.S. is a signatory. Phillip Land, special agent in charge at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, says that his agency will continue to “vigorously investigate wildlife crime,” adding that “I hope the sentence received by Joe Maldonado-Passage will be a strong deterrent to others.”
Manzi Moo (or "Big Man), leader of a pride at Big Cat Sanctuary, Ashford Park, Kent County, southeast England, died. He arrived at the park in 2005: https://www.kentlive.news/news/kent-news...ng-3800743, https://www.kentonline.co.uk/ashford/new...wMULzwLBx8
Credit: Alma Leaper, Perou and The Big Cat Sanctuary team  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author Manzi and his pride of lionesses:  *This image is copyright of its original author With his 2 brothers Tiny and Kafara:  *This image is copyright of its original author
Yesterday a tiger skin was seized in Dang District.
 *This image is copyright of its original author Does this mean that tigers are in the dangs ? The striping and color are unique . Nature Environment & Wildlife Organization (02-13-2020, 05:12 PM)Lycaon Wrote: Yesterday a tiger skin was seized in Dang District. Like I mentioned in this thread, the Dangs' forest is in the southern part of Gujarat State, on the border with Maharashtra State, so it's not impossible for tigers to cross into the Dangs from either Maharashtra, considering the tragic story of a tiger that crossed into Lunavada District from Madhya Pradesh last year, and sightings in the Dangs have been alleged: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city...380980.cms, https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city...332055.cms Oh no, the first Californian puma was killed under the state's new law of depredation, on the 27th of January, and it was known as "P-56": https://wildfact.com/forum/topic-the-pum...#pid101492 A Kruger lion cub that got carried by a male baboon into the trees is feared dead: https://wildfact.com/forum/topic-lions-i...#pid101493
@Lycaon @BorneanTiger,
I hate to be the pedant for both of you, but this tiger is not from India, but rather from Dang, NEPAL. You are confusing it with Dang in Gujarat. As for it’s stripes, I am guessing, it is from the mountainous parts of Himalayas and a tiger which resides in altitudes 2000m above sea level. https://myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com/news/three-held-with-skin-of-tiger/ 
LA Leaders Want To End Killing Of Mountain Lions For Taking Livestock
The death of mountain lion P-56 has grabbed the attention of city leaders in L.A., where two council members are calling for an end to permitted killings. The male mountain lion was shot and killed legally using what's known as a depredation permit issued by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife after a dozen sheep and lambs were killed in the Camarillo area. Such permits are issued to landowners who can prove the loss or damage of livestock was caused by mountain lions. Councilmen Paul Koretz, whose 5th District covers parts of the westside and San Fernando Valley, and David Ryu, whose 4th District covers parts of Hollywood, the Hollywood Hills and Sherman Oaks, wrote a resolution calling for the state to stop issuing these permits and establish a fund to reimburse anyone who loses an animal in an attack. "I am outraged at the unnecessary killing of mountain lion P56 in a time when we are working on all levels to protect our local wildlife and habitats. Thank you @davideryu & @BobBlumenfield for your support in stopping depredation permits and listing our local pumas as threatened" Mountain lions are not threatened or endangered in California. However, Prop 117, a ballot measure passed in 1990, made them a "specially protected species," a status which, combined with other statutes, makes it illegal to hunt them, according to CDFW. In Southern California, the spread of freeways and urban development have left them so dangerously isolated that their long-term survival is in question. P-56 was a collared lion that was part of an ongoing study in the Santa Monica Mountains Recreation Area. "I think there's just an insane disconnect between the fact that we are working to conserve our mountain lions, especially in the city of Los Angeles, where there's possibly one still surviving that's collared and there may be another one that's not collared — two males, and we just allowed one to be killed," Koretz said. Speaking on KPCC's AirTalk, Koretz called the killing "absolutely unnecessary" and pointed to other steps that might be taken to prevent the loss of livestock, including the use of rubber bullets to deter mountain lions and using more sophisticated animal pens for protection. But some residents in areas impacted by mountain lions say they have a right to defend life and property. Wendell Phillips is one such resident. He lives in Malibu and had several alpacas and horses killed by P-45. He was issued a depredation permit but only managed to graze the animal with a bullet. Phillips said victims of attacks shouldn't be blamed for not building a better pen or taking other precautions that don't end up working. "I mean, it would be sort of like tantamount to telling a burglary victim, 'Your burglar alarm wasn't the best and therefore you're at fault for being burglarized,'" he said. CDFW has said it will review P-56's death to make sure protocols were followed. (02-15-2020, 08:55 PM)Sully Wrote: LA Leaders Want To End Killing Of Mountain Lions For Taking Livestock So the killing of P-56, which I mentioned in this thread, has led to calls for a review? Good. 
Asiatic lion population set to double in India
By Richa Sharma |Express News Service | Published: 19th February 2020 10:08 AM  *This image is copyright of its original author GANDHINAGAR: The world’s only abode for Asiatic Lion, Saurastra & Gir National Park in Gujarat, has seen almost 100% increase in the numbers of the big cat in last 5 years. The lion census, whose report is set to be released in May by the Gujarat government, reflects that their numbers are likely to cross 1,000, said a senior state government official, who is part of the exercise. This lion population census is done every five years. “The lion population is thriving and expanding and lion has entered new areas in the state. The presence of the big cat is now reported around coastal areas of Saurashtra and they are breeding. Some lions have crossed Rajkot, Jamnagar national highways and established its territory in coastal areas with large chunk of grasslands,” said the official on condition of anonymity. But the concentration of the lion population in one state has also given rise to concerns that any outbreak of a disease could lead to extinction of the species. To prevent this, the state government has prepared gene pools of the lions and is takings measures for cross gene pool mating for gene variation. In 2018, an entire pride of 26 lions in Gujarat’s Gir National Park was wiped out in less than a month, with authorities citing canine distemper as the reason behind the deaths. The incident brought focus on non-execution of the Supreme Court order of 2013 on translocation of the Gir lions to another habitat to protect them from possible extinction in case of an epidemic.
Forests and Wildlife Protection Society - FAWPS
A partially eaten carcass of a 10-year-old tigress was found in Dudhwa Tiger Reserve in Uttar Pradesh. The carcass was found in the Kattaiya range of the Kishanpur Wildlife Sanctuary by the beat staff that was patrolling the area on Wednesday. The death was apparently caused due to fighting with another big cat. The flesh around the neck of the tigress was ripped and had canine marks. The pugmarks of a tiger and blood were also found around the carcass. Besies, the claws of the dead tigress also had flesh of another tiger. Sanjay Pathak, director of Dudhwa Tiger Reserve, said: "We have got the veterinarian and other staff to investigate. We did not disturb the carcass till afternoon so that we could collect enough evidence." said. He said that the carcass was intact with no organs missing or mutilated. It was found lying inside the jungle in the core area of the reserve. A post-mortem examination report said the feline, aged about 10 years, died of a punctured trachea. Some of its ribs were also fractured. Pathak said, "We are looking for the other tiger assuming it would be injured too, but have not been able to locate it till now. We will put up camera traps and try to locate it." The viscera of the dead feline has been sent to the Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI), Bareilly, for further investigation. Toxicological and histopathological reports would throw more light on the cause of the death of the tigress.
Further development on MP Tiger corridor
The Madhya Pradesh government plans to create 11 new satellite habitats to aid tiger dispersal mitigate man-animal conflict.  *This image is copyright of its original author The Madhya Pradesh government has an ambitious plan to create at least 11 new protected areas within the state. The state is currently home to 24 sanctuaries and 11 national parks, covering 11,393 sq. km of forests. About 5,400 sq. km of forests have been notified as buffer areas around the six tiger reserves in MP, taking the total protected area to just under 16,800 sq. km of the state’s approximately 94,000 sq. km of forests. These new protected areas, covering almost than 2,500 sq. km, represent perhaps the largest addition of protected areas attempted by any state in the past three decades. After an initial push in the 1970s and ’80s, the creation of new protected areas took a backseat. This was largely due to resistance from local communities who felt that their rights would be curtailed, as well as concern on the part of governments that protected areas would be detrimental to development’, as a result of the many clearances required. However, emboldened by the success of its tiger protection programme, the 2018 tiger census recorded 526 big cats in the state, the highest in the country, earning MP the tag of India’s tiger state’, the state government has decided to create new protected areas again. These new areas have been dubbed designer sanctuaries’ by policy-makers, as they have been identified while keeping potentially contentious aspects such as human habitation and minor forest produce (MFP) collection rights in mind. In the proposal prepared by the state forest department and being put to the cabinet MP government has used information technology & satellite remotesensing data to identify areas that do not contain private land and habitations for the new sanctuaries. Moreover, since the areas to be included are already designated as reserve forests, the state government does not need to carry out the settlement of rights’ process that is mandated under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. This allows the government to avoid the contentious process of public consultation.  *This image is copyright of its original author According to the sources of the forest department, the sites in the state have been selected to make the forest sanctuary include Mandu (Dhar), Sheopur, Sagar, Sehore, Narsinghpur, Harda, Indore, Burhanpur, Barwah, Omkareshwar and Mandla. In these places, the sanctuary of the state will be connected to the border sanctuaries. Such as the sanctuary of Burhanpur and Harda will be connected to Melghat in Maharashtra. Sheopur's sanctuary will be connected to Ranthambore in Rajasthan. Mandu, Indore, Barwah, Omkareshwar and Sehore have been selected under cluster approach. Under this scheme special attention will also be given to the scheme of groundwater recharge.
https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/national
Critically endangered Sumatran tiger found dead with neck caught in wire trap Dedek Hendry The Jakarta Post Bengkulu Jakarta / Fri, February 21, 2020 / 05:58 pm The carcass of a female Sumatran tiger was found within a forest area in Seluma regency, Bengkulu.(Courtesy of Seluma Police/File) A female Sumatran tiger has been found dead in a wire trap in a forest within Seluma regency, Bengkulu, in yet another incident that has drawn attention to the already critically endangered species. Ridwan, a villager from nearby Selingsingan village, found the tiger’s carcass when he was looking for rattan sprouts in Bukit Badas forest on Wednesday morning. He stopped his activities after seeing the carcass – located roughly 6 kilometers from the village – and immediately returned home to report his finding to the village chief. “We already checked the location and found a dead female tiger with a piece of wire wrapped around her neck,” Seluma Police special crimes unit head Second Insp. Catur Teguh Susanto said on Thursday. Based on the police’s examination, none of the tiger’s body parts were missing. The carcass’ head, however, was rotting away by the time the police arrived. “It was full of maggots. We assume [the tiger] had been dead for over six days,” Catur said, adding that a team from the Bengkulu Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA Bengkulu) had taken the carcass for further investigation. Authorities also found a wire trap located approximately 10 meters from the location of the dead tiger and a rotten pig carcass near the trap, which was presumably used as bait. Seluma Police chief Sr. Comr. I Nyoman Mertha Danta said they had launched an investigation into the incident, which he said was not the first of its kind in the area. “It’s possible that the perpetrator is not a local resident of Seluma regency,” he said, “Last year, we also caught a hunter [in the area] but they were not from Seluma.” BKSDA Bengkulu acting manager Mariska Tarantona said the dead tiger was 2 years old and had yet to give birth. “We already brought her body to the office. We plan to bury her after extracting a DNA sample and documenting her stripes, since her body is rotting,” Mariska said. The agency analyzed the tiger’s stripes to see if the tiger was the same as a Sumatran tiger that the BKSDA had previously monitored through a camera trap, she said. BKSDA Bengkulu also planned to launch a sweeping operation in Bukit Badas to check whether other traps had been installed by hunters in the area. The Sumatran tiger, the only surviving species of the Sunda Islands tigers that once included the now-extinct Bali tiger and Javan tiger, has been listed as critically endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List since 2008. An official estimate from the Environment and Forestry Ministry stated that, as of December 2018, the Sumatran tiger population stood at no more than 600 because of a loss of habitat and poaching. (dpk)
“Tum kaha, main yahaa”: Tiger walks 2000km in search of mate
A tiger who travelled 2,000 km seeking his sweetheart, went viral on social media along with a map tracking its movement. Updated: Mar 06, 2020 17:23 IST By Indo Asian News Service, New Delhi A picture of the tiger along with a map tracking its movement went viral on social media. (Twitter/@parveenkaswan)  *This image is copyright of its original author Amid all the corona fear and stories of bloodshed and politics there appeared a hero who burnt bright and impressed netizens this week -- it was a tiger who travelled 2,000 km seeking his sweetheart. A picture of the tiger along with a map tracking its movement went viral on social media with Twitterati super impressed. “He walked for 2,000 km through canals, fields, forests, roads & no conflict recorded. Resting in the daytime & walking at night all for finding a suitable partner. Was being continuously monitored,” IFS officer Parveen Kaswan posted the heart-warming photo. He captioned it: “This #Tiger from India after walking into records has settled to Dnyanganga forest.” The sanctuary is situated in the Buldhana district of Maharashtra and is part of the Melghat Tiger Reserve. As the post went viral, Twitterati have flooded the social media with their reactions. A user wrote, “What a lucky tigress it would be. He walked 2000 km & settled for nothing less meanwhile. These humans exaggerate their struggle in love.” Another wrote, “Wow, 2000 km and no conflict, this tiger is a real hero, finding food on the way, keeping away from poachers, all the struggle worth if he finds his partner.” “Aw poor Tiger. Did he get a suitable partner in the end?” asked one user. “This is voyeurism. We are stalking. Animals too have a right to privacy. I wonder if the tigress he met on the way refused to mate in the fear of being watched. Haha” a user remarked. |
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