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Bigcats News
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 (04-11-2016, 03:37 AM)strana Wrote: Another bad news : according to Economic Times, Madhya Pradesh have lost its 17th in a year, and this time the famous "Blue eyed " from Bandhavgarh. Madhya Pradesh loses another tiger, famous 'Blue Eye' dies due to tranquiliser overdose An adult tiger died at Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve in Umaria on Sunday. Sources said that the big feline died due to tranquiliser overdose while the park officials were trying to catch him. The locals knew the tiger as Blue Eye; the feline had allegedly assaulted two forest officers, including the park assistant director on Saturday evening. It is pertinent to note that this is 17th tiger death in Madhya Pradesh in last one year. The state is grappling to get back its 'Tiger State' tag, which it had lost in the year 2010 to Karnataka. Wildlife enthusiast Ajay Dubey said that the big cat died due to overdose of tranquilisers as park director Kalika Raman was trying to nab her with the staff and negligence marred the effort. “It is sheer negligence from the part of forest department and we have demanded a probe by National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA),” Dubey said. On Saturday, the park management had received a tip-off that Blue Eye was seen moving around in Dhamokhar area. With an aim to avert a man-animal conflict, park's assistant director Kailash Bangar and ranger B K Bhallavi reached the area to look for him. As the forest officers reached Parsajha tola area, the tiger suddenly encountered them and attacked the assistant director with the claws and ranger too fell off the vehicle. Driver Premal Baiga showed plenty of courage and used a lathi to shoo away the feline. Banger has suffered some injuries in the assault while the ranger had fallen off the vehicle. Park officials could not be reached for commenting on the death of the tiger. http://english.pradesh18.com/news/madhya-pradesh/madhya-pradesh-loses-another-tiger-famous-blue-eye-dies-due-to-tranquiliser-overdose-884935.html Tiger named "Blue Eye"found dead in Madhya Pradesh A Royal Bengal tiger with rare "blue eyes" was today found dead here, officials said. The big cat was a major attraction for its eyes at the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve (BTR). While officials claimed the tiger died in what was a fallout of a territorial fight, but an NGO claimed it fell victim to an "overdose of sedatives". Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) Shahbaz Ahmad confirmed that the tiger was dead. "I have come to know that it (the tiger) died in a territorial fight with other big cat. I am checking it out. Right now I am at Panna Tiger Reserve", Ahmad told PTI. Despite several attempts BTR field director K Raman Shrivastava could not be reached. Madhya Pradesh Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) Narendra Kumar said he was unaware of the development as he was out of Bhopal. As per reports, the tiger had mauled two forest officials at the park's nearby area after which it was tranquilised for shifting it to the reserve. Seeking a high-level inquiry into the tiger's death Ajay Dubey of NGO Prayatna, alleged that the animal, having "rare blue eyes" was "carelessly" tranquilised with overdose of sedative leading to its death. "I have lodged a complaint with National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) seeking a high-level probe into the death," he said. Dubey claimed that 18 tigers had died in the 13 months. http://www.ptinews.com/news/7319346_Tige...adesh.html 
A little good news, but the numbers are still terribly low - http://www.cbsnews.com/news/worlds-wild-...100-years/
News from a year back.
The case of the 15 missing tigers: Ranthambore National Park authorities believe poaching could be the reason By Sudhanshu Mishra Published: 18:21 EST, 27 March 2015 | Updated: 18:23 EST, 27 March 2015 Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/indiahome/indianews/article-3015458/15-Ranthambore-tigers-vanish-Park-authorities-believe-poaching-reason.html#ixzz45XljuvCO Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook It's increasingly worrisome at the Ranthambore National Park (RNP), with 15 tigers disappearing in the past two years. Of these missing tigers, five have disappeared in the past six months. Experts believe that in such a situation poaching couldn’t be ruled out. The five tigers missing for the past six months — whose whereabouts are not known to the forest authorities —included four males and two females. The male tigers are five-yearold T-47 (popularly known as Mohan); and T- 55, T-64 and T-65 —all about three year old; besides the female tiger T48, which is about five year old.  *This image is copyright of its original author +4 The three-year-old T-64 is one of the five big cats which have been missing from Ranthambore National Park Clueless foresters While divisional forest officer Sudarshan Sharma said these were sub-adult tigers that were perhaps busy in carving out their own territories, chief wildlife warden S.N. Singh conceded that some tigers of Ranthambore were missing and the officers concerned were directed to find them out. However, the authorities have failed to find the whereabouts of three other big cats that are missing for the past 10 months to 18 months. These tigers — T-67 and T-68, both aged four years, and cub of tigress T-41 — are missing for the past 18 months. Similarly, another twoyear- old cub of tigress T41 is missing for about 10 months. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/indiahome/indianews/article-3015458/15-Ranthambore-tigers-vanish-Park-authorities-believe-poaching-reason.html#ixzz45XlqSbOm Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook And just to show you how sometimes the news isn't the best source for this type of information, apparently T64 was even seen today. Arsh Marwaha T64 Was seen today evening aswell.
Mihir Mahajan
1 hr · Countless stories come and go within the hallowed jungles of India, those vast storehouses of tales and legends. One such blooming story is that of Tadoba. In the past 18-odd months, I have photographed as many as 7 new Tiger litters which is an exceptional number for a not-so-big forest. Those ancient bamboo woods are flourishing with tigers. The importance of a 'Tiger Corridor' becomes all the more important now, as this forest would not be able to hold more tigers. PMO India, you have to do this! smile emoticon This is a half-year old cub from the seventh family I write about, and this particular individual happens to be the boldest of the 20-odd cubs I have seen this last season. The genes of the legendary Waghdoh have successfully passed and how! 10th April 2016 | Tadoba. Please view in full screen.  *This image is copyright of its original author
Deepak Talan
Yesterday at 5:19am · Blue Eye, the beautiful male tiger of Bandhavgarh TR, renamed as BT17, took his last breath today noon time. He was found in a very bad state close to a village in Dhamokhar Range yesterday. While driving him off to the Core area, JD of BTR along with ranger Bhallavi, sustained minor injuries. Considering the nature of Blue Eye's wounds, it seems a result of territorial fight. However, we can reach any conclusion after PM report only. Good Bye Blue Eye. Photo: Salim Ali.  *This image is copyright of its original author These conflicting reports stink to me... I really hope it just a rumor about the failed tranquilizing because if they are taking part in trying to cover up a mistake it would be disgusting to me.
Doubling tiger population by 2022 is unrealistic: Wildlife expert Dr Ullas Karanth
 *This image is copyright of its original author On Wednesday, newspapers across the world reported widely that the population of wild tigers had grown from 3,200 in 2010 to 3,800 in 2014 which has been steadily dwindling for 100 years. Quoting a joint report from The World Wildlife Fund and The Global Tiger Forum the news came ahead of the three day International Union for Conservation of Nature Conference of 13 countries in New Delhi. The WWF-GTF report should have brought much cheer to conservationists, however, world renowned conservation zoologist and leading tiger expert based in Bengaluru, Dr K Ullas Karanth, Director for Science-Asia for the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), was quick to release a critical response to the WWF-GTF report.  *This image is copyright of its original author Dr Ullas Karanth. Photo credit: Sandesh Kadur Stating that these were his personal views and may not reflect that of the WCS, Dr Karanth said, "The various country-wide, regional, and landscape level tiger numbers reported in the WWF-GTF report are not based on any estimates from intensive rigorous camera trap/DNA studies of source populations. They are predominantly based on various kinds of counts of tiger spoor or in some cases simple guesswork.” He also stated, that "Some tiger numbers cited in the GTF-WWF report have been generated by demonstrably flawed statistical extrapolations. Consequently these numbers are not reliable or useful metrics for assessing the fate of wild tigers, unlike the rigorous methods.” We reached out to Dr Karanth to find out more. Firstpost: So does this report call for celebration or is it a call too soon? Dr Karanth: Neither, these numbers are all derived using poor methods or in some cases, guesswork. Firstpost: India has the best numbers - 2,226 tigers. Cambodia on the other hand has zero tigers. What did we do better than the other countries? Dr Karanth: India certainly has more tigers than any other country, for the past 50 years we have invested more money, man power, and political backing for tiger conservation and the results are showing. Firstpost: Has the tiger population really grown or is it that our survey methods are better? For instance you have pioneered the radio telemetry and also the Camera trapping techniques. How have these newer methods vis-à-vis pug mark method changed in the tiger population census? Dr Karanth: Tiger population in India has grown from the lows of 1960s, but the growth is uneven across the country. His response to the report clarified this further: Tiger 'source populations' that produce 'surpluses' occupy just 90,000 sq km of the remaining 1.2 million square kilometers of tiger habitat in the world. About 90 per cent of all surviving tigers are confined to small 7 per cent area, broken up into 40-50 source populations. Tigers will certainly go extinct if we fail to protect these. Because of this these source populations should be monitored using the most rigorous methods that employ camera trap/DNA surveys at advanced statistical models. The Pugmark method was abandoned in 2005 and camera traps are being used increasingly now, although not always using the best statistical design or analyses. These aspects need more attention. Firstpost: You and the Centre for Wildlife Society (CWS) have done a lot of work in the Nagerhole National Park and in saving the Bengal tiger. How did this work help in conservation and preservation of tigers? Dr Karanth: The WCS supported work in Nagarahole for over 30 years and has many components: development of new methods to monitor tigers and prey; gathering basic knowledge about their biology using these methods, supporting fair voluntary relocation of people who want to move out of the reserve and citizen science to develop local conservation leaders. All these have delivered gains, I think. Firstpost: What can we look forward to gaining at the upcoming 3 day International Union for Conservation of Nature Conference of 13 countries at Delhi? Dr Karanth: Such tiger summits have been held regularly for the past 10 years at great cost to the tax-payer… I do not think they have been very useful in practical terms. Firstpost: Whither 2022 and what are the goals you hope to achieve by then? Dr Karanth: I do not believe the goal of doubling tiger numbers by 2022 is realistic. I hope the country will infuse more rigorous science into its already substantial investments in tiger conservation. 'Focus of the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) has been on doing such advanced monitoring of number of key source populations across tiger range. Rigorous, intensive, long term camera trap studies conducted by WCS in India, Thailand and Russia show that tiger population recovery from depressed levels is a slow process, even in these relatively better protected sites. None of the populations have been observed to 'double' in 10 years, even under best of protection. If that is the case, simple back of the envelope calculations show that to double global tiger numbers from 3200 tigers in 2012 within ten years, would necessarily require increases of 27 per cent per year in 'sink landscapes'. This does not appear to be a realistic goal. Firstpost: Predators are increasingly appearing in human habitats like the recent incidents of a leopard getting into school in Bangalore and a tiger that was killed in Nagaland. With increasing encroachment of forest land, how can we prevent these kinds of human-animal conflict for habitat and right to life? Dr Karanth: Tigers are at high densities and producing surpluses in some well protected reserves, so such conflicts are inevitable on the edges and need to be managed scientifically so that local people living around the reserves do not turn hostile to them. The notion that these tigers are coming out because there is no food for them inside is not correct. If there is no prey, tigers cannot raise cubs and the population dwindles. http://m.firstpost.com/india/doubling-po...26954.html 
Insightful from Dr. Karanth, as usual. TFS @Pckts
His statement "The various country-wide, regional, and landscape level tiger numbers reported in the WWF-GTF report are not based on any estimates from intensive rigorous camera trap/DNA studies of source populations. They are predominantly based on various kinds of counts of tiger spoor or in some cases simple guesswork.” It is important since reliability is a term that I often see thrown around with regards to any tiger population data, without ever explaining why a data set is reliable or unreliable.  (04-14-2016, 03:26 AM)Shardul Wrote: Insightful from Dr. Karanth, as usual. TFS @Pckts And Dr.Karanth puts it best : camera traps, telemetry of radio collard animals, and DNA studies of animals are most reliable ways. Carrying capacity in terms of space and prey abundance is less reliable. Spoor count very unreliable. Estimates from scientists not based on above data unreliable. Estimates from other "big cats experts" guess work with no value
I know that. It was a rhetorical question.
The only data that is reliable is that which involves proper field work and survey of the tiger's habitat, along with camera traps and DNA/Scat analysis, which determines tiger population by identifying individual tigers. The tiger census here was conducted by the WII, which did all of the above plus some extrapolation based on certain factors. It also sampled more area than before. Which makes this, its most reliable count till date. 
India could soon relocate the Bengal tigers in Cambodia.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-36051629  (04-11-2016, 11:36 PM)Great Info Pckts from Mihir mahajan.Yes. Tadoba is doing well. Sonam, Maya, Waghdoh female, shivanzari female of kolsa in core AND Madhuri , Lajri and Sharmili in buffer have cubs currently. But Vasantbandhara area, all major areas of kolsa are closed. I am very sure there are atleast 4-5 females with cubs in those areas. So at least 30 cubs there ! Pckts Wrote: Mihir Mahajan (04-16-2016, 09:21 PM)GrizzlyClaws Wrote: India could soon relocate the Bengal tigers in Cambodia. Interesting. The ideal scenario would have been translocating tigers from Thailand but this shows how poorly the Indochinese tigers are doing right now. |
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