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Bigcats News
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Nepal, India to conduct first joint tiger count
Here is the link for full story http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news...913662.cms 
Clouded leopard cheer for Dampa reserve
-Study by Indian and British reaserchers finds highest density of the animal in southeast Asia Roopak Goswami A clouded leopard captured through camera-trapping in Dampa. Picture by Ecosystem-India/WildCRU  *This image is copyright of its original author Guwahati, Oct. 1: Dampa tiger reserve in Mizoram has the highest density of clouded leopards in Southeast Asia, according to a study by researchers from India and the UK. The study - Populations and Activity Patterns of Clouded Leopards and Marbled Cats in Dampa Tiger Reserve, India - was carried out by Priya Singh, an alumnus of National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bangalore, and independent researcher affiliated to Researchers for Wildlife Conservation (RWC), Bangalore, and David W. Macdonald of Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, University of Oxford. It has been published in the latest issue of Journal of Mammalogy. The study was supported by Ecosystem India and WildCRU. It found the density of clouded leopards was 5.14 (standard deviation of 1.80) per 100 square km and 5.03 (standard deviation of 2.07) per 100 square km for marbled cats in Dampa. This is the highest density for clouded leopards in Southeast Asia and the first estimate of marbled cats in Asia. "Our results indicate a high density of clouded leopards in Dampa compared to other parts of their range in Southeast Asia where the highest density obtained was 3.46 (with a standard deviation of 1.00) in 100 square km," the study said. Priya said Manas tiger reserve has a clouded leopard density of 4.73 (standard deviation of 1.43) for 100 square km. The area covered in Manas was much larger and the camera trapping was done mainly for tigers and leopards. The camera-trapping in Dampa was carried out across 80 square km in the northeastern part of the core area. Apart from meeting other logistic requirements, the authors said this was the best protected area of the reserve with minimal human disturbance. "We had several photo captures which allowed us to estimate their population using statistically robust estimation methods," Priya told The Telegraph . Ten clouded leopards and 10 marbled cats were identified from the 84 photographs of clouded leopards and 36 marbled cats during the study. Clouded leopard ( Neofelis nebulosa) and marbled cat (Pardofelis marmorata) are felid species found in the tropical forests of South and Southeast Asia. They are elusive, nocturnal and found in low densities. Over 60 per cent of the global felid diversity (21 species) is found in Asia. At least 11 of these species inhabit the tropical forests of South and Southeast Asia where 40 per cent of green cover has already been converted to other land uses. The study was conducted between December 2014 and March 2015 in Dampa, which is located in the Lushai hills of the Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspot and is an important bird and biodiversity area. Dampa has a wide variety of mammals. Previous camera-trapping conducted by the forest department to document biodiversity had revealed at least 30 species of mammals. These include four species of felids (clouded leopard, marbled cat, Asiatic golden cat, leopard cat), two species of ursids (sun bear and Asiatic black bear) and two species of canids (golden jackal and dhole). The clouded leopard is categorised as "vulnerable" and the marbled cat as "near threatened" in the IUCN Red List. The study says clouded leopards and marbled cats are found in forested areas of northeastern India. They are generally considered rare and encountered infrequently even in camera-trapping surveys. Their distribution stretches over remote areas with difficult terrain and political instability such as Manas tiger reserve in Assam, Intanki National Park in Nagaland, Namdapha tiger reserve in Arunachal Pradesh and Dampa in Mizoram. "While these factors cumulatively make clouded leopards and marbled cats difficult subjects of ecological studies, they also make them highly susceptible to extinction risks triggered by cultural and political reasons," it said. The study said Dampa tiger is an important area for rare, tropical biodiversity, including four species of poorly known felids. It also analysed daily activity behaviour of clouded leopards, marbled cats, golden cats and leopard cats. "India is an important country for conservation of rare cats which are threatened throughout their distributional range. While our focus and attention has been on larger cats like tiger and leopard, clouded leopards and marbled cats are equally important for tropical ecosystems and perform important ecological functions like keeping rodent populations in control. They are rare, beautiful and charismatic. Rapidly changing land use patterns like expanding areas for palm oil cultivation could be a threat to such species," Priya said. The study said the highest density estimates generated for both clouded leopards and marbled cats in Asia need to be considered with caution since they could be indicators of larger ecological processes under way in the region. The landscape around Dampa has undergone largescale land use changes recently. These include proliferation of palm oil plantations since 2007, encouraged by the state government under its New Land Use Policy and horticulture promotion schemes, and expansion of area under shifting cultivation with short fallow cycles. "Such changes in the surrounding landscape, although restricted only to the north and east of the study area, may have resulted in the recent concentration of these carnivores into the relatively undisturbed habitat in the core area of the reserve that forms our study area," it said. 
However, even after eight days, the tigress had not killed any wild animal and was given a goat, which it killed and ate. With summer at its peak, the tigress is moving only near the river waters.
In land of the lions, are tigers making a comeback?
Himanshu Kaushik| TNN | Oct 13, 2017, 06:47 IST  *This image is copyright of its original author AHMEDABAD: The last time a tiger was spotted in Dang district's areas bordering Maharashtra was in 1989. Recently, however, scat (faeces of animals) analysis has revealed tiger presence right up to the border of Nasik district adjacent to Dang forests in Gujarat. This discovery has made the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) include the Dang jungles (bordering Nashik) in the upcoming Tiger Census in November. It was on November 2nd, last year that foresters had found the scat of a male tiger within the forest limits in Maharashtra but which was around 2-3 km from the Dang border (in Gujarat). This indicated movement of tigers between the states. Wildlife Institute of India (WII) scientist and eminent fi eld biologist, Y V Jhala, who is part of the 2017 tiger estimation study , says an all-India tiger estimation will be taken up in November this year. "Tiger presence has been noted adjacent to the Dang forest in Maharashtra," he said. "This has raised hopes that Dang can be a potential area for tiger habitat. We will ask the Gujarat forest department to carry out an extensive survey in Dang and, if they find any traces, the NTCA will install camera traps for the final November census," Jhala said. Principal chief conservator of forests, G Sinha, said Dang has a suitable climate for tigers."Dang only lacks a prey base," he said. "The last sighting of tigers was in 1985 in Bheskhatri area in Vyara taluka.In the 1989 census, there were reports of 13 tigers and, in 1992, it was zero.Till a few decades ago, Gujarat was the only state to have all the three big cats -tigers, lions and leopards.If we get a WII proposal we will initiate a survey," Sinha said. In 1979, following the Gujarat Tiger Census, the then Special Chief Conservator of Forests, Wildlife, Gujarat, MA Rashid, had warned that tigers in Gujarat were struggling for survival. But in January of this year, two constables of Maharashtra police posted at a checkpost on Gujarat-Maharashtra border, spotted tiger entering in Maharashtra forest area from Gujarat’s Ahwa forest in Dangs district and returning. The location is Zakrai Bari area, in the vicinity of Shabri Dham Forest in Dangs that falls under Range Subhir.
Bramhapuri Problem Tigress: Dead by Electrocution after travelling for 500 kms
The two-year-old problem tigress of Bramhapuri, which travelled over 500 km to reach its home at Navargaon in Bor Tiger Reserve, died after it was electrocuted in a farm fence. The tigress was radio collared and had travelled extensively including passing through human settlements. In the process she survived on Cattle and also killed 4 persons and injured 4 persons till date. The forest department was asked to shoot the tigress and the same decision was help by the Nagpur bench of the Bombay high court. However before any final act could take place the tigress fell prey to a electrocuted fence in a village near Navargaon. Supposedly the forest department spend a lot of money to track the beast during 70-80 days before she finally came back from where she started. Her death is sad and either ways she deserved to live. 1. She was searching for a new home. I read her story.She returned because the tiger corridor is dead and there was nowhere to go. So she went for about 500 kms and then returned back to the place. 2. Every year we see increase in the number of tigers in India. But being a local I know how much we are loosing the forests every year. And soon we will also loose these tigers since there is no place to live. 3. The whole concept of a tiger being Man eater all the time even if the humans jumped right into the jungle infront of him is flawed in my opinion. Ustaad paid the price for this system just like many others. 4. National parks are becoming like zoos and after seeing so many humans tigers are becoming accustomed to humans so they attack more. 5. I highly doubt this tigress was just 2 years old. I Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city...077821.cms? 
Wasif Jamshed
THE BORN FREE ...REST IN PEACE MY CHILD ...BRAMHPURI TIGRESS.....try to give all respect n arranged the correct funeral...  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author Man who put the electric fence up and killed the Tiger illegally.  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author Different Tigress who was on a killing spree http://www.nagpurtoday.in/bor-tigress-ki...e/10031130 Nagpur: The killer Bor tigress has now become a major threat to human lives and the news of killing keeps coming in. Now the tigress claimed another life for the fourth time in Bor Tiger Reserve in which it was released after being captured from Brahmapuri. The latest kill happened on Monday morning in Shahapur in Warud tehsil of Amravati. The tigress’ latest victim Panotri Hiralal Nawade (55) was a resident of Chilara village in Multai tehsil in Betul district. She worked as caretaker in a farm and had gone to attend nature’s call early morning when the attack took place. A day before, the tigress had killed a cattle near Loni but was not allowed eat. “Though the incident is unfortunate, I still believe the tigress has not chased the victim and must have attacked Panotri assuming her to be some animal after seeing her in crouched position,” said state’s chief wildlife warden AK Misra. “There are no short-term solutions and we have intensified monitoring by pushing two elephants to monitor and capture the tigress. The teams are not able to tranquillize the tigress owing to hostile situations. We are keeping all options open and shooting the tigress would be the last one,” Misra added. The two-year-old tigress (T27-C1) was captured on July 10 from Halda in Brahmapuri division after it had killed two persons and injured two others. In the last 14 days, the tigress had killed two persons and injured one. After its release in Bor’s relocated Navargaon village, the tigress was not allowed to settle down by the resident tiger population and was pushed out. It had reached Dagha in Wardha division, where the forest staff pushed her out by bursting crackers to Ashti range. Even as it tried to settle down in Ashti forest, the situation went haywire when a farmer Bhivaji Harle (58) from Wadali died after the tigress tried to kill a bull he was walking with on September 20. After 7 days it injured a farmer Surendra Padole, who was spraying pesticides on cotton crop in his farm. Perturbed by the behaviour of the tigress, on September 21, PCCF (wildlife) had issued orders to tranquillise the tigress. The big cat has travelled at least 200km from Navargaon where it was released on July 29. Sources said after the last attack on September 27 in Dhadi in Ashti, efforts to capture the tigress intensified and the big cat crossed Wardha river to reach Warud taluka 35km from Ashti area. Till filing of the report, the tigress was moving towards north of Warud perhaps towards MP. Amid a PIL in the Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court against orders to shoot the tigress, the forest department is in a ‘Catch 22’ situation whether to issue orders to shoot the tigress or capture her. Meanwhile, wildlife experts now feel the tigress should not have released in Bor. However, talking to TOI, state-level committee member Kundan Hate said, “The panel decided to give a chance to the tigress considering the report of Brahmapuri officials. Even after her release she avoided humans for 50 long days. Why she turned to be so irritating should be investigated.” Another member and wildlife vet Dr AD Kholkute said, “The tigress was settling down in Dhaga area but crackers were bursted to push her out to another area. The monitoring teams too said it was avoiding humans. Then what went wrong? If it was creating problems, she should have been captured earlier.” Even WII tiger scientist Bilal Habib says owing to the fragmented forest areas with human dominated landscape, the tigress could not settle down. “I still feel if some restrains is shown, the tigress will move to forest and settle down. Even if it has attacked humans she has not consumed their meat,” Habib said. She has been electrocuted and is now dead. 
really dissapointed with the way they handled this case, i paid close attention to this for several months and needless to say. Im not surprised by the results. Rip ..
 (09-15-2017, 08:09 AM)sanjay Wrote: definitely a Leopard A recent photo that sparked speculation that an Indonesian tiger species had come back from extinction most likely shows instead a rare, but certainly not extinct, Javan leopard (Panthera pardus melas), scientists say. The photo, taken by rangers at Ujung Kulon National Park at the western tip of the island of Java, showed a big cat that many initially thought bore a resemblance to the Javan tiger (Panthera tigris sondaica), a subspecies believed to have gone extinct in the 1980s but only officially declared so 14 years ago. The significance of the purported discovery prompted scientists to investigate the photos and videos taken by the park rangers. Their conclusion: the animal pictured was a leopard, not a tiger. “We used three methods to analyze [the image], namely measurement, skin pattern and feeding behavior,” Gono Semiadi, a mammal expert with the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), told Mongabay on Sept. 28.  *This image is copyright of its original author The big cat seen in the photo, captured after feeding, has body proportions consistent more with a Javan leopard than a Javan tiger, Semiadi said. In addition, the pattern on its body, though grainy in the photograph, appears to show dots rather than stripes, he added. A similar analysis of a video recording of the sighting showed the animal’s feeding habit skewed closer to that of the critically endangered Javan leopard, which typically curls its long tail upward when eating. Anton Ario, a researcher and program manager at Conservation International (CI) Indonesia, attributed the widespread misidentification of the cat to the poor quality of the recordings taken at the time. The photo that generated a considerable buzz online was itself a screenshot from the 36-second video taken on either a mobile phone or digital camera from a long distance, Anton said. ... Even if, as suspected, it was a leopard that was sighted, the incident should serve to highlight the importance of protecting the animal, said Wulan Pusparini, a researcher at the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). “We must improve research and protection of the Javan leopard,” she said. Listed by the IUCN as a step away from being extinct in the wild, the Javan leopard population is estimated at fewer than 250 mature individuals. https://news.mongabay.com/2017/10/photo-...tists-say/
It didn't need any clarification, it was a leopard with out a doubt but good news regardless.
Horrible news coming out of Bandhavgarh... Kankati Female has been poached, she has 3 cubs aged 7-8 months I believe.
Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani throws open Ambardi lion safari park
Rupani released three zoo-bred Asiatic lions in the safari park, located in Gir (East) forest division near Dhari in Amreli district. October 18, 2017 12:04 pm  *This image is copyright of its original author Chief Minister Vijay Rupani at Ambaradi lion safari park in Amreli on TuesdayFive days after the Gujarat High Court cleared the decks for the lion safari park at Ambardi in Amreli district, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani on Tuesday formally threw open the park. Rupani released three zoo-bred Asiatic lions in the safari park, located in Gir (East) forest division near Dhari in Amreli district. The park has been developed by carving out around 400 hectare or 4 km² area out of Ambardi reserved forest. A wire fencing separates the park from the reserved forest located on the bank of river Shetrunji behind Khodiyar dam. Last week, the High Court dismissed a PIL filed by one Biren Pandya who claimed that Gujarat government did not have required permission from Central Zoo Authority (CZA) for opening the park. Pandya had claimed that the final clearance for the park was given by a technical committee of the CZA. The PI had sought the court's direction to the government to set aside the plan to convert the forest area into a lion safari, as it will damage the eco-sensitive zone. However, early in June this year, the CZA accorded final approval to the park. Disposing of the PIL, the High Court noted that the authorities had obtained relevant permission for the safari park. Rupani said that the opening of Ambardi safari park will decrease pressure on Gir National Park and Sanctuary at Sasan and Devaliya Safari park. “The reduced tourist footfall at Sasan and Devaliya will augur well for their ecology without adversely impacting eco-tourism,” said Anirudhha Pratap Singh, chief conservator of forests of Junagadh wildlife circle. Gir forest and other protected areas spread over Junagadh, Gir Somnath, Amreli and Bhavnagar districts in the Saurashtra region are the only natural habitat of Asiatic lions in the world. A 2017 estimates had the population of Asiatic lion to 650+. The inauguration comes around 17 years after the idea of safari park was first mooted in 2001. While the fencing work had begun in 2010, relevant facilities were developed by 2013. However, due to lack of clearance and litigations challenging the project, the park could not be inaugurated. The project cost now stands at Rs13 crore. “We have sought permission for increasing the number of lions inside the park to eight. The park has the capacity to accommodate 15 lions,” Singh said. It had said that a newly-appointed technical committee of the Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) had given a go-ahead to the project and a final order regarding this was passed on June 19 this year by the ministry. The park aims to take the tourist load off the existing Gir National Park. It will have three zoo-bred lions for public viewing in the forest environment. As of now, the forest department has also received permission to house two lionesses and a lion in the park for public viewing. Odisha To Release Royal Bengal Tiger Couple In Satkosia Bhubaneswar: While there were 150 tigers roaming in the forests of Odisha in the year 2000, their numbers have dropped drastically to 40 in 2016. In a bid to save the national animal, Odisha government has planned to release a few tiger couples in the Satkosia Tiger Reserve in Angul district. The Odisha government has finished discussions with experts of National Tiger Conservation Authority and Wildlife Institute of India (WII) and in the first phase it will get two Royal Bengal tigers – a male and a female – from Madhya Pradesh by March 2018, informed sources. “A project report has been prepared and Wildlife Institute of India is providing us with technical support and National Tiger Conservation Authority has also granted us permission. The programme will be implemented soon,” said Regional Chief Conservator of Forests, Angul, Sudarshan Panda. According to tiger census conducted by Odisha government in 2016, there are at least 40 Royal Bengal Tigers (RBT) and 318 leopards in different tiger reserves and forests of the State including two tigers in Satkosia. On the other hand, villagers living inside the reserve are worried about their life and livelihood after hearing the news of new tigers being brought. “We will not be able to venture out of the house in fear so how will we sustain. The government should release the tigers only after providing us with all facilities,” said a resident of the reserve, Damodar Sahu. “Taking into consideration the favourable environmental conditions, it was decided to release the tigers in Satkosia. Therefore people living in the 964 square kilometres of land inside the reserve will be evacuated. Steps are being taken for rehabilitation of the people living in the reserve,” informed Angul district collector Anil Kumar Samal. In the first phase the core villages in the reserve are being shifted. The small hamlets will also be shifted subsequently, said Advertisement (10-17-2017, 09:20 PM)Pckts Wrote: It didn't need any clarification, it was a leopard with out a doubt but good news regardless.Whoever did that is a pathetic excuse for a homo sapien (10-17-2017, 09:20 PM)Pckts Wrote: It didn't need any clarification, it was a leopard with out a doubt but good news regardless. Yes the New Kankatti female is no more (Remember there was a Kankatti tigress before her, who was the original Kankatti, hence she was called new Kankatti). Horrible news indeed. May her soul RIP. Currently solo tigress is trying to take over her territory. |
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