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Bigcats News
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Lioness drowns in open well in Gir forest
Ahmedabad Mirror | Updated: Jan 9, 2019, 06:15 IST  *This image is copyright of its original author A lioness drowned in an open well in in Gujarat’s Gir-Somnath district, 400 kilometres from here, Forest department officials said on Tuesday. The incident took place in Pandva village, around 40 kilometres away from the outer limits of the Gir Wildlife Sanctuary, in Veraval taluka and the carcass of the lioness was retrieved on Tuesday and sent for post mortem, said Deputy Conservator of Forest Junagadh Division Sunil Berwal. Berwal said the bloated condition of the carcass suggests it may have fallen into the well a day prior. He ruled out foul play and said it was possible that the lioness fell into the open well while chasing prey. “Since the lioness tried to stay afloat, which was evident from her brushed nails, we can say that it was not killed and then thrown into the well. It appears to be an accident, not foul play,” said Berwal. https://ahmedabadmirror.indiatimes.com/a...444231.cms https://www.latestly.com/agency-news/guj...79596.html https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city...445082.cms Rabies threatens our lion Wednesday, 09 January 2019 | Hari Shanker Singh  *This image is copyright of its original author Progressive control pathways and procedures for international certification of rabies-free status should be established to save our wild cats from the madness syndrome If you thought that rabies concerned only dogs, then one must look back to the records at the King Edward Memorial Pasteur Institute and Medical Research Institute, Shillong. It had published a scientific article in 1950 recording two instances of a positive microscopic finding in the brain — evidence of rabies — of the Bengal tiger in Assam, the first in 1943 and the second in 1950. In the first case, the tiger severely mauled 18 people in just over 24 hours before it was killed but made no attempt to eat any of the victims. In the second case, the tiger terrorised the inhabitants of five or six villages and attacked 14 people, at least five heads of cattle and a dog, of whom one person and the dog were killed on the spot and two others died in hospital the following day. Subsequently, the animal was killed. The rabies virus was found in both cases. And though these two cases were examined following complaints of unseemly behaviour, several others were ignored. A few cases of leopards dying ostensibly due to rabies were also reported in south India during the British period. The rabies-inflicted stray dogs, living on the boundaries of Kruger National Park in South Africa and other reserves, are threats to predators such as lions, leopards, hyena and wild dogs. Perhaps deaths of predators by rabies do not get the exposure they deserve. The veterinary advisor for the Siberian Tiger recommended the vaccination protocol for use in all wild tigers to save them from viral disease. Four years ago, a similar behaviour was observed in two lions — first was a male lion in Girnar on May 31, 2011, and the second was a young lioness in the Khamba range of the Gir forest on December 15, 2015. In both cases, the frenzied felines chased people and attacked a few of them, including the forest staff. The injured people were vaccinated and saved but both lions died within a few days. Symptoms like biting of tyres and frequent roaring in the daytime indicated the presence of rabies but cases were never examined to know the truth. The extent of damage by the fatal Canine Distemper Virus (CDV) attack, ostensibly a mutation or aggravation caused by the rabies virus, was taken seriously only when 23 lions died in September 2018 in the Gir forests. In the past, deaths of the lion by virus attacks were detected but ignored because the number was not high. Unlike the lion, tigers or leopards do not live in groups. Thus, death of one or two of them at a site by the fatal disease was ignored. It was recorded as a natural disease but facts prove otherwise. Almost every other day, news reports cite the recovery of dead leopards, tigers, lions and several other carnivores from their habitats but the cases have never been examined by virologists to confirm the cause of deaths. Quote:In a study, four concomitant incidents of rabies related deaths were recorded in Gujarat during 2012-2014. Brain samples were collected from two buffaloes, nilgai and mongoose and rabies virus was found in all of them. (a possible epidemic for the end of gir lions....!!!!!!!!!)Further, the genetic relationship of these isolated specimens was determined and the rabies virus transmission among the wild and domestic mammals was established. In Deva village in Allahabad district, two cows and a young buffalo cub were bitten by a rabies-infected dog. All died within two weeks. Finally, the dog was killed and the carcass was disposed off in a remote area of the village. What had happened to carnivores such as jackals and foxes, which consumed the carcass, is not known but the villagers confirmed that the carnivores had not been spotted. Why is it that the jackals are fast disappearing from the villages? Why are the hyenas becoming rare in the countryside? Why is it that the population of the wild dog (dhole) declined drastically in its habitats such as the Satpura Tiger Reserve and then recovered in a few years and again declined drastically? Is it due to the spread of rabies or any other virus? Has rabies’ presence in the domestic dog caused the loss of wildlife in an unbelievable scale? Perhaps yes. Casualties of the major wild carnivores in India due to transmission of rabies, CDV, FIV or other viruses are high but it is impossible to provide facts about the scale of the crisis. After the lion deaths due to a CDV attack in the Gir forests, investigations indicated that like the African lions, the CDV and other viruses are present in some wild lions in the Gir forest. All of these become fatal when other diseases such as Babesia protozoa are transmitted from an unhealthy prey. The World Health Organisation (WHO) reported that rabies is a vaccine-preventable viral disease which occurs in more than 150 countries. Dogs are the source of a vast majority of human rabies deaths, contributing up to 99 per cent of all rabies transmissions to humans. Human deaths due to rabies are known and have been well-documented but it is also primarily a disease of terrestrial mammals, including dogs, wolves, foxes, jackals, big cats (lions, leopards and tigers), mongooses, badgers, bats and monkeys. Rabies is endemic to India and accounts for 36 per cent of the world’s human deaths due to this disease. The true burden of rabies in our country is not fully known; although as per a WHO report, it causes 18,000-20,000 deaths every year. Nobody knows how many wild carnivores die due to this disease. India had over 19.1 million domestic dogs in 2007 and a majority of them belonged to the category of feral or stray dogs. A substantial number of this forms the prey base for carnivores, especially for leopards, tigers, lions, hyenas, wolves and jackals. In India, dogs play an important role in rabies transmission to wildlife. However, little is known about the role of wild animals in rabies transmission. As per a study in the US, the rabies disease unexpectedly re-emerged in wildlife. Rabies is a viral zoonosis associated with many species of carnivores, including cats, jackal, hyena and bats, which are the primary hosts of the Rabies virus. Although sporadic cases of rabies in wildlife have been documented across the African continent, convincing evidence for the circulation of rabies in populations of wild carnivores has been found only in south Africa, where wild canids, such as jackals and bat-eared foxes, are assumed to be primary hosts of the virus. Although wolves, wild dogs, jackals and foxes are susceptible and readily succumb to the disease, they can disseminate the disease in other wildlife. The carnivores — lion, tiger, leopard, hyena, wolf, and jackal — are susceptible to diseases as they largely prey upon domestic animals, including dogs and pigs which are a carrier of pathogens. Domestic livestock, including dogs, constitute major food for these wild animals. Cases of tiger and leopard deaths are reported from time-to-time, but the institute engaged in the field of wildlife research does not give priority to such an important problem. In the absence of adequate studies, it is difficult to assess deaths of wild carnivores due to rabies but it seems a major hurdle, although not accepted till date of wildlife conservation in India. To eliminate rabies in wildlife, ‘progressive control pathways’ and procedures for international certification of rabies-free status should be established. To achieve this, wildlife managers should know the extent of the problem. The sample of every dead animal should be examined scientifically in institutes that deal with wildlife or virology. Institutes, too, need to focus on the scale of natural deaths rather than just concern themselves with environment impact assessment (EIA). It has taken us long to maintain a healthy population of the big cat. Let us not lose them to another threat. (The writer is Member, National Board for Wild life) https://www.dailypioneer.com/2019/column...-lion.html 
@light.knowledge.power
・・・ History has been created with the first-ever camera footage of the Bengal Tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) and the Snow Leopard (Panthera uncia) roaming the forests of the Pangolakha Wildlife Sanctuary, East Sikkim (NE India Himalayan Region). While this is the first time that a tiger has been spotted in the state, it is also a first for the snow leopard being spotted in the eastern part of Sikkim. The tiger was captured on camera on the night of December 6, 2018, at 6:23 PM and 7:00PM, and on December 28 near Goru Jurey at an altitude of 9,583 feet. And on January 2, 2019, at 4:22 PM, the camera recorded a snow leopard in the same spot. This very elusive and shy animal had earlier been captured on camera in the northern and western parts of Sikkim. However, this is the first photographic capture of a snow leopard in East Sikkim. This image capture of both, the Bengal Tiger and the Snow Leopard, in the exact same location confirms the overlap in the migratory routes used by the two big cats inside Pangolakha. Up until the late 1980s, there have been oral narratives of tigers freely roaming the forests of Sikkim, having migrated from the neighbouring Neora Valley National Park of West Bengal. The tigers crossed into Sikkim’s Pangolakha Wildlife Sanctuary and made their way to the Assam Reserve Forest (altitude 5,000 ft, opposite Tsangmo Lake). After two days of making kills, they moved to Rateypani (6,000 ft) in the Bulbuley Reserve Forest and then migrated further upwards towards North Sikkim through the Phamthang Reserve Forest (6,000 ft),spending a week while feeding on the residents' livestock. After Phamthang, they arrived at the Toong and Naga Reserve Forest (7,000 ft). _ Read more - https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/wild...kim-62755e
Tiger showing on the highway under the river Nonpura in Sheopur's Kuno Palpur!!!
 *This image is copyright of its original author Published: Jan, 13 2019 08:54:28 PM (IST) Sheopur: With the claims of taking photographs by passers-by, the viral photo on the social media throughout the day, Kuno DFO said- we examined but did not find any location, still doing petrol Tiger, Kuno Palpur, on the highway in Sheopur Sheopur/Kahal- Under the Nonpura valley, the photo of the tiger is being shown, we immediately sent the team, but no location was found. Still we are doing petrol with both ranges. The police have also notified. On the Sheopur-Shivpuri highway passing through Kuno and Common Vanguard, a tiger crossed a highway on the Nonpura valley. Although officials of the forest department did not confirm its authenticity, but some people from karhal made claims of tiger photographs from the vehicle while passing through the highway, which was also viral on social media throughout the day. From Sunday morning on Sunday, a photo of the tiger was viral on WhatsApp, in which the tiger was crossing the road at night. This photo was taken by Kahal Youth Sonu Piperania, on the night of January 11, on the night of Nonpura valley, Tiger was seen, which we took photos from the car. On Sunday, when the KOO DFO Brigendro Srivastava got information about the photos, he sent the team and investigated, but neither received a place of tiger nor received a pugmark. Although there is a tiger named T-38 in the Kuno National Park, which came eight years ago from Ranthambore National Park and this is the same, but this Tiger is the same or the photo is faked, the Kuno staff is in the investigation. Under the Nonpura valley, the photo of the tiger is being shown, we immediately sent the team, but no location was found. Still we are doing petrol with both ranges. The police have also notified. - Brijendra shrivastav DFO, Kuno National Park Sheopur https://www.patrika.com/sheopur-news/tig...a-3975037/ https://www.patrika.com/gwalior-news/tig...y-3977424/ Kuno cognition program  *This image is copyright of its original author Published: Jan, 13 2019 08:18:41 PM (IST) Events organized under the COO Experience Program Under the Kuno Cognition program in Ochapura of Sheopur district, 120 students of Ochapura complex witnessed rainy and dense jungle of Barsana Khaah on Sunday. School students visited Khemowal forest in Kuno forest and visited the Khemchalak of North and saw the activities happening in the forest. Cognition program was organized in children to develop sensitivity to forest, wildlife and environmental protection. One man informed the children about the activities of animals and animals in the forest. Explaining the importance of environment protection to children, he also informed about environmental damage due to various types of pollution. At the same time, officials also challenged the need for planting of plants and planting of plants inevitably on their birthdays or important days. Competitive examinations were also organized on this occasion. The first, second and second place students were also rewarded. On the closing ceremony, the Additional District Judge, Vijaypur AK Taylor, SDOP SM Bhadauria, SDO Forest Cuno North AS Chauhan, the rank officer of Sironi Range SK Udaapure, was present on the occasion. https://www.patrika.com/sheopur-news/kid...r-3974799/ Proposed protection for Palpur fort hanging for two and a half years  *This image is copyright of its original author Published: Jan, 14 2019 08:08:02 AM (IST) The Kuno management and archaeological department had prepared the proposal for the restoration of the Palpur Fort between the Kuno National Park, made of three million statements. Sheopur The hopeof being restored to the fort of Kuno-Palpur fortified for years has become bleak. This is because the proposal made for the restoration of the fort is imprisoned in files for two and a half years. On the initiative of Kuno management, the officers forgot to send a proposal made by the Department of Archeology. This is the reason why the dream of promoting heritage tourism with the Eco Tourism in the Kuno National Park has also diminished. It is reported that for the restoration of Palpur fort, the team of Archeology Department prepared a proposal in May-June 2016 by making the steam. According to the made steamet, the cost of reconstruction of the fort was estimated at Rs. 20 crores of rupees, in which the fort was restored. There was a proposal to decorate the main gate of the fort, main gate, king palace, Rani Mahal and Kachari palace. After this, however, the archaeological department sent the proposal to the restoration of the fort to governance, but since then the matter went to the cold shelter and forgot the officer also. Forty two hundred years old fort The fort built on the Kuno river in the forest was built around two and a half years ago. After the establishment of Kuno Sanctuary, this sanctuary came into the area, but on time the fort became ruins. It has been reported that in April 2016, when the then Chief Secretary Antony Dasa Palpur, who came to Sheopur, stayed in the Resthah, then he instructed to renovate the fort. This is the reason why the management of the Kuno has made this steamet through the Department of Archeology, but the matter has not progressed further. The Kuno National Park, which is installing Sheopur on the country's tourist map, is reserved as the second house of Asiatic Lions, but there is also a lot of other wildlife here. This is why the Kuno wildlife lovers are constantly attracting tourists. In such a situation, if the fort is opened for tourists, tourists will be able to enjoy heritage tourism along with wildlife. Quote:"We had sent the proposal for the restoration of the fort only from the time, but we have not received any directions in this regard." https://www.patrika.com/sheopur-news/pal...n-3972944/  (01-14-2019, 07:13 PM)Sanju Wrote: Tiger showing on the highway under the river Nonpura in Sheopur's Kuno Palpur!!! The Hindi-English auto translations are horrible! Try to read once before you post it...
Cannibalism a new threat! Tiger eats tigress in Madhya Pradesh
P Naveen | TNN | Updated: Jan 20, 2019, 15:00 IST  *This image is copyright of its original author (Representative image)BHOPAL: In a worst and rarest case of infighting between big cats, an adult tiger was killed and eaten by another in Kanha National Park of Madhya Pradesh. This is a fresh instance of prevailing cannibalism among MP tigers, said sources. More such incidents were reported from other reserves recently. Partial remains including a skull and paws were found on Saturday evening. Viscera has been sent for further analysis. “One which got killed seems to be a tigress and the one who killed is a tiger. We are trying to match the stripes,” said Kanha’s field director L Krishnamurthy. There can be no other reason than territorial fight, said the officer adding it was the rarest case in which a tiger’s body has been eaten to this extent when the area has a good prey base. Forest guards saw the scattered parts of tigress while patrolling on elephants at Mundidadar beat. They informed the matter to higher officials. Officials say its claws and canines were intact, thus ruling out any foul play. The forest officials and experts from WWF and WTI who surveyed the area where the carcass was recovered had given a preliminary report. There are quite a few instances where cubs are eaten by adult tigers but two adult tigers fighting and one eating the other is rare. "Though history has instances of cannibalism in tigers, it is rare," said an officer. Eating is never meant to satiate the hunger but is an extension of the fight. The experts also deny linking the `tiger-eating-tiger' instance with declining prey-base in forests. Kanha in-fighting could also be explained in the backdrop of the fact that it has a good population of tigers. Experts say most of the tiger populations in well-established tiger reserves reached carrying capacity, posing a fresh challenge to deal with dispersals and conflicts. Tigers are either getting killed in the war of territorial supremacy or moving more than 200 km from their place of birth and meeting unnatural deaths, said an official. Almost all tiger reserves have already exceeded their carrying capacity, he said adding “This shows that the forest department has made good conservation efforts. But, now we must think about extending more protection to the tiger corridors and territorial divisions. Madhya Pradesh was declared a ‘Tiger State’ in 1995 when it harboured nearly 20% of India’s tiger population and nearly 10% of the world's tiger population, now the scene has changed. The tiger death toll is alarming. Tiger population reaching forest’s carrying capacity is natural, but it is becoming a cause of concern especially because movement corridors are disrupted. This has led to overcrowding of tigers that is straying into human habitation triggering conflict. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city...OOD6Wv98AM
Continuation of #618 post in Asiatic Lion Topic
Mahuva lion attack: Scat analysis confirms sub-adult lion's role  *This image is copyright of its original author Lion Picture for representational purpose The scat analysis of the pride of lions that was suspected to have attacked and killed a 35-year-old man near Mahuva Taluka in Bhavnagar district has confirmed the attack. An official in the know said that the presence of human hair was found in the scat forensic analysis of one of the sub-adults that was part of the group. The forest department will now decide on the future course of action. The half-eaten body of Ramabhai Chudasama was found by locals at the outskirts of Gujarada village on the morning of December 13. At that time, a pride of 10 man eater lions that had been living in a forest patch of 100 ha area, close to the village, was suspected to have attacked the 35-year-old. Following the incident, forest officials said that the victim had been warned a day before about the pride of lions. A tracker who had earlier found the drunk fisherman had warned him not to go near the pride and had told him off. But he apparently returned at night despite the warning and was attacked by the ions. The victim's brother had told the police that he had left home in the evening to buy tobacco and had not returned. Before the incident officials had sighted a female, a sub adult and a cub on the outskirts of the village which is close to the coast. https://www.dnaindia.com/ahmedabad/repor...NUZ1DAfOjY  (01-23-2019, 05:54 PM)Lycaon Wrote: @Sanju Not really... They are not so tolerant while mating or when cubs are around. Just very used to seeing them all the time & they fear people enough to avoid messing with unnecessarily. I've been told that Gir was a war-zone until the 70s with lion numbers fluctuating below 200. After that Gujarat govt. started marketing them as Gujarat's identity & pride which deescalated the situation, bringing down the conflict. The lions did still survive mostly by killing livestock but people started to tolerate it & came up with new ways to minimise losses, like putting male calves or old cattle around the valued ones as lion fodder. Only then lion numbers actually started to rise & rise steadily. Now we are suffering the side effects of that policy, with too many lions huddled up in one place & Gujaratis refusing to share them. (01-23-2019, 06:11 PM)Lycaon Wrote: @Rishi i hope some of them will be shared with rajasthan's sita, khumbalgarh, darrah along with mp's palpur.  i don't expect the same in other west asian or arab countries like iran though coz it's almost has negligible chance coz iran will lose cheetah.
January 24, 2019
There’s a New Tiger Force… in Telangana   *This image is copyright of its original author Corbett Tiger Siblings, Dhikala March 2014; Photo by M. Karthikeyan To preserve the tiger population, the government of the southern Indian state of Telangana has decided to set up a 112-member-armed ‘State Tiger Protection Force’, which will be led by Assistant Conservator of Forests in Amarabad and Kawal Tiger Reserves. Large-scale destruction of habitat and decimation of prey population remain the critical long-term threats to tigers in the wild. The new force will keep a hawk-eyed check within the territory under their jurisdiction, according to a report in the Times of India. Noting that India is one of the few countries, where tigers have their natural habitat, the big cats represent part of the country’s heritage and their protection is our responsibility towards the world and succeeding generations. Orders are also given to the officials of Forest and Electricity Department to keep a vigil against those erecting illegal power fences for animal hunting. Legal assistance would be extended to forest officials to expedite cases and ensure convictions. The committee informed that the Telangana government considering assigning a legal advisor for each dis https://indiawildlifenews.com/2019/01/24...telangana/  *This image is copyright of its original author Thailand is seeking to save its last few wild tigers By Daniel T Cross on January 23, 2019 Indochinese tigers once roamed far and wide across much of Southeast Asia, but the striped predators have already been driven extinct in Vietnam and Cambodia. In Laos and Myanmar too they are on their last legs, having been hunted into near-extinction by poachers who sell their pelts and bones on the black market. Thailand, where 160 or so Indochinese tigers still remain in the wild, is doing its best, though, to save the last few dozen wild tigers in the country. The Southeast Asian nation has just set up a tiger conservation center in the Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary, where local forest rangers will be trained to keep eyes on the critically endangered big cats and their prey animals like gaur and barking deer, which too have been decimated by hunting.  *This image is copyright of its original author Indochinese tigers are on their last legs throughout their natural habitats. (photo: Wikimedia Commons) The wildlife sanctuary, which lies in Thailand’s Western Forest Complex, is one of the last refuges of the country’s big cats, which have been driven from most other local forests over the past decades. The forest, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, remains home to around 100 to 120 wild tigers. Of these, some 80 are within two local wildlife sanctuaries. “The western forest complex is our biggest hope,” stresses Thai tiger expert Anak Pattanavibool. Local rangers’ tasks will also entail stopping poachers and hunters in their tracks. Not that long ago teams of poachers at times killed up to 20 tigers within a matter of days by shooting the predators or by poisoning them with animal carcasses packed with pesticides. Although protection measures have been stepped up in the forest complex, poaching remains an ever-present threat, local officials say. “We hope to be able to protect the western forest – one of the last secure habitats of the Indochinese tiger population,” says Thanya Netithammakul, director-general of Thailand’s Department of National Park, Wildlife, and Plant Conservation. It isn’t just Indochinese tigers that are at grave risk of going extinct. The planet’s 4,000-plus wild tigers are increasingly embattled throughout all their ranges from Russia to Nepal. In India, whose Bengal tiger population remains relatively robust with around 2,200 of them left in the wild, at least 429 tigers were killed by poachers in the decade between 2008 and 2018. Over the past few years hundreds of tigers in India have died from other causes as well. Back in the 19th century as many as 100,000 wild tigers still inhabited much of Asia. Today the last remnants, a mere 4% of the number a century ago, are facing relentless habitat loss and other threats. The Wildlife Conservation Society has just warned that unless wild tigers are better protected everywhere, their days are likely numbered and they may go extinct in a decade. Population growth and increased urbanization are among the greatest threats to tigers in countries like India, where constant encroachment by people on tigers’ natural habitats is pushing the animals ever further into their last few pockets of forest refuge, the conservationist group says. “If we want a world with tigers, forests, and wildness to persist beyond the 21st century, conservation needs to join forces with groups working to alleviate poverty, enhance education for girls, reduce meat consumption, and build sustainable cities,” stresses Joe Walston, WCS’s senior vice-president of field conservation. https://www.sustainability-times.com/env...ld-tigers/ |
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