Poachers have shifted their attention to leopards, now that tigers are being protected with zeal. Leopard body parts are sold as tiger body parts. Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh are said to be the epicentre of this trade. Conservationists allege that for every tiger there are 10 leopards being poached. Leopards live on the fringes of the forests and are more vulnerable to poaching. There is a call for an accurate leopard census by the government.… Read More
Wild India’s Grim Reapers — Interview with Belinda Wright, WPSI
In an interview to CI, Belinda Wright, Executive Director, Wildlife Protection Society of India, talks to Prerna Singh Bindra about the growing illegal trade in wildlife.
Belinda Wright, tiger conservationist and wildlife campaigner, is the Founder and Executive Director of the Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI). Born in Kolkata, she has spent her entire life working with wildlife in India. She was a internationally renowned wildlife photographer and Emmy Award winning documentary filmmaker before turning to full time … Read More
Man held near Ranthambore while trying to sell panther skin
The Karauli police have recovered a panther skin and arrested a villager who wanted to sell it. The police are trying to find out how the accused got it but are not ruling out the possibility of poaching.
On a tip-off by NGO Tiger Watch, the Baran police arrested Hari Gujjar, a resident of Nibhera village near Keladevi Sanctuary.… Read More
Restricting Human Activity
How can wildlife be conserved in India? At first appearance, simply eliminating all pressures on wildlife should be enough. But, is this at all realistic?
Two important forces – subsistence and commerce – drive India’s wildlife declines. Take any wildlife habitat. To the local user, its subsistence potential reigns paramount. To the entrepreneur, its development potential. To the conservationist, its intrinsic ecological potential. All are important, and none can be trifled with.
However, here I proceed under the premise that … Read More
Hunters are Invited — a Hunting Tribe in Pakke can be a Partner in Conservation
I am often witness to and a part of small disasters while in the field, but I learn something each day that keeps me going. I still remember the day we spent five hours pulling our Maruti Gypsy out of the dirt track. We were on our way to Pakke Tiger Reserve in East Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh. To
Dead Great Barbets For Sale In Nagaland
Hunting birds in Nagaland is rampant and is totally accepted as part of daily life. Here, four dead barbets (for Rs. 600) hang in a roadside hotel between Dimapur and Kohima. Tribals hunt for the pot as well as for commercial reasons (like in this case). In the last couple of years, campaigns by the government of Nagaland has reduced incidence of bush meat found in markets.… Read More
Leader of a tiger poaching gang arrested near Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve
CHANDRAPUR: Mul police have finally nabbed the long absconding kingpin of the poachers gang busted by forest officials around one-and-half years back in Bhadrawati tehsil. Accused Shalik Gedam was picked up from Doni village in Mul tehsil and has been sent into MCR. Forest officials are likely to seek his custody after cops produce him before Bhadrawati court on Monday.
Notably, sleuths of Bhadrawati forest range had busted a poachers gang in March 2009. The first breakthrough came thanks to … Read More
Leopard Poachers Convicted to Six Years Imprisonment
Katni, Madhya Pradesh: Shri A.A. Ansari, the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Katni, today sentenced two poachers, Ittu Baiga, Bahilal Baiga to rigorous imprisonment of six years and a fine of Rs. 10,000 each under the Wildlife Protection Act 1972. The third accused Iqbal (alias Atiq Ahmed), is still absconding and his trial is still pending.
On 25 June, 2009, the three poachers had poisoned a water-hole in the Dhimarkheda range of Katni division with an organo-phosphate pesticide (phosphamidan) which led to … Read More
Black Magic Behind Illegal Owl Trade in India
New Delhi, India, 2nd November 2010 — Use of owls in black magic and sorcery driven by superstition, totems and taboos is one of the prime drivers of the covert owl trade, finds a TRAFFIC India investigation into the illegal trade, trapping and utilization of owls in India. TRAFFIC India’s report entitled “Imperilled Custodians of the Night” was launched today by Mr. Jairam Ramesh, Minister of Environment and Forests at his office in New Delhi.
Hunting of and trade in … Read More
International Efforts Save Dugongs, The World’s Last Remaining Mermaids
UN Conference adopts a new conservation strategy to protect the sea cow
Bonn/Abu Dhabi, 7 October 2010 – Dugongs are believed to have been at the origin of mermaid legends when spotted swimming in the water from a distance. Now the remaining populations of this seemingly clumsy sea mammal, commonly known as a sea cow, are at serious risk of becoming extinct within the next 40 years.
At an international meeting this week on dugongs convened by the Convention on … Read More
Three leopard skins seized in Himachal Pradesh
With the assistance of Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI), the HP police succeeded in seizing three leopard hides, including one of a cub, from three accused with each possessing a leopard hide from tehsil Sangrah of district Sirmaur in Himachal Pradesh.
One of the accused, Mahindra Singh from village Kajwan of the area, is a Government school headmaster.… Read More
Leopard skins and Himalayan Black Bear gall bladder seized in Uttarakhand
New Delhi: The Anti-Poaching cell of the Uttarakhand Forest Department, assisted by the Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI), seized 2 leopard skins, 1 leopard cat skin and 1 Himalayan black bear gall bladder from Chakrata in Dehradun district, Uttarakhand, last night.
In the late night operation, the Anti-Poaching cell led by Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) Mr. Paramjit Singh, arrested two local persons in connection with this seizure. A case under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 has been registering … Read More
Another elephant electrocuted in Orissa
Notwithstanding the “elephantine” efforts proposed by the Project Elephant in its elaborate report ‘Gajah’ to secure the future of jumbos in the country, “elephanticides” continue in Odisha. In the latest incident, two elephants died in the State — one due to electrocution and the other shot dead by suspected poachers — in the wee hours on Monday.
Official sources in the State forest department confirmed the killing of two tuskers, of which one had been electrocuted at Hindol in Dhenkanal … Read More
Biligiri Rangana Temple Wildlife Sanctuary (BRT) forest staff expose ungulate poachers’ racket
The Forest Department squad of Biligiri Rangana Temple Wildlife Sanctuary (BRTWLS), pursuing fleeing poachers, has bumped into a well-knit racket into ungulate (hoofed animals) poaching, which has been active for the past five years. Three persons have been arrested in this connection.… Read More
Assessment of recent elephant poaching in Simlipal Tiger Reserve
Simlipal Tiger Reserve (STR) is part of one of the largest contiguous tiger and elephant habitats in the world. With a Biosphere Area of over 5,000 sq km, it is one of the most promising landscapes for tigers and their prey species.
After a number of elephant deaths were reported in April and May 2010, the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) constituted an independent assessment team on 3rd June 2010. The two-team members (Biswajit Mohanty and Belinda Wright) proceeded immediately … Read More