Indian tiger conservation receives a boost from frontline support training

The Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) recently trained and equipped 55 frontline forest staff working to protect the Achanakmar Tiger Reserve.

The training which took place over three days, saw top brass from the Forest Department joining the training along with Range Officers, Foresters and Forest Guards.

The training topics covered a variety of issues that the officials frequently have to tackle in the field. This included imparting information on the biodiversity of the area, and the nuances of wildlife crime and enforcement.

It was the first such training to be conducted in Achanakmar Tiger Reserve on wildlife crime prevention.

Located 60km from Bilaspur, the reserve is part of the much larger landscape of the Achanakmar-Amarkantak Biosphere Reserve. The Kanha-Achanakmar corridor which links the Kanha Tiger Reserve to Achanakmar Tiger Reserve is important for the movement of tigers and their prey.

“Since the region is crucial for the movement, and invariably helps maintain a genetically healthy population of tigers, it becomes pertinent to make sure that the frontline forest staff are trained to tackle all aspects of wildlife crime prevention,” commented Dr R P Mishra, the WTI’s Central India Regional Head.

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Notorious tiger poacher and six accomplices sentenced to 7 years imprisonment

A notorious tiger poacher, who was considered at least partially responsible for the disappearance of all tigers from Sariska, has been sentenced to 7 years in jail.

Responsible for the disappearance of tigers from Sariska
February 2013: A notorious Indian poacher, known as Juhru, along with his six accomplices, has been sentenced to seven years imprisonment and a fine of one million rupees in yet another case of tiger poaching at Sariska Tiger Reserve.
 

The case arises from the killing of a tiger by the ‘Juhru' in 2004, according to the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI), who was assisted in the case; the maximum sentence was handed down by the Chief Judicial Magistrate.

‘Juhru' has been accused in at least 14 wildlife crime cases, including six cases of tiger poaching, and he has been convicted on at least two occasions of leopard poaching and in one case of tiger poaching, in 2003 again at Sariska. He was sentenced to five years each in the leopard cases, and seven years for the tiger case.

Responsible for the disappearance of tigers from Sariska
"He was one of the main people responsible for the disappearance of tigers from Sariska," said Ashok Kumar, Vice-chairman, WTI. "Such sentences overlap as per Indian laws. Repeat offenders should be serving consecutive sentence for all these killings."

Tiger poisoned
In a separate incident, a 5 year-old tiger that was found dead near Nagarahole Tiger Reserve was poisoned, probably with zinc oxide, in retaliation for preying on livestock that was grazing inside the park.

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/juhru-tiger.html

Snow leopard photographed in India’s Kugti Wildlife Sanctuary for the first time

Snow leopard study in India

January 2013. The Wildlife Trust of India have recently published the first photographic proof that snow leopard inhabit Kugti Wildlife Sanctuary in India's Himachal Pradesh region.

Very little specific information exists on the snow leopard distribution and population in India. Rough estimates put the population at 400-600 along the Himalayan region in India, and about 4080 - 6590 across the world (12 countries where it is found).

The snow leopard in Kugti WLS was sighted dragging its kill (a young ibex) by researchers - Neeraj Mahar and Sajid Idrisi, during a WTI survey in 2010 to help the Forest Department prepare an inventory of the area's wildlife. It was recorded at an altitude of 3376 metres.

Permanent or temporary residents?

"While this opportunistic sighting by our team established snow leopard presence in Kugti, it raised a number of questions. Is Kugti WLS and nearby protected areas a snow leopard habitat? Or do they follow the prey to lower altitudes during winter, possibly from Lahaul or other nearby areas? This can only be verified with further focused studies," said Dr Rahul Kaul, Chief Ecologist, Wildlife Trust of India (WTI), one of the authors of the recent study.

Five states, three in the western Himalayan region - Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand, and two in the north-eastern region - Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim, are known to host snow leopards in India.

Snow leopard habitat
"Snow leopards inhabit the non-forested zone above the tree line - around 3,200 metres in the western Himalayas and around 4,200 metres in the eastern Himalayas, going over the Greater Himalayan crest into the Trans Himalayan region," explained Dr Yash Veer Bhatnagar of the Snow Leopard Trust and Nature Conservation Foundation, adding that the common leopards are ‘replaced' by snow leopards in these areas.

Continued:  http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/india-snow-leopard.html