Bad News!
A 6 month old male tiger cub dies on 25th April in Bandhavgarh following a most bizzare incident/accident on 21st April. The caracass of a cub was recovered in Bandhavgarh on 25th April. Most believe it to be of the cub that ran into safari gypsies in Chakradhara area.
According to conflicting reports there were 5-6 vehicles with about 25 occupants in Chakradhar around 6.30 am on the fateful day when a cub broke away from the Chakradhara female and came towards the "parked vehicles". After going around a number of these vehicles, the cub went under a vehicle owned by Satyendra Tiwari, a known naturalist of the Park. People beleive that the cub got burnt because of the heat of the engine or silencer. This theory sounds implausible as no engine or silencer of a parked vehicle can burn a tiger cub to death!
According to second, again unconfirmed version, there were just 2 vehicles - one of the naturalist mentioned above and the other of a senior forest offcial. In panic the driver(s) started the engine and the tiger cub under the vehicle sustained injuries and succumbed to these later.
Whatever be the truth, a case under Wildlife Protection Act has been registered against Tiwari and he is seeking bail in the matter.
All agree that the accident was quite unintentional. The identity of the cub is yet to be established.
This accident throws up one question about safe distance that the over - zealous drivers need to maintain when taking visitors inside the park.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Panna Gets Striped Beauties
Panna comes alive with the trans-location of two young tigresses from Kanha and Bandhavgarh repectively. The news is that the pugmarks of the old loner, the male tiger, have also been seen by the forest staff. If the spotting is genuine, Panna may become a success story once again and it may add to the charm of visiting Khajuraho. Panna is barely half an hour's drive from Khajuraho.
Immediate concerns are stopping fires in villages within the park, shoring up strength of the field staff and strict action against the known poachers in the area. An awareness campaign is a must.
Panna is one of the most scenic parks in the country and hope it will create employment opportunities for a lot of youth in the area.
Immediate concerns are stopping fires in villages within the park, shoring up strength of the field staff and strict action against the known poachers in the area. An awareness campaign is a must.
Panna is one of the most scenic parks in the country and hope it will create employment opportunities for a lot of youth in the area.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Roar in Panna
The news of possibility of translocation of two tigresses from Bandhavgarh to Panna is a promising one. It is never too late to take corrective measures.
From 22 tigers in 2002, the tiger population has dwindled to a "claimed" one tiger Panna. Forest Deptt kept harping on presence of tigers despite contrary findings by celebrated tiger experts like Raghu. In November, 2008 I visited Panna Reserve. All forest officials insited on presence of one male tiger in the Park. However, all safari drivers and guides confirmed on condition of anonymity that no tiger sighting was reported in 2008. They claimed that their selfish interest in getting the tourist to the Park they cooked up stories about the 'sighting'.
Panna is one of the most picturesque parks in the country. I fell in love with the place immediately inspite of poor wildlife sightings! The place has mixture of all kinds oaf terrain and the river flowing through it adds to its charm. I must point out Panna is the most poorly administered Park as well. It was reported by the staff that the Burra Sahibs of the Forest Deptt like the Field Director and the DFO rarely visited the Park. Poaching is rampant as well.
The administration issue needs to be addressed by Project Tiger, NTCA and the state government before introduction of tigers in the Park. The best officer irrespective of his rank should be posted there and good police support should also be available if it has to be a success story.
I was in Bandhavgarh last week. Bhitri tigress a young female had been tracked and earmarked for translocation. Pictures of the tigress may be seen on my flickr account. I could gather from the forest officials that the translocation is just a matter of days.
Community, particularly the tribals who indulge in poaching need to be educated about the overall benefits of presence of tigers in the park. Alternate source of income for these people must be created before any tigers are introduced in the park otherwise the majestic animal will meet the fate earlier meted out to the tigers of the park.
From 22 tigers in 2002, the tiger population has dwindled to a "claimed" one tiger Panna. Forest Deptt kept harping on presence of tigers despite contrary findings by celebrated tiger experts like Raghu. In November, 2008 I visited Panna Reserve. All forest officials insited on presence of one male tiger in the Park. However, all safari drivers and guides confirmed on condition of anonymity that no tiger sighting was reported in 2008. They claimed that their selfish interest in getting the tourist to the Park they cooked up stories about the 'sighting'.
Panna is one of the most picturesque parks in the country. I fell in love with the place immediately inspite of poor wildlife sightings! The place has mixture of all kinds oaf terrain and the river flowing through it adds to its charm. I must point out Panna is the most poorly administered Park as well. It was reported by the staff that the Burra Sahibs of the Forest Deptt like the Field Director and the DFO rarely visited the Park. Poaching is rampant as well.
The administration issue needs to be addressed by Project Tiger, NTCA and the state government before introduction of tigers in the Park. The best officer irrespective of his rank should be posted there and good police support should also be available if it has to be a success story.
I was in Bandhavgarh last week. Bhitri tigress a young female had been tracked and earmarked for translocation. Pictures of the tigress may be seen on my flickr account. I could gather from the forest officials that the translocation is just a matter of days.
Community, particularly the tribals who indulge in poaching need to be educated about the overall benefits of presence of tigers in the park. Alternate source of income for these people must be created before any tigers are introduced in the park otherwise the majestic animal will meet the fate earlier meted out to the tigers of the park.
Friday, January 2, 2009
Trip to Corbett National Park
News of great regular sighting of a tigress with three cubs and a tigress with a single cub was enough to make us restive to make an impromptu trip to Bijhrani forest of the Park. Used all the contacts to manage two seats for overnight journey in the Corbett Express on 21.12.2008. Arrived at about 5.20 am. After refreshing ourselves we headed for the park on a full day safari.
The morning trip yielded nothing except a few good shots of the birds and spotted deer. We could see and feel presence of tiger in the Bijhrani wilderness but the stripes continued to elude us.
After a hearty breakfast, we moved on again to Waterhole No 4 and the Batia where Ghora, the ferocious male tiger had been seen last evening. We did not leave any part of the forest open to us, but the "gentleman', Corbett likened tiger to a gentleman, did not oblige.
After lunch we could see fresh pugmarks of a female but no sighting. Around 4 pm our hopes and those of 29 more Gypsies rose after hearing regular alarm calls. We all positioned ourselves at different vantage points to spot the tiger.
It was not to be. All of us returned dejected.
I am sharing some of my observations about the park:
The morning trip yielded nothing except a few good shots of the birds and spotted deer. We could see and feel presence of tiger in the Bijhrani wilderness but the stripes continued to elude us.
After a hearty breakfast, we moved on again to Waterhole No 4 and the Batia where Ghora, the ferocious male tiger had been seen last evening. We did not leave any part of the forest open to us, but the "gentleman', Corbett likened tiger to a gentleman, did not oblige.
After lunch we could see fresh pugmarks of a female but no sighting. Around 4 pm our hopes and those of 29 more Gypsies rose after hearing regular alarm calls. We all positioned ourselves at different vantage points to spot the tiger.
It was not to be. All of us returned dejected.
I am sharing some of my observations about the park:
- The Watch Tower area is badly littered with no effort on the part of Park officials to clean it. There was a time when garbage bags were given to visitors and collected at the time they left the park.
- Park officials charge hefty fees for entrance and all services like cars and guides. They need to spend a portion of it on the cleanliness of the park. It is not enough to chastise the visitors for littering.
- The park officials are rude because they are pampered by some influential people. They openly threaten Gypsy drivers with fines for arriving late after the safari even when they stick to park timings.
- Safari vehicles are charged a fee for entering the park. It is ridiculous that the visitor is made to pay entry fee for the driver of the safari vehicle!
- Guides are compulsory in the park. For full day safari, we paid Rs. 750.00 to the guide! It is steep for the service the guide provides. In fact some of the drivers are more knowledgeable than the guides. Forest officials have to consider multi-tasking of the drivers and train them as guides so that visitors are not fleeced.
Overall, it was my first visit to Corbett without sighting a tiger. The visit was made more painful by the dirty conditions of the park and the rudeness of the staff on duty.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
