Haul raises spectre of tiger poaching

Haul raises spectre of tiger poaching

 

Forest officials in the Northeast are keeping their fingers crossed, hoping that the upcoming tiger census will throw up a larger count of the big cats. The 2005-08 estimate had pegged the tiger population in Assam at 70. Sources said though there was no confirmed case of poaching of tigers in Assam, the situation in the Northeast’s other tiger reserves was not that too rosy.

Three tiger reserves in the region have been graded as “poor”. These are the ones at Manas in Assam, Dampa in Mizoram and Namdapha in Arunachal Pradesh. 

Tiger reserves at Kaziranga in Assam and Pakke in Arunachal Pradesh have earned “good” status tag while the one in Nameri in Assam has been graded “satisfactory”. The grading is done by the National Tiger Conservation Authority.

The latest haul of tiger bones by the customs has aggravated fear that the tigers are being hunted. Guwahati customs recently seized 10.2kg skulls and bones of full-grown tigers. “There is some network and support in the protected area but once out, the tigers are at risk,” Rajesh Gopal, a member secretary of the National Tiger Conservation Authority, told this correspondent. “Once they stray out from Kaziranga to Karbi Anglong, all animals face threats,” Firoz Ahmed of Aaranyak, an NGO, said. During floods, many animals seek refuge in the highlands in Karbi Anglong and adjacent reserve forests like Panbari, Bagser and Kukurakata close to the park’s boundary. Chief wildlife warden, Assam, Suresh Chand, said there had not been any instance of confirmed tiger poaching in the state. 

The executive director of the Wildlife Protection Society of India, Belinda Wright, said there was admiration for the authorities of Kaziranga for the protection measures initiated by them, but little could be done when the animals venture out of the safe zones. “Tiger poaching is done surreptitiously and it is difficult to track the people who are in this trade,” Wright says, adding that one must not forget Sariska and Panna national parks. In a recent incident of straying, a tiger was spotted in Upper Assam after killing two persons. It was later rehabilitated in Manas National Park. An official of Kaziranga National Park said: “It is not easy for the poachers to target tigers here unlike the rhinos. The thick grasses of the national park are a deterrent.” 

Courtesy: The Telegraph

Cop help to save wildlife

Cop help to save wildlife

To give teeth to its operations in the state, the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau will soon appoint an Assam police officer of a rank not less than deputy inspector-general of police as the nodal officer here. The senior police officer would be the bureau’s second nodal officer in the state, the first being conservator of forest S.S. Rao who was appointed a few months ago. Rao said that the involvement of the police department was essential as the bureau planned to build up a strong intelligence network to check the recent spurt in wildlife crime in the state. The move follows the recovery of large consignments of animal parts from the state, the latest being the seizure of tiger bones and pangolin scales from the airport here last week. The poaching of rhinos in the state’s national parks has also increased. “Trade in wildlife parts has turned into a lucrative business and we need help from the police and other agencies to fight it,” a senior official of the bureau said. “Apart from the police, we are also in touch with the army, the BSF, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police and the Sashastra Seema Bal,” Rao said.

The bureau had set up two regional offices in the Northeast — in Manipur and here — about six months ago. Manipur’s border town of Moreh is believed to be the main route through which wildlife parts from the region, particularly Assam, find their way to the international market. The forest department is also trying to train fresh rangers to check wildlife crime in the state, which houses several national parks and sanctuaries. A senior forest official said a commando of the elite National Security Guard (NSG) was imparting rigorous training to about 250 recruits, including women, at the Assam forest school in Jalukbari. 

“Poachers are no longer armed with single-barrel guns but sophisticated weapons and also have links with militants. We need well-trained forest staff to fight them,” he added. Rangers at Kaziranga and Orang national parks had recovered telescopic rifles and poisoned-tipped bullets from poachers a few years ago. The forest official said the NSG training would be a moral booster for forest guards.

Courtesy: The Telegraph