Close on the heels of rising poaching of big cats, National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) in a strong advisory addressed to all the Chief Wildlife Wardens (CWW) has stated “every case of tiger and leopard death should henceforth be treated as case of poaching unless otherwise proved beyond reasonable doubt”.

BHUBANESWAR: More than four years after Satkosia was designated a Tiger Reserve, the Odisha Government has finally brought Mahanadi Wildlife Division under the unified control of the Field Director, meeting a long-standing demand of National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA). The Regional Conservator of Forests (RCCF), Angul, is the Field Director of Satkosia Tiger Reserve which comprises two wildlife sanctuaries such as Satkosia Gorge Sanctuary and Baisipally Sanctuary, both protected areas contiguous in nature.

Bhubaneswar: Forest and environment minister Debi Prasad Mishra on Tuesday said that a legislation on biodiversity is soon to be considered by the State Legislative Assembly. Addressing a workshop on ‘Biodiversity conservation in Odisha: Challenges and Opportunities’ organised by the Regional Plant Resource Centre (RPRC), Bhubaneswar to celebrate the International Day for Biological Diversity-2012, Mishra said that biodiversity is important for our survival. Maintaining the equilibrium of biodiversity should get priority.

Alarmed by the rise in poaching incidents, the Maharashtra government has said its forest staff would be empowered to shoot at poachers on sight while the National Tiger Conservation Authority directed all tiger range states to treat every tiger/leopard death as a poaching case unless proven otherwise beyond reasonable doubt.

After scripting a success story in tiger conservation at home in the past few years, India is now planning to revive a two-year-old offer to help save the big cat in the world’s largest tiger reserve in Myanmar, which is suffering from dwindling tiger numbers. The political reform in the South Asian country during the past few months, giving democratic forces a chance, has made Indian officials optimistic that the offer for collaboration — practically locked in the cold storage by Myanmar in the past — can be refreshed through diplomatic channels.

The tigers are roaring in different parts of the state, their numbers being significantly up, according to preliminary reports from the ongoing census of the big cats. The reports, based on camera traps and pugmarks, are coming in from different tiger reserves, sanctuaries and national parks to the state’s wildlife wing. Nagarjunasagar Srisailam Tiger Reserve (NSTR) alone has so far reported the presence of at least 78 tigers, including cubs. Wildlife officials at Atchampet division reported the presence of 17 tigers, a record of sorts.

Thirteen countries, including China, Russia and India, will in New Delhi to take stock of their efforts to save the big cat, and exchange notes with each other in a global initiative for tiger conservation. The meeting will also see India and Russia signing a Joint Resolution of Agreed Actions on Tiger and Leopard Conservation, along with highlighting the global challenges and changing trends in protecting tigers from poaching and habitat destruction.

KOCHI: A rich tiger population and proximity to other national wildlife sanctuaries like Nagarhole, Bandipur and Mudumalai are proving to be highly advantageous for Wayanad in its race for a tiger reserve.

The Ministry of Environment and Forests has expressed its willingness to consider a tiger reserve in Wayanad, provided a proposal comes from the Kerala government. However, the state government is yet to take a final decision.

Now metal traps and snares, and not fire arms are latest threats to tigers and wildlife from poachers. The two-day meet of wildlife officials that concluded on Thursday has sounded red alert in all tiger reserves of the country stressing on armed patrolling as the need of the hour.

On the lines of e-monitoring in Corbett, certain tiger reserves as the Sunderbans in West-Bengal have called for installation of similar systems. The meeting also took a review of the status of Phase-4 monitoring that began in November last year.

Madhya Pradesh has bagged the highest number of awards for tiger conservation. In the two-day meeting of the Field Directors of the Tiger Reserves (TR) that began on Wednesday various conservation issues including protection, extremist threat, phase-4 monitoring and compliance of effective management were discussed at length.