The tiger population figures in the country, which was
released recently by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate
Change (MoEF), has seen a marginal rise from 1,706 in 2011 to 2,226 in
2014. The trend is encouraging considering the dwindling numbers of the
big cat.
The present figure in the country alone amounts to 70 percent of the world's total tiger population.
In an exclusive chat with Neha Attre of Zee Media Corporation, Rajesh Gopal,
Member-Secretary, National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) talks
about the factors that have led to the increase in the tiger population
in the country.
Q. Did the creation of buffer zones in and around tiger reserves help in increasing the tiger population? A. The creation of buffer zones in and around the
tiger reserves have been very helpful in maintaining the genes that
percolate out and can reach areas which are promising and where tiger
population can thrive. Rehabilitation plans have been implemented to
minimise man-animal conflict scenario and relocate villagers who have
been living in these areas.
Q. How crucial are wildlife corridors for conservation of tigers? A. Habitat connectivity for genetic exchange is
important for conservation of tigers and wildlife corridors linking
tiger reserves facilitate easy movement of the big cats. With the help
of corridors, the tigers can move from one conducive place to another.
The easy movement of the big cats is extremely important as every tiger
requires its own territory area.
Also, we suggest mitigating measures, suppose if a mine or a highway
is present on the path of the corridor, then the concerning authorities
are suggested to take remedial measures.
Q. What are the other factors that have helped in increasing the tiger population of the country? A. Other important factors include creation of
Special Tiger Protection Force (STPF), which helps in protecting the
tiger population in vulnerable areas, and deployment of anti-poaching
squads involving ex-Army personnel or home guards and workforce
including locals.
Every reserve has a tiger conservation plan specific to the area and
rehabilitation of villagers from tiger reserves and fostering corridors
have also helped in conserving the tiger population.
The carrying capacity of a tiger reserve and prey base is also
assessed. Depending on the same, the tiger is then physically shifted to
other areas as each tiger requires its own territory area.
Q. Instead of the pugmark identification method, technologies
like capturing tiger images and analysing DNA which are being used are
more scientific? A. With time, technology improves. It is a more
scientific and accurate method of assessing the tiger population in the
country and helps in giving a clear picture. Camera traps are used in
tiger reserves which also helped in monitoring the movement of tigers.
Scientists have scored new photos of this elusive and endangered feline and new insights on how to save it from extinction.
(Photo: Farid Belbachir/ZSL/OPNA)
January 29, 2015
By Emily Gertz
Emily Gertz is TakePart's associate editor for environment and wildlife.
One
of the best chances for saving the world’s deserts and their vanishing
wildlife may lie with the critically endangered Saharan cheetah.
The big cat is so elusive that it has rarely even been photographed—until now.
Using camera traps with infrared shutter triggers, an international team of scientists has captured rare close-ups
of this mysterious and beautiful predator—and in the process have
gained unprecedented scientific information that could help save it from
extinction, according to a new study. With fewer than 250 left in the
wild, the Saharan cheetah is listed as critically endangered, one step
down from extinction, on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature Red List of threatened species.
(Photo: Farid Belbachir/ZSL/OPNA)
Scientists hope the new photographs of Saharan cheetahs will attract
the attention of wildlife fans—and funders—and increase the support for
conserving imperiled desert ecosystems.
“This research provides us with important new insights into the world
of this remarkable desert-dwelling large cat,” Sarah Durant of the
Wildlife Conservation Society and a study coauthor, said in a statement.
“I hope that it…also reminds the world of the value of studying and
protecting desert species and their environments, which are often
overlooked by researchers and conservation programs.”
The photographs are an achievement because the harsh environment—a
rocky, mountainous desert akin to the American Southwest—forces cheetahs
to range far afield to find enough prey. Meanwhile, North Africa’s
political instability makes doing science there dangerous, even in the Ahaggar Cultural Park of south-central Algeria, where these camera traps were placed.
Based on when and how often individual cheetahs made their
appearances in two different camera traps, the researchers calculated
that the species hunts mostly at night. The big cat needs to range about
1,000 square miles of territory to find enough chow—mainly desert
antelopes like the Dorcas gazelle and the addax, which is also
critically endangered.
Leopards live in high densities in rural areas due to easy availability of stray dogs, pigs and calves.
Hyderabad: Has the leopard-human conflict in AP and TS
taken a new dimension? Is Maharashtra’s Akole valley phenomenon of
carnivorous cats adapting to human habitation being replicated in Andhra
and Telangana?
Wildlife experts say that the recent series of
incidents wherein leopards have been spotted in five districts in AP and
three in TS, close to towns and rural areas, are indications that the
big cats are adapting to human habitations. On Thursday as well there
were two instances of leopards being spotted, in Anantapur and Kadapa
districts.
Imran Siddiqui of Hyderabad Tiger Conservation Society
said, “There is no spurt in leopards straying out; in fact they are now
adapting to stay close to human habitations. Leopards have started
breeding in high crop areas like sugarcane fields. In Tirupati,
Visakhapatnam and Hyderabad there have been instances of leopards
feeding near garbage dumps. More instances are being reported as people
are now more aware of their presence. Goat lifting, cattle kills are
taking place.”
Leopards live in high densities in rural areas due to easy
availability of stray dogs, pigs and calves. A senior wildlife official
of the TS forest department said, “They might have come out in search of
food like they stray during summer for water. Leopards can’t feed on
adult wild boar as they are strong and difficult to attack.”
AP
principal chief conservator of forests, A.V. Joseph said, “They are
harmless and are of no danger to humans. In Maharashtra there was a
phenomenon of leopards breeding in sugarcane fields. But this is
unlikely in AP.
Population stabilises as poaching reduced:
The
demand for leopards in international wild life trafficking has
decreased according to Wildlife Protection Society of India, while the
number of poaching incidents have come down according to the forest
department. Tiger killings, however, have increased, but the leopard
population is stabilising as they are not targeted by poachers.
Wildlife
expert Imran Siddiqui said, “We can’t say leopard population is
blooming but they have stabilised. Poaching has come down as there are
no takers for leopard skin and bones.”
According to WPSI, the
illicit international demand for big cat skins continues, there is
virtually no market for leopard skins in India.
29.01.2015Rare African Golden Cat has been captured on camera While Attacking MonkeyThe African golden cat has been captured on
camera launching an ambush attack on a troop of large red colobus
monkeys. Set up the cameras in Uganda's Kibale national park, hoping to
catch even a glimpse of the elusive predator, which has never been
filmed in the country before, The Guardian reports.
Big cats' top speed is actually
around 58mph rather than 70mph that has been accepted for decades
Myth busted by researchers who attached GPS trackers to big cats
They gathered data from 367 hunts and 58mph was the top speed
Results will be shown on Sir David Attenborough's new TV series
By
Jemma Buckley For The Daily Mail
Published:
27 January 2015
Cheat: The cheetah's top speed is only 58mph, research has found - though that's still pretty impressive
‘For more than half a century we have overestimated the cheetah’s speed,’ the veteran presenter said. ‘The cheetah’s legendary top speed of 70mph is just a myth. But their true speed of 58mph is still extraordinary.’
He added
that while the cheetah may not be as speedy as previously believed, it
still holds its title as the world’s fastest land animal. ‘Its greatest feat is its acceleration,’ he said, ‘[Which is] four times that of sprinter Usain Bolt.’
The
presenter – whose broadcasting career began when he joined the BBC in
1952 – shows just how comfortable he is with animals, filming one
segment of the documentary next to an affectionate cheetah, which
happily purrs and licks his knee.
He explains the new and more accurate speed measurements were taken using high-tech data collection collars.
The
more accurate speed measurements were taken using high-tech collars,
which used solar batteries and GPS to track the animals’ movements. Researchers
collected data from 367 cheetah ‘hunts’ and the top speed reached
during any of the chases was just 58 miles per hour.
The research was developed by scientists at the Royal Veterinary College who honed the technique using greyhounds and lurchers. The dogs are ‘similar in size and shape to a cheetah’ so worked as a good substitution for the more unpredictable wild animals. Both have backs that flex and extend so greatly that at times none of their feet touch the ground.
When
researchers were sure the collar was not affecting the movement of the
dogs, they tested the technology on wild cheetahs and found that
previous estimations had been out by a whopping 12 miles per hour.
The
myth that cheetahs could reach 70mph began in 1957 after photographer
Kurt Severin conducted a basic experiment using an upturned bicycle and
some fishing line to pull along a meat-scented bag. He used a stopwatch and a pistol to record how long it took a cheetah to run 73-metre course. His results – showing cheetahs reaching speeds of 70 miles per hour - were soon accepted as scientific fact.
This is one of the first photos of a living African golden cat in the wild. It was taken in Gabon in April 2002.Credit: Courtesy of Panthera
African golden cats are hardly ever photographed in the wild. In their
rare, camera-trap cameos, the cats are usually seen licking their
spotted fur or innocuously inspecting the unfamiliar lens. But recently, scientists captured a much more dynamic scene: a golden cat crashing a party of red colobus monkeys in Uganda.
The video, released yesterday
(Jan. 27), may be the first footage of a golden cat hunting in the
daylight, according to Panthera, the conservation group that released
the video from inside Kibale National Park.
"We know a lot more about golden cats than we did a few years ago, and
yet we still know almost nothing about their behavior," David Mills, a
graduate student at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) in South
Africa, said in a statement.
"Primatologists in Kibale have observed monkeys emitting alarm calls at
golden cats on several occasions, and considering this latest evidence,
it's not hard to see why."
The video was recorded from a camera trap
set up by researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary
Anthropology in Germany. In the beginning of the clip, a group of adult
red colobus monkeys feeds on the dead wood of a tree stump. The attack
happens suddenly. A cat leaps from the bushes and briefly wrestles with
the monkey slowest to flee. A slow-motion version of the video makes it clear that the cat was unsuccessful; it quickly retreats when it fails to get a fatal hold on its prey.
African golden cats are comparable in size to bobcats. They can weigh
11 to 35 lbs. (5 to 16 kilograms). Red colobus monkeys, which weigh 15
to 27 lbs. (7 to 12 kg),
can put up a good fight against the cats — and they aren't always on
the defensive. Another video released by Panthera shows a group of colobus monkeys harassing a golden cat that's trying to sleep in a tree in Uganda's Kalinzu Forest Reserve.
African golden cats, which are listed as near-threated by the
International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), are found in the
forests of central and west Africa. They were photographed for the first
time in the wild in 2002, and once in a while, new footage of the
animals emerges. Two years ago, for example, scientists with the
Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) captured a video of an African golden cat
in Kibale. The researchers said they lured the creature to the camera
trap with Calvin Klein's Obsession for Men. The cologne contains
civetone, which comes from the scent glands of civets, small mammals
that are native to Africa and parts of Asia.
Canine distemper, a
viral disease that's been infecting the famed lions of Tanzania's
Serengeti National Park, appears to be spread by multiple animal
species, according to a study published by a transcontinental team of
scientists.
This is a lion pride in Tanzania's Serengeti National Park.
Credit: Courtesy, Sian Brown
Canine
distemper, a viral disease that's been infecting the famed lions of
Tanzania's Serengeti National Park, appears to be spread by multiple
animal species, according to a study published by a transcontinental
team of scientists. Writing in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,
they say domestic dogs are no longer the primary source of the
disease's transmission to lions and that wild carnivores may contribute
as well.
Their findings demonstrate that in natural ecosystems, a deadly virus
can jump between species and thrive, thereby threatening vulnerable
animal populations.
"Our study shows that the dynamics of canine distemper virus are
extremely complex, and a broadened approach -- focusing not only on
domestic dogs--is required if we are to control the disease among lions
and other wild animal species," said veterinary researcher Felix
Lankester of Washington State University's Paul G. Allen School for
Global Animal Health, a co-author based in Tanzania.
In 1994, a mysterious neurological ailment wiped out 30-percent of
the lion population in the Serengeti, one of the largest wildlife
regions in the world. Scientists determined it was canine distemper, a
disease previously thought to infect only dogs, coyotes and a small
number of other mammals. Evidence suggested the lions had contracted the
virus from dogs living in villages and settlements nearby. A domestic
dog vaccination campaign was launched to curb the infection's spread. It
worked--among dogs, at least.
After analyzing three decades of blood serum data collected from
lions and domestic dogs, the study's researchers discovered that the
virus continues to circulate in the lion population while significantly
declining among dogs.
The dog's role in spreading the disease appears to be shrinking,
conclude the paper's authors, an international team of veterinarians,
disease ecologists, epidemiologists and mathematical biologists. "Domestic dog populations immediately surrounding the Serengeti
National Park are not the sole driver of canine distemper infections in
lions, and its persistence is likely to involve a larger multi-host
community," they write.
Other species, including hyenas and jackals, are probably
transmitting the disease and keeping it looming in the wild, they say.
Consequently, outbreaks among lions and other already-threatened animals
could occur at any time.
Researchers say more work is necessary to identify which species
spread distemper and what triggers the spillovers. For example, it's
believed that an infected hyena or other carnivore feeding on a carcass
can disperse the virus through mucus secretions to other predators at
the same site. A better understanding of canine distemper virus and its dynamics in
the wild is necessary to effectively monitor and better control the
disease among lions and other threatened animals, the scientists report.
Story Source:
The above story is based on materials provided by Washington State University. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
Journal Reference:
Mafalda Viana, Sarah Cleaveland, Jason Matthiopoulos, Jo Halliday,
Craig Packer, Meggan E. Craft, Katie Hampson, Anna Czupryna, Andrew P.
Dobson, Edward J. Dubovi, Eblate Ernest, Robert Fyumagwa, Richard Hoare,
J. Grant C. Hopcraft, Daniel L. Horton, Magai T. Kaare, Theo Kanellos,
Felix Lankester, Christine Mentzel, Titus Mlengeya, Imam Mzimbiri, Emi
Takahashi, Brian Willett, Daniel T. Haydon, Tiziana Lembo. Dynamics of a morbillivirus at the domestic–wildlife interface: Canine distemper virus in domestic dogs and lions. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2015; 201411623 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1411623112
Posted by Luke Dollar of NG Big Cats Initiative in Cat Watch on January 28, 2015
The video above includes rare photographs of Saharan cheetah
(Acinonyx jubatus hecki) scentmarking taken by remote cameras in a
survey in the Ahaggar Cultural Park in the Algerian Sahara. The survey
was conducted by Farid Belbachir, Amel Belbachir-Bazi and Sarah Durant
with the support of Zoological Society of London, Howard G Buffett
Foundation, Wildlife Conservation Society, Panthera, Office National du
Parc Culturel de l’Ahaggar and others
In Search of the Elusive Saharan Cheetah
By Sarah Durant Zoological Society of London, Wildlife Conservation Society and National Geographic Big Cats Initiative
The
rare and enigmatic Saharan cheetah – a unique daylight photograph from
remote cameras obtained during a survey of the Ahaggar Cultural Park in
Algeria
It is 2008 and I am travelling through the magnificent red mountains
and sandy plains in the Ahaggar Cultural Park in south central Algeria,
with my PhD students, Farid Belbachir and Amel Belbachir-Bazi. We’re
setting up the first surveys of cheetahs here. It was thrilling to think
that a cheetah may well have passed through, perhaps just days, or even
hours, before us.
Once we were away from the nearest towns, signs of wildlife were
frequent, and we came across Dorcas gazelle, hares, and even Barbary
sheep. Their numbers were sufficiently plentiful to support cheetah.
Then we found cheetah scat and finally and tantalisingly, tracks.
The Sahara is the world’s largest desert, encompassing nearly ten
million square kilometres and stretching across the width of the African
continent, a distance of around 6,000km. At first sight it might appear
to be an empty landscape, barren of wildlife. Closer inspection shows
that not only is it teeming with life but, even more surprisingly, its
most remote corners harbour one of the world’s most elusive big cats:
the Saharan cheetah.
The Saharan cheetah is classed as a separate subspecies – Acinonyx jubatus hecki.
It has a more ‘dog-like’ face with a pointed muzzle and sharp facial
features compared with its sub-Saharan relatives – who appear distinctly
round-faced and thick necked in comparison.
In a new article
we use photographs from remote cameras to shed insights into the life
of the secretive Saharan cheetah. These cameras trigger a photograph
whenever an animal passes in front of an infrared motion detector.
Surveying these immense landscapes is no small undertaking. We used
40 camera traps, each 10km apart, to cover a total area of 2,600km2.
After 2-3 months, we were successful in capturing thousands of
photographs of camels and feral donkeys! However, snuck in between the
camels and donkeys, were also 32 precious records of Saharan cheetah.
From these 32 sightings, we were able to identify five different
individual cheetah using their distinctive spot patterns, and estimate
the overall density of cheetah at 2-5 individuals per 10,000km2. This
density is much lower than any cheetah density previously reported, and
makes the Saharan cheetah one of the rarest large cats in the world.
We also found that the cheetah roamed across massive areas. Over just
2-3 months, the two individuals that were most photographed travelled
across an average area of 1,600km2. Nearly all the cheetah photographs
were taken during the night, often during the small hours, suggesting
that the Saharan cheetah were also likely to be nocturnal, unlike their
largely diurnal sub-Saharan cousins.
The Ahaggar Cultural Park, together with the adjacent Tassili N’Ajjer
Cultural Park, encompass an impressive 770,000km2. Yet our study
suggests that even this enormous area may only support 160 cheetah.
Cheetah also face problems due to the insecurity that currently pervade
most countries in the region, including serious unrest in adjacent
countries: Libya and Mali. This reduces access to conservationists and
managers to monitor and safeguard these precious landscapes and their
biodiversity.
Not so long ago, the Sahara harboured a far greater diversity of life
than survives today. This included the iconic desert antelope, the
Addax, and Dama and slender horned gazelles. However, there has been a
dramatic collapse in Saharan wildlife over the course of the 20th
century. Today, less than 250 Saharan cheetah are thought to remain, and
the subspecies is listed as Critically Endangered by IUCN.
The future of the Saharan cheetah hangs in the balance. Surely we
will lose something of the magic of the spectacular landscapes of the
Sahara if we allow the cheetah to disappear.
Farid Belbachir is the lead author on the article published in PLOS
ONE on 28th January 2015. Amel Belbachir-Bazi, Nathalie Pettorelli Tim
Wacher and myself are coauthors. The study was made possible by the
generous support of the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, Wildlife
Conservation Society, the Dunstable Runners and a Dorothy Hodgkins
Postgraduate Award. It also benefited from a partnership with Panthera.
Finally, the study would not have been possible without the support of
the staff and Former Director, F. Ighilahriz, of the Office du Parc
National de l’Ahaggar (now the Office National du Parc Culturel de
l’Ahaggar).
A version of this blog also appears on www.zsl.org
As the tiger population increases at the Anamalai Tiger Reserve in
Coimbatore district, wildlife activists have called for more focus on
increasing the prey base. —Photo: Special Arrangement
ATR to take up fodder plantation on 250 acres this year
Even as there is considerable joy at the increase in
tiger population at the Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR), a trend reflected
at the national level as well, wildlife activists are sounding a word of
caution. While the last census conducted at ATR in 2010 put the count
at 13, it is now nearly 23.
While there is a lot of
focus on conserving tigers, activists say equal importance must be paid
to conserving the prey base of the big cats.
Environment
Conservation Group president R. Mohammed Saleem, who was involved in
the recent tiger census, says the favoured natural prey for tigers is
the gaur (Indian Bison), which can sustain the big cat for nearly a
week.
Other preys include the Sambar Deer and Spotted Deer.
These
herbivores can be sustained only by healthy vegetation that are
threatened at ATR by invasive exotic alien weed species such as Lantana
Camara. “Besides degrading other vegetation, these
weeds are thorny and hence shunned by deers and gaurs. They were
introduced in Western Ghats by the British who used them as ornamental
plants. However, now they are a major threat. While the situation is
under control at ATR as of now, the tight vigil must continue,” says Mr.
Saleem.
K. Kalidasan, president of OSAI, an NGO
involved in wildlife conservation, says tigers are territorial and a cub
leaves its mother at the age of two.
Each tiger will
carve out its own territory, which must have enough prey base to
sustain it in order to avoid conflicts. Tigers were earlier confined to
Bandipore – Mudumalai stretch.
However, the
increasing population resulted in tigers spilling over to
Sathyamangalam, which was initially a reserve and later declared as a
tiger reserve.
With tiger population on an upward
trajectory, it is expected to soon spill over to the adjoining areas in
Erode and the Coimbatore Forest Division ranges of Sirumugai,
Mettupalayam and Karamadai.
The prey base in these
regions must also be maintained by controlling poaching and maintaining
an undisturbed forest. Authorities should ensure there are no human
activities in these areas so that man-animal conflict is minimised, he
adds.
The ATR has already taken steps to sustain the
herbivore population by increasing fodder availability. While crops have
been planted on around 1,000 acres till now, it would be taken up on
another 250 acres during the current year, said its field director V.T.
Kandasamy.
Further, the personnel are also trained and equipped to combat forest fires.
The
local populace have also been sensitised and eco-development committees
formed among them to elicit their cooperation in fighting forest fires. “The
tiger census also revealed a healthy increase in prey base. We would
soon step up the fodder cultivation,” Mr. Kandasamy said.
Three of the world's littlest big cats have taken their first steps into the spotlight at a UK zoo. The
three-week-old Sumatran tigers have just begun to emerge from their den
at Chester Zoo, under the watchful eye of eight-year-old mother Kirana.
The
chubby cubs are so little that keepers do not expect to learn their
sexes for several weeks. But it's hoped the as-yet nameless triplets
will help ensure a future for their species.
One of the three as-yet-unnamed Sumatran tiger cubs born at Chester Zoo
"Sumatran tigers are one of the rarest big cat species in the world," the zoo's mammals curator Tim Rowlands said. "That's what makes our new tiger trio so incredibly special - they're a rare boost to an animal that's critically endangered." It's believed that fewer than 400 Sumatran tigers remain in the wild.
The
species is found only on the Indonesian island of Sumatra and has been
forced to the brink of disappearance by deforestation and poachers. "It's
still early days but Kirana is an experienced mum and she's keeping her
cubs very well protected. She's doing everything we would hope at this
stage," Mr Rowlands said.
Priyangi Agarwal, TNN | Jan 25, 2015, BAREILLY: A joint team of Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) New Delhi, Pilibhit forest department and special task force has arrested eight poachers here, including six on Sunday, and recovered tiger bones, teeth and parts from them. Efforts are on to trace four of their accomplices still on the run.
The arrests came days after two poachers from Uttar Pradesh were
arrested in Nepal recently with 37 kg of tiger bones and skin. The two
had confessed to have poached tigers in Pilibhit.
Kailesh
Prakash, divisional forest officer, Plilibhit tiger reserve (PTR), said,
"They (Nepal police) told us that the poachers had killed two adult
tigers in November and December 2013 in Barahi range of PTR. The
poachers had used poisoned buffalo meat as bait to trap the tigers."
The forest authorities have lodged a case against the arrested under
various relevant sections of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. Those
arrested have been identified as Chiraungi, Om Prakash, Gangaram, Natae
Gaen, Ravindra, Omprakash Baba, Nausey and Asgar Shah. All have been
sent to jail.
Acting on the information, the joint team arrested six poachers in Pilibhit on Sunday
and recovered sizeable quantity of tiger bones, teeth and body parts
from them. Earlier on Saturday, two poachers were arrested and 5 kg of
tiger bones, teeth and antlers of swamp deer were seized from them.
According to forest authorities, four other poachers — Kandhai Lal, Rakesh, Shree Krishna and Shyamlal — are on the run.
"Only after arresting Rakesh, considered to be the kingpin of the gang,
we will be able to gauge the actual position. Rakesh would be able to
inform us about the total number of poachers involved as well as their
previous crimes," the DFO told TOI.
Chief conservator of
forest, Bareilly and Moradabad zone, MP Singh said, "We have become more
vigilant to stop the occurrence of poaching of animals in future.
Strict action will be taken against forest officials, including the DFO
and conservator, if such incidents happen again."
In the tiger
census report 2014, Pilibhit tiger reserve is the only part of UP's
protected area to have shown "improvement". In 2011, 35 to 40 tigers
were counted at the place. But high human interference and proximity to
Nepal makes it most unsafe for big cats.
Pilibhit has seen
worst crime against tigers. In May 2012, two tigers were poisoned in
Pilibhit within 24 hours. The culprits were later nabbed. In February
2009, a young tigress was shot down by forest department in Faizabad.
The big cat had strayed out of Pilibhit forests and had turned a
man-eater.
By Deepthi Sanjiv, Bangalore Mirror Bureau | Jan 26, 2015
A
jungle cat (left) was mistaken for a leopard and sparked panic among
the residents in Vidyanagar, a village about 80 km from Mangaluru
Rumours of missing dogs and chickens sparked fears that leopards had moved into the area Villagers near Saraswathi School in Vidyanagar, about 80 kilometers
from Mangaluru panicked after a rumour spread that leopards were spotted
in the area. The rumours spread like wildfire thanks to WhatsApp,
especially in the wake of an increase in leopard sightings in recent
days all over the state.
According to sources, a lady spotted
'leopards' near her house and informed her son who immediately captured
them on his mobile phone. This was then circulated on WhatsApp. This led
to several stories being churned out about chicken and dogs going
missing from the area. People started claiming that they spotted
leopards two days ago at various locations.
When Kadaba Gram
Panchayat President got to know about the leopards, he immediately
called forest officials and requested them to trap the cats. The search
operations then commenced, with the public's assistance.
Speaking to
Bangalore Mirror, Dr Dinesh Kumar Y K, Assistant Conservat-or of
Forest, Subrahmanya Sub-Division, Sullia said, "We first got the news
that tigers were spotted and it was difficult to believe. We were then
informed that leopards were sighted. Since the area is close to the
forest area, we could not ignore this. The region does not have
a large leopard population when compared to the Hebri-Karkala region.
We began investigating only to find out that the animals sighted were
not leopards, but a pair of jungle cats. Jungle cats have been sighted
in the area earlier as well," he said, adding, "The region generally has
problems with elephants but not leopards."
About two days ago a jungle cat was killed near Bantwal, after it was hit by an autorickshaw. Another official from the department, Praveen Shetty, said the jungle cats were spotted between 6-6.30am on Saturday.
"The video shot by the boy is of poor quality. However, it looked like
they were mating. Later, one of our staff spotted one of them. The other
ran into the wild. We brought a book and showed the boy pictures of a
leopard as well as jungle cat. He identified the jungle cat.
By Hertfordshire Mercury
|
Posted: January 25, 2015
Keepers Brian Badger and Jenny Bartlett with lion Zara
GARDENERS plagued by domestic or stray cats’ fouling need not look to their bigger relatives for a deterrence.
The debate rages on over whether spreading lion dung on
your prize blooms really will protect them from the unwanted attention
of your neighbours’ pets.
The cat welfare charity Cats Protection and the BBC's appropriately-named Watchdog programme reportedly back the theory.
There are even specially sterilised lion dung pellets
available on the market claiming to offer protection for gardens beset
by felines.
Where the theory originates from is unknown, but it holds
that smaller cats are unsurprisingly uncomfortable in the presence of
their big cat counterparts and on smelling the dung, make a quick exit.
It has also been suggested as a useful deterrence for other
wildlife notorious for damaging gardens, such as rampaging badgers and
deer, and even birds nesting in gutters.
However, an expert in Broxbourne is not so sure.
Lynn Whitnall, director of Paradise Wildlife Park has worked and lived with big cats for decades.
She said: “Whether it works or not, I couldn’t tell you.
“It’s a bit of an old wives’ tale that if you have a big cat’s smell, it will scare smaller cats away.
“It depends on how brave the little cats are.”
Whether you are convinced or not, anyone considering
queuing at the park gates in White Stubbs Lane for a shovelful of poo
will be disappointed.
“Some parks let people take a bit of dung,” Mrs Whitnall said.
“It was stopped by Defra during the foot and mouth crisis.
“We would let friends and family if they wanted to try it, but it’s not something we do on a regular basis.”
Instead, Paradise Park disposes of its not inconsiderable amounts of animal excrement in other ways.
Mrs Whitnall said: “We have to dispose of it ourselves.
“Some of it can be reused – some we can recycle back into manure, some of it is taken away by Defra licensed companies.”
Mrs Whitnall was able to offer some alternative advice to anyone with a cat problem, however.
“I have dogs,” she said.
Babies "social reference" by checking out their parents' facial
expressions and voice tones when they encounter a new or strange object
or event in their environment — then base their own reactions on mom's
or dad's. They look to their parents as they wonder: Is it OK to stay
calm, or is it time to worry?
Animal behavior research shows
that dogs do this, too. It's not surprising, given how closely dogs are
attuned to us — as they have been for many millennia. New research
posted this month on the website of the journal Animal Cognition shows that cats may participate in social referencing also.
It's another blow for the stereotype of the aloof feline,
the cat who lives among us with a whiff of disdain for his or her
cohabitation with mere humans. Even one of my favorite authors, Haruki
Murakami, has just gone on record saying that cats are "egoistic" creatures.
It's a stereotype that I've challenged before
— and this new study only goes to show that those of us who live with
cats may be quite closely scrutinized for our responses and moods.
In the paper, "Social referencing and cat-human communication," author Isabella Merola and colleagues report what
happened when 24 cats and their owners participated in an experiment at
the University of Milan in Italy designed to match tests done by other
researchers on dogs. The stimulus deployed was an electric fan with
plastic green ribbons attached, set up in a room with a screen at one
end that hid a video camera; the screen also acted as a barrier for the
cats (though they could see behind it) and marked the only way out of
the room. "The aim," the authors state, "was to evaluate
whether cats use the emotional information provided by their owners
about a novel/unfamiliar object to guide their own behavior towards it."
Once
the cats were allowed to explore the room, cat owners were asked first
to regard the fan with neutral affect, then to respond either positively
or negatively to it. In either case, the owner alternated gaze between
the fan and the cat. In the positive group, owners used happy
expressions and voice tones, and approached the fan; in the negative
group, the expressions and voice tone were fearful, and the owners moved
away from the fan.
More than three-quarters of the cats, 79
percent, looked between the owner and the fan when the owner was in the
neutral phase at the start of the experiment. This percentage closely
matched the results for dogs in a similar setup, and shows that cats,
too, rely on us for emotional cues when faced with unfamiliarity.
Cats
in the "negative owner" group were significantly more likely to
alternate their gaze between the screen and the fan than cats in the
positive group. "The screen was the only possible way out," the authors
write, "and thus looking at the screen and then at the fan potentially
suggests the cats were worried about the fan and wanted to get away from
it." In addition, cats in the negative-owner group began moving earlier
than their counterparts in the positive group, "potentially showing
that they started looking for an escape route sooner."
Surrounded,
as I am, by cats — our current census is five in the house, two in the
yard and 11 in our large outdoor enclosure for former ferals — I was
naturally intrigued by these findings. (None of my cats, by the way,
would have qualified as participants for this study. To be selected, a
cat had to be friendly with strangers; accustomed to traveling in a
carrier at least twice a month; and savvy about changes in the
environment, perhaps because he or she is used to holiday travel with
human families. Either shy or homebound or both, my cats would have
received a rejection slip.)
As I walk around my house and yard,
are my cats intently watching and listening to me? A beribboned and
startling fan won't magically appear in our midst, but how about when
there's an unexpected thunder clap, loud knock at the door or barking
dog bounding through the yard? Should I endeavor in these circumstances
to be a role model for cat calm?
Earlier this week, I asked this question, by email, of the study's lead author, Isabella Merola, now at Lincoln University in England:
Should
those of us who live with cats be more aware of the effect of our
emotions (our voice tones, our facial expressions, our body postures) on
our cats, do you think?
And she replied:
Of
course we should (as a cat owner I include myself in this), in
particular in a situation of uncertainty and in new situations (for
example in new environments or in presence of new objects). Further
studies are needed to better investigate this communication and the
valence of voice vs. facial expression or body posture, but owners can
surely help their cats with positive emotions in new situations.
There you have it, cat caretakers. (Here's a stereotype that is true: No
way do we "own" our cats!) Social referencing, feline-style, may be
important to our cats, at least cats of certain personalities. The
mythically huge gap between cats and dogs just narrowed a little bit
more.
Barbara J. King, an
anthropology professor at the College of William and Mary, often writes
about human evolution, primate behavior, and the cognition and emotion
of animals. Barbara's most recent book on animals was released in paperback in April. You can keep up with what she is thinking on Twitter: @bjkingape.
TNN
|
Jan 25, 2015 JABALPUR:
Madhya Pradesh high court (MPHC) on Saturday directed secretary of
forest department to inquire into a complaint that alleges death of 30
big cats, including tigers and leopards in suspicious manner in forest
regions across the state.
Division bench in Jabalpur has asked the officer to file action taken report (ATR) and next hearing is posted for March 28.
The action was taken following a petition filed by an activist, Bhawna
Bisth, who alleged that 36 tigers, leopards and cubs were killed between
2012 and 2014 under suspicious circumstances, but no action was taken
by the department. She claimed most of deaths were a result of poisoning
and electrocution intended at smuggling of poached animals.
Bisth said she was forced to move the court as her complaint to draw the
attention of forest officials failed to stir them in action.
Taking cognizance of the petition, the court asked the forest secretary to look into contents of the plea in four weeks.source
The population of tigers has increased in India from 1,706 in 2011 to 2,226 in 2014.
ET SPECIAL:
NEW
DELHI: Indian tigers have come roaring back to life from the crisis of
2006, when just 1,411 were found to be left in the wild.
Union environment minister Prakash Javadekar's announcement that the
2014 tiger census showed a 30% increase in the big cat's numbers in four
years has been greeted as a success of India's conservation efforts
since that shock.
The turnaround, indeed, is impressive. But in
the flush of excitement over the tiger numbers, another important
report released by the minister that day went largely unnoticed. That
study — "Connecting Tiger Populations for Long-Term Conservation" — is a
first-of-its-kind report identifying India's vanishing forest
corridors.
It represents the next big battle for Indian conservation, one that it
is so far losing. Forest corridors are green spaces, with some or no
official protection, that link one protected forest with another. They
are channels allowing movement of tigers between forests which ensures
genetic diversity and health of the big cat population.
"These
corridors are lifelines because most protected forests in India aren't
big enough to be viable for the long-term survival of tigers and other
species," says Yadvendra Jhala, wildlife biologist at Dehradun's
Wildlife Institute of India.
A tigress with her cub.
The average size of our protected forests is about 300-500 sq km. The
only way to make them into larger chunks is by connecting them, he says.
But while our core forests — the tiger reserves, national
parks and sanctuaries — have received a good degree of protection, the
corridors are vanishing under the demands of development, population
growth and short-sighted project designs.
In the Terai region
of Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh for instance, growing cities are
cutting off forest links. The HaridwarRishikesh complex has virtually
cleaved the Rajaji National Park.
Officials say no tiger movement has taken place in this corridor for
years. As a result, the tiger population of western Rajaji is dying,
with just two aging females there.
"A proposal to revive the
link was submitted years ago. It involved elevating a portion of the
Haridwar highway to enable animal movement. Work started only two years
ago and is still going on. Meanwhile, the township has grown. Resorts
and six-storey com plexes are coming up in the vicinity that's anyway
going to kill the corridor," says Jhala.
A restored link could
extend tiger terrain right up to Ponta Sahib in Himachal and Kalesar
National Park in Haryana, and provide a good dispersal route for big
cats in Corbett, which has the densest tiger population in the world.
Three young tigers in a playful mood.
In Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, road projects on NH-6 and NH-7 are
threatening to cut off tiger habitats. Earlier this month, the
Maharashtra government set up a committee to resolve the impasse over
widening of a 37km stretch of NH-7 that cuts through Pench Tiger
Reserve. The national highways authority says it can't implement a
Wildlife Institute of India (WII) proposal for building wildlife
underpasses because it would cost an additional Rs 750 crore.
"The highway is needed. But it has to be built with mitigation measures.
Else, we would lose the tiger population of Pench be cause it's too
small a forest to sustain the ani mal," said an activist.
Road
projects in the northeast — one threatening the link between Kaziranga
and Karbi-Anglong and another between Kaziranga and Pakke Nameri on the
Assam Arunachal Pradesh border — have thrown up similar issues.
Forests in and around the Western Ghats, which hold the largest
contiguous tiger popu lation in the world are under pressure as well.
"The forest strip in Western Ghats is very narrow, between five to 30
km wide, and ex tremely vulnerable to the massive wave of highway
building, hydro power, wind power, mining and land encroachments," says K
Ullas Karanth, veteran tiger biologist.
A male Indian tiger.
Across central India, constant battles are being fought over coal
mines. For instance, the corridor between Satpura National Park and
Pench passes through several mines cov ering around 1,000 sq km. When
the issue of opening up this area for mining was referred to WII, it
recommended that a 100 sq km be left alone. "There was huge pressure to
allow mining on an 80-hectare patch belonging to a politician that falls
bang in the middle of the corridor," says a source.
"It's not
just about the tigers," says Jhala. "These corridors are indicators of
the health of our eco-systems that provide also livelihoods, life
support system, goods and services."
Dehradun:
Villages affected by man-animal conflict in the state will be lit up by
solar street lights. An announcement to the effect was made by state
forest minister Dinesh Aggarwal on Friday after he gave away a cheque of
Rs 2 lakh to the father of Krishan Kumar, a 10-year-old boy of
Phulsaini village in Dehradun district who was killed by a maneater
leopard a week ago. He promised to provide the remaining Rs 1 lakh soon.
The decision to install solar light was taken to keep a off
wild animals from human habitats. The minister said, "It is not only
Phulsaini but all the other villagers which have witnessed man-animal
conflicts in recent past which will be provided with solar lights by the
state government," he said.
All the wings of district administration, forest, municipal corporation, MDDA and UREDA coming together to help such villages.
Dehradun Municipal Corporation's mayor, Vinod Chamoli, said, "I have
sanctioned installation of 30 pole lights for Bajawala road, which also
cover Phulsaini. Some pole lights have also been installed. Some more
will be installed in the nearby areas by the Mussoorie Dehradun
Development Authority (MDDA) and Uttarakhand Renewable Energy
Development Agency (UREDA)."
Sushant Patnaik, divisional forest
official of Dehradun, said, "The forest department has begun mass
awareness program in the village to educate people about the ways to
minimize the risk of coming in confrontation with leopards. Lantana (a
weed), which had grown in the area, is also being cleared so that
leopards cannot hide in them."
Doon DM Ravinath Raman said all
the families who had encroached upon land on the fringes of the forest
areas have been made to shift inside the village so that they remained
safe.
Mountain lions are the talk of the town in eastern
Connecticut since residents in one town have reported several sightings
of a big cat.
North Stonington residents have been reporting a big cat, 5' long, weighing 100 pounds, with a long tail.
Community leaders believe there have been at least 15 credible sightings of the big cats in North Stonington alone.
Conservation Commission Chairman Bill Ricker has been tracking the sightings."They're
not after people's dogs and cats, they're not after children. If you're
hiking through the woods in our state they'll go in the opposite
direction and I dare you say you'll never see them if they see you,"
Ricker said.
The Connecticut DEEP isn't so sure the big cats are
actually here. Spokesman Dennis Schain said the DEEP has not seen what
they consider credible photographs, footprints or scat to confirm the
cats' presence.
According to naturalist Steven Sarnoski, anything is possible. "There
could be one in the state, maybe it's another traveler or maybe it's
more commonly the bobcat, which is our most found and distributed
wildcat in Connecticut," Sarnoski said.
If you see a large cat,
take a picture of it. State and local experts said they need to see
evidence of a paw print or fur to prove that mountain lions are in the
state.
***************************************************************************** By Lauren Seaver
Mountain lions caught on video in Boulder Creek
Cameras catch animals walking down street
Published Jan 23, 2015
BOULDER CREEK, Calif. —Word was spreading Friday night of a mountain lion sighting in Boulder Creek.
Boulder Creek resident Rob Fulton captured video of the
mountain lions outside his home Wednesday night. Fulton has lived in his
home on Lilac Avenue and Brookdale Street for 14 years. He set up the
cameras a few months ago and captured two mountain lions walking down
the street on consecutive nights.
The first video, recorded
Wednesday morning at 12:50 a.m., shows one of the big cats walking in
front of Fulton's car. Later that night, at 9:22 p.m., the second cat
made its appearance. "It's kind of unnerving, but it's nice to
watch such graceful cats walking,” Fulton said. “I think they've been
here a long time and nobody's really seen them. Nobody's had any issues
with them. We hear them off in the distance sometimes. You kind of hope
they stay where they are and don't bother you.”
Fulton said he
checked with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, which said
the second cat, the one wearing a collar, is part of the University of
California, Santa Cruz’s Puma Project, where mountain lions are tracked
and observed to gather information about their physiology, behavior and
ecology.
Forest staff to be increased to protect big cats in Karnataka
By TNN | 24 Jan, 2015
A
day after TOI highlighted the shortage of forest guards and other
frontline staff in tiger reserves, forest minister B Ramanath Rai on
Friday promised to speed up recruitment of staff and enhance benefits
for them.
BENGALURU:
The increasing number of tigers in Karnataka's forests and the related
call for focus on meeting conservation challenges have woken up the
state government.
A day after TOI highlighted the shortage of forest guards and other frontline staff in tiger reserves, forest minister B Ramanath Rai on Friday promised to speed up recruitment
of staff and enhance benefits for them. He said of the 1300-odd
vacancies of staff, including forest guards and foresters, about 500
will be filled up this year and the rest by next year-end.
"The
recruitment wing is already conducting exams for various posts and
placements will be done soon. We're taking steps to fill posts of Range Forest Officers (110), Deputy Range Forest officers (113), forest guards (329) and forest watchers (282)," he added.
TOI had on January 22 highlighted how filling up of existing vacancies
and recruitment of additional staff were crucial to man the woods.
The forest minister also said he has taken steps to ensure that
frontline staff are not transferred for at least five years from a
forest division and they'll get special monthly allowance. "The rise in
number of tigers, from 209 in 2006 to 406 as per the recent census, is
mainly due to the conservation efforts of frontline staff. Habitat
improvement programmes, strict patrolling, anti-depredation camps in
sensitive zones and rapid response teams helped increase tiger numbers,"
he added.
Asked about steps to mitigate human-animal conflict,
the minister said rail-track fencing for forest borders, which has
started in Bandipur-Nagarhole-BRT tiger reserve, will be speeded up and
expanded as the government has sanctioned Rs 213 crore for it. "We'll
also take up awareness programmes and ensure disturbance in tiger
corridors is reduced," he added.
Kudremukh tiger reserve:
On the move to declare Kudremukh the sixth tiger reserve for the state, the minister said the state government
is yet to take a call on it. "The central government has given its
go-ahead for the project. But there's opposition from local population
who fear displacement and other issues. We'll take a call after
discussions with stakeholders," he added. Asked about hundreds of
families yet to vacate from protected areas, he said efforts are on to
convince them and in some reserves there have been good results.
Although India’s tiger count has taken a good leap in the
last four years, its population in North Bengal has dropped
drastically.
According to the 2014 tiger census report, the number of big cats in
the forests of North Bengal has dipped from 20 in 2010 to just three in
2014.
During the same period, the Sunderbans saw a rise in tiger population, from 70 to 76.
The report, ‘Status of Tiger in India 2014’, stated that the big cat
count jumped by 30% in the past four years. Interestingly, these figures
only reveal the number of tigers in the country’s reserves and not the
population that exists outside. “The 76 tigers that the census data states is the population in the
Sunderbans Tiger Reserve.
But there are tigers in South 24-Parganas
division, too. Latest pictures captured through the camera trap
technique show there are at least 106 tigers in the Sunderbans,
including those in South 24-Parganas division. Images of cubs in South
24-Parganas division show the population is healthy and rising,”
Biswajit Roy Chowdhury, a member of the state wildlife advisory board,
said.
Similarly, in North Bengal, there are tigers that reside outside the Buxa Tiger Reserve such as the Jaldapara National Park.
Chief wildlife warden Ujjwal Bhattacharya said, “The National Tiger
Conservation Authority counts tigers only in the reserves. The state has
to make its own arrangements to count tigers which live outside the
reserves.”
Wildlife enthusiasts raised an alarm over the declining tiger
population in Buxa Tiger Reserve (BTR). In 2012, the state forest
department stated there were 20 tigers in the reserve. It was based on a
report by Hyderabad-based Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology
which did a DNA analysis on the scat samples.
In October 2013, the NTCA pulled up BTR officials asking it to back their claims with photographic evidences.
While a section of the wildlife experts questioned the procedure
adopted for tiger count, others have said that the BTA figures are
bloated.
BAHRAICH: UP tigers are not only making their presence felt in populated areas like Lucknow and Kanpur, they are also crossing over to Nepal. Camera trappings have revealed that six tigers of Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary had crossed over to Nepal and made Royal Berdia
National Park their home. Alarmed over the 'loss', forest officials
have written to their Nepalese counterparts for security of these big
cats. Katarniaghat reserved forest area is known for its tiger population.
Bahraich's reserved forest area connects with 60-km-long reserved forest area of Nepal leading to the Royal Berdia National Park in Himalayan kingdom. Elephants, rhinos and other wild animal often cross over to Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary from Nepal through this forest corridor. Now, the movement of tigers too has come to light. The Indian Wildlife Institute, Dehradun,
officials detected the movement during a routine tallying of camera
trapping records of Nepal and believe that the six big cats crossed over
to Nepal through the forest corridor. In the 2010 tiger Census, 32
tigers were identified in Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary
and their pictures were recorded through thermo sensor cameras. However,
the numbers dwindled to 21 in 2012 Census and 24 in 2014.
As questions
about 'vanishing' tigers cropped up, experts of the Indian Wildlife
Institute sought records of camera trapping done in Nepal by joint
efforts of Nepal forest department and World Wildlife Fund (WWF). "A thorough study of records revealed startling facts. The pictures of six tigers captured in thermo-sensor cameras in Katarniaghat sanctuary in 2010 matched with records of Royal Berdia National Park," said WWF project officer DabeerHasan. "Although movement of tigers is common n forested areas, this is the first instance that Katarniaghat
tigers have reached Nepal," he said. "There is nothing to worry, a
letter has been sent to Nepal's forest officials to ensure safety of
Indian tigers," he added.
Hasan said that the 20-km region between Katarniaghat wildlife sanctuary and Royal Berdia
National park has dense forest cover. "This area is sensitive for
tigers. Indian tigers roaming in Nepal forest can return anytime. We
have already alerted residents of villages around the forest," he added.
Divisional forest officer (DFO) AshishTiwari confirmed that Katarniaghat tigers had crossed over to Royal Berdia park. "A tiger occupies a territory of 15 to 20kms.
Shifting of tigers is nothing new. However, we are in regular touch
with our Nepal counterparts for updates on safety of these big cats. " Hasan said that movement of Katarniaghat tigers has increased drastically in the last one to two years. "North Kheri and Berdia park forests are directly connected with Katarniaghat
corridor. Hence, we must conduct camera trapping on regular basis.
A
letter for the same has also been sent to the Union forest and
environment ministry," he added. Tigers had created scare after making rural pockets of Lucknow and Kanpur their haunt. They are yet to be captured.
Infant tigers used in “photo ops” subjected to physical abuse and extreme stress
Results from two undercover investigations
at roadside zoos revealed inhumane treatment of tiger cubs exploited
for photographic opportunities, indiscriminate breeding of tigers,
rampant trade in cubs for public handling and dumping of the cubs once
they were no longer profitable. The Humane Society of the United States
conducted the investigations at Tiger Safari in Oklahoma and Natural
Bridge Zoo in Virginia. These roadside zoos allow members of the public
to pet, feed, pose and play with baby tigers for a fee.
The investigations documented the very lucrative business of using
infant tigers for public photo shoots and other moneymaking events –
fees ranged from $50 to $1,000 per session. Video footage graphically
revealed the distress and abuse endured by the endangered animals used
for this practice. Tiger cubs were forcibly separated from their mothers
duringbirth and the first few months of their lives were
dictated exclusively by public handling schedules. Cubs who were tired,
overheated, thirsty, hungry or sick were required to sit still for a
parade of paying customers.
The investigations also provided a
snapshot of the unfettered breeding of big cats for the exploitation of
their cubs, the resulting surplus of adult big cats, and the animal
welfare and public safety implications when large cubs are discarded
after ceasing to be profitable.
Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of The HSUS said: “Our
investigations revealed never-before seen abuse, neglect, and the
overbreeding that goes on behind the scenes at these tiger cub handling
operations. We must put an end to this dangerous and cruel business.”
The HSUS documented:
Both facilities separated tiger cubs from their mothers during the birthing process for hand-rearing.
Tiger Safari and Natural Bridge Zoo began subjecting tiger cubs to
public handling when the infants were just three and four weeks of age
respectively.
Manhandling and physical discipline of cubs when they would not
cooperate for photo shoots. All 4 cubs at both zoos were punched and
slapped. At Tiger Safari, Maximus, a white tiger cub was dragged,
choked, tossed and suspended by his legs and tail.
Tiger cubs were mercilessly over handled, were frequently awakened
to be handled and often screamed in distress as they were passed around
for entertainment.
At Tiger Safari, a tiger cub named Sarabi was handled by 27 people
on the very day that she arrived at the facility, despite the fact that
she had just endured a 19-hour car ride from South Carolina, was only
three weeks old and had ringworm.
At both facilities, cubs were handled by dozens of people daily.
At Natural Bridge Zoo, two tiger cubs were deprived of formula, and
then only fed from a bottle fashioned with a slow-flow nipple, so they
could be more easily controlled during photo shoots. Meat was withheld
to ensure the cubs were kept hungry.
At Tiger Safari, one tiger cub’s diet was so insufficient that the
facility’s veterinarian expressed concern about improper development of
the infant’s leg bones. At one point, the cub was purposefully fed
inappropriately in the belief that it would make him more tractable
during photo sessions.
All cubs were denied regular, necessary meat additions to their diets.
During the course of the investigation, the cubs at Natural Bridge
Zoo were never seen by a veterinarian despite the fact that their fecal
samples tested positive for coccidia and giardia, and they suffered from
diarrhea and one had a suspected urinary tract infection.
The cubs at Tiger Safari both suffered from ringworm. One of the
cubs had this contagious zoonotic disease upon her arrival at the
facility, but she did not receive any treatment for it until more than a
month later, by which time hundreds of people had come into contact
with her.
At both facilities, juvenile tigers weighing 35-50 pounds continued
to be used for photo sessions, even though they could barely be lifted
and were very difficult to control.
Some discarded animals end up warehoused at poorly run roadside zoos
and pseudo-sanctuaries or in the hands of unqualified people with
private menageries. Others may fall victim to the illegal wildlife
trade.
During the span of the investigations, twelve tigers who
were born at both facilities were sent to T.I.G.E.R.S. (The Institute of
Greatly Endangered and Rare Species) in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
T.I.G.E.R.S. is a substandard facility that breeds, trades and exhibits
big cats and other exotic animals, and has built a large and very
profitable business by charging the public exorbitant prices for tours
and photos with young animals. When one of the investigators accompanied
the owner of Tiger Safari to T.I.G.E.R.S., she received a
behind-the-scenes tour where she witnessed dozens of adult tigers
crammed into cement horse stalls in a darkened barn.
Ron Kagan, executive director and CEO of the Detroit Zoological
Society said: "It appears that both operations are typical roadside zoos
with amateur, reckless and harsh captive conditions and treatment. The
physical discipline and examples of deprivation are clear as is the fact
that the public is being put at risk by coming into contact with an
animal capable of biting, clawing and spreading parasites."
The investigations provide clear evidence of why the U.S. Department
of Agriculture must explicitly prohibit public contact with big cats of
any age. This cycle of breeding, exploiting, then dumping baby animals
after a few months fuels the exotic pet trade, puts animals at risk,
endangers the public, and creates a burden for both law enforcement and
nonprofit sanctuaries.
The HSUS has filed legal complaints with the U.S. Department of
Agriculture for potential violations of the Animal Welfare Act at these
two facilities, and is urging the agency to finally act on a legal
petition filed in 2012 by HSUS attorneys on behalf of a coalition of
eight animal protection and conservation organizations (Docket No.
APHIS-2012-0107) to prohibit the public handling of these dangerous wild
animals.
Investigation report for Tiger Safari found here. Investigation report for Natural Bridge Zoo found here. B-roll footage is available here. Photos available upon request.
