Tourist hub Goa gets a new attraction – tigers
Chetan Chauhan New Delhi, April 27, 2013
Goa, synonymous with sun, sea and surf, may soon have a new attraction — tigers
For the first time, cameras put up by the Wildlife Conservation
Society (WCS) caught a big cat strolling in the state’s Mhadei sanctuary
last week. And then on Thursday, a tigress and two cubs were
photographed.
The findings give hope that the state government will now declare the sanctuary, located in the ecologically-rich Western Ghats, a tiger reserve.
Such a proposal was made two years ago, when then environment minister Jairam Ramesh asked the Goa government to declare 500sqkm of the Mhadei region a tiger reserve after initial indications of the presence of tigers.
But the state government was reluctant, apparently due to opposition from the strong mining lobby. The Mhadei region — half of which has been damaged by mining — has rich ore reserves and notifying it as a tiger reserve would have meant no mining.
Officially, the government said there wasn't enough evidence of Mhadei being home to tigers on a permanent basis.
That doesn't seem to be the case anymore.
The camera traps were installed a few months ago, after reports of pugmarks and scat (tiger droppings). The main objective was not only to see if the area had any big cats but also to find out if they were just travelling in search for food after crossing over from neighbouring Karnataka and Maharashtra.
On Friday, Goa's chief wildlife warden, Richard D'Souza, said: "There are tigers in an area of around 200sqkm." Evidence with the state forest department suggests there are at least half a dozen tigers in Goa.
The pictures will now be matched with the WCS database to find out if these tigers are unique to Goa - the animals can be identified by their stripes. Once the WCS report is in, the forest department plans to push the notification of declaring the region a tiger reserve.
And if that happens, the department will get additional funds from the National Tiger Conservation Authority for protection and conservation of the endangered species.
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This tiger was caught on camera in Mhadei sanctuary last week. Goa Forest Department
The findings give hope that the state government will now declare the sanctuary, located in the ecologically-rich Western Ghats, a tiger reserve.
Such a proposal was made two years ago, when then environment minister Jairam Ramesh asked the Goa government to declare 500sqkm of the Mhadei region a tiger reserve after initial indications of the presence of tigers.
But the state government was reluctant, apparently due to opposition from the strong mining lobby. The Mhadei region — half of which has been damaged by mining — has rich ore reserves and notifying it as a tiger reserve would have meant no mining.
Officially, the government said there wasn't enough evidence of Mhadei being home to tigers on a permanent basis.
That doesn't seem to be the case anymore.
The camera traps were installed a few months ago, after reports of pugmarks and scat (tiger droppings). The main objective was not only to see if the area had any big cats but also to find out if they were just travelling in search for food after crossing over from neighbouring Karnataka and Maharashtra.
On Friday, Goa's chief wildlife warden, Richard D'Souza, said: "There are tigers in an area of around 200sqkm." Evidence with the state forest department suggests there are at least half a dozen tigers in Goa.
The pictures will now be matched with the WCS database to find out if these tigers are unique to Goa - the animals can be identified by their stripes. Once the WCS report is in, the forest department plans to push the notification of declaring the region a tiger reserve.
And if that happens, the department will get additional funds from the National Tiger Conservation Authority for protection and conservation of the endangered species.
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Tigress confirmed as native of Mhadei
PANAJI:
The forest department notched another conclusive find on the big cat's
trail after an expert ruled that the tigress captured on camera recently
in the Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary is a native of the state.
Photographic evidence gathered using the camera trap technology at the site of a wild boar kill on April 18, and a few days later was dispatched to noted scientist Kota Ullas Karanth for comparison.
The conservation zoologist informed the Goa government that the photos of the tigress did not match with any of the 600 tigers in his database.
The differences in stripe patterns has set apart the tigress from the other big cats of Karnataka and other states in the Western Ghats.
Principal chief conservator of forests Richard D'Souza told TOI, "As the stripes of the tigress found in Goa do not match those of tigers from other states this is indeed a tigress from the forests of Mhadei."
This more corroborative camera trap-evidence along with the earlier circumstantial findings like scats in various parts of the state is expected to swing the tide in favour of a tiger reserve proposal in Mhadei's protected area. But the proposal may have to wait for the completion of the four-year study by Karanth.
Paresh Porob, range forest officer at the Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary, had selected camera-trap points on cues such as presence of earlier tiger scats, scrapes, scent deposits, tracks and intersections of trails.
Reacting to the photographic evidence, Prerna Bindra, member of the National Wildlife Board of India, told TOI, "Goa is known for the presence of tigers since it is part of the Western Ghats forests. Besides the tigress captured on camera, the movement of another tigress with two cubs has been revealed through pugmarks and sightings by locals. I will request the state as well as central governments to take needful steps for the protection of the big cat in the area."
Bittu Sahgal, initiator of Kids for Tigers told TOI from Mumbai, "As the presence of the tiger in Goa has been confirmed scientifically the government has to do something about it. The presence of a tigress in Goa is the real pride of the state's beautiful jungles."
Photographic evidence gathered using the camera trap technology at the site of a wild boar kill on April 18, and a few days later was dispatched to noted scientist Kota Ullas Karanth for comparison.
The conservation zoologist informed the Goa government that the photos of the tigress did not match with any of the 600 tigers in his database.
The differences in stripe patterns has set apart the tigress from the other big cats of Karnataka and other states in the Western Ghats.
Principal chief conservator of forests Richard D'Souza told TOI, "As the stripes of the tigress found in Goa do not match those of tigers from other states this is indeed a tigress from the forests of Mhadei."
This more corroborative camera trap-evidence along with the earlier circumstantial findings like scats in various parts of the state is expected to swing the tide in favour of a tiger reserve proposal in Mhadei's protected area. But the proposal may have to wait for the completion of the four-year study by Karanth.
Paresh Porob, range forest officer at the Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary, had selected camera-trap points on cues such as presence of earlier tiger scats, scrapes, scent deposits, tracks and intersections of trails.
Reacting to the photographic evidence, Prerna Bindra, member of the National Wildlife Board of India, told TOI, "Goa is known for the presence of tigers since it is part of the Western Ghats forests. Besides the tigress captured on camera, the movement of another tigress with two cubs has been revealed through pugmarks and sightings by locals. I will request the state as well as central governments to take needful steps for the protection of the big cat in the area."
Bittu Sahgal, initiator of Kids for Tigers told TOI from Mumbai, "As the presence of the tiger in Goa has been confirmed scientifically the government has to do something about it. The presence of a tigress in Goa is the real pride of the state's beautiful jungles."
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