08 February 2012
Tiger poaching dropped nearly 60 percent in 2011 as compared to the previous year, though it continues to pose a major threat to the survival of the big cat in the country, a leading NGO said.
According to the Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI), 13 tigers were hunted last year as compared to 30 in 2010 - a decline of 57 percent. The bodies of poached tigers, seized bones and skins were computed to arrive at the figures. Click on date for more details
Recent Projects
Bhadra- Kudremukh Landscape
Local communities are important stakeholders in wildlife conservation. They hold vital information about state of forest resources but human activities can pose threats to conservation. As population densities of these communities living in or around the forest areas continue to increase, livelihood activities such as grazing and resource extraction pose threats to these fragile ecosystems. Hence, there is an urgent need to support and promote advocacy and public awareness for tiger conservation in and around Bhadra and Kudremukh regions in Karnataka. Local communities require education and support to become informed caretakers of these parks, so that they can complement forest officials and local conservationist’s efforts to strengthen tiger conservation initiatives in Karnataka.
The Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary is located in the biologically diverse Western Ghat region. The sanctuary supports a rapidly increasing tiger population and was notified as the 25th Project Tiger Reserve of India in 1998. The sanctuary with an area of about 500 sq.km falls within the Global Tiger Conservation Priority Unit, TCU-55 (Wikramanayakeet.al1998) identified by Wildlife Conservation Society(WCS)-WWF on prioritizing areas for tiger conservation globally. Bhadra wildlife sanctuary is also potentially superior to other better known tiger habitats in Karnataka state and has many ecological features that make it a priority area for conservation.
Kudremukh National Park is also situated in the Western Ghats region covering an area of about 600 Sq. km. The landscape is covered in wet ever-green, semi-evergreen, moist deciduous forests and grassland- shoal habitat at the highest elevations. Kudremukh National Park also comes under the Global Tiger Conservation Priority-I,in TCU-555.
During the past year, D. V.Girish along with his team of field assistants have made over 60 field visits to 85 villages and interacted with local communities and authorities. Through their tireless and committed work, the team was able to highlight and solve many problems related to illegal hunting, infrastructure projects, and other human impacts such as logging. They also worked to promote suppression of forest fires, decreasing road kills along the highways that pass through the sanctuary and newly developing tourism pressures. Through continuous interactions with local people and officials, the team was able to garner local support for conservation.
This effort resulted in the locals helping the team to report poaching incidents, stop unplanned tourism and infrastructure projects (such as building of unnecessary roads, water tanks and civil structures) inside the reserve.
The team also effectively collaborated with and motivated the local forest department staff at all levels and educated them about effective monitoring, prevention and control of hunting, logging and forest fires. Their continuous and effective monitoring helped the forest officials in curbing poaching and other illegal activities within the forest areas substantially. The effectiveness and success of these activities on conservation is now being reflected in increasing animal densities as revealed by recent research data from CWS and WCS India scientists.
Bhadra Tiger Reserve – Field Research Station
The Bhadra Tiger Reserve lies within the Karnataka part of the Western Ghats, part of the Malenad-Mysore Tiger Landscape (MMTL). It is one of a network of fourteen protected wildlife reserves within a matrix of interconnected reserve forests. These reserves are under severe threat from illegal hunting and logging and excessive livestock grazing. Developmental activities such as dams and mines pose serious long-term threats of habitat fragmentation and increased exploitation of tiger habitat.
One of the most critical needs in the MMTL is to carry out biological monitoring of tiger and prey populations and evaluate the efficacy of conservation interventions. To this end GTP has helped equip the Bhadra Field Research Station. The Field Station provides basic accommodation and resources for researchers to undertake the following activities:
1. Conservation Education
The success of tiger conservation lies in increasing public support for the effective enforcement of wildlife protection laws and enhancing the awareness of tiger conservation values in the local communities around the project sites through conservation education program. The activities include conducting slide talks, field nature camp and public contact campaigns. Mainly youth, students and teachers are targeted under this program to make them aware of tiger conservation needs, protection of forest and wildlife, and also to spread the awareness. The enthusiastic participation of local community and our continuous efforts will result in increased public support for tiger conservation.
2. Capacity building
One of the main goals is to build local capacity to save tigers. This is carried out through training of wildlife biologists, park management personnel, and volunteers The researchers are trained in population estimation and sampling methods, mapping and monitoring and distribution of species of interest.
3. Biological Monitoring
Biological monitoring activities are integral to tiger conservation. Camera trap surveys and line transect surveys are being conducted annually to monitor tiger and prey populations. These help reveal population trends and the efficacy of conservation interventions for evaluation.
The Sunderbans
Where the land meets the sea at the southern tip of West Bengal lies the Indian Sunderbans; a vast area forming the largest Tiger Reserve and National Park in India.
In addition to climate change, the Sundarbans tigers, like other tiger populations around the world, already face tremendous threats from poaching and habitat loss. The fertile soils of the delta have been subject to intensive human use for centuries, and the region has been mostly converted to intensive agriculture, with few enclaves of forest remaining.
As a result, Tiger ranges have decreased by 40 percent over the past decade, and tigers today occupy less than seven percent of their original range.
In 2002 a census put the number of tigers at 274; in 2006 the number had fallen to only 75.
Global Tiger Patrol has supported tiger conservation in the Sunderbans for many years notably providing and helping maintain a patrol boat to support and monitor conservation activities.
Sadly in May 2009 villages in the area in which we work were destroyed by the little publicised Cyclone Alia. GTP responded with an immediate tranche of funds and set up an appeal to help those villages helping our work. Among the pictures is our patrol boat delivering fresh water.
Tadoba
Tadoba, in Chandrapur District, Maharashtra, India. was declared a National Park in 1955. It is one of India's 28 Project Tiger Reserves. The National Park is 623 km² in area, and in addition to tigers is a home for rare Indian wildlife such as Leopards, Sloth Bears, Gaur, Nilgai, Wild Dogs, Hyenas, Civet and Jungle cats, and three species of Indian deer - Sambar, Cheetal and Barking Deer. The Tadoba lake sustains the Marsh Crocodile, which were once common all over Maharashtra.
GTP has been pleased to support “Hands for Life” a UK based charity who every year send a team of British volunteers comprising of specialist surgeons, nurses and physiotherapists to the Tadoba area. Originally they worked among a Leprosy community but the workload has now expanded to include operations for children with congenital deformities of the hand such as webbed fingers, and patients with other afflictions involving the hand such as burn contractures, snake bites etc. In 2009, the portfolio was expanded to include cleft lip and palate surgery.
The surgical camp is held in November every year, usually lasts for a week and on an average 40 patients undergo surgical corrections. An environmental protection education programme is a feature of the camp with films and talks for those attending.
Local communities are important stakeholders in wildlife conservation. They hold vital information about state of forest resources but human activities can pose threats to conservation. As population densities of these communities living in or around the forest areas continue to increase, livelihood activities such as grazing and resource extraction pose threats to these fragile ecosystems. Hence, there is an urgent need to support and promote advocacy and public awareness for tiger conservation in and around Bhadra and Kudremukh regions in Karnataka. Local communities require education and support to become informed caretakers of these parks, so that they can complement forest officials and local conservationist’s efforts to strengthen tiger conservation initiatives in Karnataka.
The Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary is located in the biologically diverse Western Ghat region. The sanctuary supports a rapidly increasing tiger population and was notified as the 25th Project Tiger Reserve of India in 1998. The sanctuary with an area of about 500 sq.km falls within the Global Tiger Conservation Priority Unit, TCU-55 (Wikramanayakeet.al1998) identified by Wildlife Conservation Society(WCS)-WWF on prioritizing areas for tiger conservation globally. Bhadra wildlife sanctuary is also potentially superior to other better known tiger habitats in Karnataka state and has many ecological features that make it a priority area for conservation.
Kudremukh National Park is also situated in the Western Ghats region covering an area of about 600 Sq. km. The landscape is covered in wet ever-green, semi-evergreen, moist deciduous forests and grassland- shoal habitat at the highest elevations. Kudremukh National Park also comes under the Global Tiger Conservation Priority-I,in TCU-555.
During the past year, D. V.Girish along with his team of field assistants have made over 60 field visits to 85 villages and interacted with local communities and authorities. Through their tireless and committed work, the team was able to highlight and solve many problems related to illegal hunting, infrastructure projects, and other human impacts such as logging. They also worked to promote suppression of forest fires, decreasing road kills along the highways that pass through the sanctuary and newly developing tourism pressures. Through continuous interactions with local people and officials, the team was able to garner local support for conservation.
This effort resulted in the locals helping the team to report poaching incidents, stop unplanned tourism and infrastructure projects (such as building of unnecessary roads, water tanks and civil structures) inside the reserve.
The team also effectively collaborated with and motivated the local forest department staff at all levels and educated them about effective monitoring, prevention and control of hunting, logging and forest fires. Their continuous and effective monitoring helped the forest officials in curbing poaching and other illegal activities within the forest areas substantially. The effectiveness and success of these activities on conservation is now being reflected in increasing animal densities as revealed by recent research data from CWS and WCS India scientists.
Bhadra Tiger Reserve – Field Research Station
The Bhadra Tiger Reserve lies within the Karnataka part of the Western Ghats, part of the Malenad-Mysore Tiger Landscape (MMTL). It is one of a network of fourteen protected wildlife reserves within a matrix of interconnected reserve forests. These reserves are under severe threat from illegal hunting and logging and excessive livestock grazing. Developmental activities such as dams and mines pose serious long-term threats of habitat fragmentation and increased exploitation of tiger habitat.
One of the most critical needs in the MMTL is to carry out biological monitoring of tiger and prey populations and evaluate the efficacy of conservation interventions. To this end GTP has helped equip the Bhadra Field Research Station. The Field Station provides basic accommodation and resources for researchers to undertake the following activities:
1. Conservation Education
The success of tiger conservation lies in increasing public support for the effective enforcement of wildlife protection laws and enhancing the awareness of tiger conservation values in the local communities around the project sites through conservation education program. The activities include conducting slide talks, field nature camp and public contact campaigns. Mainly youth, students and teachers are targeted under this program to make them aware of tiger conservation needs, protection of forest and wildlife, and also to spread the awareness. The enthusiastic participation of local community and our continuous efforts will result in increased public support for tiger conservation.
2. Capacity building
One of the main goals is to build local capacity to save tigers. This is carried out through training of wildlife biologists, park management personnel, and volunteers The researchers are trained in population estimation and sampling methods, mapping and monitoring and distribution of species of interest.
3. Biological Monitoring
Biological monitoring activities are integral to tiger conservation. Camera trap surveys and line transect surveys are being conducted annually to monitor tiger and prey populations. These help reveal population trends and the efficacy of conservation interventions for evaluation.
The Sunderbans
Where the land meets the sea at the southern tip of West Bengal lies the Indian Sunderbans; a vast area forming the largest Tiger Reserve and National Park in India.
In addition to climate change, the Sundarbans tigers, like other tiger populations around the world, already face tremendous threats from poaching and habitat loss. The fertile soils of the delta have been subject to intensive human use for centuries, and the region has been mostly converted to intensive agriculture, with few enclaves of forest remaining.
As a result, Tiger ranges have decreased by 40 percent over the past decade, and tigers today occupy less than seven percent of their original range.
In 2002 a census put the number of tigers at 274; in 2006 the number had fallen to only 75.
Global Tiger Patrol has supported tiger conservation in the Sunderbans for many years notably providing and helping maintain a patrol boat to support and monitor conservation activities.
Sadly in May 2009 villages in the area in which we work were destroyed by the little publicised Cyclone Alia. GTP responded with an immediate tranche of funds and set up an appeal to help those villages helping our work. Among the pictures is our patrol boat delivering fresh water.
Tadoba
Tadoba, in Chandrapur District, Maharashtra, India. was declared a National Park in 1955. It is one of India's 28 Project Tiger Reserves. The National Park is 623 km² in area, and in addition to tigers is a home for rare Indian wildlife such as Leopards, Sloth Bears, Gaur, Nilgai, Wild Dogs, Hyenas, Civet and Jungle cats, and three species of Indian deer - Sambar, Cheetal and Barking Deer. The Tadoba lake sustains the Marsh Crocodile, which were once common all over Maharashtra.
GTP has been pleased to support “Hands for Life” a UK based charity who every year send a team of British volunteers comprising of specialist surgeons, nurses and physiotherapists to the Tadoba area. Originally they worked among a Leprosy community but the workload has now expanded to include operations for children with congenital deformities of the hand such as webbed fingers, and patients with other afflictions involving the hand such as burn contractures, snake bites etc. In 2009, the portfolio was expanded to include cleft lip and palate surgery.
The surgical camp is held in November every year, usually lasts for a week and on an average 40 patients undergo surgical corrections. An environmental protection education programme is a feature of the camp with films and talks for those attending.
