Elephant census begins at Jim Corbett National Park

     Corbett National Park (Uttaranchal): Forest officials of world famous Jim Corbett Park in Uttaranchal have begun a three-day census of Asiatic elephants. The beautiful park, situated in the Himalayan foothills, is famous for its wild population of tigers, leopards and elephants. The Corbett National Park is known to be the best place in northern India to observe the magnificent Asian elephants at a fairly close range. Around 300 to 350 Asiatic elephants roam the open forests of the park in herds. The census takes place every two years and is based on the simple method of direct sighting. Over 450 park employees are engaged in this census. So as to ensure that a precise count of the elephants is recorded, the employees are divided in to different units of three people, each unit covering different parts of the park's premises. "No area has been left out. The areas are allotted so that they can be covered within three hours. We have 14 teams and all the areas are covered. Since elephants are seen in groups, there are very few chances of them being left out," said D. S. Rawat, park warden. The teams move out early in the morning for the sighting of the elephants and keep a track of them. This being the old method of census, it does not give the exact figures but only an approximate of the actual number of elephants and is not reliable. In the last census a total of 650 elephants were recorded. The park authorities found that in 2000 several male elephants were killed for their tusk. Due to loss of corridors and habitat, the elephants in India at present have scattered in more than 15 states and their estimated population stands anywhere between 17,000 and 22,000, both in the wild and domesticated. The Asian elephant is an endangered species. It is relentlessly poached for ivory and elephants have almost vanished from China and Southwest Asia. India is among the few Asian countries that boast of a large elephant population.
-May 20, 2005

Kolkata wildlife officials seize dead sharks, arrest fishermen (Go To Top)

     Kolkata: Indian wildlife authorities have seized the remains of 41 endangered sharks caught in the Bay of Bengal that were destined to be served as delicacies in restaurants here, officials said. The sharks, weighing six to 120 kg, were seized from a swampy island off the coast of the Sunderbans mangrove forest in West Bengal, of which Kolkata is the capital. The species recovered in the raid were whale sharks, tiger sharks and arrow-head hammer head sharks. Authorities have arrested 14 men in the raid. "We found that the persons, 14 persons were all together in the boat and they were transporting 41 sharks which were lying dead at the bottom of the boat. All the sharks belong to tiger shark, Ganges shark," said Subhendu Banerjee, a divisional forest officer, who led the raid. "All the species come under the schedule 1 of the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972. All the animals are endangered, trade and commerce or keeping these sharks are an offence under this act," he added. Chinese food outlets in Kolkata have dishes prepared from shark meat or fins on their menu, but their owners claim the sharks they serve are not endangered. The Sunderbans, renowned as one of the world's largest natural habitats of the Bengal tiger, is also home to hundreds of salt water crocodiles and rare river dolphins. A person convicted of killing protected animals, including sharks, can be jailed for up to seven years or fined up to 25,000 rupees, or both. India has also been facing flak from international conservation groups for failing to protect its endangered population of tigers from poachers, forcing the government to set up a special task force to focus on tiger preservation.
-May 20, 2005

Elephant poachers strike in Uttaranchal's Lansdowne End (Go To Top)

     Lansdowne (Uttaranchal): Poachers have struck once again and killed an elephant in the Lansdowne Forest Range of India's northern Uttaranchal state, officials said on Friday. Forest guards discovered the body while on a routine patrol of the area. Officials believe the poachers must have fled under the cover of darkness after leaving the pachyderm's dismembered body. The head and tusks had been removed. The incident has created a flutter in the forest department. "We have declared a red alert in the region," Ramesh Chandra, chief wildlife warden of Uttaranchal, said. "All the staff has been mobilized and teams have begun combing the forests. We have contacted the forest officials of all districts bordering our range and their staff has been asked to coordinate with our staff. Local people also have been appealed to provide any information in the case," he added. Chandra said they have intensified patrolling after several attempts of poaching came to light recently. This time the poachers walked away successfully. Frequent poaching has led to a decrease in the number of elephants in India, which has more than 50 percent of the world's Asiatic elephant population. There has been an increase in demand of the Asiatic tusker due to the sharp drop in elephant poaching in Africa. A recent survey estimated that there were 25,000 to 28,000 elephants in India, including only 1,500 male tuskers of breeding age. Although trafficking of wildlife products is banned in India, poaching of animals for their skin, bones and body parts, continues. Environmentalists say the Indian government is not doing enough to protect its wildlife.
-May 13, 2005

Is Punjab turning into a drug peddlers haven? (Go To Top)

     Abohar: One of India's most flourishing states, Punjab, appears to be spiralling towards becoming a haven for drug peddlers and smugglers. If official statistics are to be believed, neighbouring Rajasthan is emerging as the main conduit for drug smuggling. Most of the drugs are said to be ferried to Punjab through lorries. Recently, the police arrested a truck driver after he was caught smuggling 30 kg of opium through Rajasthan. Though banned, poppy and opium are openly sold in Rajasthan. Police sources say that the traffickers mostly hide their consignment of banned contraband in trucks loaded with onions to reduce its scent. "These trucks were filled with opium. This opium was hidden in within these gunny bags of onion so that the strong smell of onions mingles with the smell of opium.This smuggling has been going on for the past two years from the states of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. Sometime back, we had caught a truck in which they had made special cabins to hide bags full of opium. We have now started conducting a thorough checking at the checkposts. From time to time, we get sniffer dogs and also conduct surprise checks. We have seized quite a lot of drugs, over time and this time it was a very big achievement." said Narendra Pal Singh, DCP, Punjab Police. He also said that, Amarjit Singh, the accused was bringing the opium from Madhya Pradesh. During the checking of the trucks, the police found around 30 kgs. of opium in a truck loaded with onions. This opium was being brought from Madhya Pradesh and was to be delivered in Nakodar area. Pal said there is an entire network of drug traffickers who operate in Punjab-Rajasthan border despite vigilant checking. The driver himself had been supplying opium for quite sometime. At an annual turnover of around 500 billion dollars, drug trafficking is the third largest business in the world, next only to petroleum and arms trade.
-May 6, 2005

Ooty flower show to attract more than two lakh tourists (Go To Top)

     Coimbatore: Ooty, one of the most sought after tourist spot of India, is getting ready for the much-awaited two- day long, 109th Flower Show, which is expected to attract at least two lakh tourists. "The tourists are coming from all over the world. During the two day Flower show almost two lakh people will visit this garden The main attraction of the garden is its lawn. This lawn with a different topography of 2400 meters and 2500 meters, looks like a velvet carpet, which cannot be seen anywhere in the country," said Devraj. The Ooty Government Botanical Garden is one of the oldest gardens in India. Laid down in 1847, it is the most beautiful jewel in the crown of the "queen of hill stations". Over 650 species of plants are in the garden, besides the fossil of the tree trunk believed to be 20 million years old is also preserved here. The garden spread over 22 hectares has lush green lawns, six sections comprising wide varieties of the tree species, Fern, fashioned beds, Italian formal garden, flowering plants, house ferns, orchids and nurseries. This year, during the 109th show, flowers of different varieties, from different parts of the world will be displayed. Most of the plants are from the USA, Germany, France, England and many other countries. Preparations are being done for the flower show, which is scheduled for the month of May. "Now for this flower show we are making all preparatory arrangements which will be completed in the next 15 days," said Devraj.
-May 1, 2005