Poachers hit wildlife in Kaziranga area
19 September, 2009
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Poachers hit wildlife in Kaziranga area
Tiger found dead outside Kaziranga
Rhino hunted in black day for Assam reserve
Poachers gun down elephant near Kaziranga
Tiger found dead outside Kaziranga
TIMES OF INDIA
Naresh Mitra, TNN - 19 September 2009
GUWAHATI: A tiger was found dead outside the Kohra forest range of Kaziranga on Saturday, sparking suspicions of revenge killing by angry residents of adjoining villages. With this, the big cat death toll in the national park rose to three this year.
The carcass was spotted beyond the park boundary, near an upcoming resort in the Mohpara area. The tiger was aged between seven and eight and may have died around two days ago. Forest officials ruled out a poaching bid, for the corpse had not been mutilated and no organs were missing. "We found the ninth rib of the tiger broken and partially calcified. We are waiting for the report on the exact cause of death," said Kaziranga divisional forest officer D D Gogoi.
Over the past week, tigers have frequently lifted livestock from the villages outside Kaziranga, with a tiger killing a domestic pig in the park's Sildubi area on Saturday itself. This has given credence to the perception that the animal had died in a revenge attack.
Forest officials also hinted that it might have been killed by a rhino. In fact, a few days ago, a big cat had attacked a rhino calf in the Bagmari area of Kaziranga, they recalled. "Probably, the tiger suffered grievous injuries in the attack by a rhino while attempting to kill the calf. One of its ribs has been found broken. But until we get the post-mortem report, it is difficult to say how it really died," a forest official said.
Veterinarians from the Bokakhat-based Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC) conducted the post-mortem and collected samples from the carcass for further tests. "The preliminary findings indicate that the tiger might have died of infection following the fracture of the ninth rib on the right side. The infection also spread to the lungs and has showed the development of emphysema. Emphysema is a chronic respiratory disease caused by over-inflation of the air sacs (alveoli) in the lungs. It declines lung function and causes breathlessness," said CWRC veterinarian Phulmoni Gogoi, who conducted the post-mortem.
In all, 12 tigers have died in Kaziranga since November 2008 - something which has prompted the state government to start the process of setting up tiger foundations. The aim is to ensure foolproof protection for big cats. Though the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau did not find direct involvement of poachers in those tiger deaths, wildlife conservationists warned that it was only a matter of time tiger poaching becomes a serious issue like the hunting of rhinos.
Frequent cases of tigers straying out of the park area to prey on livestock has not only heightened their vulnerability as far as revenge killings are concerned, but have also
increased the risk of tiger poaching. Unlike rhinos, it is difficult for poachers to kill tigers inside Kaziranga as 65 per cent of the 430 sq km area is grassland. However, wildlife crime experts have said the big cats can easily be targeted when they stray out into human settlements.
Sources said tigers usually land up in poachers' hands once they stray into human habitation, particularly on the hundreds of big and small islands between Orang National Park on the northern bank and Kaziranga National Park on the southern bank of the Brahmaputra. Tigers killed outside the protected area hardly get noticed or recorded, and their bodies ultimately end up with illegal traders of wildlife parts, sources added.
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Rhino hunted in black day for Assam reserve
TIMES OF INDIA
Guwahati: A one-horned rhino was killed by poachers in Kaziranga on Saturday, making it a black day in the history of the park when it lost three members of three protected species in India.
The body of the rhino, with its horn chopped off, was found at Burapahar forest range. Forest officials said the rhino was shot in the evening near the range office. The poachers, in all likelihood, took the Burapahar-Karbi Anglong jungle route to escape. Principal chief conservator of forest (wildlife) Suresh Chand said: The death of three big mammals is indeed a bad day for Kaziranga. It is very unfortunate. We are taking some serious action. But right now, we cant disclose anything.
The chief conservator of forest, D M Singh, has rushed to Kaziranga. Top officials were said to be in a huddle, but there was no word on whether a drive against poachers was being planned or security was being beefed up across the forest ranges.
THE ONE-HORN PROBLEM *
* 4 rhinos have been killed by poachers in Kaziranga this year
* 11 attempts have been foiled by guards at the national park between January and August
* 4 hunters sneaked into the park in July to kill rhinos. But they didnt have a guide and were captured
* 2048 is the number of one-horned rhinos in Kaziranga at present
Poachers gun down elephant near Kaziranga
Naresh Mitra, TNN
19 September 2009, 11:17pm IST
GUWAHATI: Poachers have gunned down an elephant and chopped off its tusks and trunk in Assam's Karbi Anglong district on the southern banks of the Brahmaputra near the Kaziranga National Park.
Forest officials found the carcass of the jumbo, with the mark of a bullet wound on its head, on Saturday. According to sources, the elephant might have been killed about "two days ago". A machete, belonging to a particular tribal group, was found in the area that lies between Panbari Reserve Forest near Kaziranga and Dalamara forest range in Karbi Anglong. Incidentally, elephants often use Panbari as a corridor to move between Kaziranga and Karbi Anglong.
"The injury marks showed that a rifle was used to kill the jumbo. And, in all probability, the poachers used the machete to cut off its trunk. They have killed the elephant in a gruesome manner," said Garga Mohan Das, project officer of WWF-India's Kaziranga-Karbi Anglong Landscape Conservation Programme.
"This is very very worrying. We fear that the gang of poachers, who killed the elephant, might also target jumbos in Panbari and its adjoining areas," he added.
Honourary wildlife warden (Golaghat) Arup Goswami said it would be very difficult to save the elephants, rhinos and tigers in the area if the government does not construct a foolproof security network.
"Most of the animals are killed in transit between Kaziranga and Karbi Anglong.We aren't worried about the security of animals living in the protected areas like Kaziranga. Our concern is what happens to them once they go out of such areas. In fact, the poachers lie in wait for animals moving out of Kaziranga," he added.
Though elephants are frequently injured during conflicts with human beings in Golaghat and adjoining Karbi Anglong, forest officials said poaching of jumbos is a rare incidence. The last time an elephant was killed by poachers in the Kaziranga-Karbi Anglong landscape was around two years ago.
In fact, Golaghat and the adjoining areas of Karbi Anglong have emerged as one of the most intense man-elephant conflict zones. People often use firearms to chase away herds of wild pachyderms, increasing the risk of them succumbing to bullet wounds.
Till recent years, elephants used to pass through the Panbari Reserve Forest in Golaghat to Karbi Anglong and Nagaland without any disturbance. But the situation is no more the same. The entire route, which traditionally covered areas like Panjir Pahar, Kakokchang, Deothar, and up to Nambor-Garampani and Lengrapahar, is in a shambles owing to endless encroachment and relentless deforestation.
In last five years, the Panbari Reserve Forest has seen stone excavation and tree-felling at a hectic pace.
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