Lions pressured by fodder shortage

Gujarat foresters are dealing with a new threat to the Gir wildlife Sanctuary. Scarcity of fodder on the periphery of the sanctuary is forcing politicians to pressure the forest department to permit Maldharis to bring their cattle inside the sanctuary for grazing.

Forest officials said that MLAs from the ruling party were trying to ensure that the Maldhari community around the sanctuary was allowed into Gir, Girnar, and Mitiyala sanctuaries. Sources said the pressure was constant.

This being an election year, officers are in a fix as members of the two main political parties want local inhabitants to illegally enter the area.

Bhagvan Bharwad, the MLA from Talala, said: “We will wait till Sunday and if there is no rain, we will make representations to the state government and even write to chief minister to permit grazing in the forest.” Bharwad said grass was not available and one could not let animal’s ir for want of food. “If the forest department or the state government refuses to give us permission, we will enter the forest without permission” he said. “Let them take action”.

A forest official said that in the recent past, a couple of attempts were made to enter the forest but guards prevented people from venturing deep into the sanctuary.

The sanctuary is closed for public for four months during monsoon, from June 15. Forest officials said that during this period the danger of lion attack was high. If Maldharis were permitted to enter the forest with cattle, risk to their lives would be immense.

Forest officials said that Maldharis were illegally allowing their cattle to graze in areas near the boundary of the sanctuary. “This is the park season for breeding for not just big cats, but even for the herbivores,” a forest official said. “The newborn of the herbivores learn to walk. At such a time, if cattle are permitted to graze in the sanctuary, they could be a nuisance to the newborn.

Birding in Bhutan

Bhutan is enormously rich in bird diversity. Of the 675 species recorded, 78% are resident and breeding, 7% are passage migrant, 8% are winter visitor, 6% are uncertain and 1% fall in the data deficient category; 27% show elevational migrations.

 Bhutan has two critically endangered (white-bellied heron Ardea insignis is white rumped vulture), one endangered, 12 vulnerable (black-necked crane Grus nigricollis, rufous-necked hornbill Aceros nipalensis, chestnut-breasted partridge Arborophila mandellii, Pallas’s fish eagle Haliaeetus leucoryphus, beautiful nuthatch Sitta Formosa, wood snipe Gallinago nemoricola, Blyth’s tragopan Tragopan blythii, greater spotted eagle Aquila clanga, Imperial eagle Aquila heliaca, Baer’s pochard Aythya baeri, Hodgson’s bushcat Saxicola insignis, dark-rumped swift Apus acuticauda, and grey-crowned prinia Prinia cinereocapilla), 11 near-threatened, and 11 restricted range bird species (Blyth’s tragopan Tragopan blythii, chestnut-breasted partridge Arborophila mandellii, dark-rumped swift Apus acuticauda, ward’s trogon Harpactes wardi, rufous-throated wren babbler Spelaeornis caudatus, hoary-throated barwing Actinodura nipalensis, brown-throated fulvetta Alcippe ludlowi, white-naped yuhina Yuhina bakeri, yellow-vented warbler Phylloscopus cantator, and broad-billed warbler Tickellia hodgsoni) as per IUCN 2003.

On a global scale, the country is recognized as forming a part of several globally important bird regions. It is a part of the Sino-Himalayan mountain forests, Indo-Burmese forests, Indo-Gangetic grasslands, South Asian arid habitats, and Tibetan plateau wetlands – all categorized as globally important bird regions by BirdLife International.’

For Birding Trips Contact:- 00-91-281-246523

500 Artificial Ponds to be filled for thirsty Lions

Junagadh district has received only 10 per cent of the rain it normally gets, forcing the forest department to put in place its contingency plan to ensure that lions’ thirst is quenched.

The forest department has to keep replenishing more than 500 artificial waterholes in the Gir National Park and its periphery. However, the department is worried because there are no such arrangements for lion zones in Amreli, Bhavnagar and coastal areas.

Foresters said that due to deficient rainfall this year, water levels in rivers, ponds, and wells are plunging. The Gir Forest National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary, also known as Sasan Gir, is the only abode of the Asiatic lions- their current population is 411. Other animals in the sanctuary include Leopards, Spotted Deer, Nilgais, Wild Boars, and thousands of bird species and various reptiles.

In the normal course, forest authorities stop filling the artificial waterholes in and around Gir by June 15 every year- unless it is required in summer. But nearly after a decade, the authorities are being forced to fill these ponds in August. The water holes are filled twice a day.

Chief Conservator of forests R.L. Meena said that the main worry is that the waterholes filled using wind and solar power will be rendered useless because the water level is falling drastically. The department may have to provide supply to these waterholes too. “A water tanker of the forest department is making eight to ten trips a day,” he said.

Senior officials said that with natural water getting exhausted, the forest department will have to get water from distant places. The department may have to call in more tankers to meet the demand. 

The water situation deteriorated when seven rivers – Hiran, Saraswati, Machhundri, Ghodavdi, and Raval- passing through the sanctuary started drying up.

Principal secretary S.K. Nanda had visited the sanctuary earlier this month to assess the situation.

Gujarat is India’s Lesser Florican Capital

Gujarat has the highest number of Lesser Floricans in the country. A recently published study of the Wildlife Institute of India reveals that Lesser Floricans in the northwestern region of the country were sighted only in Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh. And Gujarat recorded the most sightings, 54; in Rajasthan, 18 were sighted; and 12 in Madhya Pradesh.

During the study— carried out by G.S. Bhardwaj, K Sivakumar and Dr Y V Jhala —84 Lesser Floricans in all were sighted during the breeding season of 2010. However, the number was 65% lower than the figure reported in 1999.

The team surveyed 91 grasslands, which included the grasslands studied in 1999. Lesser Floricans were found in only 24 grasslands as against 37 in 1999.

Indeed, all is not well with the Lesser Florican population there has been a fall of about 62 per cent in sightings in Gujarat since 1999. That year, according to the report, there were 141 Lesser Floricans in Gujarat, 63 in Madhya Pradesh, and 34 in Rajasthan.

The population and habitat of Lesser Floricans in western India have been continuously declining at an alarming rate. The study states that most of the grasslands belonging to state forest departments in that part of the country were either pure grasslands or mosaic grasslands. The latter are saline patches. The study revealed that over 68 per cent of the birds were seen in the grasslands 35 per cent in pure grasslands and the rest in the mosaic grasslands.

Several grasslands have degraded due to grazing, or been planted with trees that make them unfit for Lesser Floricans.

Recommendations

Avoidance of tree plantation
It is important to have a National Policy on Grasslands Management in India. The practice of tree plantation by the forest department or by other agencies in grasslands should be avoided. Moreover, current practice of taking grasslands as source of only fodder for cattle needs to be reconsidered.

Inclusion of more Florican habitats in existing wildlife protected area network
Less than five protected areas exist exclusively for conservation of Floricans in north western India. Less than 5% of globally endangered Lesser Florican habitat is protected by Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. It is imperative that some grassland in Naliya region is included in the protected area network. Similarly, grasslands in Rajkot district as well as in Ratlam and Dhar districts of Madhya Pradesh should also be included.

Management of invasive species
Eradication of gando baval and other invading tree species from the selected grasslands in the north-western India should be taken up on a war footing.

Dangers that threaten to clip birds’ wings

Lack of national policy on grassland management in India
Due to inadequate grassland conservation policy, people assume grasslands as wastelands or pasture. These areas have been extensively planted with trees species including ‘gando baval’ (Prosopis Juliflora). Several grasslands in the regions have been converted into either woodlands or fields.

Invasive species
Invasion of gando baval was reported in several grasslands in the north western India. Apart from gando baval, several other tree species were also observed invading the grasslands largely due to grazing. Grazing of cattle expedites the spread of invasive species.

Rampant pollution
Lesser Florican is an omnivorous species. Foods of Florican include many types of invertebrates, and various plant parts along with grass hoppers, beetles, flying ants, hairy caterpillars, centipedes, worms, frogs, small lizards, crop shoots, leaves, herbs and berries. Insects form a large part of their diet. It shows that the Floricans prefer areas near the agriculture farm largely due to better availability of food. Intensive cultivation using rampant pesticides is a challenge to remaining population of Floricans.

Courtesy:- Times Of India