Caracal trapped in gando baval (Prosopis juliflora) rescued

The forest department rescued a female carcal (a wild cat known for its reclusive behavior) that had got trapped in gando baval weeds ( Prosopis juliflora ) in Jatavira Village of Nakhatrana taluka in Kutch district ( Gujarat, India ) on November 23. This is perhaps the first instance of a caracal being rescued after it got struck in wild weed.

Caracals usually venture out of their lair at night. There are around 50 of them in the state and are found only in Kutch. One of these wild cats was last spotted by the officers of the Gujarat forest department in 2006. The conservator of Forests D.K. Sharma said that the rescued caracal was female and around three years of age.

When the rescued animal was found on November 25^th had injuries on its front left feet. “ On getting information about it, officials rushed to the spot. After clearing the bushes, the caracal was brought to Nakhatrana ( Kutch, Gujarat, India ) for veterinary care. The services of two expert veterinary doctors were taken to cure the animal,” said Sharma. He further said that the animal had got stuck in thick thorny dry bushes while trying to capture a prey.

Deputy Conservator of Forests Pravinshinh Vihol said that the species is considered rare in India. It has also been listed in annexure – 1 of the CITES (‘Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora’, also known as the Washington Convention) and is also a schedule - ` animal under the Wildlife Protect Act.

According to Dr. Naveen Pandey, veterinarian f the Corbett Foundation who treated the rescued animal, said the paw of the caracals’ lift forelimb, had mild abrasion between the second and third fingers of the toe.

Courtesy: - Times of India

Lioness Laxmi’s lucky five in Zoo

Three Year Old Mother in Gir (Junagadh, Gujarat, India) has Given birth to a Record litter, all the cubs are healthy 

Five seems to be the lucky number for Laxmi. This three year old lioness in Gir (Junagadh, Gujarat, India) has given birth to a litter of five. Interestingly, Laxmi herself was one of a litter of five born to lioness named Shyama.

At her age, Laxmi should usually be learning the tricks of hunting, but she is already a mother and playing the role with tremendous ease. She is taking good care of the cubs and is protecting them from all kinds of threats of jungle life.

On May 17, 2013, Laxmi gave birth to five cubs in Gir Interpretation Zone at Devaliya (Sasan Gir, Junagadh, Gujarat, India). The cubs are now 75 days old and weigh between 3.5 and 4 kg. The cubs have begun to supplement the mother’s milk with meat as they have already developed teeth. “This is a remarkable feat as normally a lioness gives birth to 2 to 3 cubs and it is rather rare for all the cubs to survive. Laxmi deserves praise for her mothering skills well proved by the thriving brood,” said a forest officer.

Gujarat’s chief wildlife warden C.N. Pandey said, “Laxmi has inherited good genes. She was born on May 3, 2010, at Sakarbaug Zoo, Junagadh (Gujarat, India) to lion Daksh and lioness Shyama. However, her mother Shyama could raise only three of them. The rest died in their infancy. Laxmi has been able to achieve a record”.

“A lioness can feed only four cubs at a time. But Laxmi has been able to work around this biological limitation. 

This example illustrate that Asiatic lions are genetically strong and competent,” said Pandey. “The forest department continues to play a leading role in biodiversity conservation through dedicated management and support to nature with skill care. It is crucial that each and every individual of an endangered species is protected with proper skills and capability”.

“Birth to five cubs in a litter is extremely rare,” an official of the department said.

“We were not sure if Laxmi would be able to raise all five cubs. But she was to make a record in the known history of Asiatic Lion management. Laxmi, supported by the forest department staff, she has been able to ensure that all of her survive,” the official said.

Courtesy:- Times of India

Translocation animals outside home turf is high risk :- IUCN

New Guidelines May Hinder MP’s Lion Shifting Plan

The latest guidelines of the International Conservation of Nature (IUCN) on translocation of wildlife could prove to be a major roadblock for Madhya Pradesh’s lion dreams. The world’s oldest and most trusted global environment organization says shifting animals outside their indigenous range “is high risk”.

The guidelines, issued on July 12, warn, “There is a high risk of failure if the species originate from environments markedly different to the destination area. The risk is accentuated by the fact that the animals may be poorly adapted to the destination area”.

Gujarat has resisted Madhya Pradesh’s demand for Gir Lions for the past decade. The Supreme Court (Indian) had ordered translocation of lions to the Kuno Palpur sanctuary in its Aril 12 order after which Gujarat has filed a review petition.

Under the guidelines, shifting lions out of Gujarat would be classified as ‘assisted colonization where the species translocated is outside the indigenous range. The guidelines specify, “Translocations of organisms outside of their indigenous range are considered to be especially high risk given the numerous examples of species released outside their indigenous ranges subsequently becoming invasive, often with massively adverse impacts.”

IUCN cautions that suck translocation should be taken up only in cases where the risk is low and that the idea should be abandoned if there is any doubt. “If extinction of the species in the proposed destination area occurred long ago, or if conservation introductions are being considered for the first time, local communities may not develop a contact with a new species new to them, and hence may oppose the move. In such cases, special effort to counter such attitudes should be made well in advance of any release,” the guidelines said.

TOI has regularly reported on how both licensed and unlicensed guns are commonplace in villages around Kuno with the government making no effort to sensitize the people about lion translocation. Besides, in the early 1900s, African lions had been introduced here but the local populace had hunted them out of existence within a year.

The new guidelines say, “Multiple parties involved in most translocations have their own mandates, priorities and agendas, unless these are aligned through effective facilitation and leadership, unproductive conflict may fatally undermine translocation implementation or success.”   

Courtesy:- Times Of India 

For Saurashtrians(Gujarat, India), “lions are like kin”

The people of Saurashtra(Gujarat, India) take care of lions as they would of their family members. If they spot a lion in the vicinity of their village, they take pride in the fact and protect it. These statements were made by the government in the assembly for the first time.

Minister of state for forests and environment Govind Patel – in response to a question from Nikol MLA Jagdish Panchal – informed the house that lions were found in many places of India, but they survive only in Gujarat owing to people’s conservation efforts.

“They are the pride of Gujarat and it was only because of the people of Saurashtra that the lion population grew,” Patel said.

“Even if lions attack cattle in villages, the villagers are tolerant of lions”.

Patel told the house that government has also created post of ‘van mitras’ who take care of the animal and keep a watch on the movement inside the sanctuary. He said 898 eco-clubs had been formed in the Saurashtra region.

Responding to a question Patel said that there were 411 lions – 97 males and 162 females – in the sanctuary. He further said that the state had created gene – pool centers. Five new cubs have been born in the last year at the Rampara Virdi centre. These cubs have been born to two pairs of lions captured from completely different areas and brought to Rampara to ensure that the genes different. These centre’s provide a shield against weakening genes of Gir Lions.

For example if the lioness was from Sasan (Gujarat, India), the lion would be from a far off area of Tulsishyam(Jungadh, Gujarat, India) or even Bhavnagar. The minister said that there have been no instances of villagers offering baits to lions in order to show the animals to visitors. However, he admitted that his department had penalized people caught on the spot to the tune of Rs. 93,000 to Rs 31,400.

Courtesy: Times of India.