Great Indian Bustard (GIB) census starts in Rajasthan, India

The state level winter census of the Great Indian Bustard (GIB) started from February 10th in the state. The GIB is a bird which is on the verge of extinction.

Chief forest conservator, wildlife, Jodhpur, (Rajasthan, India) Govind Sagar Bhardwaj, has been appointed the nodal officer for the census. Only 100 Great Indian Bustard (GIB) is alive in the country and nearly 50 of them are in Jaisalmer(Rajasthan, India).

A workshop for the census was organized at a Hotel in Jaisalmer (Rajasthan, India) on Friday, in which six forest divisions, voluntary organizations and army jawans participated.

Deputy conservator of forests, ML Sonal informed the participants about the wildlife census. State wildlife board, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India member Rajpal Singh was the guest of honor.

Information about the preparations for the census, deputy forest conservator Karan Singh said that this time the transit lines have been increased and five new tracks have been laid outside the Desert National Park. A control room has been set up at the wildlife office. The team constituted for census work will be provided with a wireless set, head set, GPS, binoculars, etc. the census will be carried out on the scheduled track on camels and on foot.

Deputy forest conservator, Desert national Park, GK Verma, regional forest officer Pankaj Gupta, assistant forest conservator Rewat Singh Godara and regional forest officers also took part in the workshop. Assistant forest conservator (wildlife) VK Bissa, who conducted the workshop, gave a vote of thanks.

During December last year, a Great Indian Bustard (GIB) was poached; bit till date there is no clue of the poachers. Human interference is responsible for the diminishing numbers of these birds as it prevents the shy bird from breeding.

The state government and the center appear indifferent towards saving the bird. Although, a plan for GIB conservation has been sent to the center, but no action has been taken so far.

Courtesy:- Times Of India (Monday, 11th, February, 2013)

Roar of the cub club in Gir

Youth takes over Gujarat’s pride

The ‘cub club’ has taken over Gir Sanctuary(Junagadh, Gujarat, India) and surrounding areas in Gujarat, the last remaining home of Asiatic Lions in the world. More than a third of the 400- lions are now less than 3 years old. Of these, 50 percent have not even crossed the one year mark. This is a demographic that experts and foresters say will only help in conserving this unique animal that has come back from the edge of extinction.

The first census of lions by Gujarat, India in 1964 has shown that the numbers of the wild cat had dropped to precarious depths at just 177. According to the last census in May 2010, there are 411 lions in the state. Every year, some 70 cubs are born, but only 56 per cent live to see the third year of their lives. As present, 37 per cent of the population is below three years.

This number, however, is way better when compared with African lions. The website of the Kalahari Predator Conservation Trust (Botswana), quoting International Union for conservation of Nature (IUCN), states that food shortage, negligence and the takeover by other male lions results in only 20 per cent of cubs living to experience more than two years of their lives. About 27 per cent of all cubs die from the hierarchical invasion by another male lion.

Says HS Singh, additional  principal conservator of forests, “In Gir, the territorial battles seem to be happening at an older age, which has reduced the cannibalism and improved the survival rate of the cubs.” Not only within the sanctuary, are young cubs found elsewhere as well. Although they seem to be doing much better in Gir East and Gir west areas within the sanctuary. The wild cats had started moving out of the sanctuary about a decade ago. “Today, they are found in substantial numbers in regions like Amreli and Bhavnagar outside the sanctuary, but the numbers of cubs is comparatively less here,” says Sandeep Kumar, deputy conservator of forest.

A study by V. Meena of the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun,(India) called ‘Reproductive Strategy and Behaviors of Male Asiatic Lions’ revealed that the survival rate of the cub was the lowest in the first year of birth. It adds that cub survival depends on factors like infanticide (which results in death of 60% cubs), abandonment (13%) and other natural causes (26%).



Yadvendradev Jhala, research associate at WII says, “Thirty – seven per cent bus in the wild is a very high number. The forest department should not make efforts to save all these new born as it would mean interfering in the natural process in which the bad genes die and the best survive.”

Courtesy:- Times Of India (Monday, 11th, February, 2013)

Decline rate of vultures in India slows

Vultures may not be the most pleasant birds to contemplate, given their not so pleasant appearance and association with death, but they serve a vital role in an Eco - system by eating dead fish.

Throughout India, vulture populations have plummeted to less than one percent of what they were a few decades age, leading to an epidemic of unseen cattle carcasses and spawning an increase in the number of rats, feral dogs and human rabies cases for dog bites.

But they may be some hope for these much maligned birds: Their decline had slowed, stopped or even reversed in some areas of the Indian Subcontinent, according to a paper published on February 7^th in the journal Science.

The birds declined largely because ranchers started giving their cattle an anti inflammatory drug called diclofenac that the birds ingested when they ate the dead cattle, paper author and Cambridge researcher Andrew Balmford said. In 2006, following revelations that diclofenac was deadly to the birds, the government of India, Pakistan and Nepal banned the use of the drug for cattle.

Bangladesh followed in 2010, and in May 2012 the four governments reached an ‘unprecedented political agreement’ to prevent unintentional poisoning of the vultures from veterinary drugs, Balmford told OurAmazingPlanet.

Many ranchers have adopted an alternative drug that is safe to vultures, Balmford said, but the increase of other drugs in concerning, especially one that’s close in structure to diclofenac, Balmford said. Restrictions on these drugs are needed, he added.

Nevertheless, vulture numbers have leveled off in many areas, and increase elsewhere.

Courtesy:- Times Of India

Birds Paradise

Photo Courtesy:- Times Of India

Drying Gir(Guajrat, India) reservoirs brimming with birds

The receding water in the Kamleshwar dam(Sasan Gir, Gujarat, India) brought some good news for visitors and the officials at Gir National Park. The low levels of water are inviting large flocks of winged visitors. These migratory birds are returning to the dams in the national park after a decade, said the officials.
Sources in Gir said, “ This year because of the drought in the district, there is hardly two or three feet of water at the edges of the Kamleshwar Dam reservoir, and about four to five feet of water in the centre. This is attracting large number of birds from nearby water bodies. Pelicans, lesser flamingoes and cranes along with other migratory birds have started flocking to the dam site.”

Visitors to the forest along the Kamleshwar dam route will get to see these winged visitors and large number of crocodiles which are now coming out of the water as the water is very low”.

Sandeep Kumar, the deputy conservator of forests, Gir, says for the past two days, there have been good sightings of birds at the Kamleshwar dam. These birds sighting are for the first time in a decade. “I have been told by the staff that these birds have come to the Kamleshwar dam after a long time. There have been sightings of pelicans, lesser flamingoes among other. Demoiselle cranes are not usually seen in Gir, but this time because of the less water, availability of food had attracted the birds. This may be good news but what is worrying is that the receding water will force officials to resort to alternate methods of providing drinking water for the lions”.

Crocodile at Kamleshwar Dam, Sasan Gir, Gujarat, India

Samshad Alam, a researcher working in Gir for the past six years says, “I had not seen these birds here thus far, so it came as a surprise when saw them in large numbers. The dams have now caused of the shallow waters. These waders, pelicans, and flamingoes need just nearly two feet of water which, at present, is suitable for these birds.

Courtesy: – Times of India.

Man-eater tigress shot down in Maharashtra

A man-eating tigress was shot dead by a sharpshooter of the C-60 anti-Naxal squad in Navegaon National Park in Maharashtra on Saturday 27 days after it first killed a woman in Bhandara district Gondia district deputy conservator of forests S V Ramarao said the animal was not more than three years old and was shot 20km from the Navegaon National Park boundary The park is 130km from Nagpur.

“We first tried to tranquillize the tigress but missed, and it charged at the team. In panic, one of the commandos, Suresh Atram, fired nine rounds to kill the animal,” Ramarao said. State chief wildlife warden SWH Naqvi had granted permission to shoot the animal on January 4. The elusive tigress had killed a cow on January10 and was in the area. Camera traps were deployed near the cattle kill on Friday to identify it.

At 10am on Saturday a team of 20-25 officials, volunteers and commandos equipped with AK-47s went to check the cameras and established the gender of the big cat. “Presuming that the animal might be somewhere near the kill, we launched a search. One of the commandos sighted the tigress 50 feet away. Assistant conservator of forests Manohar Gokhale fired a dart to tranquillize the tigress but missed. The tigress fried to come closer and a commando then fired in the air,” said Sawan Bahekar, a team member and honorary wildlife warden of

Gondia district. The tigress disappeared after the warning shot. At noon, the teams returned to find that the animal had moved its kill from the original spot. it was then decided that the rest of the team would leave while only seven people — including three commandos — would stay behind in wait of the big cat. Certain that the tigress would return, the team took positions near the kill. At 115pm, the big cat returned. Assistant conservator Gokhale shot a dart but missed. The tigress then came charging at him and commando Atram fired five rounds. Even as the animal got injured, it kept charging. Later, four more rounds were fired after which the tigress finally collapsed.”

Courtesy:- Times of India

Rare owl spotted in Little Rann(Gujarat, India), bird watchers thrilled

Sighting of rare species of owl here, for the fifth year in a row, has left avian aficionados thrilled. Bird watchers in the city claim that the Pallid Scops Owl (Otus Brucie) which has been spotted at Zainabad(Gujarat, India), about 95 km from the city, during this time of the year for past five years is the same bird. Dhanraj Malik, the owner of Desert Courses who first spotted the bird and posted its pictures, said, "When the bird was again spotted in 2009, we weren't sure weather it was the same bird. I took pictures of the bird from every angle and posted it on internet. Bird watchers from across the world confirmed that it was the same bird which had visited the spot the previous year."

This is the fifth year when the bird has been spotted in Zainabad(Gujarat, India). Malik said, "The bird has arrived a tab bit late than its usual schedule. But that is normal considering the changes in climate. To ensure that the bird feels at 'home', we ensure no pesticides are ever used near the spot that it usually occupies. The owl also has a favorite tree here, so we ensure that not a single branch of the tree is chopped.

The owl makes nest on the tree till end of February. Malik said that birds have an in built GPS(Global Positioning System) system that helps them find their way back to the same place, like this Pallid Scops Owl.

Wildlife photographer from Banglore Shreeram MV has visited Zainabad(Gujarat, India) thrice in the past four years just to photograh this rare owl. Shreeram said, "The first time I saw it, I was in awe. Since then I have returned every year to spot the owl. This is a very rare bird and I don't want to miss the opportunity to photograph it. This year too, I will be visiting with a team of photographers at the end of the winter to click photographs of the owl".
Birders from across the world are already booking their dates to see the bird. Malik said," There was a researcher from New York who had done her PhD on Pallid Scops Owl but had never seen it. This year she saw the bird for the first time."

Manisha Rajput, a bird lover and a wildlife tour operator, said, "The migratory pattern of the bird is that of a passage migrant which means that it takes more or less the same channel every year. This is an endangered species and spotting it is a big moment for the bird watchers. So many foreign tourists have booked tours because they want to catch a glimpse of this owl".
Says Manish Vaidya, a Wildlife activist, " Not only does the bird follow the same route, it also choses the same spot to make a nest and migrates at the same time every year".

Courtesy:- Times Of India