Temple elephant develops intestinal problems

Medical care:Vellayammal, elephant of the Big Temple under treatment in Thanjavur. — Photo: M. Srinath

THANJAVUR: Vellayammal, elephant of the Big Temple here developed some intestinal problems due to excessive consumption of sand. Following complaint lodged by officials of Palace Devasthanam, P.N. Panicker, veterinary doctor from Thrissur and B. Saravanan, veterinary surgeon, treated the elephant on Wednesday. According to Panicker, the pachyderm got some obstruction in the intestine due to arrest of food materials caused by consumption of excessive sand. Intravenal fluids, anti-biotics have been given.

The animal is expected to recover within two days, Dr. Panciker said.

From THE HINDU

Stranding response programme for endangered marine species suggested

Wildlife Institute of India says this will strengthen cause of research

CHENNAI: The Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, has suggested to the Centre the initiation of a stranding response programme for endangered species of marine animals, WII scientist B.C. Choudhury said here on Thursday.

Addressing a two-day national consultation workshop for identification of research gaps in coastal and marine biodiversity conservation hosted by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Prof. Choudhury said a stranding operation (involving rehabilitation of rare species that wash up on the shores sick or injured), provided scientists a unique opportunity to study these creatures out of their natural habitats.

Pointing out that many of the threatened species such as the dolphins, river terrapins and horse shoe crabs remained least studied specimens, Prof. Choudhury said a stranding programme could strengthen the cause of research in this direction.

Prof. Choudhury said India’s coastal and marine ecosystems were under increasing threat in spite of the great importance accorded to balancing livelihood issues and economic output to the national GDP along the 8,500-km coastline with ecology conservation. He advocated a multi-Ministry collaborative approach to the conservation agenda for the coastal and marine environment.

Prof. Choudhury pointed out that traditionally, the contribution of densely populated coastal regions to national wealth was much higher than that of land-locked systems. The coastal zone was home to half the world’s population, two-thirds of the largest cities and contributed half the tourism earnings.

Priorities

Prof. Choudhury spelt out as the priorities macro-level research in coastal and marine habitats, floral and faunal diversity values and identification of natural and anthropogenic threats. Some of the least-studied systems, in spite of their significant ecological importance, were sand dunes, estuaries, salt marshes, inter-tidal mud flats and sea grass beds, he said.

In her inaugural address, Aruna Basu Sarkar, Chief Conservator of Forests and Director of the Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve Trust, called for integration of policy framing, implementation, research and community engagement for an effective coastal and marine biodiversity conservation programme.

K. Siva Kumar, WII scientist, said the workshop was the starting point in the consultative process to evolve a roadmap for future research on coastal and marine biodiversity conservation in India.

The specifics of the workshop include identification of research gaps, prioritisation of research, mandating specific roles for partnering institutions.

From THE HINDU

Proposal to end commercial whaling rejected by Commission

A proposal to scrap the 25-year moratorium on commercial whaling has been rejected at a meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC), a delegate told the German Press Agency dpa on Wednesday.

Greenpeace activists place a banner demanding a stop to whaling. File Photo

Practically all 88 IWC nations gathered for the meeting in the Morrocan resort of Agadir were against the lifting of the ban, which is aimed at protecting the species.

“For this session, the compromise proposal is no longer on the table,” German delegate Gert Lindemann told dpa in a telephone interview.

A moratorium has been in place on commercial whaling since 1986, but three countries circumvent it. Japan claims to whale for “scientific” purposes, while Norway and Iceland claim controversial special rights.

A proposal tabled by IWC chairman Cristian Maquieira would have re-legalized commercial whaling in exchange for the three countries cutting down on the number of whales they capture over the coming decade.

The whaling countries regarded the proposal as too restrictive, while environmentalists and a group of heavyweight anti-whaling countries — Australia, France, Germany and Britain — felt it did not provide a sufficient basis for protecting whales.

“All the governments maintained their positions,” Lindemann said.

The proposal could, however, be debated again after a cooling phase of at least one year, he said.

The meeting in Agadir, which will run through Friday, was now expected to focus on lower-level subjects such as whale sanctuaries, whaling by indigenous peoples and financial questions.

From THE HINDU

Sariska to get two more tigers in July

JAIPUR: The roar of the tiger is all set to get louder at Sariska Tiger Reserve with the Centre finally approving relocation of two more tigers from Ranthambore National Park. The relocation of the big cats — one male and a female — is likely to take place on July 4.

According to forest officials, though the tentative dates for the relocation has been fixed for July 4, attempts for the same will begin from July 1 itself.

Sariska, as of now, has two female and a male tiger which were airlifted from Ranthambore between July 2008 and early 2009. However, further relocation attempts were put on hold after a few wildlife experts expressed fears that relocating the big cats without testing the genes to see if they belong to the same family might prove disastrous.

“An expert team comprising Aparajita Dutta from the National Wildlife Conservation Trust and AJT John Singh, former professor of the Wildlife Trust of India, has been camping at Ranthambore since long. In fact, it is in response to a letter written by Dutta on the rising pressure in Ranthambore due to the increasing population of big cats that the Centre has finally agreed to relocate transient tigers from there to Sariska,” said Ram Lal Jat, forest minister.

Officials of the state forest department said that DNA testing will continue alongside with relocation as it takes a lot of time. “The scats have been collected and sent for DNA testing. In this relocation, our prime objective would be to shift the two tigers which have strayed out of Ranthambore to Kota and Kailadevi. But in case we fail to locate them on that day, we will shift other identified tigers,” said an official.

Two tigers — a female, T-37 and a male, T-47 — had strayed away from the Ranthambore reserve earlier this year and have refused to come back so far. Forest officials have been maintaining a watch on them and trying to bring them back to the reserve. .

“We will try to shift distant animals so as not to affect the gene pool but even if the relocated animals are related in any way, we will try to correct it by relocating tigers from some other zone sometime later. There is, however, no question of incompatibility as the tigers from Ranthambore to be relocated are healthy,” he said. So far, nearly 10 tigers have been identified in the Ranthambore reserve for relocation, of which two will be chosen on that day.

Meanwhile, permissions like that for the use of a helicopter for airlifting the tiger have already been taken and researchers from Wildlife Institute of India and state forest department are camping in Sariska, keeping a track of identified tigers.

From TOI

India seizes third shipment of tiger parts on way to China

GUWAHATI, India — Indian customs officers Sunday seized the third shipment of tiger bones and other animal parts, worth 230,000 dollars and destined for use in traditional medicine in China.

Indian customs officers Sunday seized the third shipment of tiger bones and other animal parts that were headed to China

A customs official said the officers found tiger bones, skulls, and 125 kilogrammes of scales from pangolins, rare scaly mammals that are distant relatives of the anteater and a protected species in India.

“The animal products were estimated at about 10.66 million rupees if sold on the international black market,” customs superintendent S. Das told AFP.

Customs officials, acting on a tip-off, had also seized two other shipments at the international airport in the eastern city of Guwahati on Wednesday and Thursday.

In total, the raids netted contraband worth about 660,000 dollars.

On average, poachers kill 30 tigers every year in Indian reserves, with demand driven by China where pelts, claws and bones are prized in traditional medicine.

In 2008, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh set up a national wildlife crime prevention bureau, drawing experts from the police, environmental agencies and customs in a bid to break up the poaching network.

Tiger hunting is illegal worldwide and the trade in tiger parts is banned under a treaty binding 167 countries, including India.

There are estimated 1,400 tigers living in the wild in India, according to conservation group WWF.

In August of 2009, an Indian delegation in Beijing asked China for full co-operation for controlling cross-border trafficking of tiger parts and to send a clearer message to smugglers, but no official agreement was reached.

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