22 Nepalis caught smuggling Yartsa Gumba in Valley of Flowers National Park

Twenty two persons belonging to Nepal were arrested from several places near Ghangharia, the base camp of Valley of Flowers National Park in the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve, District Chamoli, Uttarakhand, INDIA, who were trying to smuggle Yartsa Gambu or the Chinese caterpillar mushroom (Cordyceps sinensis) which costs Rupees 10 lakh per kg ($ 20000/kg) in the local market and much more in the international market. It is used as an aphrodisiac as well as for strength and used especially by athletes as it is not detected in the dope test. The smugglers are found to have links with high profile people. The details are awaited. Will post them soon.

RETURN OF THE HYENA IN HARIDWAR- VIDEO FOOTAGE

TIGER POACHING IN DHAKANA, MELGAT TIGER RESERVE

SHORT NOTE ON TIGER POACHING IN DHAKANA, MELGAT TIGER RESERVE)

POR NO: 10/10 DT 4/3/13)

VIDEO on TRANS-BORDER TRADE across MAHAKALI between INDIA and NEPAL

VIDEO on TRANS-BORDER TRADE across MAHAKALI between INDIA and NEPAL

Snow leopards videographed in Gangotri

NGOs and ANIMAL ACTIVISTS also INVOLVED in WILDLIFE CRIMES

It may be surprising, but the fact is that several wildlife NGOs and Animal right activists are also involved in wildlife crimes in order to keep their institution running on account of funds they receive from international bodies on showing that wildlife poaching is still rampant. Animal right activists also indulge in getting various government orders passed banning cruel practices of animal slaughter, even in states where animals are slaughtered the most respected way. 

KERALA, the God's own country was recently severely criticized by a well known animal right activist group

LIQUOR LADEN VEHICLES SEIZED IN RAJAJI NATIONAL PARK

Around 200 bottles of Indian Made Foreign Liquor was seized from Rajaji National Park in Uttarakhand on 28 Nov 2013 along with two vehicles carrying them. The liquor bottles were being transported from

SMALL INDIAN CIVET KILLED IN ROAD ACCIDENT

A Small Indian Civet (Viverricula indica) was killed in a road accident on 16 Nov 2013 on Dharmawal-Paonta Sahib road (Shimla Bye-pass road) in Dehradun district of Uttarakhand, India. The road kill was estimated to be between 8:30 a.m to 10:30a.m. The blood stains on the road suggests that the Civet was hit and dragged atleast two metres ahead where it was found dead with broken head by a team of foresters who had gone on patrolling in the Timli range of Soil Conservation Division, Kalsi. 

CORBETT NATIONAL PARK - Dhikala Zone OPENS TO TOURISTS

The Dhikala Zone of Corbett National Park has opened to tourists from 15th November. The rooms inside the park are already booked to its full capacity due to the new online booking facility that has been launched. The park is famous for being the one of the highest tiger country along with other animals like Elephant, different kinds of deer and around 650 species of birds and several species of other flora and fauna.

CORBETT NATIONAL PARK OPENS TO VISITORS

Bijrani zone of Corbett National Park, Ramnagar, Uttarakhand, INDIA, opens.

The Bijrani Zone of Corbett National Park and Tiger Reserve opened on 15th October 2013, however, due to a strike by the Forest Guards, no entry was being allowed. Today, the forest guards agreed not to obstruct the entry gate after they were invited for a meeting by the Government to resolve their demands.

BOMBING IN ASKOT WILDLIFE SANCTUARY

Landslide due to mortar shelling in Askot sanctuary - Click on image to enlarge

Massive firing and shelling of mortars regularly take place at Tijam, near Sobala, conducted by a  transit army

180 Schedule I Turtles seized in Haridwar - 3 Arrested

The Haridwar Forest Division of Uttarakhand Forest Department today seized 180 schedule 1 turtles in a joint operation with the Wildlife Protection Society of India under the guidance of Mr.Jairaj, Additional PCCF, Uttarakhand, who is in charge of implementation of Prevention of cruelty to Animals Act. Three persons have been arrested, out of which two are aquarium shop owners. The different species seized were Indian Tent turtle, Brown roof turtle, Indian Roof turtle and Spotted pond Turtle. These turtles were brought by the poacher from Shajahanpur in Uttar Pradesh for sale in aquarium shops in Haridwar. This poacher has been involved for a long time in illegal trade of live turtles and also crocodile babies likely for aquariums abroad. The trader was contacted for a trade deal after which he was caught at Jwalapur railway station. His statements further led to raids in shops nearby to get more material.

TWO ELEPHANT TUSKS RECOVERED FROM FILM MEGASTAR's HOUSE

Two elephant ivory tusks were recovered from Malayalam Megastar Mohanlal's residence in an Income Tax raid in Kerala. The raid conducted at Mohanlal's and Mammootty's residences also recovered unaccounted wealth worth Rs.30 crore. Details on http://www.flixya.com/blog/3601885/30-CRORE-INR-RECOVERED-FROM-MALAYALAM-SUPERSTARS-RESIDENCES

LEOPARD SKIN SEIZED NEAR RAJAJI PARK

A full grown leopard skin was seized from Haripur Kalan village near Motichur Railway crossing by the Dehradun Forest Division in a joint operation of the anti-poaching cell of Uttarakhand Forest Department and the Wildlife Protection Society of India. Two persons have been arrested in this matter. Further details will follow.

TWO LEOPARD SKINS AND GUN SEIZED- THREE ARRESTED

Two leopard skins and one gun was seized along with the arrest of a poacher and a trader in Mussoorie Forest Division, Uttarakhand, INDIA. The skins were seized on 19th July 2011 in a joint operation of Wildlife Trust of India and the forest department. Two persons were immediately arrested, but they managed to escape taking advantage of the tough terrain and night time. Their whereabouts were tracked and the forest department arrested both of them and send them to jail. On 27th July, the forest department was successful in arresting the actual poacher, Mr.Gulab Singh of village Bhaal, Thatyur block of Tehri district along with his licenced gun which he used for poaching the leopards. According to the accused, he had fired a leopard at night 18 months ago, thinking that a wild boar had come to raid his fields. But why did he trade the skin then? The other arrested trader is Mr.Raghubir Singh also of Thatyur. The third person arrested was the taxi driver, Mr.Sanjay Singh, according to whom his taxi had been booked from Thatyur to Mussoorie and he had no knowledge of the crime. He will have to prove his innocence in court. The villagers of the area were very helpful in getting the culprits arrested. This is a major achievement as usually villagers do not give information against their own villagemates.

THREE LEOPORD SKINS SEIZED AND THREE POACHERS ARRESTED

A day long combined operation of the Uttarakhand Forest Department and the Wildlife Preservation Society of India on 22nd July 2011 culminated in the arrest of three persons with three leopard skins seized from them. The seizure took place at night 8 O' Clock at a remote locality called Shama in District Bageshwar of Uttarakhand, India. The main accused is

MATING COUPLES DELAY FLIGHTS IN NEWYORK

The flights at JFK Airport at Newyork were delayed for up to one and a half hours due to a mating spree of 78 diamond backed terrapins (a kind of turtle) on the runway. One of the pilot noticed the animals on the runway and immediately aborted his take off and informed the controls.

If the flights of New York can wait for so long for helping these animals out, why can't we even slow our vehicles for a second to allow any animal to cross the road?

For detailed news on the JFK flight delay, see the link below.

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/08/turtle-brigade-delays-flights-at-jfk/

KING COBRA NESTS AGAIN IN NAINITAL

Photos: K.S.Sajwan                                               Click on picture to enlarge

King Cobra with hood up- Photo.K.S.Sajwan

King cobra guarding its nest

The magnificient King Cobra has nested once again in the Himalayan District of Nainital. The first nesting was observed at Talla Ramgarh at 1500m a few years ago and was successfully protected by Manish of Tapogiri, the locals, NGOs and the forest department and the hatchlings were released in the wild. The same locality reported repeated nesting and hatching since then. King Cobra was found upto 2000m in this region. Now, a new nest has been found at Jeolikote at around 1300m altitude. A large king cobra is presently guarding the nest made of leaf litter in a forest lease land presently being cultivated by a local villager. The forest department has immediately taken the role of protecting the nest and the eggs within. The visitors and villagers have been kept 100m away from the nesting site by a wire fencing. Amit Verma IFS, the Divisional Forest Officer of Haldwani has set up a CCTV at the nesting site so that the activity of the mother and other activities can be seen and shown to visitors too from a remote locality. He has pitched a tent away from the site for this purpose. The above photos were taken by Mr.Kalyan Singh Sajwan, a senior assistant of the Nainital Forest Division. The mother was seen repairing the nest after a severe rain had done some damage to it. It moves in a circle around the nest and in the mean time lifts leaf litter to make a pile in a shape of a dome. After repairing the nest, it sits on top of it and guards the nest from predators. However, as the prey of king cobras are snakes, themselves, there is a danger of the mother eating up the hatchlings. Hence, nature has made the design in such a grand manner that the mother would abandon the nest before the eggs are ready to hatch!!!

 In the earlier nesting at Talla Ramgarh, the mother abandoned the nest one month prior to hatching. The nest was protected from fire and enclosed with a sheet so that the hatchlings could be seen before they leave the nest. A total of 21 eggs hatched out of which 19 hatchlings survived till the first moulting. They were later released in a jungle near by, slightly away from the habitation nearby. Given below are the photographs of the earlier hatching of king cobras at Ramgarh.  According to Shri.Bijulal.T.R. IFS, the Divisional Forest Officer of Nainital, "The parental care of Kingcobras is one of the most amazing phenomenon in the Animal Kingdom!!!".

A baby King Cobra

King Cobras have always been there in the higher himalayas too as the deep crevasses in the rocky ground provided temperatures befitting the species. They were locally known as "Soopy samp" due to their large hood looking like a winnow board ('Soopa' in hindi). However, they were never photographed till 2005 when the first nest was found in Ramgarh, which is the highest published record of this species. The highest unpublished report of Kingcobra is at Kanar Van Panchayat at around 2800m altitude. The Goriganga valley of Askote Wildlife sanctuary also has a good population of Kingcobras. They are also found in pine forests and makes nest out of pine needles. The villagers are aware of a 'snake' that lays eggs under heaps of pine needles and they usually burn the nest out of fear. Such nest was recently reported at Lohaghat too.

COBRA SNAKE SEIZED IN RISHIKESH along with leopard skin

A live Cobra snake and a leopard skin was seized near Rishikesh in Narendra nagar Forest Division,

TIGER SIGHTED AT KALADUNGI

A tiger was sighted at midnight hours in light drizzle and mist at Hairpin Bend no.2 on Kaladungi Nainital road by the Divisional Forest Officer, Nainital, Mr.Bijulal IFS when he was returning from Dehradun to Nainital yesterday. It was a sub adult and was trying to chase a sambhur, which had just crossed the vehicle just a few metres away. The tiger stopped on the road side in the light of the vehicle and then went away into the jungle. Mr. Bijulal is also the person behind making of the feature film MISSION TIGER (www.missiontiger.com)  and said that this was the first tiger sighting in the wild during his tenure.
This area has been earlier also reported to be Tiger country, with the Bor river nearby and saltlicks also in the Sal forest. The Bubudham temple also has attached sacred value to the forest here. The nearby Camp Corbett Resort personnel has also sighted tigers here in the past and regularly sees pugmarks too.