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

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

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,

MALE LEOPARD DEAD IN NOOSE TRAP

Leopard trapped in noose (file photo)

An adult male leopard was found dead in  a field in village Kanthgaon near Gurna in Pithoragarh. On post-mortem, it was found that the leopard was perfectly healthy but with severe blood clot in the lungs, heart and the juglar vein was also found cut. There was a small injury seen behind the shoulder where a few drops of blood was coming out. Probably the leopard escaped and was successful in breaking the noose trap, which is usually a simple clutch wire or any other wire kept as a noose. Once the leopard gets trapped, its tries to run away, during which the noose gets more and more tightened. In this process of struggle, severe internal haemorrage occurs and the leopard slowly loses its life in another few hours. This leopard seems to have broken the trap in the time being, but could not survive for long. One canine tooth was also found missing.

Three leopard skins seized

Three leopard skins were seized by Uttarkashi Kotwali police today. Two of the skins were found to be of leopards poisoned by insecticide Nuvan and the other one was shot dead. The police arrested two persons Atar Singh s/o Shyam Singh Kathaith and Sohan Lal s/o Mangsiru Singh, both resident of Gram Bagedi, Tehsil Chilyani, dt. Uttarkashi, Uttarakhand, India.

Leopard cubs reunite with mother

In a detailed investigation of the resuced leopard cubs on 24th May and the leopard skin seized on 22nd May from very nearby places, a positive correlation was arrived on that the fresh skin which was seized on 22nd having three bullet holes belonged to the mother of the three male leopard cubs resuced. DNA samples of both mother and one of the cub which died on 1st June has been send for verification. The middlemen involved in the skin trade are absconding and is believed to have escaped to Nepal, while the suspected poacher having a licenced gun in the nearby village is yet to be arrested.

The leopard cubs were kept in strict supervision and diet. One leopard cub died on the 8th day after recovery. The other two recovered from dysentry and diarrhoea, flattulence, malnutrition, etc., but on the 18th day started showing symptoms of weakness and inability to walk properly. Probably the internal organs had started showing signs of degeneration. One of the cubs died yesterday afternoon and the other passed away after midnight, 20 days after rescue.

Two persons also had dreams of mother leopard roaming around to take away the cubs. We can now believe that the leopard cubs have finally united with their mother in heaven.

Three Orphaned Leopard Cubs Rescued

Three male leopard cubs were rescued by the Uttarakhand Forest Department from Village Marchaur, Adkini, 20 kms from Pithoragarh after these cubs were left orphaned by their missing mother. The villagers found the cubs in a stream bank in a dense oak forest where dogs were trying to attack the cubs. The villagers saved these cubs from the dogs and informed the forest department. The forest department team rushed to the spot and put the cubs safely back to the place where it was found and coodoned the area from any public activity. The team and villagers waited all night in the expectation that their mom would return to take away the cubs or feed them milk. However, inspite of the cubs crying (meowing) loud all night, the mother was not visible or heard anywhere around. After day break, since there was no use of leaving the cubs hungry, the cubs were brought to the Range office and after consultation with the veterinarian was fed with dilute milk, after which the cubs are now somewhat active. Two of the cubs have their eyes opened, but one is still to open its eyes completely. The cubs are expected to be around 25 days old. The search for the mother is going on, but the chances are high that the mother is no more. After observation for a few days, these cubs would be sent to Nainital Zoo.

The death or exclusion of one female leopard means the exclusion of three of its present litter, three of its previous litter and three in the womb. So, that means at least the life of 9 more leopards are at stake.

The death or exclusion of one male leopard will lead to capture of its territory by another male, who would like to have only his offsprings in the area. For this, he will kill all the nine cubs as mentioned above per female. A male territory can have 3-4 females and so, 9x4=36 cubs' life is at stake.

So, we should think before declaring any leopard as man-eater and killing them or allowing a leopard to be hunted otherwise.

Another wildlife poacher arrested from Pithoragarh

Another wildlife poacher and trader, Mr.Ramesh Ram of village Badalu, Pithoragarh was arrested today 22nd May 2011 in the early morning hours by the police with a leopard skin recovered from him. The skin was fresh and was foul smelling and had three bullet holes. Today evening, he was sent to 14 days remand in judicial custody. According to the accused, he got the skin from another person in village Rongu a few kilometers away. The increasing number of arrests and seizures show that though there has been dedicated campaign to end the crime, the trade is still flourishing due to international demand for the precious skins. Details of the present crime investigation will be posted from time to time. To keep track of these and help control wildlife crime, follow this blog.

Wildlife poacher arrested and send to 15 days remand in judicial custody

Girish Singh s/o Moti Singh of village Shyamlatal, Champawat was arrested on 12th May 2011 by the Champawat Forest Division of Uttarakhand Forest Department, India, following an exposure of his displaying leopard skins for trade to a sting operation team of Tehelka last year. The sting operation had exposed four places of skin trade and with this arrest, all the four events have been brought to light. A few accused are still missing, namely Dinesh Dugtal and Harish. Gulab Sg Kutiyal, Balku and a few others linked to this racket have already been arrested. The poaching evidences and statements of the accused are showing their links to several places within the country like Uttar Pradesh and even Gujarat and outside the country, especially Nepal. For further details and video of the exposure, visit http://www.flixya.com/blog/2898504/Tiger-and-Wildlife-poaching-expose-by-Tehelka 

Leopard skins seized in Himachal Pradesh, India

In a joint operation of WPSI and  Palampur Forest Division, Himachal Pradesh Forest Department, India, seven leopard skins were seized and four persons were arrested.

Man Leopard Conflict - Guidelines issued by Forest ministry India

The Ministry of Environment and Forests, Govt. of India has released guidelines for Human - Leopard Conflict Management. For details see link:
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