SNOW LEOPARD POISONED IN PINDARI GLACIER

A shepherd poisoned a snow leopard to death in Pindari glacier area of Bageshwar district in Uttarakhand early this season. According to the shepherd,

THREE YEARS IMPRISONMENT FOR IVORY POACHERS of Rajaji National Park

The Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate has awarded three years imprisonment and a fine of Rs.10000 to Mr. Jagdish, the main accused in the Elephant poaching and Ivory Trading case

POACHERS AWARDED SEVEN YEARS IMPRISONMENT

The Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Alwar in Rajasthan has awarded seven years imprisonment to seven poachers and five years to one poacher in a tiger poaching case in Sariska Tiger Reserve which took place long back in 2002. The poachers convicted are Zahuru, Ramzan, Hazari, Darra, Fazru, Umardin, Sukka and Heera lal. The first two were also fined INR 1.5 lakh each and the next five were fined 80000 INR each and Heera, who got only 5 years imprisonment was also fined 30000 INR.
Though the justice has come after nearly nine years, there is still scope for the poachers to avoid jail by appealing before the Hon. District Court, then the Hon. High Court and finally the Hon. Supreme Court. Three other accused have already died. By the time the upper courts hear and finalise the judgements, it could be another 30 years!!! if the lower court took 9 years. By then there will be no officer from the prosecution who knows the case well and be able to present the case strongly.

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.

ANIMAL SACRIFICE IN RELIGIOUS PLACES ILLEGAL and not prescribed by any religion

Answer to question below

It is now clear that the practise of animal sacrifice in temples of Uttarakhand, India is ILLEGAL and an offence under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. This clarity has come after the Department of Culture, Uttarakhand has clearly specified that no religious documents mention or prescribe animal sacrifice. The Section 28 of the above act omits killing of animals as prescribed by religion from being an offence under the act. In this context, an application under the Right to Information Act 2005 was sent to the Department of Culture. Though the Public Information Officer denied the information at the first instance, the Appellate officer, Ms.Bina Bhatt, in her reply to the applicant Mr.Manoj Chandran, resident of Lintyura, Pithoragarh, wide letter no. 236/sa.ni.u./do-95(X)/2011-12 dated 21/6/2011, made it clear that animal sacrifice is not mentioned in any religious document or any other order. ( jahan tak prashn mandiron me pashubali dene ka he, to yah kisi dharmik granth athva kisi shaasanadesh mein ullekh nahin hai )

Hence from now on, we can say that Sec 28 of the act will not be applicable to animal sacrifice in temples and hence would be an offence.
Kindly spread the message to all forest and veterinary officials and the district administration and all temple authorities so that the law can be upheld and no offence be committed from now on.

MUSK DEER RESCUED and hundreds of Satyr Tragopan sighted

A musk deer calf was rescued by a shepherd after its mother was killed by

451 live turtles seized at Bangkok airport

451 live turtles were seized from a baggage from a Bangladesh flight at Suvarnabhumi airport, Bangkok, Thailand. The offender managed to escape and did not collect the luggage. For details see http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/jun/02/thai-customs-turtles-suitcase-smuggled

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.

JUDGE DETAINS RANGE OFFICER for ARRESTING POACHER

The District Judge of Champawat District of Uttarakhand,  India, Mr.R.S.Chauhan, while in his judicial capacity allowing a bail appeal of a notorious poacher, also misused his office to

MOTHER and CHILD MURDERED



Langur mother and child



A mother Langur (White monkey - Presbytis entellus) carrying her infant baby was hit by a vehicle in the early hours of the morning on a rather traffic-less road passing through a forest area. This road is otherwise busy and animals don't bother to cross during daylight. Man is always in a big hurry, but expects animals to wait even in their original right of way.



Langur child



Langur mother

click on image for zoom

Python road kill in National Park



Python after road kill dumped on a river bank

This is a photo of a Python which was killed by a tourist vehicle in a famous National Park. The authorities removed the carcass and threw it on a riverside, where you can see the maggots doing their work of decomposition. It is not clear what was the vehicle which could kill a big python, without the vehicle itself being upturned. Since I found it very late, there was no point in searching for the wheel tracks.



Maggots on the same dead python

 Click on photo for bigger image

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.

15 more days in Judicial Custody

Wild life poacher and trader, Girish Singh of Champawat was arrested and send to 15 days remand by the Chief Judicial Magistrate. His bail application at the end of this remand period was fought against by the forest department and got it rejected, thus extending his remand for a further 15 days till 8 June. He has further appealed for bail before the District Judge, the date of hearing is on 30th May. Please see the earlier blog http://wildhimalayas.blogspot.com/2011/05/wildlife-poacher-arrested-and-send-to.html for history of the case and follow this blog for updates by clicking the 'FOLLOW'button on the right side.

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 

SNAKES AND CROCODILES FOR SALE with CITES certificate

You can get everything from snake skins to crocodile leather from this open market in Bangkok with a fake CITES certificate too if asked for. With such thriving markets and demand, it is very difficult to put an end to wildlife crime

BUTTERFLIES AND MOTHS FOR SALE

Butterflies and Moths are being smuggled on a large scale from India, Nepal, Bhutan and several other South-East Asian nations as they have a good demand and market in China, Thailand and also in western nations. This picture is of a open market in Bangkok. They also provide fake CITES certificate if you want to be safe at the airport!

THINNEST ELEPHANT ON EARTH - STARVED AND CRUELLY OVERLOADED

This is the height of cruelty. This elephant in Bangkok Zoo is not only starved, but also overloaded with the seat and tourists sitting on it. Shouldn't we stop using elephants for tourism? Should humans show arrogance that they can rule the animal kingdom? BAN ELEPHANT RIDES

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.