Latest news with #tigers
The Independent
a day ago
- The Independent
Mother tiger and cubs found dead in suspected mass poisoning
Five tigers, a mother and her four cubs, were discovered dead in the MM Hills wildlife sanctuary in Karnataka, southern India. Officials suspect the tigers died from poisoning, noting a dead cow nearby, as villagers sometimes poison carcasses to deter tigers preying on livestock. The incident, which occurred on Wednesday and was discovered on Thursday, is believed to be the highest single-day tiger casualty toll in one sanctuary in India. Eshwar B Khandre, the state minister for forest ecology and environment, has deemed the deaths "unnatural" and initiated an investigation, vowing criminal cases for any negligence or foul play. The deaths are particularly distressing for Karnataka, a state recognized for its successful conservation efforts and home to India's second-largest tiger population.
The Independent
a day ago
- The Independent
Five tigers found dead in suspected mass poisoning at Indian wildlife sanctuary
At least five tigers have been found dead inside a wildlife sanctuary in southern India's Karnataka in what is suspected to be a case of poisoning, officials said. The bodies of the tigers – a mother and her four cubs – were found close to each other in the MM Hills wildlife sanctuary in Chamarajanagar district on Thursday. Wildlife officials also found a dead cow in the area, and said they suspect the carcass may have been poisoned by local villagers. Villagers living on the boundaries of Indian wildlife sanctuaries have been known to poison cow or goat carcasses in order to target tigers, which sometimes prey on their livestock or pose a threat to the farmers themselves. Other farmers deploy electric fences around fields and houses, which has also been known to lead to fatalities among tigers. Both methods have been widely condemned by Indian conservationists. An autopsy into the latest incident was due to be held on Friday to confirm the cause of the tigers' deaths. The incident came to light on Thursday and the tigers most likely died on Wednesday, officials said. It is believed to represent the highest single-day toll for tiger casualties in one sanctuary anywhere in India. India has lost a total of 103 tigers this year, according to India's National Tiger Conservation Authority, though the net population of the big cats is steadily rising. A preliminary video of the incident showed a lush green part of the sanctuary cordoned off as five seemingly uninjured tigers laid lifeless and officials inspected the area. Officials said the tigress was believed to be around 11 years old and was first seen by the forest officials in November 2014 when it was a six to eight month old cub. The state minister for forest ecology and environment, Eshwar B Khandre, has said the deaths appear to be 'unnatural' and sought an investigation into the incident. 'If negligence by forest staff is found or if the death were caused by electrocution, poisoning or any other reason, criminal cases would be filed,' Mr Khandre said, vowing that the guilty will not be spared. He also called the deaths of five tigers within 24 hours in the Indian state otherwise known for its successful conservation efforts 'deeply distressing'. Known as one of the best states for wildlife in the country, Karnataka is ranked the second-most populated Indian state for the big cats with 563 tigers. It is also home to leopards, elephants, and large numbers of prey species.
Yahoo
20-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Thailand credits prey releases for 'extraordinary' tiger recovery
In the thick, steamy forests of western Thailand, 20 skittish sambar deer dart from an enclosure into the undergrowth -- unaware they may find themselves in the jaws of one of the habitat's 200 or so endangered tigers. The release is part of a project run by the government and conservation group WWF to provide tigers with prey to hunt and eat, which has helped the big cat make a remarkable recovery in Thailand. The wild tiger population in Thailand's Western Forest Complex, near the border with Myanmar, has increased almost fivefold in the last 15 years from about 40 in 2007 to between 179 and 223 last year, according to the kingdom's Department of National Parks (DNP). It is an uptick that WWF's Tigers Alive initiative leader Stuart Chapman calls "extraordinary", especially as no other country in Southeast Asia has seen tiger numbers pick up at all. The DNP and the WWF have been breeding sambar, which are native to Thailand but classed as vulnerable, and releasing them as prey. Now in its fifth year, the prey release is a "very good activity," says the DNP's Chaiya Danpho, as it addresses the ecosystem's lack of large ungulates for tigers to eat. Worrapan Phumanee, a research manager for WWF Thailand, says that deer were previously scarce in the area, impacting the tiger population. But "since starting the project, we've seen tigers become regular residents here and successfully breed," he says. Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam have all lost their native populations of Indochinese tigers, while Myanmar is thought to have just 23 left in the wild, in large part due to poaching and wildlife trafficking. Over the past century numbers worldwide have fallen from about 100,000 individuals to an estimated 5,500, according to the IUCN, which classifies tigers as endangered due to habitat loss and overhunting of the species and their natural prey. But major tiger recoveries have been recorded in India and Nepal, where in recent years numbers of Bengal tigers have grown to 3,600 and 355 respectively thanks to conservation measures. - 'Incredibly successful' - In a forest clearing in Khlong Lan National Park, DNP staff open the gate of the sambar deer enclosure where 10 males and 10 females have been grazing. The deer watch cautiously as one brave individual darts out, before the rest follow at speed and disappear into the trees. Worrapan says prey release programmes -- now also happening in Cambodia and Malaysia -- are part of wider restoration efforts to "rebuild ecosystems" in Southeast Asia, where they have been adapted for local purposes from similar initiatives that have existed for years in Africa. The breeding and releases also aim to solve the problem of the sambar deer's own population decline due to hunting, says Worrapan. "The purpose of releasing deer is not solely to serve as tiger prey but also to restore the deer population," he says, adding that GPS collar-monitoring has allowed researchers to track their lives after release. He says despite having only known captivity, the deer show a strong ability to adapt to outside threats. "(They) don't simply wait passively. They try to evade predators and choose safe areas to thrive." Chaiya says only a small number of the released deer end up as predator dinner, with most going on to reproduce. The sambar deer and their offspring "play a role in the food chain within the ecosystem, serving as prey for predators," he says. sjc/pdw-sah/mtp
New York Times
09-06-2025
- General
- New York Times
Valmik Thapar, Tenacious Tiger Conservationist in India, Is Dead
Valmik Thapar, a tenacious conservationist who wrote eloquently about tigers in India and worked to protect them against the impact of poachers, the loss of habitat and government policies that he abhorred, died on May 31 at his home in New Delhi. He was 72 or 73. His family said in a statement that the cause was cancer. He was born in 1952, though the specific date is unclear. Mr. Thapar was a big man with a loud, hyperarticulate and uncompromising style, which he channeled in service of tigers. He believed that they deserved nothing less than 'inviolate protected areas' in which to live without human encroachment. 'He was not an institutional person, but he was an institution unto himself because of his knowledge, sensitivity and ability to communicate,' Ravi Singh, the chief executive and secretary general of the World Wildlife Fund-India, said in an interview. Ullas Karanth, the former India program director of the Wildlife Conservation Society, which operates four zoos and an aquarium in New York City, said in email that Mr. Thapar had 'used his deep political and media connections to widely publicize the 'tiger crisis.'' The tiger population in India, home to most of the world's wild tigers, fell from about 40,000 in the 1950s to 1,411 in 2006. But conservation efforts have led to its substantial growth, to 3,682 in 2022. In the Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve, in the northwestern state of Rajasthan, where Mr. Thapar first fell in love with the animals, the number rose from about 15 in 2006 to about 70 in 2022, Mr. Singh said. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
The Independent
31-05-2025
- General
- The Independent
Valmik Thapar: Legendary conservationist dubbed India's ‘Tiger Man' dies aged 73
One of India 's best-known wildlife conservationists, Valmik Thapar, has died at his home in Delhi at the age of 73. Dubbed India's ' Tiger Man', Thapar dedicated five decades of his life to reviving the big cat's dwindling population, writing nearly 50 books on the subject and appearing in a host of nature documentaries including for the BBC. Thapar co-founded the Ranthambore Foundation in 1988, an important non profit focused on community-based conservation efforts. The charity reportedly worked across almost 100 villages around the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve, one of the biggest success stories in the country in terms of its flourishing tiger population, in the western state of Rajasthan. Never afraid to speak out over the shortcomings of government bureaucracy, he served as an expert on scores of public committees and was also part of the National Board for Wildlife, a Supreme Court-empowered committee which is led by the country's prime minister. In 2005 Thapar was appointed a member of the Tiger Task Force, set up by the government to review the management of tiger reserves following the infamous disappearance of the big cats from Sariska Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan. He disagreed with the findings of the task force, arguing that the report was overly optimistic about the coexistence of tigers and humans. Thapar said that for tigers to survive, certain forest areas needed to be completely free from human interference – a claim that put him in odds with activists advocating for the rights of forest-dwelling communities and tribes. Among the books on tigers written by Thapar are the popular Tiger: A Natural History of the Indian Subcontinent (1997), and Tiger Fire: 500 Years of the Tiger in India. He has presented and co-produced landmark wildlife documentaries, including the BBC series Land of the Tiger in 1997, which explored the wildlife of the Indian subcontinent. In recent years, he had been critical of the government's Project Cheetah, which reintroduced African cheetahs into India. "Thapar was no arm-chair conservationist, he spent as much time as possible in the field. Be it in the searing heat or an icy cold winter morning, rain or shine, he would be ideating with community elders and officers managing India's Tiger Reserves and National Parks to find solutions to complex, sensitive issues," his family said in a statement, according to The Hindu. "Of course, he enjoyed his time in the jungle with his camera and binoculars, not just in the Indian wilderness but also in Africa. But what gave him the most pleasure was spending time with tigers in Ranthambore." Last year, he appeared in the BBC's My Tiger Family – a 50-year story of an Indian tiger clan in Ranthambore. Thapar is survived by his wife Sanjana Kapoor and their son Hamir Thapar. Jairam Ramesh, a senior figure in the opposition Congress party and former environment minister, said Thapar "was uncommonly knowledgeable on a variety of issues relating to biodiversity and not a day passed during my ministerial tenure without our talking to each other -- with me almost always at the receiving end'. "We had arguments but it was always an education to listen to him, full of passion and concern. He was truly an unforgettable one of a kind," he added.
