| Animal
Rescue Centre |
Animal
Rescue Centre: One Animal Rescue Centre in North Bengal being
constructed at Khairbari of Coochbehar Division on an area
of 42 Ha. Another Rescue Centre at Purulia in South Bengal
is being contemplated. Six Leopards rescued from the tea gardens
of North Bengal was released in the enclosure. |
| |
| Padmaja
Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park has released 2 Red Pandas into
the wild in Singalila National Park |
| The
Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park, Darjeeling has released
2 Nos. Zoo bred female Red Pandas into the wild in Singalila
National Park For post release monitoring, both the animals
have been radio collared. A team is monitoring their movement
and rehabilitation program. This is the first time that captive
bred Red Pandas were released in the wild to augment the population
in Singalila National Park. |
| |
| Sri.
M.A. Sultan IFS has taken over as Chief Conservator of Forests,
Wildlife, West Bengal |
Sri.
M.A. Sultan IFS has taken over as Chief Conservator of Forests,
Wildlife, West Bengal on 4.2.04. He has relieved Sri. U. Dasgupta,
IFS who has joined Office of the Principal Chief Conservator
of Forests (General) as Additional PCCF (Development &
Planning). |
| |
| 2002
Census Figures of Major Wild Animals |
1. Tiger: 349
..................................................................
2. Elephant: 328
..................................................................
3. Leopard: 331
..................................................................
4. Rhino: 96
..................................................................
5. Hog Dear: 2500 to 3000
..................................................................
6. Barking Deer: 3500 to 400
..................................................................
7. Spotted Deer: 32000 to 35000
..................................................................
8. Sambar: 900 to 1000
..................................................................
9. Indian Bison: 1200 to 1400
..................................................................
10. Wild Boar: 15000 to 17000
..................................................................
11. Tahr: 70 to 90
..................................................................
12. Serow: 190 to 210
|
| |
| Following
are the synopsis of the articles that appeared in the leading
newspapers in the past few months. |
| |
| Jumbo
on the rampage |
The Telegraph
Siliguri, June 23: Seven people were trampled to death
by an elephant on the Indo-Nepal border. The elephant later
disappeared into the jungle and was yet to be traced. The
elephant had initially attacked a paramilitary jawan and then
made its way to the village. On its way a forest official,
a middle-aged woman and four other villagers were trampled
under its feet.
The elephant then went berserk over a large area and spread
panic among the local inhabitants. The man-elephant conflict
is not new in the jungles and its surrounding areas of West
Bengal. A senior wildlife department official when contacted
said: " the conflict between man and elephant is on the rise
due to shrinkage of habitats, loss of fodder and increased
activities around the forests. Rapid expansion of habitations,
agriculture and tea gardens have not only encroached upon
the forests and grasslands, but also cut off the corridors
needed for migration of wide ranging animals like elephants."
He was quite confident however that with co-operation from
the people living in the adjoining areas of the forest coupled
with the measures taken by the department could ensure that
this type of conflicts are minimised.
|
| |
| Save
the Rhino |
The Asian Age
Kolkata May 18: A programme to strengthen wildlife management
and Eco-development in Jaldapara wildlife sanctuary has been
taken up by the Indian government, the state government and
the Wildlife Institute of India. The programme is funded by
the UNDP.
Senior state forest department officials said that the programme
will ensure bio-conservation along with the protection of
rhinoceros.
The programme will stress on habitat development, infrastructure
development, Eco-development activities on the basis of micro
planning, research on key issues and monitoring of the project
with reduced conflict over use of resources will be stressed.
The high point of the programme would be however the protection
of rhinos. Jaldapara has a population of 55 rhinos at the
present. The forest department officials are optimistic about
the programme and said that the funding will help stabilize
the population of rhinos as well as ensuring that sustained
and long term bio-diversity efforts are carried out successfully.
|
| |
| Preservation
of Wetlands is crucial |
The Statesman
Kolkata June 16: The state government
has decided to come down with a heavy hand on those destroying
wetlands. It is planning to enact legislation to penalise
the guilty. The chief minister of West Bengal Mr. Buddhadeb
Bhattacharjee announcing this said that there are eight lakh
hectares of wetlands in the state of which three lakhs are
utilised for fish production. He was of the opinion that more
wetlands should be used for that purpose. Mr. Bhattacharjee
was speaking at a function organised by the Mudiali Fishermen's
Co-operative society. He added that wetlands could used to
garner revenues for the state government and can generate
employment in the state.
The chief minister urged on the need to create awareness about
the importance of wetlands. The state labour minister Mr.
Mohammed Amin and the fisheries minister Mr. Kironmoy Nanda
were also present.
|
| |
| Indo
- Bangla join hands for tiger conservation |
The
Asian Age
Kolkata April 16: The sunderbans'
tiger will be given the license to roam freely! Sounds interesting?
He governments of India and Bangladesh will sit together for
an extensive session on joint-management to protect and monitor
mangrove forests spanning both the sides of the Indo-Bangladesh
border. Funded by the UNDP the two governments will try to
address the conservation problems, counter poaching and smuggling.
Sunderbans Biosphere Reserve Director Mr. A.K.Raha pointed
out that the process had already started and Indian officials
on a visit to a Dhaka seminar on ecological sustainability
last year had discussed the problems that Sunderbans face.
Mr. Raha added that since 60% of the Sunderbans is in Bangladesh
it is imperative that the two countries need to work together.
He sounded optimistic about the success of the project and
pointed out that both the governments are keen to go for a
joint venture with initiatives from the state Sunderbans affair
minister Mr. Kanti Ganguly who would be looking after the
project's execution. The chief minister of West Bengal Mr.
Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee praised the efforts of Mr.Kanti Ganguly
and the initiative as a whole. He pledged his assurance for
co-operation and support from his government.
|
| |
| National
Workshop on Joint Forestry Management at Kolkata on
August 28 & 29, 2002 |
| |
The
chief minister of West Bengal Mr. Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee
will inaugurate the workshop. |
| Workshop
topics: |
1.
Role of the Forest Dept. In JFM - present and future -: -
?
Ploughing Back Of Revenue From National Parks And Sanctuaries
For Wildlife Conservation:
? Rehabilitation/ Sale / Exchange of Departmental Elephant
calves
? Destruction of wildlife habitat due to non-removal of boulders
and bed materials from river beds in North Bengal
? Enhancement of ex-gratia payment to Forest Staff and villagers:
? Extension of Alipore Zoo and setting up of State Zoo Authority
of West Bengal:
? Radio collaring of Tiger in Sundarbans:
? Jharkhali Tiger Rescue Centre in Sundarbans
? Declaration of Santragachi lake as conservation reserve
|
| |
2nd
Meeting of the State Board for Wildlife on 21st December,2004
|
| |
| "
2nd Meeting of the State Board for Wildlife was held in Kolkata
on 21st December,2004 under Chairmanship of the Hon'ble Chief
Minister of West Bengal. Among others, the following points
were discussed:: - |
| |
- Ploughing
Back Of Revenue From National Parks And Sanctuaries For
Wildlife Conservation:
- Rehabilitation/
Sale / Exchange of Departmental Elephant calves:
- Destruction
of wildlife habitat due to non-removal of boulders and bed
materials from river beds in North Bengal:
- Enhancement
of ex-gratia payment to Forest Staff and villagers:
- Extension
of Alipore Zoo and setting up of State Zoo Authority of
West Bengal:
- Radio
collaring of Tiger in Sundarbans:
- Jharkhali
Tiger Rescue Centre in Sundarbans:
- Declaration
of Santragachi lake as conservation reserve:
|
| |
2nd
Wildlife Film Festival at Kolkata: |
| |
|
2nd Wildlife Film Festival will be organised by the Forest
Department, Govt of West Bengal in association with Aranyak,
a group of NGOs at Nandan Film Complex, Kolkata from 3rd February
to 6th February 2005. This is a non-competitive Film Festival
and various film makers and organizations are providing their
films free of cost to raise awareness among students, youths
and local people regarding Forests and Wildlife Conservation.
Wildlife Films on various aspects like Indian Wildlife, animation
films on Wildlife and documentaries will be screened during
this four days at Nandan-I, Nandan-II, Nandan-III and Sisir
Manch. As a tribute to Nick Gordon, the famous wildlife film
maker, his works will be screened during the film festival.
The following films will be screened during this festival:
1. Tiger Domain.; 2. Hidden World of Bengal Tiger; 3. The
last Man-Eater Killer Tiger of India.; 4. Sacred Waters.;
5. Desert Kingdom.; 6. Indian Leopards the killing fields.;
7. Kalpaviksha. 8. Sacred Forest.; 9. Remnants of Eden.; 10.Tiger
Crisis.; 11.Leopards of Garhwal Himalayas. 12.The Khur ( A
Wild Ass- Rann of Kutch).; 13.Lions of Gir.; 14.Wolves a Legend
Returns to Yellow Stone.; 15.Policing Langurs.; 16.Dachigam
National Park.; 17.Fate of the Elephant. 18.Birds of all season.;
19.Chilka the story of a Lagoon.;
THERE IS NO ENTRY FEE. PASSES MAY BE COLLECTED FROM
NANDAN INFORMATION DESK ONE HOUR BEFORE THE SHOW ON 'FIRST
COME FIRST' BASIS. For further query contac: 9830178270/ 9433201673.
|
| |
Sri Ujjwal Bhattacharya, IFS has taken over as the Chief Conservator
of Forests, |
|
Wildlife,
West Bengal on 27.12.2004. He has relieved Sri M.A.Sultan,IFS
who has joined the Office of the Principal Chief Conservator
of Forests, West Bengal. |
|
Census of major Wild Animals for 2002: |
| |
1.
Tiger : 349; 2. Elephant: 328 3. Leopard: 331 4.Rhino:96 5.
Hog Deer: 2500-3000; 6.Barking Deer: 3500-4000; 7.Spotted
Deer:32000-35000 8.Sambar:900-1000; 9.Indian Bison:1200-1400;
10.Wild Boar: 15000-17000; 11.Tahr: 70-90 ; 12:Serow:190-210.
|
| |
Tiger Census for 2004: |
|
| Sunderban
Tiger Reserve: 249 nos, 24 Pgns(S): 25 nos, Buxa Tiger Reserve:
27 (excluding the upper hill areas of Buxa where Tiger Census
could not be held due to army operation). Census figures of
other major Wild Animals for 2004 & 2005 is being complied
and will be published soon. |
|
Animal Rescue Centre: |
| |
One
Animal Rescue Centre in North Bengal was constructed at Khairbari
at Coochbehar Division on an area of 42 Ha. Six leopards rescued
from the tea gardens of North Bengal was released in the enclosure. |
| |
Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park has released 2 Red
Pandas into the wild in Singalila National Park: |
| |
The
Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park, Darjeeling has released
2 Zoo bred Red Pandas into the wild in the Singalila National
Park. For post release monitoring, both the animals was been
radio collared. Unfortunately, one of the Pandas died due
to leopard attack. The other one is ok |
| |
....