Save Tigers!

After a hearty meal! At the turn of the 20th century, according to estimates, India probably had many thousand tigers in the wild. In 2002, based on a census using the pug mark technique, this number was 3,642. As per the monitoring exercise by Wildlife Institute of India in association with National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), Government of India, using camera traps, in 2008 we were left with only 1,411 tigers. This number is so small that they will be gone soon if we don’t wake up to the crisis. The tiger is not just a charismatic species or just another wild animal living in some far away forest.  The tiger is a unique animal which plays a pivotal role in the health and diversity of an ecosystem. It is a top predator which is at the apex of the food chain and keeps the population of wild ungulates in check, thereby maintaining the balance between prey herbivores and the vegetation upon which they feed. Therefore, the presence of tigers in the forest is an indicato

NAGPUR: It was a game of hide-and-seek between organized tiger poachers belonging to the Bahelia community and Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) sleuths near Katni in Madhya Pradesh. The gang of poachers, wanted in killing of tigers in Vidarbha, were present near Katni at their native places, but all of them dodged WCCB sleuths trailing them since Holi. Of the 56 wanted poachers, 21 have been arrested by state forest officials and 35 are on the run. If these poachers are arrested, they may confirm the number of tigers actually poached in the region between 2012-13. TOI has earlier reported this figure may be over 20. Despite a cyber cell at Amravati, the action against poachers has almost stopped over four months. The last poacher arrested by Amravati forest team was Ranjitsingh Bawaria from Andhra Pradesh on December 12. Intelligence reports had said the big names in poaching had gathered for Holi in forest areas adjoining three to four villages near Katni. The WC

A tiger cub sleeps next to its mother in a cage at the Viviana Orfei Circus of Italy on Manoel Island in Valletta's Marsamxett Harbour. Image by:  DARRIN ZAMMIT LUPI / REUTERS In a statement, the Lyon-based body called for the creation of a "cohesive global strategy" to fight increasingly well-organised gangs trafficking in tiger parts. It called for the setting up of a network of intelligence analysts to coordinate cross-border information exchanges on the trade. "Intelligence gathering and information sharing... are essential if law enforcement is to fully play its role in preventing criminals from driving this iconic species to extinction," David Higgins, head of Interpol's environmental security unit, said in the statement. Interpol said it would organise a four-day meeting with experts in Lyon in May to begin coordinating efforts. Tiger parts are coveted in some parts of Asia as ingredients in traditional medicine. The World Wildlife