The State Forest Department has stopped all tourism activities in the core areas of tiger reserves in the State with effect from Thursday in line with the country-wide ban by the Supreme Court.
Visitors now in the tiger reserves will have to return without a safari, as the State Government recently declared the entire tiger reserves in the State core areas. “There will be no tourism activities within Bandipur, Nagarhole, Anshi Dandeli, BRT Wildlife Sanctuary and Bhadra Tiger Reserve,” Dipak Sarmah, Principal chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) and Chief Wildlife Warden, told Deccan Herald.
After copping criticism and concern by wildlife enthusiasts over plastic and paper littering the tiger reserves, the State forest department has now woken up to the problem.
It has now decided to make the entire Bandipur Tiger Reserve a plastic-free zone by imposing a fine of Rs 1,000 on offenders from August 15, 2012. Henceforth, visitors to Bandipur or those driving through National Highways 212 or 67 (which pass through the reserve), must be careful not to throw plastic waste like empty food packets and bottles as the tiger reserve becomes the first one to be plastic-free in the State.
Govt declares Kaniyanapura and nearby villages as reserve forest
This is one classic example of how concerted efforts by government officials and civil society can make a difference to conservation.Jumbos move in the vicinity of an illegal resort in the elephant corridor. Sustained pursuance of the case by a few bureaucrats and wildlife activists has ensured that revenue land, over 5,000 acres, falling in a critical wildlife corridor at Kaniyanapura is declared a reserve forest.
With 80 big cats, the sanctuary has the largest number of tigers in South India after Bandipur
The Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary, known as the habitat of the Asiatic elephant, has become a safe haven for tigers. A recently concluded tiger monitoring conducted by the Forest Department and the WWF-India in the sanctuary has revealed that it may house the largest population of tigers in South India, after Karnataka's Bandipur Tiger Reserve, a sanctuary adjacent to the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary.
Relies on Lokayukta report while filing reply in Supreme Court
The State government has washed its hands of a petition in the Supreme Court seeking a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the alleged role of three former chief ministers — S M Krishna, N Dharam Singh and H D Kumaraswamy —in illegal mining, and decided to leave it to the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) to take an appropriate decision in this regard.
Forest officers in the district are all set to participate in the three-day synchronised elephant census that will begin across six states on Tuesday.
Chamarajanagar district has the distinction of having the highest density of elephant population in the State. Bandipur National Park, Biligiriranganathaswamy Tiger Reserve Forest, Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary and Kollegal Forest Division are other important habitats for elephants in the State. More than 600 enumerators, including forest watchers, students of forestry colleges, volunteers and representatives of NGOs working in the field of wildlife will take part in the census in the district’s forest region.
Simultaneous enumeration in Karnataka, Kerala, T.N., A.P., Maharashtra and Goa
More than 100 volunteers will fan out across the Bandipur and Nagarahole national parks for the synchronised elephant census from Tuesday. The census will take place simultaneously in Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Goa, where the elephant habitat is contiguous. This will help avoid duplication of count.
KOCHI: A rich tiger population and proximity to other national wildlife sanctuaries like Nagarhole, Bandipur and Mudumalai are proving to be highly advantageous for Wayanad in its race for a tiger reserve.
The Ministry of Environment and Forests has expressed its willingness to consider a tiger reserve in Wayanad, provided a proposal comes from the Kerala government. However, the state government is yet to take a final decision.
In a decision that is bound to antagonise conservation scientists, the State Forest Department has clamped down on field research in tiger reserves and will neither renew nor grant fresh permits to enter these forests.
The State's five tiger reserves — Bandipur, Nagarahole, Anshi-Dandeli, Bhadra and B.R. Hills — will no longer be accessible for field research, according to Principal Chief Conservator of Forests B.K. Singh.
Area selected for project is near tank that quenches animals’ thirst
The State government’s initiative to restore the glory of ‘Gandhadagudi’ (abode of sandalwood) in the State through its ‘Siri Chandanavana’ project does not seem to be in order.
