Karnataka houses the maximum number of wild elephants in India, says the latest elephant census report of the union environment ministry.

A deadly virus is stalking the big cats, but the State Forest department is yet to wake up to the warning.

Canine Distemper Virus (CDV) has reportedly affected tigers in the northern and eastern parts of the country, killing two cubs in Patna Zoo, a couple of months ago.

Luckiest Member Of The 800-Strong Census Team Says There’s No Adventure Sport To Beat The Thrill

Bangalore: There is nothing that distinguishes Gopala Krishnaiah, 60, from the nearly 800 volunteers who were part of the tiger census that concluded on Monday. But the oldest of the volunteers was blessed with oodles of luck: In one hour, he spotted five tigers at Bhadra Tiger Reserve which extends across Shimoga and Chikmagalur districts.

The High Court on Monday disposed of a petition against the ongoing Upper Bhadra project to supply water to Kolar and Tumkur districts.

A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice D H Waghela and Justice B V Nagarathna directed that the petition by Bharatiya Kisan Sangh and others be transferred to the National Green tribunal (NGT).

The High Court on Wednesday stayed work on the Upper Bhadra project taken up in the forested areas of the Bhadra tiger reserve without obtaining clearance from the Union government.

Hearing a petition filed by the State unit of Bharatiya Kissan Sangha and others, the Division Bench comprising Acting Chief Justice K Sreedhar Rao and Justice Abdul Nazeer has granted an interim stay on the construction within the forest area till necessary clearance can be obtained from the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests.

‘Criminal tribes’ target big cats in protected reserves

The year bygone has proved to be unsafe for wildlife in Karnataka. As many as 15 tigers died in the State’s protected forests in 2012, according to a report of the National Tiger Conservation Authority. The tiger census conducted in 2010 disclosed that Karnataka had 300 tigers. Of the 41 tiger reserves in India, five are in Karnataka - Bandipur, Nagarahole, Bhadra, Anashi-Dandeli and Biligiri Ranganathaswamy protected tiger forest.

1,706 tigers today, up from 1,411 in 2007

Should the approximately 1,700 tigers left in India be treated as sacrosanct, not to be exploited by India’s tourism industry? Or, should they be looked at as valuable commodities, responsible for filling the coffers of the state? This is the firestorm of a debate that Ajay Dubey sparked off, when he, through a public interest litigation filed in the Madhya Pradesh High Court in September 2010, asked that tourism be banned in ‘core’ tiger areas — zones where tiger density is particularly high — in line with the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, and its 2006 amendment.

Buildings will affect lives of wild animals, say environmentalists

The environmental organisations have demanded cancellation of the permission granted to KSS hotel and a resort company to convert the land in Survey No 344 and 216 in Channagondanahalli in Vasthare. They have also urged to cancel the permission granted to Ravi Ramu to build a resort after converting 3.20 acres of land in Survey No 34 at Baganeheddal in Avathi hobli in Mallandur Gram Panchayat limits

The forest department has suspended all safaris in the State’s tiger reserves from Tuesday morning.

The Supreme Court’s interim order banning tourism activities in the core areas of tiger reserves has shocked operators of the Jungle Lodges and Resorts (JLR) and other resorts around tiger reserves that made a living from tourism. The chief wildlife warden of the State, Deepak Sharma, PCCF (Wildlife) has sent faxes to all tiger reserves ordering that safaris must be suspended until a final decision is taken. “We have ordered to suspend the safaris inside Nagarhole, Bandipuir, Bhadra, Dandeli and K Gudi area in BRT Tiger Reserve. The ban will continue until the court takes up the matter next month,” Mr Sharma said.