... AU NORD COMME AU SUD (actualisé au 1er février)
1. En Inde du Nord, les réserves de Panna et Sariska, d'où les tigres avaient disparu il y a une dizaines d'années, commencent à restaurer leurs populations. Il y a désormais 13 tigres à Sariska et les perspectives de croissance sont bonnes, car la forêt est importante et continue. A Panna, on compte aujourd'hui officiellement 17 tigres adultes et subadultes (Hindustan Times du 1er février. Poulomi Banerjee : "The roar is back : India's tigers are on their prowl again"). Pour la réserve de Ranthambore, qui a servi à réapprovisionner en tigres Panna et Sariska, la situation est plus complexe. elle compte actuellement 59 tigres, mais de nombreux sub - adultes essaiment en dehors de la réserve, et il est impératif de renforcer, notamment, le couloir écologique vers la réserve de Palpur Kuno. Times of India TNN, ce jour. Sariska Panna reserves move up the growth ladder, Ranthambore stays put : study.
JAIPUR: While the once wiped out Sariska National Park has taken giant strides in the past four years and done well for itself, not much has improved in effective management at the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve in the recent years despite the number of big cats constantly multiplying at the reserve. Currently, there are about 59 tigers, including sub-adults, in Ranthambore and Sariska has 13 tigers.
In a report released by the ministry for environment, forest and climate change titled 'Tiger MEETR' on measuring the management effectiveness of tiger reserves in India the Sariska reserve is rated as good and the same remark has been given to Ranthambhore. However, the newly created Mukundra reserve that is yet to get a big cat has been rated as fair.
Sariska's current rating is a grade above of what it was rated in the 2010-011 report while Ranthambore has maintained its rank since then. Interestingly, in 2005-06 when all the tigers were wiped out of Sariska it had been rated as poor while Ranthambore stood at fair then.
Be that as it may, Panna National Park that also saw all its tigers wiped out just about the same time as Sariska but it has been ranked way above at very good.
According to a wildlife expert, "Ranthambore poses many more challenges than Sariska as a park. Not only due to the bustling number of big cats but also because of the straying away of sub-adults due to space crunch. There is an urgent need for creating better corridors connected to Ranthambore for allowing tigers to migrate upto Kuno Palpur while many adjoining sanctuaries need to be upgraded for handling the spill over of tigers. Sariska on the other hand is a bigger forest with much lesser number of tigers but the many villages that are still situated in it and that had resulted in the poaching of a tiger in 2010 are issues that the reserve needs to address urgently."
The ratings were done as per the Management Effectiveness Evaluation (MEE) process, a global framework to evaluate the performance of protected areas that grades reserves between poor to very good where poor stands at 40% mark while very good is at 75% and above.
The MEE is an assessment of how well protected areas such as national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, conservation reserves, community reserves and tiger reserves are being managed and their effectiveness in conserving flora and fauna. The parameters comprise six elements i.e. context that measures the status and threats to the park, planning-how to go where the park wants to be, inputs- what the park needs, process- how to go about the job, output- what was expected and what has been the outcome and outcome- achievements.
2. Pour l'Inde du Sud, Ullas Karanth a réaffirmé hier que l'état du Karnataka (406 tigres) a désormais des chances raisonnables de voir doubler cette population dans les années à venir. Source : Times of India TNN, hier. HM Aravind. "Karnataka can double its tiger count, says Ullas Karanth."
MYSURU: Karnataka can hope to continue its lead in tiger conservation with noted conservation scientist Ullas Karanth predicting that the state has scope to double its count. That's the good news. The jarring note is the projected rise in the number of big cats in the wild could also lead to increase in human-tiger conflict.
Attributing rise in the tiger population to conservation efforts, mainly investment towards managing the tiger reserves, Karanth said: "We've succeeded in conservation and hence have the problem of human-tiger conflict." He suggested extreme measures like shooting down the tigers that are on the prowl in human habitat, the tiger conservationist asserted that tigers-on-the-prowl have to be killed to save the species.
This assumes significance given the violent reaction from the villagers in the fringes of Bandipur tiger reserve after a tiger killed four persons.
The latest tiger census report has put the tiger population at 406 tigers, which is highest in the nation accounting for 18 per cent of India count. Appreciating the rise in the tigers in the wild, he said: "We do have the capacity to double numbers." He attributed it to good predator-prey ratio, increase in the field staff leading to greater patrolling and a disciplined forest force. Indian culture is also tolerant towards its wildlife, even greater than Buddhist. This has also contributed to their survival and the number after all India census is for real, he stated at the Mysuru Zoo delivering talk on tiger conservation.
He warned, however, that fragmentation of forest cover could upset the applecart, which, he said, could lead to increase in human-tiger conflict at the forest fringes. Tigers are facing problems because of human predation, he said pointing at the public outrage at the killing of humans. When locals are killed, reason and logic vanish pushing the villagers to be violent. Controlling public reacting is important. We cannot have effective conservation with the support of the villagers, who are the local stakeholders.
He argued that translocation of tigers is no answer and explained that in 2012 three problematic tigers were shifted from Nagarahole tiger reserve but it was unsuccessful. Captivity also have limited success given that money is involved. Advocating killing of tigers that stray outside the reserves, he said: "We've to sacrifice individuals to save the species." The forest department has to prevent conflict given that they might increase, he stated.
