17 tiger reserves in precarious condition: Ramesh

NEW DELHI: Seventeen tiger reserves in the country are in a precarious condition and could any time end up as Sariska and Panna, where population
of the striped cats has depleted sharply, government said on Wednesday.

"Of the 38 tiger reserves in the country, 12 are in good condition while the condition of nine is satisfactory, which could be better, but 17 are in a very very precarious state.

"They can become Panna or Sariska at any point of time," Environment minister Jairam Ramesh said highlighting the vulnerability of the endangered species in the country.

The minister was speaking at a function here organised by Dehradun-based Wildlife Institute of India (WII).

He said expert teams have been constituted for the seventeen reserves and their reports have been submitted and were being studied.

"We are studying them and taking measures accordingly. Simplipal tiger reserve (Orissa) is under threat from Naxalite and Maoists besides other factors. Similar is the position of Palmau and Indravati and Valmiki in Bihar," he said.

"We hope that through these interventions we would be able to make some substantial differences," he added.

There are merely 1,411 tigers left in the country, according to a recent government census. Fragmented habitats and poaching besides man-animal conflict has taken toll on the big cats as happened in Sariska (Rajasthan) and Panna (MP) tiger reserves, where population of the endangered animals depleted recently.

The government has initiated a relocation programme for the species in Sariska and Panna reserves.

Link - http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/h...ow/5319619.cms

Though the subject is very disheartening, it is relieving that the apex body of forests has now started to recognize the state of tigers in our country.

Our minister has been proactive and unlike his Predecessors he is not in a state of apathy. Months ago he met all the field directors of tiger reserves and had a open session.

The ministry has to get support and backup for taking decisions if at all India wants their tigers.

Not just 17... all NPs and Sanctuaries are in precarious conditions in India!!!!! >:-( Why everyone only talking about tigers every time...there are other animals and birds also living in Jungles of India....

I am pretty sure that the number of tigers in the wild in India is much less than the census figures. I guess it would be less than the 1000 mark.

I don't agree that only 17 tiger reserves are in bad condition. What about the premier ones like Bandhavgarh, Kanha, Corbett etc?? Is everything well there? An example of one such case: http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=697

Tourism pressure is taking its toll in most of these parks. Poaching is continuing. The habitat is not maintained in an ecologically sound manner. The park managers are resorting to short cuts. One should realise that there can be no short cuts to success.

The Project Tiger was conceived not only to protect tiger, but also its habitat. The tiger being the apex predator, protecting its habitat will protect the other species as well. For example the rivers originating from the forests will be protected along with the species dependent on the rivers like gharial, mugger, fishes, otters, birds, mammals etc. So a majority of the species is covered.

Unfortunately, these days the managers of our protected areas have forgotten this intracate linkages among the various species and today are talking simply in terms of tiger numbers. Infact, lot of misinformation is being spread as well about the tiger numbers. For eg. killing of a tiger cub in Kanha is attributed to more tigers in Kanha, where as in reality the tiger density in Kanha is not as high as in other places like Nagarhole, Kaziranga etc. And it is nowhere near the high densities that used to prevail in the pre-independence era. For further details: http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2270

The tiger, despite being a charismatic species is floundering. One can well imagine the plight of the other species. The fact that wildlife is still surviving in a few places is due to their adaptive capabilities and nature’s abilities to recover. We have to soon lend a helping hand and save our wildlife from extinction. We have to push hard to make conservation the priority of everyone in this country. Else, it may be too late.

Cheers,
Sabyasachi