w w w . i n d i a w i l d s . c o m
home
about Sabyasachi Patra
diary
forums
image gallery
contact IndiaWilds
Home
About
Diary
Forums
Gallery
ContactUs

User Tag List

Results 1 to 3 of 3

Thread: 26 states draw up national action plan for conservation of bears

  1. #1
    Join Date
    24-11-08
    Location
    Bangalore
    Posts
    16,084
    Mentioned
    0 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)

    Default 26 states draw up national action plan for conservation of bears

    26 states draw up national action plan for conservation of bears
    Dipannita Das, TNN | Nov 1, 2012, 03.06AM IST

    PUNE: Action plans drawn up by 26 states for conservation and welfare of bears was used to draw up a common nation plan which will be released during the 21st international conference on bear research and management in Delhi next month.

    The animals are under threat from trade of body parts, habitat degradation, conflicts with people, and poaching for meat. According to a census in Maharashtra conducted in 2005, there are 871 sloth bears in non-protected areas and 1,066 in protected areas.

    Officials from the forest department of the bear supporting states met recently to finalise the national plan on bear conservation and discuss its implementation on ground.

    The meeting was organised jointly by the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF), the Central Zoo Authority (CZA), the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) and the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI). It was supported by the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) and the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW).

    State chief wildlife warden S W H Naqvi told TOI that an action plan for bear conservation for Maharashtra was prepared by WTI and WII. We had given them our inputs on human-bear conflict, habitats, threats, research work and conservation measures that can be taken up,'' he said.

    Rahul Kaul, senior director and chief ecologist at WTI, said that more than a year ago, efforts were on to assess the status of the bears, threats they face and other details to prepare action plans. These state plans were then used to finalise a common national plan.

    The chief wildlife wardens and other state forest department representatives discussed the national plan draft, as well as urgencies, needs and difficulties faced by the states in bear conservation. Their suggestions and changes were recorded for incorporation in the draft plan for finalization. The national plan will be released during the 21st international conference on bear research and management to be held next month in New Delhi,'' he said.

    S Sathyakumar, scientist at WII, said bears are perhaps better representatives of overall Indian biodiversity, more than the tiger or the elephant, because of their pan-India presence. Most problems to Indian wildlife are also represented through bears like trade in living animals and their body parts, habitat degradation, conflicts with people, and even poaching for meat.

    Home to four species

    Out of the eight species of bears found in the world, India is home to four -- the Himalayan bear, the sloth bear, the Asiatic black bear and the sun bear. They are found in 26 states and sloth bears are found in Maharashtra.
    Regards,
    Mrudul Godbole

  2. #2
    Join Date
    27-05-11
    Location
    Salt Lake, Kolkata
    Posts
    4,462
    Mentioned
    0 Post(s)
    Tagged
    12 Thread(s)

    Default

    Good News. In respect of the last paragraph, I may like to add a few lines as under:
    No doubt number of all the four species have gone down drastically.
    Habitats:
    1).Sloth Bear (Melursus ursinus) : Fairly well distributed in most of the major states.
    2).Himalayan Brown Bear(Ursus arctos):Higher reaches of the northwest
    and central Himalaya.
    3).Himalayan Black Bear(Selenarctos thibetanus):From Kashmir to Assam along the Himalayan range below tree line, around 12,000 feet (comes down to about 5,000 feet during the winter).
    4).Sun Bear(Urus malayanus): Once found in the northeast till 1970's, now possibly only restricted to Ukhraul and Chandel districts of Manipur.Very rare.

    Thanks for sharing this important information.
    SaktiWild
    Last edited by Saktipada Panigrahi; 02-11-2012 at 06:14 PM.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    24-11-08
    Location
    New Delhi
    Posts
    16,591
    Mentioned
    0 Post(s)
    Tagged
    2 Thread(s)

    Default

    There was a study done by N.P.S. Chauhan and R.K. Jagdish Singh of Wildlife Institute of India in 2004-2005. They did interviews in the Ukhrul and Chandel districts
    and Yangaoupokpi Lokchao wildlife sanctuary, Manipur, during 2004–05, and have said that small population are still present in Manipur.

    I am quoting from their paper: Status and distribution of sun bears in Manipur, India:

    "Sun bears appeared to be distributed discontinuously within Ukhrul (Fig. 1) and Chandel (Fig. 2) districts of Manipur. Of 264 respondents, 46 confirmed the presence of sun bear via direct sighting only, 92 only via indirect evidence (e.g., tracks, scats), and 27 reported both direct and indirect observations. Ninety nine villagers had no information regarding the presence of sun bears. The respondents observed 81 scats, 113 footprints, and 23 claw marks in forest areas of the 2 districts during 1999–2002. A total of 87 sunbear carcasses were reported by the villagers (hunted bear or natural death), as well as 91 gall bladders, 68 skins, 69 bones, 87 claws, and 22 jaws. We gained the impression that sun bears were relatively more abundant in Chandel than in Ukhrul. We documented sporadic cases of bear attacks on people, crop depredation, and killing of bears for sale of body parts during 1990–2002."

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •