Wildlife TimesWildlife TimesRegd. 106/063-64

Year 3 No. 11 March 2009www.citesnepal.org

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Wildlife and wildlife habitat have always been inseparable part of Royal prerogati ve. Late King Prithivi Narayan Shah (1720-1775), the creator of modern Nepal, since the unifi cati on of the country in 1769 A.D distributed the lands he conquered among his brothers and relati ves as well as courti ers and army offi cers who helped him in batt les to extend his kingdom. According to their ranks and positi ons he distributed these tax free lands, the natural resources of the country to be renewed every year by the King as token of service they rendered to the King. In accordance with this rule, anyone involved in politi cs became the owners of the natural resources of these tax free lands. By 1812 A.D the land coverage of the Kingdom of Nepal had exceeded beyond what King Prithvi Narayan Shah had dreamt. From Bhutan in the east to Kashmir in the west included the Himalayan belt, and the extensive Terai belt that housed ti gers, rhinoceros and elephants and other wildlife came under the control of Nepal.

In the war of 1814 -1815 fought between Briti sh India and the then Imperial State of Nepal, the latt er lost but Nepal remained adamant and refused to concede the enti re Terai belt to the Briti sh India. This victory

POLITICS AND POLITICS AND

WILDLIFE CONSERVATIONWILDLIFE CONSERVATIONover Nepal could not be offi cially accepted unless Briti sh India took over. Therefore, Briti sh India made an offi cial agreement to make cash payment to those owners of tax free lands in the Terai belt and only then the war was offi cially declared to be over and the treaty was made between Briti sh India and Nepal. This was a strange provision that Briti sh India had to make with Nepal and make payment to the country it had defeated. Later Briti sh India returned to Nepal all the lands from Jhapa to Dang which it had conquered and freed itself from the strange provision.

From 1815 to 1846 A.D the enti re wildlife, its habitat remained as long term and short term tax free lands for the King and his courti ers. In those days the use, consumpti on and enjoyment of tax free lands was limited within the kingdom only.

Aft er Junga Bahadur Rana (1817 – 1877) became a Prime Minister of Nepal in 1846, he made Nepal’s Wildlife an inseparable part of Nepal’s foreign policy. He made his personal interest, hunti ng a nati onal event. Hunti ng was made into not only a special occasion for foreign dignitaries but also a compulsory event for any important initi ati ve in Nepal. As a result, the government

Nepalese Royal families posing in front of thropies in Nepalese Royal families posing in front of thropies in Chitwan Nati onal Park during late eighti es.Chitwan Nati onal Park during late eighti es.

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In 1923, then Briti sh India Government recognized Nepal as a Sovereign Country in return for the uti lizati on of Nepal’s natural resources. In an agreement, the then Government of

Nepal had agreed to provide hard wood sal (shorea robusta) ti mber abundant in the Terai region for the constructi on of railroad sleepers. Then Prime Minister of Nepal, Chandra Shamsher (1863-1929) had opened the fi rst forest offi ce called the Kath Mahal to export ti mber to India. This was the fi rst ti me India had destroyed the natural habitat of wildlife. Though, the 1923 Treaty between Nepal and Briti sh India is a very important politi cally, the destructi on of natural source as a background was least of anyone’s concern.

We are aware and evidences to stress that, whenever there are politi cal changes in Nepal, it has been disastrous to our natural resources primarily forest and wildlife. Some of the key politi cal changes that have taken in Nepal is in 1950, 1980, 1990 and recently in 2006. The politi cal change in 1950 resulted in the mass deforestati on in the Terai region and haphazard sett lement in the deforested land. In 1980, the people in the Government themselves were acti ve in deforestati on and illegal wildlife trade to ensure that it was able to stay in Government while aft er the 1990 politi cal change, there was a huge increment of squatt ers in Forest and Nati onal Park areas.

In recent days, in the name of indigenous group, many individuals and groups are acti vely protesti ng to ensure that the natural resources are kept in their name. Through such protests they want to declare their right to the resources. It is more common observati on these days that the politi cians and consti tuent assembly members are acti ve in declaring their support to these groups while conservati onists seem to be engaged only in academic exercise on such issues.

It seems no one is concerned whether the recent politi cal change in Nepal will result in destructi on of wildlife in its habitat or result in displace to diff erent place.

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Politics and ...

itself had to take the responsibility for the conservati on of wildlife. Hence, in the 19th century Nepal, the Prime Minister Jung Bahadur had issued a law that no ti gers, elephants or rhinoceros or any big animals were to be killed without permission from the government. This was innovati ve concept on wildlife conservati on while the modern concept of wildlife conservati on would take another 26 more years.

Therefore from 1846 to 1950, during the period of Rana heredity rule, hunti ng remained most important acti vity in Nepal and for more than a century due to hunti ng, conservati on of wildlife and its habitat remained at its best.

In 1951, the Shah dynasty (1769-2008) came to power again aft er over hundred years. In order to displace the Rana family from ruling Nepal, the politi cal parti es and the Shahs gave access to the natural resources of the country to the public along with courti ers and army . As a result the Terai jungle belt under the control of the ruling class was made open for public to clear the forests and make way for human sett lements. The government also encouraged people to sett le while the US Government supported the eradicati on of malaria in the Terai.

Wildlife Abolition CommenceWith the rapid deforestati on in the Terai belt aft er

1951 for human sett lement, there was an extensive

depleti on of wildlife within a decade. The destructi on of wildlife aft er 1951 was so immense that the government of Nepal had to make laws to control it. In this ti me populati on of rhinoceros in the Terai was reduced from 800 to 200. Hence, to save rhinoceros the Rhino Patrol Group was formed. The then King Mahendra (1919 – 1972) made the Wildlife Conservati on Act as well as declared Chitwan in the mid- Terai belt as Deer Conservati on Area and Rhinoceros Conservati on Area. Due to speedy human sett lements these conservati on remedies did not obtain good results. By 1966 the number of rhinos declined to below 100. However, as the Late king Mahendra loved hunti ng, his conservati on policies were limited to conservati on of wildlife only in regions where he selected for hunti ng. The wildlife was protected for hunti ng purposes and therefore, his conservati on policies did not reach for wildlife conservati on in totality. In additi on, in those days nobody could kill big animals as Tiger and Rhinos without his permission.

In 1972 aft er the sudden death of King Mahendra, the then King Birendra (1945 – 2001) was handed over the responsibility of conservati on of Nepal’s wildlife to his second brother His Royal Highness, Prince Gyanendra (later King Gyanendra). In 1973, Nati onal Parks and Wildlife Conservati on Act was passed and Nepal’s fi rst Chitwan’s Nati onal Parks was established under the leadership of the HRH Prince Gyanendra. In 1974 Wildlife Conservati on Committ ee was formed. This

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committ ee had been acti ve since then to the Peoples’ Movement in 1990 when the politi cal power of the King passed into the hands of the parti es and the committ ee was made inacti ve. During this period, signifi cant works were done in the protected areas; Nati onal Parks were completely separated from the public and the Nati onal Army authorized for the protecti on of the Nati onal Parks. Internati onal Insti tutes like FAO, the Smithsonian Insti tute and WWF were given permission to carry out research studies on the wildlife habitat and the nati onal parks. Eco-tourism was introduced in nati onal park through ‘Tiger Tops’. By the end of the eighti es, policies were made to encourage local parti cipati on for conservati on and Annapurna Conservati on Area Project began. Even though there was a separate Ministry of Forest and Soil Conservati on within the government mechanism, ti ll 1990 His Royal Highness Prince Gyanendra took every decision through Wildlife Conservati on Committ ee on Wildlife and Nati onal Parks. Besides some excepti ons, the committ ee meeti ngs used to be held in his private residence in Nirmal Niwas. Nati onal Parks and Wildlife Conservati on Department under the Ministry of Forest and Soil Conservati on were accountable to the Wildlife Conservati on Committ ee. The Department moved forward under the direct supervision of His Royal Highness Prince Gyanendra and he hence remains responsible for all the successes and failures of the wildlife conservati on ti ll 1990.

Wildlife Displaced by PublicThe Peoples Movement that began in 1990 has now

reached its peak. In 1996, the government declared Buff er Zone in the Nati onal Parks which has given offi cial recogniti on to peoples’ parti cipati on in conservati on. Coincidently, the Maoists armed struggle against the state began in the same year. Even as the politi cal change in 1990 removed the Royal Family from the executi ve role, His Royal Highness Prince Gyanendra had not given up his interest on wildlife conservati on and played acti ve role through the then King Mahendra Trust for Natural Conservati on (now Nati onal Trust for Natural Conservati on). Till now Nepal retains its identi ty in internati onal arena for its policy in conservati on and positi ve impact on wildlife. There have been cases of translocati on of rhinos from Chitwan Nati onal Parks to Bardia Nati onal Parks while the rhino populati on in Chitwan Nati onal Parks has also increased to 466 in mid nineti es.

In the beginning the Maoists armed struggle did not parti cularly impact upon the protected areas. But aft er the Maoists guerrillas began its struggle against the Nepali army, it had direct impact on the wildlife. The Maoists had stronghold on protected areas in the mountain areas including Dhorpatan Hunti ng Reserve, Makalu Barun Nati onal Parks and Annapurna Conservati on Areas while in the Terai the number of rhinos decreased from 600 in the year 2000 to 372. With the country engaged in the armed confl ict, conservati on works slowed down. The security forces were occupied

in fi ghti ng against the Maoists guerillas as civil servants and Non- government agencies remained idle and helpless without their support.

Constituent Assembly: Wildlife Issues Dilemma

The latest politi cal changes in 2006 resulted in removal of King Gyanendra Shah, who was renowned internati onally as a conservati onist from power. Now the Maoists are in the government through Interim Consti tuti on aft er winning the historical Consti tuent Assembly electi on as the biggest politi cal party and have the public mandate to lead the government. Upon joining the government, the Ministry of Forest was one of the ministries under its belt. However, despite taking over the Ministry of Forest, they never made any public statement on Wildlife Conservati on Issues.

In the past two decades the Nepali Congress has led the Ministry of Forest and now this positi on of Minister of Forest is held by Kiran Gurung of UML (United Marxist Leninist) Party. He is the forth forest minister representi ng UML aft er Jhala Nath Khanal, Salim Miyan Ansari and Sahana Pradhan. Recently a Maoist also took over the Ministry of Forest only once. Even so, aft er great politi cal changes, there has been no great change in policies of nati onal parks and wildlife conservati on despite the change in ministers from diff erent politi cal party. Besides, the policies now made are more leader centered rather than wildlife and public centered. Before it was members of the royal family were the leaders, today it’s the ministers from diff erent parti es.

The present politi cal appointee in the Ministry of Forest has not been able to introduce the future policies of wildlife conservati on. However, lawlessness is on the increase. From within the Nati onal Parks, rhino’s horns are being taken out, locals announce that Ghodaghodi Tal is their property, local people culti vate paddy within the parks in the name of people rights, parks offi ces are being padlocked at any ti me while the Ministry of Forest and local agencies remain mute witness to this lawlessness situati on.

To save the protected areas from lawlessness, and bring sustainability to the number of wildlife in future, business plans must be focused rather than management plans. The business plans should be such that both the protected areas and Wildlife conservati on are saved and the necessary resources may be obtained from the conservati ons areas themselves.

Now the Conservati onists rather giving suggesti ons to the Consti tuent Assembly members must prepare a model for conservati on suitable in Nepal and create conducti ve environment for its implementati on. Because by just focusing on suggesti ons, the suggesti ons remain meaningless, Just as the Consti tuent Assembly members are confused about the status of Wildlife in the New Consti tuti on, this confusion will conti nue in the future too.

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Indian Tigers die Indian Tigers die in Kazirangain Kaziranga

By Nava Thakuria, Wildlife Times

The fate of ti gers in Kaziranga Nati onal Park is in shamble that brings serious concern for the wildlife lovers and environment acti vists of Northeast India. The Assam’s wildlife reserve of internati onal fame is presently in the media headline, but again for wrong reasons. Kaziranga, which is more popularly known as a safe heaven for the endangered one horn rhinos grabbed media att enti on with the death of ten ti gers in the last 100 days.

The death of big cats, which is India’s nati onal animal, in the park brought the realisati on for the wildlife lovers that not only the rhinoceros unicornis, but the other inmates are also facing an increasing threat in Kaziranga, which was declared a nati onal park by the Indian government in 1974 (and a World Heritage Site in 1985).

That the populati on of ti gers in the region has come down drasti cally, the voice was heard at the parliament as well. The Union Minister of State (MoS) for Environment and Forest, S. Reghupathy had recentlyinformed the Rajya Sabha that the ti ger populati on in Northeast has reduced to nearly 84.

Covering an area of 430 sq km (with an additi onal area of over 400 sq km) on the southern bank of the mighty river Brahmaputra, Kaziranga (now under Project Tiger) is understandably home to nearly 60 Indian ti gers (scienti fi c name Panthera Tigris). On the other hand, the picturesque reserve gives shelter to almost two-thirds of the total populati on of one-horned rhinos on Earth.

The authority, while responding to the concern of the wildlife acti vists at the unprecedented rise of ti ger’s death in Kaziranga insisted that those deaths were not related to poaching. MC Malakar, chief conservator of forest (wildlife) of Assam insisted that three of the ti gers died due to old age, one each died in cases of infi ghti ng, poisoning by local villagers, fi ghts with buff aloes. Three other decomposed bodies, which were recovered from inside the reserve, might too indicate cases of poisoning.

Nature’s Beckon, an acti ve environmental organisati on of the region has however alleged that it was because of the ineffi ciency and corrupti on of the forest department. Its director Soumyadeep Datt aargued that the sole reason for the inmates’ deaths may not be the poaching, however the deaths related to poisoning is also a serious issue, which the state forest department cannot overlook.

“The ti gers are suspected to be targeted by the villagers in the fringe localiti es of the park. The poor villagers get irritated with the loss of catt le and even the human injury because of the big cats’ entry to the villages in search of food, which fi nally tempts them totake revenges,” Datt a reasoned.

The Kaziranga park director S N Buragohain also admitt ed that the number of incidents of man-ti ger confl icts increased in the recent past because of shrinking habitats. An adult ti ger needs about fi ve kgof meat every day. The ti gers of the park are oft en reported as moving towards the nearby villages in search of prey, which creates enmity among the residents to the mammals.

“In such cases, the duty of the authority is to promptly address the growing resentment of the victi m families who have been living in the fringe areas of the park,” reiterated Datt a, adding that the authority only loves to talk about fi nding more funds. But they show litt le interest in involving the local populati on in preservati on. Moreover, the forest department does not take initi ati ve to give compensati on to the aff ected villagers, he asserted.

The central government allocates compensati on funds for the aff ected families, but Datt a and others charge that forest offi cials siphon these funds away. Their acti vists survey the areas oft en and foundthat nobody has received any compensati on for their losses from the forest department.

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Ten new amphibian species discovered3 Feb 2009,

WASHINGTON: Ten new species of amphibians -- including three kinds of poisonous frogs and three transparent-skinned glass frogs -- have been discovered in the mountains of Colombia, conservati onists said.

With amphibians under threat around the globe, the discovery was an encouraging sign and reason to protect the area where they were found, said Robin Moore, an amphibian expert at the environmental group Conservati on Internati onal. The nine frog species and one salamander species were found in the mountainous Tacarcuna area of the Darien region near Colombia’s border with Panama. Because amphibians have permeable skin, they are exposed directly to the elements and can off er early warnings about the impact of environmental degradati on and climate change, Moore said. As much as one-third of all amphibians in the world are threatened with exti ncti on, he said. “Amphibians are very sensiti ve to changes ... in the environment,” Moore said in a telephone interview. “Amphibians are kind of a barometer in terms of responding to those changes and are likely to be the fi rst to respond, so climate change ... impacts on amphibians heavily.”

Amphibians also help control the spread of diseases like malaria and dengue fever, because they eat the insects that transmit these ailments to people. The new species discovered in Colombia include three poison frogs, three glass frogs, one harlequin frog, two kinds of rain frogs and one salamander. The expediti on that turned up the new amphibians also recorded the presence of large mammals like Baird’s tapir, which is considered endangered in Colombia, four species of monkeys and a populati on of white-lipped peccary, a pig-like creature. “Without a doubt this region is a true Noah’s Ark,” said Jose Vicente Rodriguez-Mahecha, the conservati on group’s scienti fi c director in Colombia. “The high number of new amphibian species found is a sign of hope, even with the serious threat of exti ncti on that this animal group faces in many other regions of the country and the world,” Rodriguez said in a statement. The area where the new species were found has traditi onally served as a place where plants and animals move between North and South America. While the terrain is relati vely undisturbed now, its landscape faces threats from selecti ve logging, catt le ranching, hunti ng, mining and habitat fragmentati on.

Between 25 and 30 percent of the natural vegetati on there is being deforested. Moore said protecti ng the Tacarcuna area where these amphibians were found could also benefi t local people by preserving an important watershed.”We don’t go in there and try and tell them to protect the forest for frogs,” Moore said. “It’s more a case of working with them to fi nd more sustainable long-term soluti ons that will protect these resources that are ulti mately benefi ti ng them.”

Pamela Anderson crusades to free apes 14 Mar 2009, 1744 hrs IST, IANS

LONDON: Former Baywatch star Pamela Anderson has joined animal rights crusaders to free apes kept in capti vity in the US state of Florida.

Anderson has writt en an open lett er to Florida Governor Charlie Crist pointi ng out “roadside zoos” where she says the apes are kept in poorly built enclosures, contactmusic.com reports. Anderson wrote: “PETA and I appeal to you to take acti on to prevent Florida’s roadside zoos from keeping great apes and to ensure that these intelligent primates are transferred to approved sanctuaries to live out the remainder of their lives in suitable surroundings.”

Most wars hit world’s rich wildlife areas21 Feb 2009,

WASHINGTON: Most wars in the last half-century occurred in places that shelter some of the most biologically diverse and environmentally threatened wildlife on Earth, a new study reported on Friday. These include the Vietnam war, when the use of the defoliant Agent Orange destroyed forest cover, and ti mber harvesti ng that funded wars in Liberia, Cambodia and the Democrati c Republic of Congo, according to the study in the scienti fi c journal Conservati on Biology. Eighty-one percent of major armed confl icts from 1950 to 2000 happened in 34 regions known as biodiversity hot spots, which contain the enti re populati ons of more than half of all plant species and at least 42 percent of all vertebrates, the study said. A total of 23 of the 34 hot spots saw warfare in the second half of the 20th century, the study found. More than 90 percent of major wars -- those resulti ng in more than 1,000 deaths -- occurred in countries that contain one of the 34 identi fi ed hot spots, the study found. These centers of endangered wildlife oft en are located in poor countries with dense human populati ons, which put pressure on the natural and politi cal environment in normal ti mes, study author

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Russell Mitt ermeier said in a telephone interview. “You’re looking at a very fragile pla orm on which human and other life depends,” Mitt ermeier said. “And any slight perturbati on for politi cal reasons, or whatever, results in stress within the human populati ons. And very oft en that erupts into violent confl ict.” Refugees from wars in and around biodiversity hot spots can add to the problem by hunti ng for food, cutti ng trees for fi rewood and building camps in these endangered environments. Mitt ermeier, president of the environmental organizati on Conservati on Internati onal, pointed to Madagascar as an example where immediate violent confl ict threatens biodiversity. “We have to be ready to respond and to persist during ti mes of politi cal turmoil, because it’s not always going to be stable,” said Michael Hoff mann, a conservati on biologist with Conservati on Internati onal and a co-author of the study. “When you’re in the middle of a war zone, obviously your number one priority is to stay alive,” Hoff mann said by telephone. “But that’s why one of the key things that we emphasize (is) to be there in ti mes of confl ict and not just pack your bags and say, oh, it’s too diffi cult.” The study did not specify what caused the extraordinary correlati on between wars and regions of endangered biodiversity, but said this needed further investi gati on. The study’s authors urged conservati on groups and the broader internati onal community to work with military, reconstructi on and humanitarian programs in confl ict zones.

Villagers kill 3 rare tigers in Western Indonesia 24 Feb 2009,

JAKARTA, Indonesia: Villagers in western Indonesia speared to death three Sumatran ti gers this month aft er the criti cally endangered cats strayed from protected forests to att ack livestock and killed six people in a neighboring province, a conservati onist said on Tuesday

The endangered ti gers were killed in Riau, a province on Sumatra island, said Samsidar, a spokesman for the WWF who like many Indonesians uses only one name. Residents in Indragiri Hilir district caught and speared the fi rst ti ger on Feb. 10 and the other two on Feb. 16, he said, adding that wildlife offi cials suspect the skins of the dead cats may have been sold to poachers. “We haven’t been able to fi nd their carcasses,” he said. Sumatran ti gers in neighboring Jambi province mauled to death six people in the last month, prompti ng conservati onists to launch a massive operati on to capture and relocate the animals. There are only around 250 of Sumatran ti gers left in the wild, compared to about 1,000 in the 1970s, according to the WWF. As a result, their subspecies, Panthera ti gris sumatrae, could become the fi rst large predator to go exti nct in the 21st century. One of the reasons for declining populati ons is habitat destructi on,

but confl ict with humans may pose the greatest threat to their survival, according to the Forestry Ministry, which said on average fi ve to 10 Sumatran ti gers have been killed every year since 1998. Someti mes their skins are sold and other ti mes their bones are used in traditi onal medicine.

Fourth Sumatran tiger killed in Indonesia27 Feb 2009,

JAKARTA: Indonesian villagers have trapped and killed a fourth endangered Sumatran ti ger amid a spate of ti ger att acks blamed on illegal logging, environmental group WWF said on Friday.

Four ti gers and six people have been killed on Sumatra island this month, it said. “We learnt on February 24 that another Sumatran ti ger had been trapped and killed by villagers aft er it att acked two farmers on Sunday,” WWF spokeswoman Syamsidar said. “This is the fourth ti ger killed this month and we are concerned because it is a protected animal and an endangered species.” The farmers from Simpang Gaung village in Riau province were seriously injured in the att ack, Syamsidar said. “The ti ger in the latest killing had wandered into the village as its habitat had been destroyed by people,” she added. There are fewer than 400 Sumatran ti gers left in the wild and their increasing contact with people is a result of habitat loss due to deforestati on, according to the wildlife group. It said about 12 million hectares (30 million acres) of forest on Sumatra had been cleared in the past 22 years, a loss of nearly 50 percent islandwide. The incidents in Riau occurred in an area dott ed with pulp and oil palm plantati ons and recently subject to burning to clear forests.

2012 Olympic Park to include wildlife habitat28 Feb 2009,

LONDON: London’s wildlife is getti ng an Olympic boost.

Organisers of the 2012 Summer Games said on Saturday that a 45-hectare wildlife area would be included in the Olympic Park in Stra ord, East London, creati ng a new habitat for ott ers, amphibians and other species. The area will include four sites for lizards, ponds to allow amphibians to breed and wetlands where grass snakes can lay eggs. “The creati on of green oases in the Olympic Park will be a fantasti c legacy for Londoners to enjoy for many years to come,” London Mayor Boris Johnson said. “These areas are being carefully designed to provide ideal wildlife havens so that fl ora and fauna can thrive.”

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Stranded dolphins rescuedRSS/APItahari, February 4:

Nepal Army personnel deployed for the security of Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve rescued three rare dolphins that were stranded in Haripur and Sripur areas of Sunsari district, reports said.

Soldiers and conservati on offi cials caught the dolphins and released them to the Koshi river, Sunsari assistant CDO Fanindra Pokhrel said. The area was being searched to make sure no other dolphins were stranded.

Chief of the Nepal Army batt alion deployed for the reserve security Purushott am Khadka said a 100-kg dolphin was rescued from haripur area and released to the river. The eff orts to rescue the rare animals were on since Monday.

Two dolphins were rescued from Sripur area. The dolphins were stranded in Sripur and Haripur area aft er the Koshi, which breached the embankments and entered the villages in last August, was recently brought back to its original course. The army has esti mated that there are at least 10-20 dolphins in the river.

Two poachers arrested for killing deerHimalayan News Service, Itahari,February15:

Two poachers, who were hunti ng red deer in Charkoshe Jungle, were nabbed from the spot last night.

Police arrested Dambar Tamang, 40, of Itahari-3 and Harka Bahadur Tamang, 17, of the same place with weapons and a killed deer.

The Area Police Offi ce, Itahari publicised the poachers with one home-made gun, one khukuri and the dead dear in a press meet this morning.

Following a gun-shot sound at midnight, a police patrol team reached the spot and caught them red handed, police said. Both poachers admitt ed their crime of killing deer.They also conceded that they made money for livelihood by selling fl esh of wild animals for few years.

Shanti Ram Koirala, police inspector at Area Police Offi ce Itahari, said that a legal acti on against them on the charge of killing wild animals would be taken.

Animals help cure human diseases

Lilaballav Ghimire

DHARAN, Feb 2- Raising animals at a hospital sounds quite unusual, but it’s a reality at B P Koirala Insti tute of Health Science (BPKIHS) in Dharan where sheep, rabbits and mice are kept to help research and treat various human diseases.

A dozen sheep have been reared at the Dharan-based insti tute in order to provide blood for research aimed at curing human diseases. Harka Pakhrin, an employee at the insti tute, looks aft er these sheep. “I am always careful to ensure the sheep are healthy given that dozens of students work with them for their research and hundreds of pati ents rely on them for their treatment,” says Pakhrin. The employees draw 100 ml of blood from each sheep every week.

Nabin Chaudhary, a microbiology student at the insti tute, said that the sheep’s blood is full of nutrients that help diagnose human diseases. Experts say that sheep’s blood increases the growth rate of bacteria in human blood, and it is helpful when diagnosing diarrhoea, typhoid, dysentery and other blood-related diseases. Besides sheep, 100 mice and fi ve rabbits have been kept at the insti tute for research and investi gati on.

The medical students use the mice for testi ng diff erent medicines and poisons. Rabbits are used for experiments and research as their anatomy resembles that of human beings. “Rabbits are used during experiments with diff erent kinds of eye drops,” maintains an employee, adding that these rabbits have undergone diff erent kinds of heart surgery for the tests. According to the spokesperson for the insti tute, Dr. Sanjib Sharma, these animals have been raised for the purpose of conducti ng research on various human diseases.

Rhino missing from Bardiya sanctuaryPOST REPORT

BARDIYA/CHITWAN, Feb 5 - An injured rhinoceros has virtually vanished from that stretch of the Bardiya Nati onal Park (BNP), which is considered a safe haven for poachers.

The vanishing comes a day aft er the plight of a rhino, with its horn plucked in the Chitwan Nati onal Park (CNP), the country’s largest sanctuary for the endangered species, came to light.

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The Nepal Army has mobilised a 20-member squad and four elephants to trace the rhino that was last spott ed in Khata of Dhodhari Village Development Committ ee in the BNP on Wednesday evening, Ramesh Kumar Thapa, assistant chief conservati on offi cer of the park, said. BNP authoriti es have also pressed a 12-member team into service to fi nd the endangered animal. “Most of the poachers target rhinos in Khata,” Thapa said. The conservati on offi cial said three ti gers were poached in Khata in three years, adding that poachers had injured and killed one rhino in Khata last year.

BNP, the country’s second largest sanctuary for rhinos, has witnessed a steady decline in rhino populati on due to unabated poaching, say offi cials. The wildlife park, which had 38 rhinos in 2005, has 22 rhinos at present, they say. Meanwhile, a report from Chitwan district said 10 organisati ons based in and around the tourist hub of Sauraha have organised a protest against the poachers, who plucked the horn of a rhino recently. On Wednesday, a tour guide had spott ed the rhino without its horn near a checkpost at Junauli in the CNP. Representati ves of the organisati ons padlocked offi ces of Nati onal Trust for Nature Conservati on, Tarai Arc Landscape of the World Wildlife Fund and Sector Offi ce of the CNP, all located on the eastern sector of the park.

Damodar Regmi of the Regional Hotel Entrepreneurs’ Associati on Chitwan said tourism entrepreneurs, conservati onists and local people padlocked the offi ces to make the CNP and other organisati ons control rhino poaching. “We sought permission from CNP offi cials to trace the injured rhino, to no avail,” Regmi said. The representati ves of the 10 organisati ons, including Regional Hotel Entreprueners’ Associati on, Restaurant and Bar Associati on, Nature Guide Associati on and Bird Educati on Society, also criti cised the government for not involving local people in the ongoing rhino census. The Chitwan Nati onal Park has mobilised at least 24 elephants in search of the missing rhino, park offi cials said.

Poison kills dolphinPOST REPORT

SUNSARI, Feb 5 - One of the three dolphins that were found in ponds created aft er the Koshi river was diverted to its original course died on Thursday.Major Purushott am Khadka, of the Shreebox Batt alion of Nepal Army (NA), said that the dolphin died while undergoing treatment.

He said that the dolphin fell ill because locals had mixed poison in the water for fi shing. The Army gave the deceased dolphin to the Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve.

Injured rhino breathes Its Last

Dipendra Baduwal

NARAYANGADH, Feb 14 - Aft er suff ering for 15 days, the rhino, which was robbed of its horn inside the Chitwan Nati onal Park (CNP), died on Friday evening. Chitwan park offi cials said the female rhino died though a medical team had been att ending to it round the clock. In a gruesome act about two weeks ago, poachers had plucked the rhino horn without killing the 30-year-old animal. The incident came to light aft er a tour guide had spott ed the animal near a checkpost at Junauli on Feb. 2 Four days later, park offi cials found the animal at the Lami pond inside the park. The rhino had been frequenti ng in the area to drink water and kill the pain emanati ng from injuries it sustained at the hands of poachers. CNP’s Chief Conservati on Offi cer Narendra Babu Pradhan said, ‘‘The rhino died of wounds as a medical team, despite repeated eff orts, failed to take out a bullet embedded inside its neck.’’ ‘‘Medical experts att ended to the injured rhino round the clock, to no avail,’’ Pradhan claimed. According to park offi cials, this is the second ti me the CNP has come across this kind of incident. Ashok Bhandari, assistant conservati on offi cer at the CNP, said a rhino was robbed of its horn 12 years ago and that it lived for three days. ‘‘This is the fi rst ti me a rhino lived so long without its horn,’’ he said. ‘‘The rhino died of wounds as a medical team, despite repeated eff orts, failed to take out a bullet embedded inside its neck,’’ Bhandari added.

Injured rhino deadNARAYANGADH, Feb 14 - Aft er suff ering for 15

days, the rhino, which was robbed of its horn inside the Chitwan Nati onal Park (CNP), died on Friday evening. Chitwan park offi cials said the female rhino died though a medical team had been att ending to it round the clock. In a gruesome act about two weeks ago, poachers had plucked the rhino horn without killing the 30-year-old animal. The incident came to light aft er a tour guide had spott ed the animal near a checkpost at Junauli on Feb. 2.

Leopard gunned downPOST REPORT

KATHMANDU, Feb 16 - A wild leopard on Monday wreaked havoc in the capital, injuring three people, including a police head constable in Chandol locality. The fearsome wild big cat, which was fi rst spott ed at around 9 am in the morning, was shot dead aft er police’s att empts to capture it alive failed. Police said the leopard could have been saved had the darti ng to make it fall asleep been successful. Police and offi cials from the

9

Central Zoo had reached the spot quite quickly and had fi red the tranquilizer shot. But the dart failed to have its eff ect on the animal and the leopard instead started running franti cally. Police shot dead the animal as it was going dangerously out of control, said DSP Sharad Kumar Khatri of Metropolitan Police Circle offi ce, Maharajgunj.

Two killed in animal attacks in Chitwan ParkKan pur Report

CHITWAN, Feb 28 - Two persons died in separate att acks by rhino and ti ger on Friday.

The dead body of Narayan Shrestha aka Krishna, resident of Meghauli VDC-5, was recovered this morning from Chitwan Nati onal Park. He was killed in rhino att ack, the police confi rmed. The other deceased identi fi ed as Ganga Ram Mahato, of Dibyanagar VDC-3, was att acked by ti ger while he was gathering fi re woods in the Park. Mahato was returning with other villagers when he was att acked from behind. Since one month, rhino and ti ger att acks have increased in remote areas of Madi in western Chitwan with already fi ve people dead.

Man on a mission to save vulturesBECHU GAUD NAWALPARASI, March 10 - As the

early morning mist drift s away from farmlands at a community forest’s edge in Panchanagar-3, Yadav Khanal embarks on a job which many would fi nd unatt racti ve. Khanal collects carrions from the locale. Upon hearing about the death of animals in the vicinity, Khanal hurries there to collect the remnants. Once a popular stand-up comedian with a fl air for politi cal and social sati res, Khanal is doing all this for the sake of vultures, which are on the verge of exti ncti on. According to him, 85 vulutres drop in at his place -- “vulture restaurant” -- for food every day. Over two dozen of the everyday ‘visitors’ fl y all the way from mountainous and hilly regions to feast

on their favourite items. To ensure uninterrupted supply of food for the scavengers, Khanal buys terminally ill catt le from locals and keeps them in the “old animals’ farm” near the restaurant.

The restaurant, which was set up in 2007, is being funded by Bird Conservati on Nepal. The dying animals are then taken to the restaurant’s farm where they are treated, if needed, with vulture-friendly painkiller and given to vultures aft er death. The IUCN (World Conservati on Union) has listed White-rumped vulture, Long-billed vulture and Slender-billed vulture as criti cally endangered species in the Indian subconti nent. Diclofenac, a drug used in the treatment of livestock, is a major cause behind the decline in the number of vultures in Nepal. Carcasses laced with the drug can kill the scavengers. Concludes Khanal, “Safe feeding is a must for vulture conservati on, for which vulture restaurants are viable schemes. Schemes like vulture restaurant can surely conserve the near-exti nct vultures.”

Over 80 yaks killed in wildfi reKan pur Report

SANKHUWASABHA, March 19 - More than 80 yaks were killed in a wildfi re at Pawakhola VDC-7, Sankhuwasabha district on Thursday. An unidenti fi ed catt le herder also went missing in the wildfi re that started from Jumlingkharka area. A team of police from nearby Num VDC was deployed to control the fi re from spreading further. Meanwhile, wildfi re that started at Makalu VDC 13 days ago has sti ll not come under control. The fi re has already destroyed over 1000 hectares of forestland, including the parts of Makalu Barun Nati onal Park. Fire that broke out at Tinjure, Milkey and Jaljale region three days ago has also not been contained. Seven persons sustained burn injuries while trying to douse the wildfi re at Pakani forest of Goganey VDC-9. The wildfi re has destroyed a fi ve kilometer long water pipeline rendering hundreds of villagers thirsty.

APOLOGY

We express our sincere apologies for the error in our news reporti ng on the February Issue (Year 3 No.10) of Wildlife Times with the news headline “Rhino Horn Real”. The news should have stated “Ramesh Chand, District Forest Offi cer of Darchula and staff of Shukla Phanta Wildlife Reserve had caught Man Bahadur Kunwar and Rabindra Adi red-handed trying to sell the rhino horn.”

We apologies to Mr Chand and the Staff of Shukla Phanta Wildlife Reserve for this grievous error and applaud their eff ort in stopping illegal wildlife trade.

APPEAL

Dear valued readers,

The 11th issue of the Wildlife Times is in your hands. It is our small eff ort to raise various issues related with wildlife conservati on. Please help us include the acti viti es from your group or organizati ons of wildlife conservati on by sending us the concerned informati on. We would love to fi nd any suggesti on and criti cism. Please feel free to leave your feedback at info@citesnepal.org. We also seek support from your organizati on to conti nue this Wildlife Times. We look forward to your queries, comments and support.

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Villagers rescue dolphin in West Bengal 1 Feb 2009,

KOLKATA: In a heart-warming incident, a 12-year-old dolphin, which had strayed into an irrigati on canal in West Bengal’s East Midnapore district, was rescued by villagers, who stood guard overnight to ensure that the mammal reached its habitat.

Lauding the role of villagers in Tilkhoja area in rescuing the dolphin on January 13, Divisional Forest Offi cer, East Midnapore, Rabindranath Saha said that it was remarkable that the mammal was in perfect health despite spending over 24 hours in a pond aft er local people rescued it from an irrigati on canal. Saha said the Gangeti c dolphin had separated from its group and possibly strayed from Rupnarayan river into an irrigati on canal and was stuck there because of low ti de. Villagers rescued the dolphin and put it in a pond while standing guard all night before the forest department personnel took over and eventually released it 42 km away next morning.

“The dolphin was put in a water-fi lled vessel put on a truck by forest department personnel with the help of villagers and safely released in the river aft er an hour’s journey,” Saha, who had monitored the operati on accompanied by the range offi cer and forest personnel, said. The offi cer said dolphins straying into irrigati on canals from rivers in West Bengal’s East Midnapore district was common and the forest department was virtually dependent on villagers for rescue of the Schedule-I endangered mammal.

Arrested poachers’ could have Sansar Chand links2 Feb 2009,

DEHRADUN: The fi ve persons arrested near Jim Corbett Nati onal Park with a ti ger skin could have links with notorious poacher Sansar Chand and more arrests may be made, Utt arakhand forest department offi cals said.

“Preliminary investi gati ons revealed that the poachers could have links with Sansar Chand,” a forest department offi cial said. The forest department on Thursday night arrested the fi ve poachers along with a ti ger skin at Ramnagar area, the gateway to the Corbett Park which is famous for ti gers and elephants. Raids are also being conducted elsewhere in the country to nab other members of the gang, offi cials said, adding the poachers told the investi gators that they wanted to sell the skin in Delhi.

Arrested in June 2005, Sansar Chand, known as the ‘Veerappan of north India’, heads a gang of poachers and has been twice convicted under the Wildlife Act and faces trial in several other cases. The offi cial said interrogati on was conti nuing but “a detailed probe would only tell the complete picture of the poaching ring in the state”.

More informati on is likely to be disclosed in a day or two, he said. A trap and other poaching equipments have also been recovered, offi cials said.

Wild elephants enter Chhattisgarh village2 Feb 2009,

RAIPUR: A herd of wild elephants entered a forested village in Chhatti sgarh early Monday and frightened tribals have now sought urgent help from forest department offi cials to drive the animals away before they cause any harm, offi cials said.

The nine elephants that have entered Labji village, some 400 km from here, have demolished dozens of houses in the past week in diff erent villages of the state’s northern Surguja district, a forest offi cial said. A forest offi cial said his department would provide full cooperati on to the villagers. The tribals say they will migrate to safer areas if immediate assistance is not off ered to them. Dozens of villages in Surguja, Jashpur, Koria, Korba and Raigarh districts in northern Chhatti sgarh have been aff ected by elephant att acks for more than a decade.

Att acks on humans by elephants have increased since 2005 and dozens of people have been killed. Offi cials said encroachment by people into the elephant habitat has caused more confl icts.

Leopards rescued from well 3 Feb 2009,

NASHIK: Two leopards, which accidentally fell into a well in Igatpuri tehsil have been rescued by the forest department, its offi cials said on Tuesday.

The incident took place on Sunday night when the wild cats were chasing their hunt, they said. They were brought out of the well with the help of a ladder by the forest offi cials yesterday, aft er villagers in the Bharvir-Khurd area raised an alarm.

The leopards, later, ran away into a nearby sugarcane fi eld.

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Afridi concerned over shooting of Houbara Bustard, urge Wildlife Policy

ISLAMABAD, Feb 14 (APP): Expressing serious concerns over un-sustainable hunti ng of a rare species Houbara Bustard, Minister for Environment, Hamidullah Jan Afridi Saturday stressed to formulate Nati onal Wildlife Policy in consultati on with all stakeholders.”In view of unsustainable hunti ng of rare species, we need a comprehensive policy,” Afridi said, calling for consultati on with the provincial wildlife departments, relevant ministries and other stakeholders to ensure protecti on and conservati on of wildlife in the country

The minister was chairing a meeti ng of Nati onal Council for Conservati on of Wildlife (NCCW), also att ended by Secretary Environment Khushnood Akhtar Lashri, members of the council including representati ves of Ministries of Foreign Aff airs, Defense, Livestock and Dairy Development and Health. The representati ves of provinces, AJK, Northern Areas, Islamabad Capital Territory leading conservati on NGOs and non-offi cial members of the council also parti cipated in the meeti ng. The forum felt that despite provision of measures for wildlife protecti on and conservati on in Nati onal Environment Policy and Nati onal Forest Policy, there is a need for exclusive Nati onal Wildlife Policy which will further strengthen the check and balances for wildlife conservati on in the country.

The Minister directed that new Nati onal Wildlife Policy should be prepared during the current year; the Nati onal Year of Environment 2009.It was agreed that a viable mechanism and strategy will be devised in consultati on with the Ministry of Foreign Aff airs and Provincial Governments for miti gati ng threats to this important species.

Afridi directed that Foreign Offi ce shall keep NCCW in loop while issuing permits to foreign dignitaries and said, the guidelines issued in this regard will be revisited and implemented in lett er and spirit.

Wildlife trade related issues were also discussed and the forum agreed to conti nue ban on commercial export of wild mammals and repti les while the wildlife trade fee schedule being implemented by NCCW Secretariat will also remain unchanged.

The meeti ng debated import of big cats and agreed that in the best interest of endangered species, such imports by the private sector will not be permitt ed ti ll internati onal standards for such endangered species are guaranteed.

WWF Pakistan shouldered responsibiliti es for draft ing standard and legislati on for the purpose.

The minister also expressed concerns regarding un-sustainable shooti ng of game birds being

managed by the provinces. The representati ves of the provinces agreed to revise the bag limits of certain species which are off ered for shooti ng.

The forum decided to revise provincial wildlife laws of 1970s, which are out dated and needed compati bility with parti cipatory approaches on scienti fi c basis.

The meeti ng also reviewed the progress of community based trophy hunti ng programme, where local communiti es get 80% monitory benefi ts for their conservati on programmes and social uplift .

The minister said this programme is role model and being praised at nati onal as well as internati onal level. To ensure transparency and parti cipati on of stakeholders in the programme, a committ ee was consti tuted to review the progress of this programme in detail and provide advice to the council in the next meeti ng.

The meeti ng also decided trophy hunti ng quota for the season 2009-2010. The meeti ng was informed that 2009 is being celebrated as “Nati onal Year of Environment” and the federal government and provincial governments in collaborati on with non-governmental conservati on and development agencies will organize comprehensive campaigns for increased awareness of the general masses regarding importance of environment and natural resources.

Villagers want stray tiger to be declared ‘man-eater’7 Feb 2009,

NAINITAL (Utt arkhand): The villagers of Dhikuli, situated in the buff er zone of Corbett Nati onal Park, have staged protests, demanding that a ti ger strayed into the village be declared a “man-eater” aft er it mauled to death a 50-year-old woman.

“The park Director is examining the case following the villagers’ protest,” an offi cial of the Park said. The big cat had strayed into the village from the Park and killed the woman last Wednesday. Following the incident, the villagers, in a lett er, asked the Park Director to declare the ti ger as “man-eater” and shoot it dead. They warned of disrupti ng the functi oning of the Park, if authoriti es failed to take measures in this regard.

Tiger monitoring committee discusses village relocation process7 Feb 2009,

NEW DELHI: A monitoring committ ee set up by the Nati onal Tiger Conservati on Authority (NTCA) on Friday emphasized the need of meti culous planning for relocati on of villages from core criti cal areas in the country’s 37 ti ger reserves.

12

The three member monitoring committ ee, formed in September 2008 to oversee village relocati on and eco-tourism strategy in Project Tiger reserves across the country, held discussions in the capital with the chief wildlife wardens of several states and heads of various ti ger reserves. “In India, there are people living inside reserves and these people need to be relocated so that the space is made inviolate and undisturbed for ti gers. We have to prioriti ze their relocati on in a planned manner,” said Sunita Narain, chairperson of the committ ee. According to the committ ee, there were an esti mated 1,500 villages or 65,000 families inside the core and buff er zones of ti ger reserves.

“We have asked offi cials of all ti ger reserves to provide us with approximate fi gures of people who need to be relocated,” said Rajesh Gopal, member secretary NTCA. Gopal said they would be able to collect the required data by June. “The government in 2008 has increased the relocati on package from Rs.100,000 to Rs.1 million to give incenti ve to the people who have to vacate the ti ger reserves,” Gopal said.

Orders issued to kill man-eater Tiger8 Feb 2009,

DEHRADUN: Utt arakhand Forest department declared a ti ger as man-eater and issued a noti ce to capture or kill the wildcat . Utt arakhand’s Chief Forest Ranger R B S Rawat said that a decision in this regard was taken aft er the ti ger killed a woman in Dhikala Range, which lies in the buff er zone of Jim Corbett Nati onal Park. Rawat asked authoriti es to make all eff orts to capture the animal before trying the last opti on of killing it.

Leopard found dead in J&K8 Feb 2009,

JAMMU: A leopard was found dead in the forest belts of Kishtwar district in Jammu and Kashmir, the second such incident in less than a week, offi cial sources said.

Acti ng on the informati on of villagers, a joint team of Army and wildlife offi cials rushed to Bagwa forest belt in Kishtwar district and recovered the carcass last evening, they said. The carcass was brought to Kishtwar town by the offi cials and post mortem was conducted, they said, adding that reason behind the death is not known.

Tiger found dead in Uttar Pradesh 9 Feb 2009,

LUCKNOW: A male adult ti ger has been found dead in a forest area in Utt ar Pradesh’s Pilibhit district, an offi cial said on Monday . “The ti ger was found dead on a tree Sunday evening in the Mahof forest,” divisional forest offi cer Pramod Gupta said over telephone. “The ti ger is around 15 years old. We have not found any physical injury marks on the animal,” he said. The ti ger has been

sent for post-mortem to the Indian Veterinary Research Insti tute (IVRI) at Bareilly.

According to offi cials, the forests in Pilibhit, over 250 km from Lucknow, are home to around 35 ti gers.

Website to disseminate info related to wildlife crime10 Feb 2009, 1822 hrs IST,

NEW DELHI: The Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) will now be able to share informati on related to wildlife crime and develop links with all the stakeholders through its recently launched website. Set up last year at the initi ati on of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the Bureau aims to collect intelligence related to organized wildlife Crime acti viti es and to disseminate the same to state and other enforcement agencies.

“The website www.wccb.gov.in hope to expose more people across the country to the Bureau and encourage greater parti cipati on in helping us check wildlife crime,” a senior Wccb offi cial said here today. The website also aims to increase awareness among enforcers, internati onal tourists to reduce demand for wildlife and its products and to display its work, future plans for the benefi t of stakeholders. “For instance, enforcer manual for banned species has been given in detail to help the offi cials take adequate legal steps when they are confronted with the off enders,” the offi cial said. Details of legal provisions, related linkages and publicati ons concerned have also been uploaded on the website of the Bureau which is a multi -disciplinary agency consisti ng of offi cials from forests, police and revenue (customs, excise). “Thus, it will also create awareness among the people about the banned wildlife products, purchase of which can land them in jail. There have been instances where people purchase wildlife product unknowingly and get into legal tangle because of their ignorance,” the offi cial said.

Tiger skulls, drugs bound for China seized in Manipur19 Feb 2009,

IMPHAL/GUWAHATI: A large consignment of animal parts was seized by the Assam Rifl es in Manipur’s Chandel district on Monday, once again pointi ng to the the thriving poaching racket that operates in the North-East. It is suspected that the animal parts were being smuggled to South-east Asian markets that have a huge demand for ti ger bones and skin.

On Monday personnel from Assam Rifl e’s 20th batt alion seized the parts which included two ti ger skulls, two ti ger paws, 16 kg of ti ger bones, 340 kg of pangolin shell and 191 deer antlers from a truck at a check post in Bongyang in Chandel district. The consignment also included 2.8 lakh actephide tablets worth Rs 4 lakh in the Indian market. Sources said the price of the contraband

13

drug could gop up to four ti mes in the grey market. The truck was heading toward Moreh, a business town in Manipur bordering Myanmar. Sources said that once the truck reached Moreh, the consignment would have been smuggled to Myanmar from where it would have headed to East and Southeast Asian markets, like China and Thailand. China is the biggest consumer of ti ger parts in world, where the bones and body parts are used for traditi onal Chinese medicines. Wildlife crime experts said that with the wild ti ger populati on being virtually wiped out from the jungles in China, the soaring demand for ti ger parts is being met from Myanmar and the Northeastern of India. Also the porous internati onal border that the Northeastern region shares with neighbouring countries like Myanmar, has made smuggling of wildlife parts and contraband drugs from the region easier. In December last year, Assam Rifl es seized 75 kg of red sanders along with elephant tusks, trunks and jaw parts, deer skins and deer antlers also at Bongyang village. Incidentally the consignment was on its way to Myanmar through Moreh. In January this year about 30 truck loads of red sanders were seized by Assam Rifl es also in Moreh. Wild life experts suspected that the ti gers and deer could have been poached in north Indian forests. “It is a possibility that these were poached in eastern Utt ar Pradesh. This seems to be a new route that the poachers are using to smuggle out animal parts to South-east Asia. The way rhinos and ti gera are being killed in Assam, West Bengal forests are under threat as well. But north Bengal hardly has any wild life left for poaching,” said Pranabesh Sanyal, former director of the Sunderban Tiger Reserve. The Moreh-Myanmar and Assam-Siliguri routes are the major conduits for trade in illegal wildlife parts from the Northeastern region, whose rich biodiversity is already under thread from poachers.

Even other illegal traders from others states in the country also uses the Moreh-Myanmar and Assam-Siliguri route for smuggling out wildlife parts and red sanders from Andhra Pradesh. Police in Kokrajhar district seized large quanti ty of antlers and red sandalwood pieces from a saw mill in Gosaigaon.

Man-eater tiger killed in Uttar Pradesh24 Feb 2009, 2250 hrs IST, IANS

LUCKNOW: A man-eater ti ger that claimed four lives in the last two months in Utt ar Pradesh’s Faizabad district and its adjoining area was Tuesday shot down by forest offi cials.

“The ti ger that claimed four human lives was killed in the Bakchula forest in Faizabad late this (Tuesday) evening,” divisional forest offi cer (DFO) O.P. Singh said. The feline was killed by an expert shooter, who shot three bullets at the ti ger while it att empted an att ack, added Singh. According to forest offi cials, the big cat killed four humans in Pilibhit, Barabanki and Faizabad districts. The ti ger had strayed out of the forests in Pilibhit district.

According to offi cials, the forests in Pilibhit, over 250 km from Lucknow, are home to around 35 ti gers.

Nine tigers already dead in 200925 Feb 2009,

NEW DELHI: Nine ti gers have already died in and around the forests of India since the beginning of 2009, parliament was informed on Wednesday. The government had said last year that only about 1,400 ti gers were left in the wild in the country.

Replying to a questi on, Minister of State in the Ministry of Environment and Forests S. Reghupathy said in the Lok Sabha that according to informati on provided by various state governments, 14 ti gers had died in 2008, 30 in 2007 and 14 in 2006. The minister also provided the worrying informati on that 52 rare Asiati c lions had died in fi scal 2007-08 and 35 in 2006-07. One leopard has died in 2009 so far, the minister said, adding that the number of leopards that died was eight each in 2008 and 2007 and 17 in 2006.

24 rhinos fell prey to poachers in Assam25 Feb 2009, 1629 hrs IST, PTI

NEW DELHI: At least 24 rhinoceros fell prey to poachers in the past two years in Kaziranga nati onal park and adjacent areas in Assam, the Lok Sabha was informed today.

In reply to a questi on, Environment minister S Regupathy said, “Eighteen and six rhinos were killed by poachers in 2007 and 2008 respecti vely in Kaziranga nati onal park and adjacent areas in Assam.” Lucrati ve price for rhino horns in internati onal markets is the main moti ve behind the poaching of rhinos, the minister said. To protect the endangered species as well other animals in the habitat, state government has submitt ed a Rs 16 crore annual plan under the Centrally sponsored scheme “Project Tiger.” “Based on this proposal, the Central government has approved Rs 4.57 crore to Kaziranga ti ger reserve of which Rs 1.50 crore has already been released,” Reghupathy added. Regarding the other steps to protect wildlife in the country, the minister said, various schemes and Acts have been enacted for keeping a check on poaching and anti -wildlife acti viti es of the poachers.

69 leopards dead in eight weeks28 Feb 2009,

NEW DELHI: India’s leopard count has gone down by 69 in the past eight weeks. Stati sti cs show that between January 1 and February 25, 2009, at least 36 leopards were either poisoned, ensnared in traps, killed in accidents or became victi ms of man-animal confl ict. One of them even fell into a well and died in Karnataka last month.

14

That’s not all. Offi cials have also seized 33 leopard skins and 9 kilos of bones in these eight weeks in diff erent parts of the country, data gathered by a Delhi-based NGO, Wildlife Protecti on Society of India (WPSI), shows. The killing cuts across all regions ranging from Bandhavgarh in Madhya Pradesh to J&K’s Kishtwar district, from Karnataka’s Udupi district to Bihar’s Madhubani. Utt arakhand, which has India’s largest leopard populati on, witnessed the highest number of killings: 15. Four skins as well as 4.5 kg bones were also recovered from the hill state. Part of the problem stems from growing man-animal confl icts caused by the habitat loss of the big cat. But wildlife acti vists also say that a signifi cant number of these deaths are poaching-related. The seizure of leopard skins in states like Utt ar Pradesh, Orissa, Chhatti sgarh and Andhra Pradesh indicates that illegal wildlife trade is widespread. “In recent ti mes poaching seems to have gone up due to the rise of illegal skin trade in China,” says Advait Edgaonkar, a Bangalore-based carnivore biologist who specialises in leopards. In India, three major wildlife species are traded illegally: ti ger, leopard and ott er. Sources say China and Southeast Asian countries are their biggest market. Tiger body parts are used in indigenous medicines and are the most prized. “Leopard bones are considered good substi tutes and are also in demand,” says Tito Joseph of WPSI. Skulls and claws of the protected animal are also in demand. The seizure of bones in Bengal’s northern Jaigaon region and Utt arakhand’s Haldwani district reaffi rms the point. Police recovered eight skins apiece in Delhi and Himachal Pradesh.

Leopards are included in Schedule I of the Wildlife Protecti on Act, 1972, that gives them legal protecti on. But unlike ti gers, their killing hardly draws the same sort of outcry. As per offi cial stati sti cs, there were about 11,000 leopards in India in January 2008. In comparison, an esti mated 1,411 ti gers were alive during the same period. But the rate of leopard killing is far higher than the ti ger. WPSI stati sti cs show that over 3,000 leopards were killed between 1994-2008. Edgaonkar suggests bett er conservati on eff orts as well as strong acti on against poachers to ensure a more secure life for the leopards. Joseph says that despite several measures by the central government, not much has changed at the grass root level. I believe in Zardari’s commitment to fi ght terror: Pranab External Aff airs Minister Pranab Mukherjee says that though he has faith in Zardari’s commitment to fi ght terror, Pakistani government hasn’t done much to back this trust.

Two elephants found dead in Jharkhand 14 Mar 2009, 1745 hrs IST, IANS

RANCHI: Two elephants were found dead in Jharkhand, forest department offi cials said Saturday. One wild elephant had its tusks removed, leading to the suspicion that it had been killed by poachers. The wild elephant was found dead in Saranda jungle Friday with

what looked like bullet wounds, an offi cial said. Saranda is around 220 km from the state capital. Also, an elephant calf was found dead near Panjan Pahari of Dumka district, around 450 km from here. One of its parti ally developed tusks was missing too. “The elephants’ dead bodies were found Friday. We have sent a team of forest offi cials at the spot. We will be able to tell the exact reason of death aft er the postmortem report,” A.K. Gupta, regional chief conservator, Singhbhum, said.

LEOPARD TOLL

UTTARAKHAND: 15 leopards killed, 4 skins and 4.5 kg bones seized

UTTAR PRADESH: 1 leopard killed, 4 skins recovered ORISSA: 1 skin confi scated

HIMACHAL PRADESH: 1 cub killed, haul of 8 skins

DELHI: 8 skins seized

GUJARAT: 1 leopard killed

ANDHRA PRADESH: 1 leopard dies, 1 skin seized

MADHYA PRADESH: 2 leopards killed

WEST BENGAL: 1 leopard dead, 1 skin and 4.5 kgs bones seized

MAHARASHTRA: 1 leopard electrocuted, 2 skins confi scated

CHHATTISGARH: 1 leopard killed, 1 skin seized J&K: 2 leopards killed

KARNATAKA: 8 leopards killed, three skins confi scated

BIHAR: 1 leopard killed

ASSAM: 1 leopard found dead

( Leopard deaths and skin seizures between January 1 and February 26, 2009. Source: WPSI )

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Salesways' Depart-ment Store

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Vehicle Workshop

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Lalitpur Municipality Offi ce

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WWG New Offi ce Loca on Map

15

It is probably the most infl uenti al barometer of exti ncti on risk, yet the Red List is unscienti fi c and frequently wrong. So claim a growing number of conservati on scienti sts, including several who help compile it.

While no one wants to see an end to the Red List, which covers 45,000 species, many fear that the someti mes shaky methods behind the creati on of the listi ngs are downplayed, meaning ti me, money and eff ort can be misdirected trying to save “safe” species while others creep towards exti ncti on.

The Red List - fl agship of the Internati onal Union for Conservati on of Nature (IUCN) - not only raises awareness and millions in conservati on dollars, it provides data for environmental impact studies, and is used as a lobbying tool for new policies and to encourage governments to sti ck to internati onal agreements.

Its infl uence is conti nually expanding. Next year, the Conventi on on Biological Diversity will invoke the list to help gauge how close it is to its goal of reducing biodiversity loss.

“The Red List wants to be a high standard, scienti fi cally based, transparent system, but in reality it hasn’t been,” says Matt hew Godfrey of the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission in Beaufort, who serves on one of the specialist groups that compiles the list. Criti cism recently came to a head in a series of arti cles in the journal Endangered Species Research.

Criteria Can Lead to Oddball ResultsRed List informati on is collated by around 7500

volunteers, usually linked with conservati on organisati ons or universiti es, using anything from museum maps to records of the sale of animal by-products.

From this, exti ncti on risks are calculated according to IUCN criteria, such as whether the rate of decline in species numbers has passed certain thresholds.

These criteria can throw up oddball results. The green turtle, for example, is listed as endangered despite a global populati on of over 2 million. “Green turtles are not going to disappear,” says Brendan Godley of the University of Exeter, UK, and the Marine Turtle Specialist Group.

That doesn’t mean we should ignore them - some populati ons are at serious risk from egg harvesti ng, for instance.

“It’s just not the same level of risk as a populati on of 50 parrots living on a small island that is being deforested.”

Doubts Hang Over the Listings for Many Species

Similar doubts hang over the listi ngs for many other species, including the sperm whale and fi ve other species of sea turtle, which are categorised as at risk of exti ncti on. Their assessment is based on “decline” criteria, yet while total numbers may have plummeted, global populati ons remain large and viable.

This is a fundamental weakness of the Red List, says Grahame Webb of Charles Darwin University in Darwin, Australia, who suggests an additi onal “criti cally declined” category, which would act as an alert without making judgements about exti ncti on risk.

Another problem is that the Red List criteria are diffi cult to apply to some species. “Thresholds are geared towards mammals,” says Att e Komonen of the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in Uppsala. “A thousand elephants might well be viable, but 1000 beetles is very unlikely to be, not least because they might occupy a single tree that could go up in smoke.”

Viable Alternatives Not Available?The soluti on would be to tailor risk to specifi c

taxonomic groups, Komonen suggests, in this case measuring the number of occupied trees rather than individuals.

On these points, the IUCN is standing its ground, however.

“We know there are some problems that at the moment have no soluti on, but that’s because we’re working at the cutti ng edge of conservati on science,” says Craig Hilton-Taylor of the IUCN Red List Unit in Cambridge, UK.

“No one has been able to come up with an alternati ve system that can be applied to all taxonomic groups,” he points out. One argument against tailoring methods to individual species is that it would make it diffi cult to compare relati ve exti ncti on risks.

But the problems may run deeper. Some scienti sts claim that a tendency to abide by the “precauti onary principle” - encouraged by Red List guidelines - means that specialist groups end up demanding higher levels of proof for an increase in numbers than a decrease, ulti mately exaggerati ng exti ncti on risks.

Good Field Data Not Easy to Come By“There’s a tension between following scienti fi c

principles or precauti onary conservati on principles,” says Webb.

Good fi eld data can also be hard to come by, and the fact that the list is “cobbled together” by volunteers

‘Flawed’ Red List Puts Species at RiskRed List May Harm – Not Help – Some Species

By Rachel Nowak March 12, 2009

Cont. page 17

16

Born in a Sherpa village of Khunde, in the shadow of Mt.Everest, Mingma Norbu Sherpa or fondly called “Mingma” by his friends and colleagues was among the fi rst students of the Hillary Khumjung School, fi rst of the many schools constructed for the Sherpa children by Sir

Edmund Hillary, the fi rst conqueror of Mt. Everest. As a young man growing in the Everest region, Mingma quickly associated himself in the tourism and started working as translator for visiti ng trekkers andmconservati onists considering his knowledge of severalmlocal language and English. Mingma became especiallymclose to Hillary aft er his father death in a Japanese expediti on on Everest in 1971.

With support from Hillary Foundati on, Mingma went on to receive a BA in Forestry and Parks Management from what was then Lincoln College, a branch of New Zealand’s University of

Canterbury in 1980. He returned to Nepal to start his career as a Ranger at the Sagarmatha Nati onal Park (SNP) and his fi rst act was to resolve the confl ict between park management and the Sherpas living within the nati onal park. Having moti vated the communiti es to conserve the natural recourse of the region and successfully resolved the dispute, he was appointed to the post of as the park’s Chief Warden. He was the fi rst Sherpa to hold the positi on at SNP.

As the fi rst Sherpa warden, Mingma set a high priority on bridging the gulf between local residents and the nati onal park. He personally conducted conservati on educati on programs in local schools, mobilized local leaders in grass-roots conservati on eff orts such as tree planti ng campaigns, att empted to involve the nati onal park in village development acti viti es, and shift ed responsibility for enforcement of park forest regulati ons from the army to local residents.

According to him, “The basic problem was that the Sherpas were not aware of the philosophy of the park and did not know why the park was created”.

Mingma Norbu SherpaMingma Norbu Sherpa

ConservationConservation

HEROHEROIn 1985, Mingma traveled abroad where he earned

his Master’s Degree in Natural Resources Management from the University of Manitoba, Canada. Upon his return to Nepal, Mingma was associated with Annapurna Conservati on Area Project (ACAP), initi ally as a Principle Investi gator for the feasibility study of the Annapurna area, and later as the fi rst Field Director of ACAP. Mingma Sherpa, along with Dr Chandra Gurung, was central to the development of the Conservati on Area concept in Nepal and proposed and planned the establishment of Annapurna.

Conservati on Area (ACA). Mingma and Chandra felt that the conservati on area approach would not reach its full potenti al unti l local resident’s assumed full responsibility for conservati on area management. With an approach he called ‘Conservati on with a Human Face’, he trained a cadre of Nepalese conservati on offi cials and embarked on community development that made environmental awareness a central concern in Nepal for the fi rst ti me. In 1989, Mingma joined the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) as the fi rst Director of the Himalayan Program for WWF’s Nepal, Bhutan and Himalayan Program. In this capacity, Mingma was responsible for the development and oversight for a variety of projects, including ACAP, as well as the management of Shey Phoksundo Nati onal Park in Nepal and Royal Manas Nati onal Park in Bhutan.

In 1991, dismayed at the litt er and sewage left by Western trekkers and climbers on the roof of the world and ti red of Everest’s reputati on as a “toilet bowl”, Mingma with support from the Abbot at the Tengboche Buddhist monastery established the Sagarmatha Polluti on Control Committ ee (SPCC). Mingma recalled, “If the Lama talks, everybody listens. If it’s a politi cian, nobody does.” Funded by World Wildlife Fund, the SPCC’s primary mission was to halt the increasing proliferati on of trash in Khumbu villages, along the trekking routes, and at mountaineering expediti on base camps. Mingma was later appointed as the Country Representati ve of WWF Nepal and Bhutan Program for the six years prior to his move to the Washington DC headquarters

17

of WWF-US in 1998 to oversee all of the organizati on’s conservati on work in the Eastern Himalayas. In this role, he handled the program development, supervision, and coordinati on of all WWF program interests in Nepal and Bhutan. He worked out pragmati c means to bring basic health care and educati on to the impoverished villagers who shared his beloved Eastern Himalayas with the endangered snow leopards, ti gers, and one-horned rhinos that capti vated more donors.

In 2005, aft er studies revealed that Tibetan ti ger traders in Lhasa were wiping out the remaining big cats, Mingma personally made an eff ort by personally appealing to His Holiness Dalai Lama and persuade him to condemn the black market trade of ti ger pelts used for folk rituals. In February 2006, HH Dalai Lama public denounced the use of exoti c furs and the sale of ti ger parts which also ignited a fi restorm. At monasteries across Tibet, villagers converged to set heaps of vintage fur trimmed garments ablaze.

Among his many achievements, Mingma was a Fulbright Scholar in 1987 at the School of Natural Resources, University of Michigan, to develop a strategy for environmental educati on in the ACAP. Additi onally,

he was a recipient of the Gorkha Dhaksin Bhahu Medal from His Majesty the King of Nepal for his conservati on work in Nepal. Mingma has also been awarded the Order of the Golden Ark Award from His Royal Highness Prince Bernard of the Netherlands for his conservati on achievement in the Himalayas.

Key to Mingma’s ability to achieve remarkable results was his consistent return to the values and philosophies of Sir Edmund Hillary. He adopted and applied Hillary’s approach in Bhutan, and focused his work on extending this method of thinking throughout the Eastern Himalayas. Sir Hillary and Mingma shared the same belief that without the support of the local people, we cannot protect the natural heritage of his homeland.

Cynthia Russ Ramsay author of “Sir Edmund Hillary and the People of Everest”, wrote that of all of “Hillary’s students”-many of whom went on to become doctors, lawyers, teacher and businessman-Mingma “more than anyone else embodies the virtues of doing things the Hillary way.” Having taken his mentor’s compassionate vision applied it to many “other remote areas of the world.”

only exacerbates this problem, says Adrian Newton of the Centre for Conservati on Ecology and Environmental Change at Bournemouth University in Poole, UK.

For many species, a lack of data means no assessment at all or relegati on to the “data defi cient” category. The Amazon river dolphin, for example, recently shift ed from “vulnerable” to “data defi cient”.

The IUCN emphasises that this does not mean a species is in the clear, but the listi ng might not be helpful. “Data defi cient species tend to be neglected in terms of conservati on management,” says Steven Garnett , also at Charles Darwin University in Darwin.

For an untold number, though, gaps are fi lled in myriad ways, including extrapolati on and using guessti mates. Take the African elephant, which was moved off the high-risk list last year. Though elephants are well studied, and far more informati on is available to assess their exti ncti on risk than for most species, much of it is poor quality.

Yet if only the robust data had been used, “we would have recorded a massive and spurious increase” says Julian Blanc, former manager of the African elephant database, who is based in Nairobi, Kenya. Instead, he and his colleagues opted to pool all the data they had no matt er how shaky.

Those who run and helped design the Red List do not see this as a problem, pointi ng out that the system is designed to gauge exti ncti on risk quickly.

“There’s a percepti on that lots of guessti mates are going on. That may be true, but it’s not unreasonable,”

says Georgina Mace of Imperial College London, who defi ned the methodology with Russell Lande, also at Imperial. The list “does what a triage nurse does - look for symptoms that there is a problem. The next cut is to look and see whether you need to do anything.”

In reality, “the best thing that can happen to a species is to be listed. People pay att enti on, and the species does bett er,” says Jon Paul Rodriguez at the Venezuelan Insti tute of Scienti fi c Investi gati ons in Caracas, who is deputy chair of the IUCN Species Survival Commission.

Red List Is Poweful, But Needs ImprovementYet even though the IUCN frequently points out that

the Red List should not be used alone to set conservati on prioriti es, it oft en is, and this means money can be wasted on species that could be bett er spent elsewhere (see “Deciding what to save”).

“The Red List is a framework to make the best guess you can. The process is supposed to capture that uncertainty, but the uncertainty is not transmitt ed when the results are published, or used to inform policy,” says Newton, who argues that the Red List should not be used to judge the success of the 2010 goal of the Conventi on on Biological Diversity next year.

“The Red List is an unbelievably powerful, innovati ve conservati on tool that has captured the world’s imaginati on,” says Webb. “But it needs to conti nue to improve, to become more accurate.”

'Flawed Red List ...

18

The Shikar Savaris (Royal Hunts)Royal hunts in Protected Areas, which ended in

1990, meant many things to many people. From the perspecti ves of forestry and nati onal park staff involved in the organisati on of these hunts, shikar was an opportunity for a royal show of splendour, display of power and even relaxati on—a means by which the royal elite escaped the pressures of life in the capital. In additi on to the pleasure of escape to the jungle, staff (especially senior staff ) understood that the retreats were events of politi cal and socio-economic importance—of ‘statecraft ’ and as a ‘rite of passage’ as one senior wildlife expert and close friend of the royal family recently remarked.

That the hunt was an important, almost an unquesti oned right of royalty was understood by the park staff . Offi cials oft en described hunti ng as the royal family’s ‘hobby’—it was what they did, it was what they were fond of doing. The hunts of King Mahendra and his son Birendra were similar in pomp and splendour, but reveal important diff erences in the nature of the two kings, which sheds light on their politi cs, views of democracy and the state.

From the Capital to the OutskirtsMovement between the rajdhani (capital in

Kathmandu) to extended stays in the nati onal parks in the terai (principally Royal Chitwan where there was a raja’s durbar) has its precedents in history. Prithvi Narayan Shah (founder of modern Nepal) used to transfer his summer court to the palace in Kathmandu and his winter court to a type of ‘tent city’ in Nuwakot in the hills (Kirkpatrick 1811: 17, taken from Burghart 1996: 242). The movement of the court between seasonal capitals had been a Gorkhali custom since the founding of the kingdom by Drabya Shah in 1559 (Vajracarya 1975: 146, taken from Burghart 1996).

These movements, which entailed much logisti cal diffi culti es, had to do with retaining power in areas described as the hills and the plains. The original hillmen from Prithvi’s entourage also displayed strong preferences for the air and conditi ons of the hills to those of the plains (Burghart 1996). In the more recent past Nepali kings’ extended stays in nati onal parks had to do with rest and respite from the intrigues of Kathmandu life, but it also concerned the love of hunti ng and, importantly, a way of collecti ng informati on in areas removed from the centre.

Dynamics of Disinformation:Gentrifying Villages for the Hunting Entourage

Arrangements for the hunt were overseen by the shikar toli (hunti ng team), which came in advance

of the king. This party included the army (for security arrangements), members of the fi tti ng toli (to set up tents) and the durbar toli (to oversee palace logisti cs). All of these came at least one month before the king, while park staff would begin preparati ons several months in advance. Duti es of the tolis varied and were made more complex by the fact that in the earlier days of shikar, road conditi ons were poor and many basic goods and services were not easily available.

In a group interview with fi ve game park rangers (ages 27 to 47) from the western terai region, the senior rangers had parti cipated in nine royal hunts, while the youngest in none. What the older rangers recalled most vividly was the entourage— the large reti nue that included military offi cials, medical doctors, the director general of nati onal parks, ministers, secretaries, marksmen, royal relati ves and close family friends. When asked what sort of preparati ons were involved before the king arrived, one of the rangers said:

All of us were in a state of alert. There was this business of marmat [repair], of sudar [of fi xing] to take care of. Basne thao milaune [setti ng up the living areas], sar safai [cleaning] and we had to paint homes that are waripari [nearby]. There used to be a savari budget and people [government offi cials] even took from other budgets. Even at the district level, there would be bato ko marmat. Sadar mukam samma janne chalan thiyo [there was the system of fi xing things all the way to the district headquarters].Thus, a larger objecti ve or task of the nati onal park staff and that of other government offi cials was to temporarily gentrify the area for the royals, especially for the king. This type of insulati on from seeing true village poverty is not unusual—it happens even today when foreign dignitaries visit Nepal, or even when senior expatriate NGO advisers visit projects in the countryside.

The purpose of the shikar toli was to make it easier for the king to hunt. One of the rangers who had witnessed nine hunts said that the shikar toli was largely defi ned by the royal family, but anyone could be included. Even ordinary people who were good marksmen (sidha haath le hanna sakne) would be taken along.

These were professional jagire (salaried) people. Generally, at least one military offi cer would be part of the shikar toli. In order to facilitate the king’s experience of the hunt, large reti nues of game scouts would drive a ti ger, someti mes from as far as 36 km to a designated area using large white sheets. While many are familiar with the contrived pictures of the hunt from Briti sh India as well as late nineteenth- and early twenti eth-century Nepal, game scouts, rangers as well as offi cers menti oned that photographs, unless with offi cial permission, were not allowed, thus there is no public media documentati on of many of the intricacies of the hunt.

King as Warden ...

19

The Hunt Under King MahendraMahendra is known as a great lover of shikar and, in

fact, had a heart att ack at the age of just fi ft y-one while he was out on a hunti ng expediti on in Royal Chitwan Nati onal Park in 1972. He died not long aft er. Kirti Nidhi Bista, former prime minister and close confi dante of Mahendra says: He was so passionate about hunti ng that whenever he saw wild animals, he couldn’t resist. It was a tremendous temptati on, even aft er he had his fi rst heart att ack. That actually happened when I was with him in a hunti ng hide. I held him in my arms unti l help came. But even aft er that, he didn’t give up his sport.

Mahendra hunted every winter season, an unsurprising fact since the traditi on of the hunt was a marker of the highest rank. The right to engage in shikar in terai forests hearkens back to the days of Rana rule when the Rana minister would set off from Kathmandu someti mes with entourages that ‘numbered several thousand’. The king, crown prince, top generals and other leading Ranas would usually take part in these hunti ng expediti ons. Several hundred trained elephants and thousands of local guides and beaters were employed to corral all the wildlife within a cordoned area aft er which they were funnelled into designated killing grounds. There the honoured guests would be waiti ng, either in a hide raised on poles or mounted on elephants. On one occasion more than 300 ti gers were killed in a single hunt .

The prodigious scale of hunti ng expediti ons in the Nepali terai (plains) was unusual. But similar shoots went on all over India—under the Mughals (Ali 1927);the Briti sh (Bennett 1984; Best 1932); and especially in the quasi-independent princely states whose rulers liked to hide politi cal impotence behind a façade of luxury and ostentati on, and curry favour with the colonial government by off ering their hunti ng grounds (Greenough 2001; Rangarajan 2000, 2001). John Mac-Kenzie’s (1988) descripti ons of the hunt as serving complex psychological functi ons for Briti sh offi cers (mainly that it dramati sed their manly virtues and ceremonialised existi ng social hierarchies) are important for locati ng the hunt in Nepal in the context of leadership, power and rule.

Hunti ng was also ti ed to Rana politi cal intrigue of the ti mes. The Rana family encouraged the Shah kings to engage in the hunt since it was included in the list of frivolity and amusements (others included women, alcohol and drugs). These pasti mes were intended to encourage the dissipati on of the Shah kings’ characters so as to make it less likely that they would challenge Rana rule.

Narrati ves on the hunt collected under the reigns of Kings Mahendra (1955–72) and Birendra (1972–2001) are similar in their descripti on of how it occurred, the exhausti ve preparati ons involved, the amount of manpower recruited and the vast resources involved.

Perhaps the greatest diversity that emerges is the atti tude towards wildlife and the extent of the kill. While this data has been reported to be recorded, it is ti ghtly held by the palace bureaucracy.

A former conservator with the forestry ministry, now long reti red, recalled how he arranged shikar for King Mahendra in Bardia district. The king’s visit lasted about three weeks during bikram samvat 2020–21.16 Camp was being set up for the king, and this forester was to accompany him on a hunt for one week. The conservator recalled his travel with the king, and his ADC Sher Bahadur Malla in a Land Rover. He also remembered some of the diffi culti es involved in establishing camp: It took us two months to make a camp. There were no roads. Also, it was diffi cult to prepare for ti ger shikar since ti gers are in a parti cular place, in this case their watering holes were 36 km away. For jarayo shikar [deer species], we used to do savari on elephants.

On this parti cular trip, it appears that King Mahendra was on a larger tour that extended from Kathmandu to the remote regions of Rara or Jumla. The now elderly offi cer recalls being asked by Mahendra, ‘What is the botanical name of our nati onal fl ower?’ Then the king gave half the answer to the offi cer to prompt him. This offi cial was profoundly impressed by this exchange and, in his opinion, it meant Mahendra was a ‘highly-informed’ man and that the ‘king knew so much about everything’! Despite the fact that this incident was being narrated twenty years later, the offi cer said he was embarrassed at being unable to do a bett er job.

He said aft hayaro lagyo ([I] felt uncomfortable) because he had only recently arrived in the district with essenti ally no resources at this disposal with the excepti on of one Land Rover. Mahendra’s contributi ons are felt even by those who never met him. ‘Sujata’, a young female project offi cer in Thakurdwara, Bardia district, gushed about this monarch’s contributi ons in her fi eld: King Mahendra was—what shall I say? path breaking in his initi ati ves. For instance, he established Mahendra Kunj in Bharatpur [later renamed Royal Chitwan Nati onal Park]. This was his winter retreat, but he established many other Protected Areas as well, such as Rara Lake. What is interesti ng about the narrati ves regarding Mahendra is that seemingly modest acts of conservati on were viewed as ‘path breaking’ by Nepalis working in these fi elds.

to be conti nued...

Wildlife Times is partly supported by

WWF Nepal Program

Published by: Wildlife Watch Group (WWG), GPO Box 8975, EPC 696, Machaagal-20, Pulchowk, - Lalitpur, Nepal Phone: +977-1-5524188, 5555018, Fax: +977-1-5555018, E-mail: wwg@citesnepal.org, Editor: Mangal Man Shakya, Sub-Editor: P Yalamber Rai, Print: Hisi Off set Printers, 4226416.

This arti cle locates Nepali nati onal park staff (game scouts, rangers and park wardens) in the context of their historical ti es with monarchy. The pre-andolan(1951–90) accounts by park staff show how their individual and collecti ve identi ti es were shaped through encounters with royalty, which informed their everyday practi ces. The social relati ons, professional goals, and familial desires envisioned by government servants were linked to their perceived closeness with the Nepali kings and through specifi c events such as royal hunts. Historically, park staff have displayed parti cularly strong regard and allegiances for the royal family since Nepali kings sancti oned much of Nepal’s early conservati on eff orts and because monarchs espoused close ti es with these offi cials in the setti ng up of nati onal parks.

NATIONAL PARK STAFF in Nepal have traditi onally viewed the Nepalese royal family in varied and oft en mutually confl icti ng ways. Royals were avid hunters, yet became selfl ess conservati onists.2 Royals were the consumers of nature for private amusement, yet in quick succession they demarcated forested lands in the interest of public consumpti on and nati onal good.

For most game park staff , any encounters with the royal family in the nature preserves are a source of inspirati on fundamental to identi ty constructi on.

The 1990 revoluti on (andolan) was a watershed in the relati onship between royalty and rangers. During the

pre-andolan period (1951–90), the royal family’s interest in nature and in the well-being of park bureaucrats (expressed by frequent personal visits) was crucial in shaping a largely positi ve world-view for government offi cials. Aft er 1990 the multi ple and vested interests of politi cians, internati onal aid workers, Western conservati on ideology, non-government o rga n i s a t i o n s ( N G O s ) and donor aid began to compete with the previously unchallenged authority of state offi cials, resulti ng in a period of bureaucrati c angst.

The pre-andolan accounts by nati onal park staff of their encounters with royalty consist of inti mate, memorable encounters that occur in the Protected Areas. Starti ng in 1951, when the royal family regained control of the country from the Rana family, offi cial visits to Protected Areas became a semi-annual event involving much pomp and splendour. While King Mahendra designated the fi rst Protected Area only in 1964,7 visits to the interior of jungles for respite were important events as far back as the late nineteenth century. When King Tribhuvan (Mahendra’s father) in 1951 sought asylum with the Indian government before regaining control from the Ranas, he conveyed his family members out of the palace grounds on the pretext that they were going on a hunti ng expediti on. Shikar (hunti ng) was just one of the ways in which offi cials with the nati onal park services enjoyed meaningful royal encounters. Royal hunts (savaris) to nati onal parks, directi ves from the palace, encounters in Kathmandu and the prominent role of the palace in internati onal conservati on were additi onal means by which bureaucrats sought to forge unique identi ti es vis-à-vis the royal family. Likewise, these events were used by the royal family to forge durable loyalty and allegiance.

Kings as Wardens and Wardens as Kings

Nina Bhatt :

Visiti ng Assistant Professor, Georgetown University, 37th and O Street, NW, Washington DC 20057.

Cont. page 18