MP may regain its 'Tiger state' tag

The Times of India , Friday, June 28, 2013
Correspondent : Bagish K Jha
INDORE: Going by the claims of Madhya Pradesh forest minister Sartaj Singh, the state might regain the crown of being a 'tiger state', when the next count is carried.

Minister on Thursday said that the number of tigers has increased significantly and by the next census "we will have at least 300 in the state." Singh was in Indore to review the works of forest department.

Currently, there are 257 tigers in state's six tiger reserves— Bandhavgarh, Kanha, Panna, Bori-Satpura, Sanjay Dubri, and Pench.

"I have received encouraging reports about tiger population, particularly in Panna and Kanha. Number of tiger cubs in other reserves have also gone up. Minister said they had objected to the figures last census released by Wildlife Institute of India (WII) and National Tiger Conservation Authourity (NTCA). He said that WII and NTCA had admitted their mistake after conducting a re-count in Kanha Tiger Reserve. "But they said, figure can not be changed after being released," said Singh adding that even the figure of 300 tigers in Karnataka was not correct.

Over allegations of poaching being a major cause behind decline in number of tigers, the minister said, "Madhya Pradesh was number four in terms of tiger deaths in 2012. Maharashtra, Karnataka and Uttarakhand are leading the list. Last year, nearly 12 tigers died in state. Most of them had a natural death or due to accidents as their carcasses were found.''

Meanwhile, an NGO has submitted its report to Gujarat forest department suggesting that lions from the state should not be translocated as Madhya Pradesh is a major poaching ground and the state has lost 453 tigers out of 710 (63% loss) in a decade. Also, the loss of tiger in Madhya Pradesh was 50% of the total loss of the tigers across the world, mentions the report.

Reacting over the NGOs report Singh said the figures presented are inflated and that the state will raise objection in Supreme Court.

"One species should not be restricted to one geographical area. So lion should be translocated to other areas. Several surveys were done before finalising Kuno as second home of lion," said minister.

The minister also refuted the argument in the report which says that Sheopur in MP has 4,800 fire arm licenses for a population of six lakh and the sanctuary area was once a hub of dacoits from Chambal and hence its unsafe for lions. "Firstly, there is a need to cross check the statistics of report. Secondly, does it mean that those with a gun license are waiting with their guns to kill lion," said minister.He stressed that concentration of one species at one place is not good for that particular species. "For this very purpose we are translocating Barasingha from Kanha to Satpura," said he. Currently, Barashinga are only present in Kanha. Forest department wants to spread it to other areas also.

 
SOURCE : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/indore/MP-may-regain-its-Tiger-state-tag/articleshow/20806910.cms
 


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