NTCA seeks report on missing tiger Dendu

The Times of India , Thursday, March 24, 2016
Correspondent : Vijay Pinjarkar
Nagpur: The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), the statutory body under the MoEFCC monitoring all tiger reserves in the country, has ordered a probe into missing dominant male tiger Dendu and tigress Alpha and her cubs from Navegaon-Nagzira Tiger Reserve (NNTR) in Gondia and Bhandara districts.

TOI on March 11 had reported how popular tiger of NNTR had been missing since seven months. There has been no direct sigting or any indirect evidence of Dendu since July 2015, when it was photographed in Matora protected forest adjoining Koka in Bhandara.

"Based on TOI report, I have asked RavikiranGovekar, conservator of forests & field director of NNTR, to submit a report to NTCA," said Debabrata Swain, inspector general of forests (IGF), NTCA, Nagpur regional office.

Sources said Govekar, who took over recently, has set up a three-member committee to probe the whereabouts of Dendu. The committee will be headed by retired divisional forest officer (DFO) Ashok Khune, and honorary wildlife wardens of Gondia and BhandaraSawanBahekar and Rajkamal Job respectively. It will begin probe from Friday and submit report in 15 days.

Khune, who retired from NNTR in December, had already raised an alarm about missing Dendu prior to his retirement but the field staff ignored it as there was no boss to look after the tiger reserve for six months. Dendu, being the dominant male, had a huge range and used to move in Koka, New Nagzira and Nagzira sanctuaries which are contiguous.

Sources said there was also no evidence of tigress Alpha and her two cubs which usually were seen in Koka. Guides and tourists confirmed that during entire tourism season starting from October 2015, the tigress and her cubs were not sighted even once.

The committee will record statements of field staff and talk to villagers. It will also collect direct and indirect evidence, if any, from the staff. As reported by TOI earlier, poaching due to electrocution is rampant outside Koka, New Nagzira, Nagzira and Navegaon. The panel will also suggest steps to be taken to control menace of poaching around NNTR.

"There is no follow up action against the accused from territorial staff when poaching happens. Hence there is no fear of forest staff among villagers, who resort to electrocution during night to keep wild animals from entering their farms. It may be that Dendu became a victim of electrocution. Otherwise it is hard to believe a tiger such as him giving up his territory," conservationists said.

NNTR is high on poachers' radar anyway. Since 2012, popular males like Rashtrapati, Viru, Koka have gone missing. Absconding Baheliya poacher Kuttu and his gang had admitted to have killed several tigers in NNTR landscape in Gondia and Bhandara districts. Kuttu is absconding for the past three months and no effort is being made to track him.

 
SOURCE : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/NTCA-seeks-report-on-missing-tiger-Dendu/articleshow/51534179.cms
 


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