Tag: Panna Tiger reserve

  • Tiger found hanging from tree trap in Madhya Pradesh

    By Express News Service

    BHOPAL: In a horrifying incident, a male tiger aged around two years was found hanging from a tree trap in the Panna district of ‘Tiger State’ Madhya Pradesh on Wednesday morning.

    While the state forest and wildlife authorities have begun a probe into the tiger’s killing, noted wildlife activist Ajay Dubey described it as the first incident of a tiger being hanged to death through an animal trap in the country in the last two to three decades.

    He has also demanded a CBI probe into the entire incident as Panna and adjoining areas have long been notorious for organized poaching, owing to which Panna Tiger Reserve (PTR) has become almost extinct of tigers since 2008. 

    According to Sanjiv Jha, forest conservator (Chhatapur) the death of the tiger was reported around Tuesday night, but it was only on Wednesday morning when the team reached the spot did they find a noose around the tiger.

    The incident took place in the jungles near Vikrampur village of Tilgaon forest beat of North Panna Forest Division, which is just outside the protected area.

    “Already the sniffer dogs from adjoining Satna as well as the Panna National Park are in action on ground, while a team of state forest department’s Tiger Strike Force too has joined the on-the-spot investigations. While the autopsy findings alone will establish the real cause of the tiger’s death, circumstantial details suggest that the tiger fell prey to the trap (clutch wire trap) put in place for other animals,” said Jha.

    “We’re appealing to local residents to share with us any information about the tiger’s death. Their names will be kept confidential. We’re also trying to ascertain the dead tiger’s identity by matching its carcass’ picture with a database of tigers at Panna Tiger Reserve,” he added.

    Ajay Dubey said that never before in his career of 20-22 years had he even heard of a tiger weighing around 200-250 kg being hung from a trap. “There have been incidents of tigers being killed by using electric current flowing fencing and other ground traps, but never this,” he added.

    “How can such incidents happen, when the Panna Tiger Reserve is well equipped with technologies, like night vision cameras, drones and satellite-collared tigers?” he questioned.

    He added, “It’s quite possible that the tiger has fallen prey to a trap kept for some other animal, but only a specialized agency like the CBI, which has expertise in probing narcotics and wildlife crimes, can handle a case of such magnitude.”

    As per the figures available with the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) – the statutory authority under Project Tiger – Madhya Pradesh reported a maximum of 270 tiger deaths in the country between 2012 and July 2022, followed by 184 in adjoining Maharashtra and 150 in Karnataka.

    As per the latest NTCA figures, Madhya Pradesh lost 42 tigers in 2021, while the tiger mortality count to date (including the tiger found hanging to death in Panna district on Wednesday morning) in the year 2022 stands at 32.

    BHOPAL: In a horrifying incident, a male tiger aged around two years was found hanging from a tree trap in the Panna district of ‘Tiger State’ Madhya Pradesh on Wednesday morning.

    While the state forest and wildlife authorities have begun a probe into the tiger’s killing, noted wildlife activist Ajay Dubey described it as the first incident of a tiger being hanged to death through an animal trap in the country in the last two to three decades.

    He has also demanded a CBI probe into the entire incident as Panna and adjoining areas have long been notorious for organized poaching, owing to which Panna Tiger Reserve (PTR) has become almost extinct of tigers since 2008. 

    According to Sanjiv Jha, forest conservator (Chhatapur) the death of the tiger was reported around Tuesday night, but it was only on Wednesday morning when the team reached the spot did they find a noose around the tiger.

    The incident took place in the jungles near Vikrampur village of Tilgaon forest beat of North Panna Forest Division, which is just outside the protected area.

    “Already the sniffer dogs from adjoining Satna as well as the Panna National Park are in action on ground, while a team of state forest department’s Tiger Strike Force too has joined the on-the-spot investigations. While the autopsy findings alone will establish the real cause of the tiger’s death, circumstantial details suggest that the tiger fell prey to the trap (clutch wire trap) put in place for other animals,” said Jha.

    “We’re appealing to local residents to share with us any information about the tiger’s death. Their names will be kept confidential. We’re also trying to ascertain the dead tiger’s identity by matching its carcass’ picture with a database of tigers at Panna Tiger Reserve,” he added.

    Ajay Dubey said that never before in his career of 20-22 years had he even heard of a tiger weighing around 200-250 kg being hung from a trap. “There have been incidents of tigers being killed by using electric current flowing fencing and other ground traps, but never this,” he added.

    “How can such incidents happen, when the Panna Tiger Reserve is well equipped with technologies, like night vision cameras, drones and satellite-collared tigers?” he questioned.

    He added, “It’s quite possible that the tiger has fallen prey to a trap kept for some other animal, but only a specialized agency like the CBI, which has expertise in probing narcotics and wildlife crimes, can handle a case of such magnitude.”

    As per the figures available with the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) – the statutory authority under Project Tiger – Madhya Pradesh reported a maximum of 270 tiger deaths in the country between 2012 and July 2022, followed by 184 in adjoining Maharashtra and 150 in Karnataka.

    As per the latest NTCA figures, Madhya Pradesh lost 42 tigers in 2021, while the tiger mortality count to date (including the tiger found hanging to death in Panna district on Wednesday morning) in the year 2022 stands at 32.

  • Tigress found dead in MP’s Panna reserve

    By PTI

    PANNA: A tigress was found dead in Panna Tiger Reserve (PTR) of Madhya Pradesh on Wednesday, a forest official said.

    Forest personnel spotted the carcass of the feline named P-213 (63), aged around 3 years old, in Amanganj buffer zone around 1 pm, the official said.

    Officials inspected the area and found no evidence of any illegal activity, he said, adding that the big cat seems to have died a natural death.

    The carcass was disposed of as per the guidelines of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), it was stated.

    Earlier on November 7, a tiger, aged 4 to 5 years old, was found dead in the core area of Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve (BTR) in the state’s Umaria district.

  • Man killed in bear attack in Madhya Pradesh’s Panna reserve 

    By PTI
    PANNA: A 55-year-old man was mauled to death by a wild bear in the Panna Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh, a senior official said on Wednesday.

    The incident took place on Tuesday evening in the forest near Bagoha village, said the reserve’s field director Uttam Kumar Sharma.

    The deceased, resident of the same village, had ventured into the forest in search of his buffalo.

    While his family suspected that a tiger could have killed him, Sharma said a bear was found to be roaming in the area when the incident took place and inspection of the spot also indicated attack by a bear.

  • Jairam Ramesh fears interlinking of Ken, Betwa will ‘destroy’ Panna Tiger Reserve

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Monday expressed fear that the interlinking of Ken and Betwa rivers will destroy the Panna Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh.

    Ahead of the signing of the agreement between the chief ministers of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh for linking the rivers, the former environment minister said he had suggested alternatives in this regard 10 years ago but those were ignored.

    “The CMs of UP and MP will sign a pact today to link the Ken and Betwa rivers. This will all but destroy the Panna Tiger Reserve in MP, a success story in translocation and revival. I had suggested alternatives 10 years ago but alas,” he said on Twitter.

    The pact to link the rivers Ken and Betwa would be done in the presence of the prime minister during the launch of “Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain” campaign on the World Water Day on Monday.