Latest news with #PilibhitTigerReserve
Time of India
2 days ago
- Time of India
PTR skips Int'l Tiger Day amid rising human-wildlife conflicts
Pilibhit: The Pilibhit Tiger Reserve (PTR) did not celebrate International Tiger Day, observed annually on July 29 across 13 tiger-range countries, citing recent man-wildlife conflicts in which seven people lost their lives. The event was shifted to Lucknow, said DFO Manish Singh on Tuesday, adding, "As a state-level event was organised at Lucknow zoo, we dropped the idea of celebrating the day at PTR." PTR had previously earned global recognition by winning the prestigious TX2 award in 2020 for doubling its tiger population from 25 in 2014 to 65 by 2018. This year's theme, "Securing the future of tigers with indigenous people and local communities at the heart," stood in sharp contrast to the tense situation on the ground. A senior forest officer, on the condition of anonymity, said, "The main reason behind the event's cancellation was a series of human deaths between May 14 and July 17 in villages bordering PTR. In addition to that, there was local communities' intense aggression against the tigers straying into agricultural fields." However, wildlife enthusiasts criticised the decision. Srajit Awasthi, a wildlife enthusiast, said, "We are disappointed by the event's cancellation. The authorities missed an opportunity to acknowledge community concerns and address systemic issues like staff shortages, funding gaps, and overpopulation." Shivam Kashyap, a lawyer, said that engaging with villagers during the event could have paved the way for meaningful dialogue and solutions.
Time of India
7 days ago
- Time of India
‘Man-eater' tigress tranquilised in Pilibhit, to be put in zoo
The big cat had been frequently moving around human habitats. PILIBHIT: A tigress suspected of killing five villagers, including a woman, out of seven human fatalities since May 14 in Pilibhit district, was tranquilised around 6.30 pm on Thursday at Dandia village under Neuria police station limits. The joint operation was conducted by the Pilibhit Tiger Reserve (PTR) and the forest and wildlife division. The big cat had been frequently moving around human habitats, prompting forest teams to comb 20 villages within a 25km radius. The search operation lasted seven days and was supervised by senior forest officials. Chief conservator PP Singh said pug marks found in a sugarcane field in Dandia village on Wednesday evening — about 5 km from Bithra Mandaria, where a woman was killed on July 14 — indicated the presence of the tigress. The field was immediately cordoned off. Using thermal drone cameras, the tigress was kept under surveillance throughout the operation, which was accordingly named 'Operation Third Eye'. Chief wildlife warden Anuradha Vemuri has ordered the big cat's relocation to a zoo due to its repeated intrusion into human settlements. This same tigress was earlier tranquilised on May 25 near the junction of PTR, South Kheri forest division, and Kishanpur Wildlife Sanctuary after it killed two farmers in Nazirganj and Haripur Kishanpur villages on May 14 and 18, respectively. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Indonesia: New Container Houses (Prices May Surprise You) Container House | Search Ads Search Now Undo She was released near Chuka ecotourism zone but was again linked to a fatal attack on farmer Mahesh Verma in Mewatpur village on June 9, around 20 km away. Timeline of tigress attacks May 14 : A tigress killed farmer Hansraj in village Nazirganj while he was irrigating his field. May 18 : The same tigress killed another farmer, Ram Prasad, in the village Haripur Kishanpur while he was working in a sugarcane field. June 9 : Farmer Mukesh Verma was killed by a tigress in Mewatpur at night while he was irrigating his sugarcane field. July 14 : A tigress killed Dayaram (45) in village Phulhar when he went to inspect his sugarcane crop. July 17 : Krishna Devi (50) was killed by a tigress in village Bithra Mandaria while she was mowing grass in her agricultural field.
Time of India
26-06-2025
- Time of India
PTR issues warning against trade of Katarua and wild mushrooms in Pilibhit
Pilibhit: Pilibhit Tiger Reserve (PTR) issued a warning on Thursday against collection of Katarua (Sal tree buds) and wild mushrooms from the reserve's core forest area, with the onset of monsoon in UP's Terai region. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The warning is intended to alert residents of 275 villages located in the eco-sensitive zone of the reserve, as villagers have become accustomed to illegally entering the forest to collect Katarua, which commands a high market price of up to Rs 1,200 per kg. Divisional forest officer of PTR, Manish Singh, said, "As per rules of a tiger reserve, collection of forest produce from core forest area is strictly prohibited, and no one can enter the reserve without prior permission from forest authorities." "People involved in collection and sale of Katarua or wild mushrooms will be penalised under Wildlife Protection Act. To discourage market demand for these two forest products, it has also been decided to bring buyers within scope of legal action," he added. He has also urged district magistrate Gyanendra Singh and SP Abhishek Yadav to assist in monitoring and controlling sellers and buyers of these forest products.
Time of India
25-05-2025
- Time of India
150 rare turtles rescued in Pilibhit; international smuggling link suspected
The rescued turtles as belonging to the Indian soft shell, Indian flap shell, Indian peacock shell, and Indian narrow head species – all protected under the Wildlife Protection Act's Schedule-I. PILIBHIT: A day after the Pilibhit Tiger Reserve (PTR) authorities devised a plan on the eve of World Turtle Day to intensify surveillance to effectively curb turtle trafficking, a team, acting on a tip-off, led by the sub-divisional forest officer (SDFO), Ramesh Chauhan, succeeded in apprehending two turtle traffickers. They were carrying over 150 turtles of different species, listed in Schedule-I of the Wildlife Protection Act, in an SUV. The third trafficker, Sachin Singh from Uttarakhand's Udhamsingh Nagar district, who was the mastermind behind the turtle trafficking, managed to evade the enforcement team. Given the turtles' distant origin and their numbers, officials suspect a connection between the traffickers and an international network of turtle smuggling. Two traffickers, identified as Rakesh Mandal (28) and Vishal Gayan (26) from the same village in Uttarakhand, disclosed in the presence of TOI that they bought the turtles from Rasulabad–Kanpur road near Rasulabad Ghat of the river Ganga. They divulged that 'the turtles in Rasulabad are kept ready for sale in packed condition for prompt dealing. Packed in jute bags, the turtles are sold by weight at the rate of Rs 150 per kilogram without any consideration of specific species. ' Of the two nabbed traffickers, Vishal is an arts graduate. The traffickers were apprehended on Saturday afternoon near a Bangali village, Tanda Colony, under Neuria police station limits in Pilibhit, which was the initial supply point for the turtles. Later, the turtles were scheduled for supply to Udhamsingh Nagar through their next links in the chain. Dr Shailendra Singh, the director of Turtle Survival India Alliance, identified the rescued turtles as belonging to the Indian soft shell, Indian flap shell, Indian peacock shell, and Indian narrow head species – all protected under the Wildlife Protection Act's Schedule-I. Based on the recovery of two mobile phones and five SIM cards from the traffickers, the divisional forest officer (DFO) of PTR, Manish Singh, said, 'We will track the mobile phone details of the recovered SIM cards, which will help detect information about the traffickers' network.' This was the first instance where information about the traffickers' connectivity in Tanda Colony village in Pilibhit surfaced, he added. 'After seeking legal advice from the departmental lawyers, we shall register a case against the three traffickers under relevant sections of the Wildlife Protection Act, while a release order for the turtles would be obtained from the court at the soonest to release the rescued turtles in the Mala river at PTR,' DFO Singh said, adding that around 10 turtles in the jute bags died due to suffocation and dumping, while the legs of two giant turtles of narrow-headed species were tightly tied with jute cord to make them immovable.
Time of India
20-05-2025
- Time of India
Forest authorities act after two tiger-related deaths in Pilibhit
File image used for representative purpose. PILIBHIT: In the wake of two fatal man-tiger encounters in Pilibhit — on May 13 in village Nazirganj and on May 18 in village Haripur Kishanpur — the PCCF (Principal Chief Conservator of Forest, Wildlife) of UP, Anuradha Vemuri, took serious note of SOP violations. On Monday, she directed Pilibhit Tiger Reserve 's (PTR) field director, Vijay Singh, to submit a detailed report within 12 hours. She also instructed Dudhwa Tiger Reserve field director H Rajamohan to deploy experienced personnel to track the tigers responsible and identify them through pugmark analysis. Shahjahanpur assistant conservator Sushil Kumar failed in tracing and measuring pugmarks in both cases — crucial steps for identifying the tigers' sex, age, and whether one or two animals were involved. Vemuri also sought an explanation from Khutar Range Officer Manoj Shrivastav for his absence at both conflict sites. The villagers of the two affected villages in Pilibhit, which come under the jurisdiction of Khutar forest range of Shahjahanpur, repeatedly alerted forest officials regarding a month-long prowling of a tigress and a tiger in agricultural fields, but no remedial action was taken. The locals alleged that this apathetic attitude of forest officials was responsible for the loss of two lives. Forest personnel placed a cage in Nazirganj village near the spot of the fatal conflict, but without any live or inanimate bait — which villagers termed a deceptive measure. It is also strange that the camera traps installed near the two conflict spots failed to capture any images of the killer felines. The PCCF (Wildlife) said that as the concerned rural pocket was in proximity to the junction point of Pilibhit Tiger Reserve and Kishanpur Wildlife Sanctuary of Dudhwa Tiger Reserve, field forest teams of the two forest areas were constituted and deployed in the two villages. She said that once the feline was identified, immediate permission to tranquilise him or her would be granted. 'A team from the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) was also sent to the spot to check the camera installation and to set up ANIDERS (Animal Intrusion Detection and Repellent System) in a bid to trace the felines,' she added.
