Latest news with #PilibhitTigerReserve
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.
Time of India
12-05-2025
- Time of India
UP forest authorities seek help of U'khand officials to trace injured tigress missing for over a week from PTR
Pilibhit: After eight days of unsuccessful attempts to rescue an injured tigress in the Mahof forest range of Pilibhit Tiger Reserve (PTR), officials have now sought assistance from their counterparts in Uttarakhand to help trace the elusive big injured tigress was first spotted on May 3 near the Chuka tourist zone, limping badly due to an injury to her right paw. A video taken by tourists was circulated widely on social media, prompting PTR authorities to seek urgent permission from the state's chief wildlife warden to tranquilise and treat was granted the same day, and a rescue operation was launched with eight camera traps, thermal drone surveillance, and two elephants accompanying forest teams. The tigress was last seen on May 4 and has remained untraceable May 9, Lalit Verma, additional chief conservator of forests (Project Tiger), visited PTR to assess the rescue operation. Following his review, the number of camera traps was increased from eight to 24, and the search area was widened to nearby forest suspect the tigress may have fled to adjoining forest zones, possibly driven by threats from three male tigers occupying the same field director Vijay Singh has now reached out to officials of Uttarakhand's Terai East forest division, as the Surai forest range, which shares a 24km interface with Mahof, could be a likely refuge for the tigress. "We have spoken to our counterparts in Uttarakhand, and they have agreed to conduct a joint search. Meanwhile, we will continue our efforts within PTR," said the collaboration, Sanjita Verma, sub-divisional forest officer of Terai East, told TOI, "A meeting with our field staff is scheduled for Tuesday to finalise the rescue strategy. We have already installed 20 camera traps in Surai to monitor a tigress with a metallic snare embedded in her lumbosacral region, and they may help us detect the PTR tigress too."The search for the injured tigress intensified on Monday with more forest personnel deployed from PTR's four other ranges. Meanwhile, wildlife experts have voiced concern over the tigress's survival. Some fear she may have succumbed to starvation, unable to hunt due to her injury. Others have not ruled out the possibility of poaching, citing "inadequate security" in PTR.
Time of India
30-04-2025
- General
- Time of India
Delhi-based foundation to donate solar water pumps to PTR
Pilibhit: A Delhi-based foundation is set to donate five solar pumps to Pilibhit Tiger Reserve (PTR) to help replenish waterholes during the summer, ensuring a steady water supply for wildlife . Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Additionally, to reduce human-wildlife conflict , the foundation launched a project to install 50 solar-powered lights in Selha village of Pilibhit, located at the edge of the reserve's Barahi forest range. These lights deter wild animals from entering human settlements after dark. Manish Singh, the divisional forest officer at PTR, said, "We are prioritising the operation of solar pumps in the core forest, replacing the diesel pumping units as they were a source of noise and air pollution. As the evaporation rate of water in man-made waterholes reaches its peak in extreme heat, the solar pumping sets can run throughout the day in a pollution-free environment." Meanwhile, a Bombay-based commercial bank has proposed signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with PTR for the skill development of women in communities near the reserve, focusing on bakery techniques. The DFO, Singh, said that the proposal was sent to Anuradha Vemuri, the principal chief conservator of forests of UP, for approval. "With the increasing demand for bakery products, this project is expected to be a lucrative opportunity for women. It will promote women's empowerment and ensure their self-reliance," he added.
