Leopard Skin, Elephant Tusk, Pangolin Scales Seized In Odisha, 1 Arrested
One person was arrested in Odisha’s Deogarh district after one leopard skin, an elephant tusk and pangolin scales of over one kilogram were recovered from his possession, police said.
Acting on a tip-off, a team of special task force personnel conducted a search operation in an area near Telibani on Thursday and apprehended the person, a senior officer said.
The seized leopard skin, elephant tusk and pangolin scales will be sent to Wild Life Institute of India, Deharadun in Uttarakhand for chemical examination.
👉 NDTV
Odisha is losing its leopards, wildlife to poachers
The Special Task Force (STF) of Odisha Police’s Crime Branch has seized four leopard skins in the past ten days, and 25 since 2020. The seizures made by the STF alone indicate multiple big networks of wildlife offenders may be operating in the State’s forests.
If the State Forest and Environment Department’s seizures are taken into account, the number of leopards killed, and the average numbers poached, would be significantly higher. In October 2021, the Odisha Forest and Environment Department confiscated nine leopard skins in one case in Kalahandi.
According to the STF, a special drive against wildlife criminals and poachers was launched in 2020. Apart from 25 leopard skins, the agency has seized 13 elephant tusks, seven deerskins, nine live pangolins, more than 16 kg of pangolin scales, and arrested 55 persons on charges of crimes against wildlife.
Biswajit Mohanty, secretary, Wildlife Society of Orissa, an environmental pressure group, said, “The State has become a graveyard of wild animals. The leopard skins seized in last couple of years are just the tip of the iceberg. Criminals are operating with impunity.”
“Though there have been seizures and criminals have been caught red-handed, rarely have the cases ended in a conviction. Probably one conviction has been achieved in the past decade,” Mr. Mohanty said, adding that law enforcement agencies should make “watertight cases” to instil fear in the minds of wildlife criminals.
Artificial nests for barn owls help farmers befriend these natural rodent killers: Assam
In an initiative in Assam, agricultural scientists are helping farmers in the state to conserve and increase the number of barn owls with the help of artificial nest boxes.
Barn owls help keep the rodent population in check. This in turn will help farmers reduce dependence on chemicals and encourage organic farming. Barn owls are prolific hunters.
They are known as “farmers’ friends” as they feed on over 20 small mammal species worldwide including rodents, acting as natural pest control. More than 90% of their diet comprised rodent species – bandicoot rats, house rats, field rats, and grey musk shrews.
Currently there is no long-term study in India to show how long it takes to stabilise the owl population and experts rue the lack of official data on barn owl distribution and population.
Free tree bases from concrete: NGT Ludhiana
The hearing of Execution Application (Exe/609/2021) regarding execution of orders dated 10-03-2021 issued by Hon’ble NGT (for remedial action to remove the concrete around bases of trees) was held in the Court of Sh. Harsimranjit Singh, Civil Judge (Sr. Division), Ludhiana.
Er. Kapil Dev informed that since the Heads of both MCL & LIT, had failed to comply with the directions of Hon’ble NGT for removal of concrete around bases of trees, we once again approached the Green Tribunal with plea of directions to both the respondents to comply with the orders as well as for imposing penalty as per law.
The Hon’ble NGT had directed the matter to District Judge on 07-10-2021 for execution as per provisions of NGT Act, 2010. Accordingly, after getting the appearance notice from District Court, today the applicant appeared in person and submitted copies of written arguments as advance for all three respondents.
It is pertinent to mention here that Hon’ble Green tribunal in similar mater had directed the Delhi Civil Body to implement the orders in certain fixed time otherwise penalty of Rs 10000/- per tree would be imposed on them. Keeping in view of such directions, we have also requested the court to impose penalty of Rs 10000/- per tree on both the respondents too. The next date of hearing is fixed for 12-01-2022.
Asian Waterbird Census: At Sanjay Lake, dip in waterbird species this time compared to last 3 yrs: Delhi
The Asian Waterbird Census (AWC), an annual count of waterbirds which is under way in parts of Delhi-NCR, has found lower waterbird species diversity at East Delhi’s Sanjay Lake when compared to the count from the past three years.
The census that was conducted at the lake on Thursday recorded only 13 species, down from 17 species recorded from 2019 to 2021. Of these, 11 are resident water birds, while only two are winter migratory species.
The number of birds has increased from 90 in 2021 to 132 this year. It, however, is smaller than the 190 birds counted in 2019, and the higher figure of 347 birds in 2020. The census also found that only the number of Indian Cormorants has increased from 11 last year to 62 this year.
The lower species diversity is a sign of degradation of the lake, since waterbirds are an indicator of its health, according to T K Roy, birder and AWC Delhi coordinator, Wetlands International, an NGO working towards the conservation of wetlands and waterbirds.
Sewage that finds its way into the lake, and human disturbance caused by activities like boating, have ruined the habitat, and only a few resident and migratory species are found here now.
Environment India 