Leopard Skin Seized In Odisha’s Deogarh, 5 Criminals Held
Aspecial squad of Deogarh police seized a leopard hide from a place near Ambakata forest under Barkote police limits and arrested five persons for their alleged involvement in the wildlife crime on Monday.
While the police have not revealed the identity of the accused, they said all the arrested wildlife criminals are residents of Sundargarh district. The leopard had been poached six days ago, police said.
SP, Deogarh, Rajkishore Paikray told reporters that the police had been tipped about some people possessing the big cat’s skin and looking for buyers. “We deputed some members of the Special Squad in plain cloth posing as prospective buyers. They struck a deal of Rs 12 lakh with the accused. When the accused persons handed over the skin, they were picked up,” said Paikray.
👉 Odishatv
Lone Tigress In Odisha’s Satkosia Reserve Now Goes Missing
Triggering the fears of the Satkosia tiger reserve in Odisha going tiger-less, the lone tigress left in the park has reportedly gone missing. As per reports, there has been no sighting of her since the past two months in the 795 square km tiger reserve.
Sources said she was last captured on a trap camera installed by the Forest department on November 23, 2021. The Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF), Sashi Paul sought to downplay reports of her disappearance.
The Odisha government had embarked on an ambitious tiger translocation project whereby a tigress, Sundari, along with a male tiger had been released at the Satkosia sanctuar after they were brought from the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh in 2018.
While the male tiger was allegedly killed by poachers, tigress Sundari had allegedly killed two persons in Satkosia region. Following the human deaths, she was confined to an enclosure, and later sent to the Kanha Tiger Reserve (KTR) of Madhya Pradesh, effectively failing the Odisha government’s project.
👉 Odishatv
Sea snakes along Konkan coast imperiled by bycatch, lack of enforcement of fishery regulations: Maharashtra
Bycatch might be causing a decline in sea snake populations at the Malvan coast of Maharashtra. In a recent study, marine biologists forewarn a decline in sea snake populations at the Malvan coast, a major landing port in southern Maharashtra.
The authors flag that mechanised vessels are likely to be the main cause of this decline. Mechanisation in fisheries began as a plan for self-sufficiency in food production in the 1960s.
Researchers found that Hydrophis schistosus or beaked sea snake was the most abundant species with 914 individuals captured during the study, followed by 236 specimens of Hydrophis curtus or spine-bellied sea snake. Though other species were also captured as bycatch, beaked and spine-bellied sea snakes were the most common species that constituted marine reptile bycatch from trawlers and gillnets, the prominent fishing practices at the coast.
Sea snakes control the fish populations, preventing over-consumption of planktons and keeping the balance in check. But, due to a lack of data, the understanding of the influence of sea snakes on the marine ecosystem is limited. The fisheries regulations are relatively recent concerns and are impeded due to the scale of trawling and the socio-economic complexities.
Hit By Vehicle, Sloth Bear Dies In Rajasthan’s Chittorgarh
A two-year-old sloth bear was killed after being hit by a vehicle near the Mukundra Hill Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan’s Chittorgarh district, an official said on Monday.
The incident took place on the Rawatbhatta–Ramganj Mandi link road near Deepura village under the Rawatbhatta forest range in the district on late Sunday night.
Blood-stained body of the animal with head injury and lower jaw fracture was recovered and disposed of as per protocol after a post-mortem by a team of veterinary doctors at Rawatbhatta.
A wildlife enthusiast said wild animals are often killed in road mishaps as the boundary wall of the tiger reserve has not been fully erected. There are huge gaps in the boundary wall and animals often move out and get killed in accidents.
Hyderabad: Banned Chinese manja becomes bane for many
Makar Sankranti, one of the major festivals of flying kites that falls in the beginning of the year, is a tradition of over four centuries. But incidents of Chinese manja are increasing year by year.
On the occasion of Sankranti, kite flying turned tragic in the city, as incidents were reported in which three died in kite flying mishaps. Whereas, some were severely injured due to the usage of banned Chinese manja (thread) while flying kites.
An incident occurred in Shalibanda of Old city where a man while riding a two-wheeler met with an accident where his throat was cut with Chinese manja with a kite hanging in the middle of the road. He was shifted to a nearby hospital and was given treatment.
However, to create awareness among people and also shopkeepers selling kites and manja, posters were brought out by the Forest Department in English, Telugu and Urdu languages about the harm caused by these banned substances on animals, birds, humans and environment. They also informed about the ban orders and requested not to sell or purchase synthetic manja.
Environment India 