Loss of habitat endangering king cobras

Neither fear nor awe has helped the king cobra. The world's longest venomous snake faces threats from various illegal activities in its home, the Western Ghats.

Experts, environmentalists and range forest officers from all over Karnataka revealed this at a two-day workshop that began here on Saturday to spread awareness of the ways to protect the endangered species.

B B Mallesha, director of the Dandeli-Anshi tiger reserve, explained that construction of dams, forest degradation, hunting and poaching, trade of skin for meat and medicines, mining and introduction of exotic species pose serious threats to king cobras. "Nearly 13 king cobras were rescued over the last three months in the region. So, we found it necessary to train our officers in conservation of king cobras. The officers who get trained here will, in turn, train villagers and people to rescue king cobras, which are considered a vulnerable species. We are planning to educate schoolchildren on conservation methods so that king cobras are saved for future generations.''

P Gowrishankar of the Kalinga Foundation, who has been conducting a research on king cobras for the last 12 years, said destruction of habitats is the key threat to them. "Hydel projects, developmental activities in the forest and fragmentation are the main threats to the species."

He, however, points out that people generally hold king cobras in reverence and, therefore, do not kill them on encountering them. "There is also a belief among farmers that if they see a king cobra in their fields, they can expect a bumper crop the next time.''

P R Manjunath, range forest office, Anashi wildlife range, has rescued seven king cobras since he assumed office last year. "It is a deadly venomous snake. We rescued seven from the Kadra village while looking for rat snakes."

G Raghavendra, a snake rescuer from Bangalore, said he had rescued eight king cobras in Kadra area near the Anashi range. "We should protect the species as they are endangered.''

Fact check

There is only one species of king cobras (ophiophagus)

They can grow up to 15ft in length

The average weight is 6-8 kg

King cobras primarily feed on other snakes and occasionally on monitor lizards

They are the only snakes in the world that build nests to lay eggs

They lay an average clutch of 22-50 eggs

Their lifespan is 30 years

King cobras are avid climbers

An edited version of this article can be read from the link below:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bangalore/Loss-of-habitat-endangering-king-cobras/articleshow/28694741.cms

Save-King Cobra drive goes to schools

Range forest officers, snake rescuers, forest watchers and guards from the Western Ghats took a vow on Sunday: To educate students and locals on the need to conserve King Cobras, and to save them from extinction due to killing and other illegal activities.

BB Mallesha, director, Dandeli-Anshi Tiger Reserve, directed officials attending a two-day workshop on conservation of King Cobras to visit schools and colleges in their respective areas and spread the good word.

Western Ghats has the highest density of the venomous snake in the country.

P Gowrishankar of Kalinga Foundation trained 30-odd range forest officers and a number of forest guards and snake rescuers to catch the reptile, and provide first aid in case of snake bite. They were provided with cobra hooks, bags to catch the slithering snakes, snake bagger and a book.

UD Naik, assistant conservator of forest, Dandeli, told TOI that the department regularly gets calls from residents when snakes come visiting their homes. "We didn't have enough rescuers in the department and had to depend on locals. The training has helped us get department officials to catch snakes.''

S Balakrishna, ACF, Anashi range forest, said he will use his trained staff not only to rescue King Cobras but also educate locals on their conservation through posters and school visits.

ND Reshma, forest watcher, Anshi range, felt there's a need to educate people on conservation of King Cobras. "The training has helped me understand the lifestyle of these reptiles and how to catch them.''

An edited version of this article can be read from the link below:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bangalore/Save-King-Cobra-drive-goes-to-schools/articleshow/28720537.cms

Pangolin scales seized; 3 persons arrested

The forest department officials have arrested three persons on charges of illegally storing scales of Pangolin in a shop in Dandeli.

The arrested have been identified as Nagappa Wakod, Tukaram Wakod and Maruti Dundashi. They were arrested as per provisions in the 1972 Wildlife Protection Act and were produced before the court.

Resident of Dandeli, Nagappa Wakod had illegally stored pangolin scales in his shop. Based on a tip-off, the forest officials along with the Anashi Tiger reserve Area officials conducted a joint raid and have seized the pangolin scales weighing more than 2kg.

The rate was conducted under the guidance of Anashi Tiger reserve project Director BB Mallesh and Deputy Conservator of Forest Manjunath Chauhan.

Dandeli Sub-division assistant conservator of Forest S V Naik told that pangolin is an endangered animal and is no verge of extinction. The accused had reportedly stored scales of the animal which is in more demand in international market. They have been arrested and further investigation is on, he added.

Mr Naik said, the accused due interrogation have revealed that lot many people are also involved in poaching. A high-level forest officials meeting will be conducted to form a team and stop Poaching and arrest those involved in it.

An edited version of this article can be read from the link below:

http://www.sahilonline.org/english/newsDetails.php?cid=1&nid=21860

Big cat spotted again in Mhadei sanctuary

Range forest officer at the Mhadei wildlife sanctuary Paresh Porob has said that the presence of a tiger has been confirmed on many occasions during December in the areas of Anjunem dam reservoir and in Golauli, Sattari.

In April 2013, for the first time Goa's forest department was successful in taking pictures of a tigress in the forest of the sanctuary at Dongurli.

Porob said, "We have already received the information about the presence of a few more tigers in the sanctuary, besides the camera -trapped tigress." Goa government has agreed to conduct a comprehensive study about the existence of tigers in the forests, in the first meeting of the state wildlife advisory board on February 4, 2013, and accordingly Ullas Karanth of the Wildlife conservation society of Bangalore was assigned with the task.

He has used the camera- trap technique to capture images of wild animals without direct human interference. To distinguish one tiger from another, the society has developed image-processing software which allows speedy and reliable identification of tigers from photographs.

In December, this year, the final report was submitted by the society to the principal chief conservator of forest Richard D'Souza, which mentions that in order to ensure long-term sustenance of the tiger population, it is imperative that a standardized and a well-thought out annual prey monitoring system is put in place in the Cotigao-Mhadei complex.

This would ensure long-term sustenance of the tiger population with active participation of forest officials and civil society volunteers, a system already existing in the Dandeli-Anshi tiger reserve area. It has also stated the need for rigorous monitoring of the prey population using best practices followed in the Dandeli-Anshi tiger reserve in view of strategic importance of the protected areasof Goa in conserving tiger meta-population, as a whole in the region.

During the tiger census conducted by Belgaum forest division between December 16 and 23, only one 10-year- old tiger was spotted in Chorla of Belgaum district adjacent to Hivre-Khurd of the Mhadei wildlife sanctuary.

Ambadi Madhav, deputy conservator of forests said, "Though only one tiger was spotted during the field survey, there were several pug marks and scats of big cats, which indicate there are more tigers in the Belgaum forest division." In Copardem, the local residents living in the vicinity of the sanctuary over the last 2-3 months have sighted the tiger on many occasions and their cattle too became victims of big cat attacks.

Dasharath Morajkar, member of Vivekanand environment awareness brigade said, "Mhadei region is a known tiger habitat since the past. Sighting of tiger is not uncommon here." Shantaram Kamat of the wildlife conservation society said, "We will resume this year work of camera trap very soon in the forests of Goa."

An edited version of this article can be read from the link below:

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2014-01-01/goa/45762812_1_tiger-census-tiger-population-tigress