Sambar kill by Wild-dogs in Dandeli-Anshi Tiger Reserve

Rare moment in DATR

Is Khanapur forest a better option for elephants than Dandeli,Haliyal forests?

People reading this article will really wonder that how the fragmentation of interconnected forests can pose a threat to the large mammals to select some other forests even than the protected areas.But actually it is a truth and this is not a story of some other forests.It is the story of  Asian elephants which are fast disappearing from North Canara forests and finding their ways in Khanapur forests of Belgaum district.As we all know 80% of the North Canara district is covered with forests but I can strongly say it is just a truth in textbook and not in reality.Huge settlements,resorts, home stays,hydro electric projects,dams,roads deep inside the forests have shrinked the wildlife habitat which is a big threat.And a good example for this is,the elephants which were once used to migrate between Malnad plateau and North Canara district have now lost their migratory paths due to huge fragmentation forcing them to find new places for their survival.

So I want to bring out some of the facts and statistics by which one can easily understand why the  elephants which were once easily sighted in Dandeli-Haliyal-Yellapur forests are heading towards Khanapur forests.

North Canara Landscape

Elephant habitats:The forest divisions of Haliyal, Dandeli, Sirsi, Yellapur and Karwar constitute the elephant habitats in the northern hill tracts of Karnataka. The hills are low,but farm rather in wide belt with precipitation ranging from 6500 mm at the crest to about 1000 mm on the plateau and the vegetation ranges from evergreen to dry thorn types (Prasad et al. 1974). The natural habitats in this region are fragmented by expanding human population, heavy exploitation of forest for timber and soft wood,mining (iron and manganese) and hydroelectric projects (Prasad et al. 1974, Sukumar1989). The state of Maharashtra and Goa including the forest division of Belgaum were not part of the traditional elephant ranges. However, an elephant herd from the Haliyal–Dandeli Forest division made a short foray into Belgaum Forest division in 2001.Subsequently, between 2002 and 2004, the herd further extending its range northward visited the southern parts of Sindhudurg district in Maharashtra causing damage to crop and properties. Since 2005, the herd is staying back in Maharashtra, around the forested area of Sindhudurg and Kolhapur districts and is in conflict with people with part of the herd occasionally wandering further westward into Goa state. A few elephants were captured by Maharashtra and the rest continue to range in and around Tillari Reservoir in Maharashtra in considerable conflict with the people of this region. It is likely that their traditional range in the north Canara is subjected to intensive biotic pressure or fragmentation, being unable to sustain within or part of their traditional home, the elephants moved further northward into Belguam and Maharashtra in search of new area to settle down, as reported elsewhere in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu (Danielet l. 1995, Baskaran 1998). Although the natural habitats in north Canara have tenuous link with Malnad plateau on its southern side, elephant movements do not take place anymore, probably due to higher disturbance from Bangalore–Shimoga highway and villages around the Shimoga Forest division.

Vegetation land use: Evergreen forests dominates (26% or 6055 km2) the natural vegetation in the landscape (Fig. 2), followed by almost equal (11%) spread of tropical deciduous (2700 km2) and dry-thorn forests (2525 km2). However, at the landscape level, two thirds of the land cover is occupied by human settlement/cultivation (33% or 7800km2) (Table 2). In addition, the landscape also has commercial plantations like coffee(Coffea arabica) and tea (Camellia sinensis) over 2500 km2 (11%) indicating the level of habitat fragmentation.

Elephant population: In this region, the elephants are scattered at low density. In 2002,synchronized census estimated 58 elephants (Elephant Census 2002). However, in 2005 the number declined to 34 (Table 3. Elephant Census 2005), possibly due to the straying of an elephant herd from Belgaum division to Maharashtra. Dandeli Tiger Reserve is an important elephant habitat in this region supporting the bulk of the population consistently during 2002–07.

Conservation issue: Fragmentation of habitat by (a) expanding human population, (b) extensive exploitation of forest for timber and soft wood in the past, (c) mining (iron and manganese), and (d) Kalinadi hydroelectric project could be the reasons for the straying of elephants from Haliyal Forest division into Belgaum to Maharshtra. The Dandeli Tiger Reserve alone supports bulk of the elephants of this region. However, no detailed data are available for the elephants in North-Canara including new habitats in Maharashtra and Goa. A more objective study is needed to evaluate the habitat conditions, its corridors, population structure and viability including present scenario of human–elephant conflict to make firm conservation recommendation for this population.

And also some of the statistics below tells us the disappearance of elephants from North Canara forests in a decade during a survey conducted by Karnataka Forest Department and Asian Nature Conservation, a NGO which focusses towards wildlife research and conservation in Southern India.

Better Bamboo availability in Khanapur Region:

And one major reason for the migration is the availability of Bamboo which is the major source of food for elephants.Khanapur region has got some of the best bamboo forests especially in Nagargali,Golihalli range.

Elephant Census 2002:

As per the Elephant population estimated using block count method for various divisions in Karnataka during 2002 synchronized elephant census, Belgaum division had the sighting of 10 elephants against the Dandeli Wildlife Division,Karwar,Haliyal,Yellapur divisions which had 3,3,NIL,NIL sightings respectively.

Elephant Census 2005:

Dandeli 

Block Count: No elephant was sighted in the sample block but 5 elephants were found outside the census blocks.  

Dung count: The Dung count raw data was received and analysis was carried out. 

Belgaum 

Block Count: Only two elephants were sighted in the 84 sample blocks. No analysis was done due to lack of block size data. 

Dung Count: In Belgaum of the 54 km of transects walked 49 dung piles were seen. 

Elephant Census 2010:

No data has been collected in this region.

So from all the data provided above, it is clear that fragmentation is the main reason for migration of elephants from Dandeli and surrounding areas to Khanapur forests.We all know that Dandeli will soon have the significance of Elephant Reserve and I am sure once again Dandeli forests will flourish with the Jumbos if it is implemented.

Source:

1.The State of Asian Elephants in the Western Ghats, Southern India, and Its Implications to Promote Conservation of the Ecology of Western Ghats

N. Baskaran (with technical assistance of R. Sukumar)

2.KARNATAKA ELEPHANT CENSUS 2010,Technical Report to The Karnataka Forest Department

3.SOUTHERN INDIA ELEPHANT CENSUS 2005,SUMMARY REPORT TO KARNATAKA FOREST DEPARTMENT

4.KARNATAKA ELEPHANT CENSUS 2010,Summary Report to The Karnataka Forest Department

Wildlife toll due to accidents is higher than death from poaching

Conservationists and forest department officials are optimistic that the recent orders issued by Karnataka High Court will help protect not only Bandipur tiger reserve but also other national parks and sanctuaries. They want other vulnerable roads also to be closed at night.

Karnataka High Court order on Mondayputs back traffic ban on National Highway 212 and 67 which cut through the Bandipur tiger reserve from 9pm to 6am. This is the second road where a road-closure order is prevailing for night hours. Experts say that the ratio of animal deaths due to accidents are higher compared to deaths from poaching.

“The decision of the court is a welcome move as it will help protect forests from degradation by dividing it and also protect wildlife,” said Praveen Bhargav, managing trustee Wildlife First and member of National Board for Wildlife.

“However, there are some other roads which need immediate attention. The top in the list is Karwar-Londa road- National Highway 17- which cuts across Anshi and Dandeli tiger reserves. This should be also be closed at night and alternate route of travelling from Karwar to Yellapur, the western edge of Dandeli should be used to reach Haliyal and then to Londa and Khanapur,” he added.

The forest department officials had made many attempts to protect forest areas and stop vehicular movement at night but failed succumbing to pressure. Recently, under a mutual understanding Bannerghatta National Park officials sought consent from Public Works Department, not to tar and widen the existing 3.75 meters wide and 1.78 kms long Kaggalipura—Bannerghatta Road which leads to Hosur Road.According to BNP officials this road, which cuts across the national park thrice, is an elephant corridor and is used by locals to commute to around 25 villages.

Apart from light motor vehicles, buses also ply on this stretch.In the past couple of months garbage vehicles have also been seeing plying on this stretch. The forest department is contemplating on closing down the road during the night hours.

“We will soon place a proposal before the state government to issue orders to close down roads cutting across other national parks and sanctuaries, where alternate routes are available, at night’ said a senior forest department official.

Next, the lion-tailed macaque?

Another road which needs immediate attention is Mangalore- Chitradurga road- National Highway 13- which cuts across Kudremukh national park. The alternate route is from Beltangadi, Moodigere, Chickamagalur, to Tarikere and reach Bhadravathi.

“This will save commuters two of kms. This route is extremely vulnerable as Kudremukh houses a healthy population of lion-tailed macaque and tigers, which are listed under schedule 1 of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. The lion-tailed macaque, unlike langurs, are arboreal and will be unable to cross the roads in the absence of canopies,” said Praveen Bhargav, managing trustee Wildlife First and member of National Board for Wildlife.

Alternative routeS from Gundlupet

The alternate routes for heavy duty vehicles from Gundlupet: Vehicles plying on NH-212 to Calicut will have to take Madikeri and Kannur route instead of Wynad. And the vehicles plying on NH-67 to Ooty need take Chamarajanagar, Satyamangala, Kotagiri routes instead of Sultanbateri.

The road through Bandipur tiger reserve is the second road where a road-closure order is prevailing for night hours. The first decision was taken for Mysore-Mananthawadi road—National Highway 17D— which cuts across Nagarhole tiger reserve. After a two-year long struggle orders were issued on July 11, 2007 to close the road during night hours.

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

http://www.dnaindia.com/bangalore/report_wildlife-toll-due-to-accidents-is-higher-than-death-from-poaching_1278116

INDIA’S TIGER RESERVES AND THREATS BY LAKSHMY RAMAN

Lakshmy Raman who is the Executive Editor of Sanctuary Asia has listed out the threats for all the tiger reserves across India.And the sad part is,our DATR has got the highest number of threats compared to all other tiger reserves in the country.Please find the comments below:

Anshi-Dandeli, Karnataka: Fragmentation is a serious issue here. Six large and small dams,four hydel-power generation units and three major diversion tunnels, along with highways are within the reserves. Construction of the Aghanashini dam and one mini-hydel project have been planned. Large-scale extraction of non-timber forest produce and grazing also cause serious disturbances. The area is yet to recover from the timber extractions done in the past for paper and pulpwood industries that were set up here in the 1960s and mining activities that were carried till the late 90s. Poaching for commercial trade seems to be scaling, recently 43 otter, 23 leopard and one tiger pelts were confiscated from this area. Unlike in southern Karnataka, there is hardly any tradition of carrying out serious anti-poaching activities here,with very few cases being detected as a result. A proposal to add over 300 sq. km. of fine forests, if implemented, will greatly enhance this reserves’ value. There is still no concept of conservation management in the reserve and the forest department needs to understand the importance of patrolling and anti-poaching activities.

Elephant Census brings cheers in Dandeli-Anshi Tiger Reserve

The South Indian elephant census 2012 which was conducted from May 22-24 in Bandipur,Nagarhole,Bhadra,BRT,Kollegal,Dandeli,Mudumalai,Wayanad and other areas,was a happy moment for the volunteers and department staff.Since Bandipur,Nagarhole forest patches which have more than 4000 jumbos,sighting of elephants is not a surprise.But in the North Karnataka forests where the elephant population is very low, has brought some cheers to the volunteers and department staff since they had a direct sighting of 31 elephants in Dandeli Wildlife Division and Haliyal division(territorial).Sightings in Belgaum,Yellapur divisions are yet to be known.Surprisingly this time volunteers' number was very high and was especially from Bellary,Dharwad,Hubli,Belgaum etc.Dandeli's well known NGO Green Umbrella Eco Club has also helped forest staff in conducting the census.


These are some of the snaps of Elephant Census in Dandeli Wildlife and Haliyal Divisions:

Counting the Leopards in Dandeli-Anshi Tiger Reserve-A big challenge for Wildlife Researchers?

This information was pending with me since longtime but had forgotten.Suddenly I remembered and thought to share it.

I have always struggled to find information available on Melanistic leopards so called Black Panthers which forms 60% of the leopard population in DATR.And as far as i know there has not been any specific research work carried out to know the fascinating facts of Melanism.And also it has been a challenging work for the Karnataka Forest Department and Center for Wildlife Studies(NGO known for wildlife research mainly in western ghats) to estimate the leopard population in DATR.

Hence i want to bring out some of the facts of Melanism and challenges faced by Wildlife Researchers to estimate the Leopard population in Dandeli-Anshi Tiger Reserve.

COUNTING THE SPOTS

Is there a reliable estimate of the population of leopards in India? The answer is a resounding NO. It is definitely not available at the national level but it is beginning to be available for a few sites. Akin to the stripe pattern for tigers which are unique for individuals, the rosette coat pattern is also individually unique in leopards. With the increasing use of camera traps and robust statistical techniques, research teams including ours at the Wildlife Conservation Society-India Program are beginning to get a handle on the leopard population at a few sites. Camera trapping data is throwing up an interesting challenge for us from the Dandeli-Anshi Tiger Reserve. Several of our camera trap pictures of leopards from this site are of melanistic leopards which prevents us from identifying the individual as the rosette pattern is no longer distinctly visible.

Melanistic leopards are often mistakenly referred to as black panthers. Melanistic leopards are normal leopards with excessive pigmentation, technically referred to as melanism. Both melanistic and normal coloured leopards belong to the same species and the leopard population in the Dandeli-Anshi Tiger Reserve actually comprises a mix of both melanistic as well as normally coloured leopards. Melanism is most probably an adaptation by the leopard to low-light environments like rainforests. A darker coat colour provides the animal with much better camouflage in rainforests which in turn could well enable it to be a more efficient predator.

It is about time that key populations of leopards are monitored across India. We now have excellent field techniques as well as advanced methods to analyse the data to get accurate estimates of leopard populations. Regular monitoring of leopard populations using the most advanced methods will enable us to not only track these populations but also to safeguard them.

The above article was published in Sanctuary Asia Magazine and can be read from the link below:

http://www.sanctuaryasia.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2871:indias-leopard-problem-is-panthera-pardus-vanishing-faster-than-panthera-tigris&catid=110:home-page

Sloth Bear sighting in Dandeli-Anshi Tiger Reserve

I was lucky to shoot this rare moment in DATR.