Dandeli Wildlife Division officially gets new buffer area :

Its official now.The new Buffer area which was declared for Dandeli Tiger Reserve with 282.63 Sq.km is officially handed over to Dandeli Wildlife Division by Karwar DCF as per the instructions given by Canara circle Conservator of Forests.

The detailed description of the New Buffer area of Dandeli – Anshi Tiger Reserve

Sl.No    Description Extent                                                                             ( In Sq. Kms.)

1           Kadra Range (Additional area to Anshi National Park)                   77.48

2           Ulvi (Anshi Range)                                                                           29.62

3           Joida Range (Additional area to Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary )       163.33

4           Bommanalli Tank (Virnoli Range)                                                   12.20

TOTAL 282.63 Sq.Kms

Now we can expect a healthy population of Prey-Predator Density especially in Joyda Range which is rich in grassland and has the prey density potentially higher than Kulgi and Phansoli Ranges.And one more important thing is to notice that the areas mentioned above were severely suffering from poaching activities.So now as a part of Tiger Project we may hope in reduction of poaching activities in these areas.

A roller skate ride for mother earth on World Environment Day:

At five Shubhan Dilip Hanabar consider himself old enough to do his bit for Mother earth. Hanabar along with his sister Amisha Dilip Hanhabar (10)roller skated about 38 km stretch from Kadra to Karwar on Wednesday to create awareness about the importance of protecting the national animal tiger and the environment.

Please follow the link for more details:

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-06-04/hubli/29620478_1_roller-project-tiger-areas-uttara-kannada

Great Indian hornbill in peril:

The drop in numbers of the Great Indian hornbill in the forests of Uttara Kannada has been a cause for concern among naturalists...

Today very few hornbills have been spotted in Dandeli, Joida, Castlerock and Khanapur forests. Due to heavy biotic interference, the Western Ghats of Karwar and Belgaum district have been degraded. Owing to habitat lost and hunting in some areas, the Great hornbill is evaluated as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Forest dwellers of Western Ghats  threaten the Great Indian Hornbills. The beaks and head are used in charms and the flesh is believed to be medicinal. The squabs are considered a delicacy. Naturalist Gangadhar Kallur says that several development projects including Kali dam has caused great harm to the habitat of these hornbills in the region. A decade back, the Centre for Green Earth submitted a report on the status of the Great Indian hornbill in Joida and Dandeli forests. The report was sent to Principal Conservator of Forests of Karnataka urging authorities concerned to take necessary steps for conservation. Volunteers of Dharwad Open School have also taken keen interest to study the present status of Hornbills and conservation programmes related to these birds.

Bears kill farmer in Khanapur

Two sloth bears killed a farmer on Sunday night at Godholi village in Khanapur taluk. The name of the victim was given as Motis Thomas Cholnekar (60).

The bears stray into the area to eat cashew. On Sunday night, when Motis was on the way to his farm, two bears reportedly attacked him. His right thigh was injured. He bled to death, it is said. Although his family members shifted him to a hospital in Haliyal it was too late.

His body was handed over to his family after a postmortem.

Assistant Conservator of Forest Prasanna K. Naik, Range Forest Officer S.M. Sankolli, and forester K.I. Gurav were present.

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

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-karnataka/article2005722.ece

First camera trapped Tiger@Dandeli-Anshi Tiger Reserve:

Tiger @ Dandeli

Please read the article below which has been published in IndianNaturewatch website.The image is of tiger captured in a camera trap in Feb 2008 on Kavala Road in Dandeli-Anshi Tiger Reserve. For the first time the KFD employed camera traps at Dandeli and the images have let out a feeling of high amongst the Dept. Firstly I should thank Dr.Andre Petit whose low end solutions to high tech applications in wildlife led me to procure some for the Dept and full credit to Manoj DCF, Dandeli to lead his team of staff in DWS with out 'expert' help to go through this, another thanks to Raghu, my young RFO who ventured out to get these contraptions and having faith in them and passing on what he had learnt to the frontline staff.Also to many others who supported this initiative.

Leopard trapped by forest officials-To be shifted to Dandeli

The trap was set after a man was hurt

A leopard that was on the prowl in the villages of Metri and Devalapura in Hospet taluk, adjacent to the Daroji Karadi Dham, was trapped by officials of the Forest Department on Thursday night.

Following complaints by village residents that they had seen the leopard moving around, and that Kabber Jadeppa of Metri was injured by the animal on March 10, forest officials immediately laid a trap. The leopard was finally caught a week later.

Injuries

Enquiries revealed that Kabber Jadeppa was attacked when he tried to save a dog that had been caught by the leopard. He sustained injuries on his legs and was admitted to hospital.

The leopard, Range Forest Officer (Wild Life) I. Ravindranath told The Hindu, was a female and was around eight years old.

Going by the behaviour of the leopard after being trapped, he suspected that it might have given birth to cubs, and efforts were on to find them.

He said the leopard had been shifted to the Dandeli forest to be set free. Even the cubs, if found, would be transported to the Dandeli forest, he said.

Kiran Kumar, Assistant Conservator of Forests (Wild Life), Ranebennur, supervised the operation to trap the leopard.

An edited version of this article was published in "The Hindu" and can be read from,

http://www.hindu.com/2011/03/19/stories/2011031957110500.htm

Human-Elephant Conflict on rise in DATR:

Once again elephants are on rise in Dandeli-Anshi Tiger Reserve.Since last week they are repeatedly attacking agriculture fields in Diggi forests and caused a severe damage to crops.But the assurance given by wildlife division regarding compensation is not yet fulfilled which put farmers' life into big problem.They told that if the incident repeats villagers have to commit suicide and that is the only option left for us as crops are the only sources for their survival in the area.They also blamed wildlife division for their negligence which is repeatedly failing to take proper precautions to prevent crop damages.Villagers told that they have decided to sit protest in front of Wildlife Division DCF office until they get assurance for their crop loss compensation  and lives.However DCF Mr.Sunil Panwar told that two guards will be assigned to send elephants away from the villages' territory and assured about the compensation.

Please find the attachment below for more details: