Endangered Western Tragopan bird spotted in Kashmir

A recent survey by Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) and state Wildlife Protection Department in Pir Panjal range has confirmed the presence of the critically endangered Western Tragopan (Tragopan melanocephalus) at two new sites in Poonch area of Jammu and Kashmir.

Daan-e-gir in Kashmiri, Western Tragopan is a schedule I species on the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act and listed as ‘Vulnerable’ by the IUCN Red List, the western tragopan is a medium-sized, brightly colored pheasant endemic to the western Himalayas and inhabits coniferous forests.

The survey was carried after interactions with locals revealed the possible presence of the Western Tragopan in the area. A team from WTI and assisted by locals, visited the areas in May to authenticate the information. During the survey, the birds were sighted at the Kalamund-Tatakuti and Khara Rakh areas of the Pir Panjal range.

“The bird is extremely shy and silent. But knowing that the best way to locate the species would be during its breeding season, when it becomes highly vocal, we returned in May,” said Riyaz Ahmad, the team leader and Assistant Manager, Species Division of WTI.

A victim of rampant poaching for its meat and plumage and habitat degradation and fragmentation, the western tragopan has previously been reported only from Kazinag range and Kishtawar National Park in the state. A few scattered records occur from Sud Mahadeo area of Jammu province.

“I was pleasantly surprised to note the tragopan’s presence in these areas. Unlike its usual haunts, the moist north facing coniferous slopes, the present sites are located on the south face of Pir Panjal along Poonch. The immediate step would be to gauge what numbers exist at these sites to effect conservation,”said Dr Rahul Kaul, South Asia Representative, IUCN SSC Galliformes Specialist Group and Chief Ecologist, WTI.

In addition to western tragopan, the team also sighted another threatened species in the region, the cheer pheasant (Catreus wallichii). Ecologically diverse and representative of western Himalayan forests possessing key species such as the markhor, brown bear and musk deer, the team has recommended Kalamund-Tatakuti for notification as a protected area.

News Source - http://www.kashmirdispatch.com/headlines/10063834-endangered-western-tragopan-bird-spotted-in-kashmir.htm

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Elephant calf rescued after falling headlong into ditch

‘He was stressed and exhausted'

December 2010: A five-year-old male elephant calf has been rescued after falling down a ditch in an Indian tea estate.

‘He was stressed and exhausted'
December 2010: A five-year-old male elephant calf has been rescued after falling down a ditch in an Indian tea estate.

The calf, near Bokakhat in central Assam and reunited with its natal herd by the Assam Forest Department and a Mobile Veterinary Service team from the International Fund for Animal Welfare and the Wildlife Trust of India (IFAW & WTI).

The calf was first sighted by local people in Lakhowjan Tea Estate, near Bokakhat in Central Assam. Following its screams, they found it trapped. Its herd was nearby and a passing tractor was reportedly attacked. The Assam Forest Department and IF:AW-WTI Mobile Veterinary Service were called to help.
‘Since the calf was upside down, he was stressed and exhausted from the efforts to free himself,' said Dr Anil Deka, IFAW-WTI veterinarian, who was at the rescue.

The ditch was widened with an excavator to heop free the animals, and wooden poles were used to help the young calf stand.

Rejoined its herd
‘Shots were fired in the air to keep the herd away till the rescue operation was over. Once freed, the calf headed back to its herd,' Dr Deka added.

This is the tenth displaced elephant calf to have been reunited with its natal herd by IFAW-WTI in northeast India. Several others that could not be reunited are undergoing long-term rehabilitation. These calves are hand-raised at the IFAW-WTI run Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC) and reintegrated with wild herds in Manas National Park.

News source - http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/elephant-rescue.html

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Indian vultures turn the corner after Diclofenac ban

New study gives hope for critically endangered birds, but more work to be done
May 2011: The ban on a veterinary drug which caused an unprecedented decline in Asian vulture populations has shown the first signs of progress, according to scientists. However, the recovery of the wild vulture populations needs the drug completely removed from the birds' food supply.

Now researchers report measurements of the prevalence and concentration of diclofenac in carcasses of domesticated cattle in India, before and after the implementation of the ban.

The governments of India, Nepal and Pakistan banned the veterinary use of the painkiller diclofenac in 2006 because of its lethal effects on vultures that feed on the carcasses of cattle and buffaloes treated with the drug.

Vulture survival depends on drug eradication being more successful
The study shows that the proportion of cattle carcasses in India contaminated with the drug declined by more than 40 per cent between 2006 and 2008. The concentration of the drug in contaminated animals also fell.
Combining the effects of these two changes, the expected rate of annual population decline of the vultures is expected to slow by around two thirds. Yet this is still expected to be around 18 per cent per year for the most susceptible species, the oriental white-backed vulture, down from about 40 per cent per year before the ban, meaning that vultures will not recover unless efforts to eradicate the drug become more successful.
Although the legal action has started to show encouraging results, much remains to be done, because diclofenac manufactured for human use is still being used illegally to treat cattle in India.

Even some alternative drugs are toxic to vultures
One of the study's authors, Dr Devendra Swarup, former Research Director of the Indian Veterinary Research Institute, commented: ‘Because of the difficulty in ensuring that human diclofenac is not being used illegally, testing the vulture food directly is the only way to find out how safe the vultures really are.'
Lead author, Dr Richard Cuthbert of RSPB, said: ‘This shows how much progress has been made, but there is still a job to do to make sure that safe alternative drugs are used. Unfortunately some of the alternatives have not been tested for their safety to vultures and one drug in increasing use, ketoprofen, is already known to be toxic to vultures.'
The only safe alternative used in India is meloxicam, which is becoming more widely used now that its cost is falling and approaching that of diclofenac. However, other drugs known to be toxic or with unknown effects remain legal and are still being used by vets.
Dr Asad Rahmani, director of the Bombay Natural History Society said: ‘Complete removal of diclofenac from vulture food is the single most important action needed to save vultures. Human formulations are still being sold by some irresponsible companies in large veterinary-sized vials and these bigger bottles must also be outlawed to make illegal diclofenac use on cattle more difficult and expensive.'

News source - http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/vulture-deaths.html


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