If you don’t spot a tiger in India’s Corbett Tiger Reserve, at least the fish are biting. “Tiger is giving us dodge”, declares wildlife guide Hem Bahuguna, calling a halt near some tell-tale pug marks (pawprints) and scrapings. As the engine cools, then stills, we hear only the birds, the soft breeze and the distant chattering of monkeys. From time to time, another jeep materialises, stopping to exchange a few words. Otherwise, here in India, most crowded of nations, there is perfect peace. Corbett is India’s first, perhaps finest, Tiger Reserve and is buffered by surrounding tracts of...

The Mahseer, known among Kashmiri anglers as “tiger in the water”, all but vanished after Pakistan constructed a dam in the late 1960s that stopped the fish from migrating to India. Now, conservationists are breeding the Mahseer and hope to release them in rivers in Indian Kashmir. The programme is the result of a peace process between India and Pakistan that has led to a drop in violence in the region. “We have bred this fish nicely and reared it out,” Showkat Ali, joint director of Kashmir’s fisheries department, told Reuters. Ali said hundreds of Mahseer used to...

Dehradun, July 18 As a part of Vulture Study Programme, the research scholars from France have kick-started their study from today. The scholars will be here for three months. These researchers of France University are undergoing National Diploma in Environment and have created special study sites at Ringora village, to study vultures who have their nests in the region in big numbers. While dwindling number of vultures in the country have been a cause of concern, Uttarakhand has somehow recorded these vultures in good numbers. Jacob, a scholar said that studying vultures in Corbett would certainly...

The Pionner, October 5, 2009 In a major boost for environmentalists, vultures were sighted in Uttarakhand after the recent discovery of the near-extinct birds in Himachal Pradesh. Over 150 vultures of five species can be found nesting and feeding at three locations around Ramnagar in Uttarakhand — Van Gujjar village of Tumeria, Ringora and Hatidagar. The three sites fall under two categories: Regular nesting sites (Ringora and Tumeria): Vultures are consistently seen roosting and occupying nests throughout the year and these are likely to be important breeding sites; Regular feeding sites (Hatidagar):...

September 29th, 2009 RAMNAGAR – With the vulture population declining alarmingly in Uttarakhand’s Ramnagar area, which adjoins the Corbett Wildlife Sanctuary, a group of pro-wildlife activists and forest rangers are engaged in spreading public awareness about their conservation in the region. Under the banner of the Corbett Vulture Conservation Committee, the NGO activists recently used the annual Ramlilas, held during the Dussehra festival, to promote awareness about vultures. Jatayu Bhagwan, a Demi god in form of a vulture, who finds mention in they mythological epic Ramayana, was used...

He whom the gods love dies young. Discipline and dedication sum up Subrati the forester. Subrati joined forest department in 1988 and ever since didn’t look back. He was honest and hard working person. He had good knowledge of wildlife as well as meticulous office work. Be it anti-poaching of fire-fighting he was often the groupleader. On the fateful evening of 09 September 2006 Subrati passed away in the line of duty and the tiger lost one of it’s most dedicated guards.

Rajesh is an agriculture graduate from India’s topmost agriculture university i.e. Pantnagar University. He has a vast experience of working with communities in various parts of Uttarakhand. He has been working in social sector since last 07 years. He is an expert of community mobilization and worked as master trainer of Bio-composting Techniques, Organic Farming, Pachayati Raj Institutions and Pre and Post Harvest Management of Horticultural Produce in Uttarakhand State. He coordinated various projects in different parts of Uttarakhand viz. Awareness Generation on Biology and Control of White...