Vanishing Stripes: Save the Bengal Tiger

Dear donor,

Hope you have been keeping well.

With this email, we are sharing with you the updates for our project titled “Vanishing stripes: save the Bengal tiger”. Thank you so much for your generous donation to the project.

In March this year, a wildfire threatened to cause massive damage to Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh, which is one of the largest biospheres in India. The Tiger Reserve supports one of the largest known population of the Big Cat in India, with around 7-8 tigers per sqkm. Looking at the scale and intensity of the wildfire, the environmentalists and local activists raised an alarm over the possible damage to the tiger population as well as other species of flora and fauna within the protected area.

The forest officials speculated that the fire could have been initiated due to the locals burning ‘sal’ trees on the ground for easy collection of ‘Mahua’ and other non-timber forest produce. The bamboo clumps and the heat wave prevailing within the region at that time, further took the fire to devastating proportions.

Whatever the reason, it got the entire field-level staff to douse the fire. To support the forest staff in their fire-dousing efforts, we provided them with leaf blowers and water canisters. With the right equipment, we were hopeful it would get easier for the forest officials to mitigate this massive fire hazard in this important tiger habitat.

We will be sharing more such updates with you for your generous donations.

Till then, take care.

Regards,

Team WTI

Dear Friend,

Hope you are doing well.

With this email, we are sharing with you the updates for the project “Vanishing stripes – Save the Bengal tiger”. Thank you so much for your generous contribution to this project and for believing in our work. We are so glad to have you as a part of our team.

You may have heard about the sad demise of ‘Munna’, the iconic tiger from Kanha Tiger Reserve, in Madhya Pradesh.  The 19-year-old tiger was suffering from age-related problems. Munna was Madhya Pradesh’s most photographed big cat due to the characteristic stripes on his forehead which resembled the word “CAT”. 

Once a dominant male tiger across ‘Kanha’ and ‘Kisli’ ranges, Munna was now pushed off his territory in the core area of the Tiger Reserve, by other younger tigers, after which he settled in the buffer zone. Due to old age, Munna was unable to prey on the wild animals, and was feeding on the domestic cattle since 2018. But after he started attacking humans, he was shifted by the Forest Department to Van Vihar National park and Zoo in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh on 19^th October, 2019. Since then, he was being taken care of by the Forest Department and a team of wildlife experts.    

Given Munna’s popularity, WTI in the past gave support for printing and distribution of an illustrated book for young children curated by the Madhya Pradesh Tiger Foundation Society (MPTF). The 32-page booklet was titled “Baghon ki kahani, Munna ki Zubani” (The story of tigers as narrated by Munna).  

The management measures undertaken by the Forest Department in caring for Munna and other individuals from the species, and their dedication towards protecting India’s National animal is commendable. WTI is extremely happy to be supporting the Forest Departments across the country and providing the technical expertise and necessary equipment and field gear as needed. In the reporting period, we have supported the departments from 7 Protected Areas (PAs) in central India. We provided COVID support and field gear to the frontline forest staff working in these PAs and also helped in conflict management in this critical tiger habitat. The 7 PAs where we provided support in the reporting period include – Sanjay dubri Tiger Reserve; Ratapani Wildlife Sanctuary; Barnawapara Wildlife Sanctuary; Guru ghasidas National Park; Pench Tiger Reserve; Narsinghgarh Wildlife Sanctuary; and Achanakmar Tiger Reserve. These Protected Areas together form a viable tiger habitat for the tigers residing in the central India landscape.

That’s all for today’s updates. We will soon get back to you and keep you posted on our work under the project. Till then, take care.

Warm regards,

Team WTI.

Dear Patron,

Hope you have been keeping well.

With this email, we are sharing with you the updates for our project titled “Vanishing stripes: save the Bengal tiger”. Thank you so much for believing in our work and also for your generous donation to the project.

The tiger population in India continues to face serious threat because of rampant poaching, rapid habitat loss, increasing human-big cat conflict, and illegal trade among other causes. It is important to be on a constant vigilance to address each of these issues and dissuade attempts to kill this iconic species.

One of the major causes of tiger deaths in the country is poaching. A common modus operandi adopted by the local hunters is to use snares that are designed to trap big cats, such as tigers resulting in a very painful death. The snares can be made of metallic wires, nylon cords, shoe-laces or even different species of climbing plants and vines called lianas. The foot and neck snares can trap a wide range of wild animals such as rabbits, bear, pangolins, deer, tigers etc.

Wildlife Trust of India has been conducting anti-snare walks in and around the Tiger Reserves and other protected areas across the country in collaboration with the forest department and local communities. Trainings on these anti-snare walks for the frontline forest staff are also imparted regularly by our teams.

Over the years and through continuous interventions, the number of snares found in the Protected Areas have considerably reduced. Our teams are on a constant vigilance to prevent and discourage the setting up of the snares and regularly monitor the protected areas and also the surrounding agricultural fields where local farmers are also using snares.

In the reporting period, anti-snare walks were conducted in 5 Tiger Reserves and 155 snares were removed. 25 snares were found and removed from Bandipur Tiger Reserve in Karnataka; 26 snares from Nagarhole Tiger Reserve in Karnataka; 58 snares from BRT Tiger Reserve in Karnataka; 11 snares from Pilibhit Tiger reserve in Uttar Pradesh; and 35 snares in Sohagi Barwa Wildlife Sanctuary in Uttar Pradesh.

These interventions are made possible because of your generous support, for which we are very grateful. We will soon get back to you with similar updates.

Till then, stay healthy and take care.

Warm Regards,

Team WTI

“Children are the living messages we send to a time we will not see”

-        John F. Kennedy

Dear Patron,

 ‘Munna’, the iconic tiger from Kanha Tiger Reserve in the state of Madhya Pradesh reached young children through an illustrated book. Madhya Pradesh Tiger Foundation Society (MPTF) curated a 32-page booklet on the life of a tiger titled “Baghon ki kahani, Munna ki zubani” (The story of tigers as narrated by Munna). The book was a joyride for the children in the age group of 10-12. This handy little edition is full of colored photos and caricatures of tigers in their natural environment. It covers interesting information about the species and its conservation status.   

Photos from wildlife photographers, text in the regional language (Hindi), and interesting caricatures of flora and fauna make this attractive to the target audience which is young school children. Munna’s first person account in a style that resonates with children of this age group explains tiger behavior, biology, threats to conservation and tiger corridors.

The book is meant to be distributed to school kids across all Tiger Reserves and Protected areas of Madhya Pradesh. MPTF planned to print 30,000 copies of which we assisted in printing 10,000 copies. The books were distributed across 16 conservancies, 6 Tiger reserves and 3 major Protected Areas – Kuno, Ratapani and Nauradehi Wildlife Sanctuaries— of Madhya Pradesh

WTI has been working in the Vidarbha landscape in Madhya Pradesh to ensure connectivity of tiger habitats. We have trained and equipped frontline forest staff across India to ensure protection of the species. Anti-snare walks, anti-poaching initiatives, ex gratia assurance to forest staff and working with communities in tiger landscapes are some of the key strategies implemented by WTI for holistic conservation.

We would like to thank you for supporting our project and such wonderful initiatives. With your support, we hope to continue the good work. We will keep sending similar updates to you. Until then, stay safe and take care.

Warm regards

Team WTI

Hi Friend,

Hope you are safe and taking necessary precautions amidst the Covid-19 crisis.

We however, have some good news for you. After brainstorming for months to solve the disbursement issue, we have finally come up with a solution. Our fiscal partner has transferred the GlobalGiving funds to us a couple of days back.

We thank you for believing in our work and continuing to support us throughout the disbursement process. We look forward to doing better work on field with your support.

We will get back to you shortly with an exciting update from field.

Till then, take care, be safe.

Best Wishes,

Avrodita