Yahoo News 23 Jan 11;
KATHMANDU (AFP) – An injured wild tiger that strayed into a tourist resort in Nepal has been moved to a new home in the jungle and fitted with a satellite collar so its progress can be tracked, the government said.
The tiger, an adult male, was captured after it wandered into the resort on the outskirts of the Chitwan national park in southern Nepal, a major tourist attraction, and nursed back to health by park authorities.
It was then driven about 600 kilometres (400 miles) with a team of vets and conservationists in a specially constructed trailer to the remote jungles of Bardia in western Nepal, where it was released on Saturday.
The tiger, named Namobuddha by park authorities, has been fitted with a special collar carrying a GPS tracking system that will allow scientists to monitor how well it adapts to its new home.
The government said the initiative, carried out with the help of experts from WWF, would also help to improve understanding of how the endangered animals behave in the wild.
"This translocation -- the first of its kind in Nepal -- is a concrete example of our commitment to saving wild tigers using the best science available," said Deepak Bohara, minister of forest and soil conservation.
The project is part of Nepal's efforts to double its population of Royal Bengal tigers, which once roamed the country's southern plains in large numbers but have been depleted by poaching and the destruction of their habitat.
A WWF survey carried out in 2008 found just 121 adult tigers of breeding age in the country.
Krishna Acharya, Nepal's head of national parks and wildlife conservation, said Bardia was an ideal home for the animal because it of its vast size, available prey and relatively low levels of poaching.
"Nepal is one of the countries in the world where the prospect of doubling the tiger population is quite good, if tigers are given enough space, prey and proper protection," he added.
Experts say poverty and political instability in Nepal have created ideal conditions for poachers who kill the animals for their skin, meat and bones, which are highly valued in Chinese traditional medicine.
The WWF says tigers are in serious danger of becoming extinct in the wild. During the last 100 years their numbers have collapsed by 95 percent, from 100,000 in 1900 to only around 3,200 tigers, its says.
Nepal translocates first wild tiger
WWF 22 Jan 11;
Bardia National Park, Nepal – A wild tiger fitted with satellite-collar was successfully translocated from Nepal’s Chitwan National Park to Bardia National Park for the first time on Saturday.
The translocation was led by the Government of Nepal with support from WWF Nepal and the National Trust for Nature Conservation during the last days of the Year of the Tiger. It will further Nepal’s goal of doubling wild tiger numbers by 2022, the next time the Chinese calendar celebrates the endangered species.
“This translocation—the first of its kind in Nepal—is a concrete example of our commitment to saving wild tigers using the best science available, including the application of cutting-edge technologies,” said Minister of Forest and Soil Conservation of Nepal, Deepak Bohara. “I am confident that by working together the global community can reach the goals we set ourselves at the recently concluded tiger summit to save tigers to benefit people, nations and nature.”
A pioneering move
The wild tiger was an injured male captured by park authorities from Chitwan National Park after it wandered into the premises of a hotel in the tourist town of Sauraha outside the park in September last year. The tiger was placed in a secure enclosure at the park’s headquarters for treatment where it recovered completely.
On Friday, a team of wildlife veterinarians, wildlife biologists, park staff and conservationists tranquilized the tiger and fitted it with a GPS plus GLOBALSTAR-3 satellite collar. It then was transported by road about 600 km in a specially constructed trailer from Chitwan National Park westwards to Bardia National Park under strict supervision and security measures. The tiger was finally introduced to its new home in the fertile valley along the River Babai on Saturday.
“The Babai valley was an ideal location for the translocation because of its vast size and available prey species, improved anti-poaching efforts, lower human-tiger conflict and good connectivity with other protected areas through the Terai Arc Landscape all the way to India’s Suhelwa Wildlife Sanctuary,” said Krishna Acharya, Director General of Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation. "Nepal is one of the countries in the world where the prospect of doubling the tiger population is quite good, if tigers are given enough space, prey and proper protection."
The satellite collar, which gives an accurate location of the tiger every half-hour, will help scientists gain a better understanding of tiger ecology, improve conservation interventions like anti-poaching operations and monitor the tiger adapting to its new environment.
“WWF is pleased to have played a part in the pioneering tiger translocation led by the Government of Nepal,” said Anil Manandhar, WWF Nepal’s Country Representative. “As a global conservation organization, we have been part of the Nepal’s evolving conservation landscape—from species protection to the successful Terai Arc Landscape—for over four decades, and remain committed to working together with our partners to help save nature for future generations.”
