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Poachers Turned Preservationists
http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/science...eut/index.html
PERIYAR TIGER RESERVE, India (Reuters) -- India is turning poachers into gamekeepers in a bid to save its dwindling tiger population. The primitive Mannan tribespeople who once plundered the jungles of tropical southern India, destroying the ecosystem and driving the dwindling number of tigers deeper into what was left of their habitat, now risk their lives to protect them. By guaranteeing the Mannan a comfortable, legal income from its Project Tiger, the government has made conservation worth more than poaching, says reserve deputy chief Pramod Kishnan. "The moment the tiger is gone, that money is gone," he says. "We are converting the destroyers of the park into its protectors. With their help, we have caught about 150 poachers." About 500 Mannan families live in round, thatch-roofed huts in a new government settlement on the edge of the park. The men -- armed with ancient bolt-action .303 rifles -- work mainly as rangers and guides. The village women make voluntary patrols, giving up one day every two weeks to slog through the jungle. The only equipment the government gives them is a next-to-useless thin plastic raincoat and a green baseball cap with a tiger face on the front. "We realize now that we were doing such bad things. It was becoming a desert," says Leila Kasim as she prepares for a patrol. "Now, it's more alive." In March, wildlife experts and the media suddenly started talking of an alarming drop in big cat numbers across India, home to almost half the world's surviving tigers, saying some of the 32-year-old Project Tiger's showcase reserves now had none. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh ordered a police investigation and announced a special wildlife anti-crime taskforce. "We have a problem at hand and if we don't tackle it effectively, I think we could be doing irretrievable damage to our heritage," he said last month on a tour of Ranthambhore reserve a few hours from New Delhi. "The future is in our hands." Singh did sight a tigress, "Lady of the Lake", although some newspapers said that was more than likely thanks to an old ranger trick to keep VIPs happy: use a bait to lure an animal whose habits are known close to the guest's pre-planned route. A century ago, there were about 40,000 tigers in India. They were a major danger to villagers and explorers and a test of hunting skills for flamboyant maharajas and officers of the Raj. Now, officials estimate there are about 3,700, but wildlife experts say the number is closer to 2,000. Hunting is illegal and trade in tiger parts banned, but a single animal can fetch as much as $50,000. Organs and parts are popular in traditional medicine. Bones are worth $400 a kg (2.2 lb), a penis almost $850, a tooth $120 and a claw just $10. With a penalty for poaching of three years' jail and a fine of 25,000 rupees ($575), the potential rewards are rich in a nation where millions live on less than a dollar a day. Tigers are also vulnerable to the poaching of the animals they hunt and to habitat destruction. Periyar, 777 sq km (300 sq mile) of almost impenetrable jungle, patches of undulating open grasslands and a meandering dam studded with the skeletons of dead trees, is comfortably carrying its capacity of about 40 tigers, 800-900 elephants and thousands of monkeys, deer, wild boars and other species, says Kishnan. About 500,000 tourists visit a year, gawping from tour boats as they glide past elephants and other wildlife drawn to the water's edge. But the main human pressure here is the 5 million pilgrims visiting the Sabarimala Hindu temple within the park. They pay nothing towards the reserve's upkeep. But the temple in honor of Lord Ayyappa, one of South India's most revered Hindu deities, is a major site for for all castes and religions. "In India, religion is a tricky business," sighs Kishnan. Periyar's rugged terrain has always given tigers more protection from poachers than the relatively flat and open plains of the north. But their numbers fell anyway as tribal gangs raided the forest, at the heart of the famed Malabar spice coast, for cinnamon, vanilla, cardamom and sandalwood. Thirty-six-year-old Surindar Sumar and his band of 20, all illiterate, were once one of the most notorious gangs, stripping 10,000 cinnamon trees a year and earning thousands of dollars. Now in his plastic Chinese sandals and brown camouflage uniform, he is a leading ranger, taking home 3,500 rupees ($80) a month. Like smuggling, the work is risky, from a run-in with poachers to the perils of the jungle. And the tigers. But the Mannan supplement their park earnings with returns from a government-sponsored pepper growing and marketing scheme. "We used to throw our money away on cards, drinking and fines," he says. "Now ... our future and the future of the forest depend on each other. We are at peace with the authorities, at peace with ourselves." |
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"CatNipped" wrote in message
... http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/science...eut/index.html PERIYAR TIGER RESERVE, India (Reuters) -- India is turning poachers into gamekeepers in a bid to save its dwindling tiger population. The primitive Mannan tribespeople who once plundered the jungles of tropical southern India, destroying the ecosystem and driving the dwindling number of tigers deeper into what was left of their habitat, now risk their lives to protect them. By guaranteeing the Mannan a comfortable, legal income from its Project Tiger, the government has made conservation worth more than poaching, says reserve deputy chief Pramod Kishnan. "The moment the tiger is gone, that money is gone," he says. "We are converting the destroyers of the park into its protectors. With their help, we have caught about 150 poachers." About 500 Mannan families live in round, thatch-roofed huts in a new government settlement on the edge of the park. The men -- armed with ancient bolt-action .303 rifles -- work mainly as rangers and guides. The village women make voluntary patrols, giving up one day every two weeks to slog through the jungle. The only equipment the government gives them is a next-to-useless thin plastic raincoat and a green baseball cap with a tiger face on the front. "We realize now that we were doing such bad things. It was becoming a desert," says Leila Kasim as she prepares for a patrol. "Now, it's more alive." In March, wildlife experts and the media suddenly started talking of an alarming drop in big cat numbers across India, home to almost half the world's surviving tigers, saying some of the 32-year-old Project Tiger's showcase reserves now had none. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh ordered a police investigation and announced a special wildlife anti-crime taskforce. "We have a problem at hand and if we don't tackle it effectively, I think we could be doing irretrievable damage to our heritage," he said last month on a tour of Ranthambhore reserve a few hours from New Delhi. "The future is in our hands." Singh did sight a tigress, "Lady of the Lake", although some newspapers said that was more than likely thanks to an old ranger trick to keep VIPs happy: use a bait to lure an animal whose habits are known close to the guest's pre-planned route. A century ago, there were about 40,000 tigers in India. They were a major danger to villagers and explorers and a test of hunting skills for flamboyant maharajas and officers of the Raj. Now, officials estimate there are about 3,700, but wildlife experts say the number is closer to 2,000. Hunting is illegal and trade in tiger parts banned, but a single animal can fetch as much as $50,000. Organs and parts are popular in traditional medicine. Bones are worth $400 a kg (2.2 lb), a penis almost $850, a tooth $120 and a claw just $10. With a penalty for poaching of three years' jail and a fine of 25,000 rupees ($575), the potential rewards are rich in a nation where millions live on less than a dollar a day. Tigers are also vulnerable to the poaching of the animals they hunt and to habitat destruction. Periyar, 777 sq km (300 sq mile) of almost impenetrable jungle, patches of undulating open grasslands and a meandering dam studded with the skeletons of dead trees, is comfortably carrying its capacity of about 40 tigers, 800-900 elephants and thousands of monkeys, deer, wild boars and other species, says Kishnan. About 500,000 tourists visit a year, gawping from tour boats as they glide past elephants and other wildlife drawn to the water's edge. But the main human pressure here is the 5 million pilgrims visiting the Sabarimala Hindu temple within the park. They pay nothing towards the reserve's upkeep. But the temple in honor of Lord Ayyappa, one of South India's most revered Hindu deities, is a major site for for all castes and religions. "In India, religion is a tricky business," sighs Kishnan. Periyar's rugged terrain has always given tigers more protection from poachers than the relatively flat and open plains of the north. But their numbers fell anyway as tribal gangs raided the forest, at the heart of the famed Malabar spice coast, for cinnamon, vanilla, cardamom and sandalwood. Thirty-six-year-old Surindar Sumar and his band of 20, all illiterate, were once one of the most notorious gangs, stripping 10,000 cinnamon trees a year and earning thousands of dollars. Now in his plastic Chinese sandals and brown camouflage uniform, he is a leading ranger, taking home 3,500 rupees ($80) a month. Like smuggling, the work is risky, from a run-in with poachers to the perils of the jungle. And the tigers. But the Mannan supplement their park earnings with returns from a government-sponsored pepper growing and marketing scheme. "We used to throw our money away on cards, drinking and fines," he says. "Now ... our future and the future of the forest depend on each other. We are at peace with the authorities, at peace with ourselves." This is SO awesome!! Thanks, CN. Glad to know something is working towards the preservation of the Tiger. -- ·.·´¨ ¨)) -:¦:- ¸.·´ .·´¨¨)) Laurie ((¸¸.·´ ..·´ -:¦:- ((¸¸ ·.· *~*LiveLoveLaugh*~* Aloha!!!!! "There is no remedy for love but to love more"... ~~Henry David Thoreau |
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Hope this works. I know they used a similar program for elephants somewhere
and it really did help with poaching and raising numbers. |
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Interestingly enough, one of the pioneers of Tiger conservation programs,
Jim Corbett (see http://www.corbettpark.com/jim-corbe...rbett-park.asp) started life as a game hunter. Jim was a friend of my Grandfather many, many moons ago. -- Nik Simpson |
#5
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On 2005-06-28, Karen penned:
Hope this works. I know they used a similar program for elephants somewhere and it really did help with poaching and raising numbers. Me too, but I have trouble understanding how a $80/month job can replace the chance of a single tiger that can earn them $50,000 ... the numbers don't make sense, unless actually killing a tiger happens extremely rarely. -- monique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca |
#6
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"Monique Y. Mudama" wrote in message ... On 2005-06-28, Karen penned: Hope this works. I know they used a similar program for elephants somewhere and it really did help with poaching and raising numbers. Me too, but I have trouble understanding how a $80/month job can replace the chance of a single tiger that can earn them $50,000 ... the numbers don't make sense, unless actually killing a tiger happens extremely rarely. I'm guessing typical journalistic license at play. A single tiger may be worth $50,000 - I've got my doubts. But only in the final stages of poaching, smuggling and sales. . Price at point of sale for individual parts. If that had anything to do with what the guys actually risking life and limb made for killing the tiger, then the price of opium would also make the poppy growers in Afghanistan rich. Now I'm hardly advocating this, but if adult tigers were worth $50,000 each, someone somewhere would be raising them for sale. They do reproduce fairly well in captivity. Jo |
#7
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On 2005-07-03, Jo Firey penned:
"Monique Y. Mudama" wrote in message ... On 2005-06-28, Karen penned: Hope this works. I know they used a similar program for elephants somewhere and it really did help with poaching and raising numbers. Me too, but I have trouble understanding how a $80/month job can replace the chance of a single tiger that can earn them $50,000 ... the numbers don't make sense, unless actually killing a tiger happens extremely rarely. I'm guessing typical journalistic license at play. A single tiger may be worth $50,000 - I've got my doubts. But only in the final stages of poaching, smuggling and sales. . Price at point of sale for individual parts. If that had anything to do with what the guys actually risking life and limb made for killing the tiger, then the price of opium would also make the poppy growers in Afghanistan rich. Now I'm hardly advocating this, but if adult tigers were worth $50,000 each, someone somewhere would be raising them for sale. They do reproduce fairly well in captivity. Jo That makes a lot of sense. Er, not the raising for slaughter thing! I mean the poachers not actually making the big bucks. Plus I'd think this ranger gig is more reliable. -- monique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca |
#8
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Jo Firey wrote:
"Monique Y. Mudama" wrote in message ... On 2005-06-28, Karen penned: Hope this works. I know they used a similar program for elephants somewhere and it really did help with poaching and raising numbers. Me too, but I have trouble understanding how a $80/month job can replace the chance of a single tiger that can earn them $50,000 ... the numbers don't make sense, unless actually killing a tiger happens extremely rarely. I'm guessing typical journalistic license at play. A single tiger may be worth $50,000 - I've got my doubts. But only in the final stages of poaching, smuggling and sales. . Price at point of sale for individual parts. If that had anything to do with what the guys actually risking life and limb made for killing the tiger, then the price of opium would also make the poppy growers in Afghanistan rich. Now I'm hardly advocating this, but if adult tigers were worth $50,000 each, someone somewhere would be raising them for sale. They do reproduce fairly well in captivity. Jo They are raising them in captivity right here where I live, in Thailand. At the Si Racha Tiger Zoo. They've got dozens of them, sometimes they suckle on pigs and they do all sorts of "experiments" where they raise tigers in the same enclosure as pigs, geese, and dogs. They all seem to get on quite well. It's neat to visit this place, but yet I can't figure out what the heck they do with all those tigers. Somehow I don't want to know. -- Britta "There is no snooze button on a cat who wants breakfast." -- Unknown Check out pictures of Vino at: http://photos.yahoo.com/badwilson click on the Vino album |
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