January 1, 2009

Tiger caught by West Bengal villagers dead


KOLKATA, 30 Dec: An aging male Royal Bengal Tiger which was caught in a village near the Sunderbans died on Tuesday morning in the Tiger Reserve in Sudhanyakhali.The cause of death is still unknown. The tiger had attacked two persons before being captured in Annpur village.

A girl encountered the tiger while walking in thick fog and villagers rushed to the spot after hearing the cries of the girl.After the tiger hid in a banana plantation, forest officials had to tranquilise the wild animal.

The unconscious animal was taken to the reserve from where it was to be released into the wild.
"The tiger swam across a small river from Pirkhali forest and entered the village where it killed a dog," Divisional Reserve Forest, Sunderbans Tiger Reserve, Subrata Mukherjee said.
"Since the tiger killed a dog we realised it was too old to hunt and was in search of food," he said.
Another tiger caught on Sunday at Kultali was sedated and under observation at Ajmalmari since it had an injury.

Buddhadeb seeks report on straying of tigers in Sunderbans


Kolkata, Dec 30: Concerned over tigers frequently entering villages in the Sunderbans, West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has sought a report on whether it was because of insufficient food or a behavioural change.Bhattacharjee, who chaired a meeting of the Sunderbans Development Board (SBR) yesterday sought to know whether there was scarcity of deer and boars in the Sunderbans which was leading tigers to enter villages or whether there was a behavioural change among the big cats, Sunderbans Development Minister Kanti Ganguly told mediapersons here.Bhattacharjee asked the SBR director to submit a report on why tigers frequently strayed into villages, Ganguly said.To a question, Ganguly said primarily it was stated that insufficient number of deer and boars might be one of the reasons but experts were asked to ascertain the actual reasons.He said never before in the past had tigers strayed so many times into villages as this year.An eco-friendly tourism plan for Sunderbans was also necessary so that the tourists do not disturb tigers, he said.Royal Bengal tigers in the Sunderbans have strayed into villages at least 10 times including one at Katamari in Kultali on December 28 and another at Gosaba today.
Royal Bengal tiger caught in the Sunderbans

Canning, West Bengal : An aging male Royal Bengal Tiger which entered Annpur village in search of food at Gosaba in the Sundarbans has been caged by the forest department personnel.
The tiger swam across a small river from Pirkhali forest and entered the village where it killed a dog," Divisional Reserve Forest, Sunderbans Tiger Reserve, Subrata Mukherjee said on Tuesday.
"Since the tiger killed a dog we realised it was too old to hunt and was in search of food," he said.
A trap was laid and the tiger was caught last night, he said.
The tiger was being taken taken to Sudhanyakhali jungle for observation. It would be released, but if it was found that it was too old to hunt, it would be transferred to the Alipore zoo in Kolkata, Mukherjee said.
Another tiger caught on Sunday at Kultali was sedated and under observation at Ajmalmari since it had an injury.

WB govt not to move HC for more time to ban 'polluting' autos


Kolkata, Dec 30 : With the Calcutta High Court having directed that polluting two-stroke autorickshaws cease to ply from January 1, the West Bengal government today ruled out seeking more time for the phase out."We are bound to implement the court order to cancel the licences of autorickshaws causing pollution. We will not appeal to the high court court for more time to phase out two-stroke autos,"Transport Minister Subhas Chakraborty said.

The two-stroke autos will cease to run from January one, he said."Our hands are tied and we can't help."