The Fund for the Tiger Newsletter Number 7 Summer, 2003

Dear Friends:

    The news from Asia this past year tells a story of increased poaching and the very active and sophisticated trade of endangered species and protected wildlife.  Consider a few examples below which are clearly just the tip of the proverbial iceberg.

    The Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI) reported that at least 98 leopards had been lost to poaching in India in the first months of 2003.  Their informants claim that leopard poaching and the skin trade is being coordinated on a national scale.  The biggest seizure and proof of this trade came in Kathmandu in April near the famed Swayambhu (Monkey Temple).  A man was arrested with 109 leopard skins in his truck.  He admitted being paid 50,000 rupees ($650) to deliver them to the Tibetan border.  The skins were new, showed signs of bullet holes or poisoning, but were professionally prepared for market in excellent condition with paid stamps on them.

      A Nepalese citizen was arrested at Narita Airport in Japan this past December with 7 rhino horns.  A man arrested in Chitwan confessed to killing 5 rhinos and selling the horns to the aforementioned man.  Two Tibetans were arrested in Chitwan with nearly $10,000 as they attempted to purchase rhino horns.  One of the Tibetans confessed to buying tiger skins previously from a man who had been arrested in Chitwan for selling 3 tiger skins and one rhino horn.  The Tibetans are from Humla in the NW corner of Nepal, directly on the trade route north into Tibet via Mt. Kailas.  It was at the Humla post office in Simikot several years ago that bags of tiger bones were discovered.  I spoke with Tibetans in Taklakot several years ago who knew of bartering tiger bones for shahtoosh.

     In April, the largest seizure ever of shahtoosh was announced in India.  Shahtoosh is the ultra-chic wool made into shawls in Kashmir and comes from the underbelly of the critically endangered Tibetan antelope, the chiru.  According to the Wildlife Trust of India, the 215 kg. of wool represented the death of an estimated 3000 chiru.  This is a devastating loss for an animal whose numbers have dropped to possibly only 50,000 in the wild.  The shipment came from Dharchula in Western Nepal via Haldwani in India- directly on the route north to Mt. Kailas- home breeding ground of the chiru.  Several weeks later, the Wildlife Protection Society of India and the Indian Central Bureau of Investigation conducted a raid netting 47 shahtoosh shawls.

     With the possible exception of shahtoosh, there is no local market for this decimation of the natural heritage of South Asia.  People in India, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh do not believe in the efficacy of tiger bone medicine; do not believe that tiger penis soup is an aphrodisiac; do not believe that tiger and leopard claws worn as jewelry give you courage; do not believe that tiger or leopard bones worn as an amulet can bring good luck; do not believe that sitting on tiger skins can prevent fevers caused by evil spirits: and do not want to adorn their offices, dens, and fireplaces with finely tanned tiger and leopard skins.  Nor do they believe in the power of rhino horns as an aphrodisiac or value their status as a handle for their knives.  The sad truth is that animals internationally declared as protected and endangered by the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES) are being slaughtered in the ‘protected’ wildlife reserves of sovereign nations to satisfy beliefs and customs of those thousands of miles away.

INDIA:

             All funding of programs in India go via the Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI) and its founder, Belinda Wright.  Congratulations are in order to Belinda!   On June 14^th, Belinda was awarded an Order of the British Empire (OBE) in Queen Elizabeth II Honours List for “services to the protection of wildlife and endangered species in India”

 Since 1996 we have been assisting the WPSI in its biggest and most aggressive project-  Poaching and Trade.  Almost every wildlife crime brought to its attention is investigated.  Informants work to gather leads, which can lead to sting operations against those involved in wildlife crimes.  The WPSI has been working closely with the Indian Central Bureau of Investigation the past few years on many such operations to disrupt the wildlife criminals.  Five such successful operations have been carried out since last December

At the end of 1998, we helped donate an elephant (Sonakali) to be used in patrolling and protection of Sonanadhi Sanctuary and Corbett Tiger Reserve.  We continue to fund her general support of food and equipment required to do her job as supervised by the Honorary Warden of Corbett Tiger Reserve, Brijendra Singh.  Brij has recently written to me that she is up at Sonanadhi for the monsoon season but spent several months patrolling the main Corbett reserve and encountered “lots of tigers”.  There have been no recent reports on the killing of wild elephants that plagued Corbett several years ago.  Some good news.

            In the summer of 2001 we began the support of a permanent representative living in the Bandhavgarh area.  In January of 2001 we funded a Wildlife Crime Workshop at Bandhavgarh and in September of 2002 another workshop in the city of Katni.  Katni is a notorious hub of wildlife crime and the nearest major railway junction.  As a result of these workshops, the WPSI has developed a good working relationship with the police and forest staff at Bandhavgarh and its adjoining areas, which are of great benefit for protecting tigers and other wildlife.  Though there have been some losses at Bandhavgarh, tigers continue to flourish in the main Tala area.  But tigers do not overcrowd and disperse into new habitat as they mature.  There is good tiger habitat around Bandhavgarh, but the corridors are weak and poorly protected and there are over 70 villages in and around the greater Bandhavgarh area. There is a cumbersome bureaucratic system of compensation for legitimate livestock losses.  The WPSI Field Officer plays an important role in reducing retaliatory killings of tigers by liasing between the government and the villagers. 

NEPAL:

    It has been clear for years that Nepal lies on the smuggling route to extinction for many endangered animals and the center of this trade is Kathmandu.  Nepal’s open border with India to the south and the geographical complexities of the Himalayan mountain range to the north, make control, monitoring, and policing of this illegal trade extremely difficult.  Tiger, leopard, and rhino products head north into Tibet and on to the Far East or Middle East via Kathmandu or the isolated mountain trade routes.  Shahtoosh comes south from Western Tibet enroute to weaving centers in Kashmir.  There have even been cases documented of bartering tiger bones for shahtoosh on the passes leading to Mt. Kailas.  In December of 2002 we began funding a small but focused project in Kathmandu to be coordinated through the CITES office in Nepal’s Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation.  Nepal has been a contracting party to the CITES treaty since 1975.  Our hope is that over time enough information can be gathered in Kathmandu and on the trade routes to the north, to harass and make a dent in this illicit trade.

    Problems continue at Royal Chitwan National Park.  While tiger populations remain relatively stable, the rhino has been slaughtered at an alarming rate over the past two years. According to figures from Nepal’s Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, at least 59 rhinos are known to have been poached in the past two years.  One man was recently arrested and admitted to killing 17 rhinos in the past 5 years.  They were shot with a muzzle loaded rifle and he was paid from $150-$1000 per rhino by a ‘middleman’.  The Royal Nepalese Army has abandoned most of their guard posts in a move of self-protection and efficacy in their battle against the Maoist insurgency.   The rhinos have been left extremely vulnerable to attack as they graze in the open grasslands.  There is currently a cease-fire in Nepal’s turmoil but it is hard to say what the future will bring.  In the meantime we have offered to help and are funding a limited information gathering and mobile anti-poaching operation coordinated by the new Warden.

    Tikaram Adhikari is now the Chief Warden at Sukla Phanta Wildlife Reserve. We have been helping with anti-poaching work for several years there and are pleased to continue to do so with Tikaram.  He is a brave and dedicated conservationist whose work at Chitwan inspired me to get involved in helping Nepal’s tigers back in 1993.  A recent report from him lists Sukla Phanta’s biggest problems as controlling illegal cattle grazing (there are more livestock than people surrounding the park) and the illegal cutting and collection of timber from within the park.  He writes that, “due to joint operations and monitoring it has been quite successful to control poaching and illegal activities” and that, “at present no poaching of endangered wildlife has been reported.

    Bhim Gurung, formerly of Tiger Tops and now with the University of Minnesota, has established an ambitious network of 30 informants ranging from Sukla Phanta in the Far West to Kosi Thappu in the East.  These ‘citizen rangers’ as he calls them, live in the critical areas between the tigers’ protected habitat and provide information about the presence or absence of the tiger, its prey species, and general health of the habitat.  We continue to assist in the funding of this project.  Wildlife conservation officials in Nepal have praised Bhim’s project as providing the “best data on continuity and gaps in tiger habitat throughout Nepal.”

    Tiger monitoring and surveys are now done by camera trapping, wherein the tiger takes its own picture by walking through a laser beam from cameras placed at strategic locations throughout tiger habitat. A GPS device is also used to record the exact location of each camera. Responsibility for surveying tigers throughout Nepal has been divided between the King Mahendra Trust for Nature Conservation with funding from the World Wildlife Fund and the International Trust for Nature Conservation with assistance from The Fund For The Tiger. Last year we purchased two new camera set-ups and a Garmin GPS.  In June of 2003 I received an extensive report from Chuck McDougal and Adam Barlow documenting the camera trap work since 1995.  The report concluded that the best results are made over a period of years and that in Chitwan’s prime habitat the population appears to be stable based on low turnover and constancy in number of resident females.

    We continue to offer our funds as rewards when needed.  In June of 2003, rewards were dispersed to those helping in the arrest of 8 individuals from Kathmandu and the Chitwan area- all involved in the killing of rhinos and trading in their horns.

    All funding for projects in Nepal go to the International Trust for Nature Conservation and are co-ordinated with local authorities by its Trustee, Dr. Charles McDougal.  Dinesh Thapa oversees the dispersal of funds into the field and sends excellent reports.

ODDS and ENDS:

• Several articles have appeared in the press about the fact that there are an estimated 12,000 pet tigers in the U.S.  There are less than 5000 wild tigers left in the world.  There are more pet tigers in Texas than in all of India.  What happens to these animals when they die, become hard to handle, or the novelty wears off
   

• In May of 2003 a couple in Colton, California, was arrested when officials discovered two adult tigers and nine cubs, two leopard cubs and two donkeys in their attic.  90 dead   tigers, including 58 stuffed into freezers, were also found in the house.  This was a place     called the Tiger Rescue Sanctuary. (Associated Press)
   

• Then there is the tiger meat store outside of Chicago.  The what??  In April a man was convicted of slaughtering tigers and leopards and selling them to Czimers Market in   suburban Lockport for $3 a pound.  The market specialized in providing exotic meats. After a 4 1/2 year investigation, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service charged fifteen             members of an organization operating in Michigan, Illinois, and Missouri that illegallykilled and sold tigers and leopards for mounted trophies, rugs, and exotic food.    (Associated Press)
   

•  A bizarre and tragic story came out of Orissa, India.  A poaching gang poisoned a waterhole in the Konta forest area to kill wild animals.  The poachers left intending to return to the scene to collect their spoils.  Another poaching group arrived and used the water for their campsite.  35 people, all tribals from Orissa, died.  (WPSI)
   

• On a more positive note, an outlawed guerilla group in Assam is taking the law into its own hands on behalf of endangered animals near Kaziranga National Park.  Local villagers have been warned by the group that they face public flogging and fines if caught killing rhinos, tigers, wild elephants, or illegally felling trees.  (CAT News)

Death of a Tigress

On the night of March 28, 2003, the tigress known as Mohini (Bachhi) was mortally wounded when hit by a vehicle.  Rumors about the incident have swirled for months, but at this point in time it’s academic exactly where the incident took place or what type of vehicle it was.  It was either out on the Umaria-Tala Road or in the NW corner of the park at a place called Badrasilla (Charger Point).  What is known is that she suffered severe face and head injuries, broken canines, was disoriented, and in an obvious state of pain and agitation.  She attacked a guard post at Garhpuri around 6 am the morning of March 29^th- startling the poor chap cooking breakfast.  Her teeth were found in one of the wooden posts.  The fellow said she seemed enraged and confused as she crossed the road, attacked a metal sign, and entered the park.  Shortly thereafter, Mohini came upon a row of seven jeeps, eagerly awaiting a photo opportunity that had been heralded by chital and sambar alarm calls.  Four jeeps noticed that the tigress was severely injured and yelled for the others to get out of her way.  They were either unable or unwilling to do so.   I have seen a photo of the bloodied snarling tigress walking toward a camera.  Had the other jeeps respected the fact that this was a tiger in a state of severe distress, headlines saying “Tigress Mauls French Tourists in India” would not have hit the news wires.  Those of you who have been to Bandhavgarh know that a healthy tiger would have walked past the jeeps unconcerned.  People kept yelling at the jeeps nearest Mohini to back off.  But cameras continued to roll.  There was loud growling- some who were there think Mohini and her nearby cubs were calling back and forth.  Suddenly Mohini crouched and leapt into the back of one of the jeeps.  The guide and driver ran off but two French tourists were pinned underneath the angry tigress.  Some of the other guides came running over, hitting her with bamboo sticks and one pulled her off by the tail- Mohini literally falling on top of the lead guide, a local lodge owner.  A brief scuffle ensued and finally Mohini walked off into the forest.  She has not been seen since.  The tourists and guide were treated at local hospitals and released with ‘relatively’ minor injuries.  This would not have been the case with a healthy tiger.  It is thought that Mohini was trying to get home to her three 18-month-old cubs.  She never made it.

Many of you reading this Newsletter have been to Bandhavgarh and some sat on an elephant a few years ago and watched a very mellow and maternal Mohini/Bachhi teach her   young cubs the fine art of killing a deer and sharing a meal [Newsletter #5 2001].  Mohini was born in 1994 in the second litter of the famed Sita and Charger.  She left a legacy of three litters in her 9 years.  Her first produced the large males known as B1, B2, and B3.  They are now 6 years old and still dominate the park though B3 has not been seen in some time.  Of her second litter, one died in a snare fence and the other has dispersed into the Kithouli area but was recently thought to have been spotted by the mahouts’ elephant patrols.  The final litter was at a precarious survival age.  They were just learning to hunt for themselves.   One was recently confirmed dead from wounds encountered in a fight with a porcupine and only one other has been seen since the death of Mohini.

Gratitudes:

• Mountain Travel/Sobek continues to donate all profits from their annual Save The Tiger trip to The Fund For The Tiger.  The trip, which visits Bandhavgarh National Park in India and Royal Chitwan National Park in Nepal, is an excellent way for people to travel into the heart of tiger country, see a tiger in the wild, and make a significant contribution to tiger conservation work.  I created this trip in 1994 in my job a Trip Leader and it allows me to travel to tiger country at no cost to our fund.
   

• The Tiger Tops/Tiger Mountain Group in Nepal continues to participate generously in the Save The Tiger trip and have, over the years, offered me the gracious hospitality that has afforded me the opportunity to learn first-hand about the status of the tiger in Nepal.
   

• Thanks to The American Himalayan Foundation for its generous grant which helps sustain our support for anti-poaching patrols and tiger habitat protection throughout Nepal.
   

• Thanks to Kim Sullivan for being my extra eyes and ears at Bandhavgarh.  She and her husband Micky first went to Bandhavgarh with me in 1999 and she has now returned six times!!  A passion for tigers is truly one of hidden dangers of seeing a wild tiger move through the forests and jungles of Asia.
   

• To our Webmeister, Dr. John Mordes, my gratitude for establishing our web site and continuing to update it from time to time. PLEASE NOTE that we have changed it to an address that even I can remember.  Look for it at:

                                                www.thefundforthetiger.org

JAIBAGH- the email address of The Fund For The Tiger, means “long live the tiger” in the Nepali language.

            If you wish to help, please send your contribution to The Fund For The Tiger at P. O. Box 2, Woodacre, California, 94973. The Fund For The Tiger is a non-profit tax exempt public charity registered in the State of California. Your contribution is deductible for tax purposes within the limits of the law.

Sincerely,

Brian K. Weirum

Chairman

The Fund For The Tiger

Page last updated October 14, 2003

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