Guest guest Posted August 6, 2005 Report Share Posted August 6, 2005 7:12 PM PDT, August 5, 2005 http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/wire/sns-ap-india-vanishing-tigers\ ,1,1109942.story?coll=sns-ap-world-headlines India Looks to Protect Tigers LOS ANGELES TIMES By NEELESH MISRA, Associated Press Writer NEW DELHI -- India's prime minister on Friday took charge of a nationwide program to save the endangered Bengal tiger, the national animal that experts say is threatened by poachers and angry villagers. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will take over as head of the committee controlling Project Tiger, said his spokesman Sanjaya Baru. Conservationists believe official estimates that 3,500 to 3,700 tigers remain in the wild in India are grossly exaggerated and that the true figure may be closer to 2,000. Many wildlife wardens are accused of inflating tiger census figures for years, even as the animals died in their preserves. Singh on Friday also accepted recommendations of a panel set up following reports that all the tigers at Sariska, one of the country's main reserves, had disappeared, said Sunita Narain, the panel's chairman. Among them are the creation of a wildlife crime bureau, establishment of a new methodology for the next tiger census, and sharing the benefits of wildlife tourism with local communities. The panel has also recommended moving tens of thousands of villagers from 1,500 villages in the region to make way for more tiger habitat, a plan that has angered the affected people. The task force report said: " While the good news is that not every tiger reserve in India is facing a Sariska-type crisis, it is also clear that a Sariska-type crisis haunts every protected area in India. " Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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