Guest guest Posted October 8, 2005 Report Share Posted October 8, 2005 http://news./news?tmpl=story & cid=1540 & ncid=1540 & e=7 & u=/afp/20051001/sc_\ afp/indiawildlifeenvironmenttiger_051001114403 Endangered Bengal Tigers rescued from Indian circuses Sat Oct 1, 7:44 AM ET KOLKATA, India (AFP) - Eleven endangered Royal Bengal tigers have been rescued from circuses in eastern India and will be held in a game sanctuary where it is hoped they will breed. Royal Bengal tigers are near extinction due to poaching for their skins and bones that are used in traditional medicines, and habitat loss due to human encroachment, wildlife experts say. The male and female tigers, aged between five and 10 years, were rescued in raids on circuses in West Bengal, said P.T. Bhutia, conservator of forests in the eastern state. Three years ago, West Bengal passed a law banning the exhibition of tigers, lions and monkeys. The big cats will be set free to roam in the Jaldapara sanctuary in the scenic Dooars region in West Bengal which is due to begin a 5.5-million-rupee (120,000-dollar) breeding programme in the next two months. The programme will be " the first of its kind in the eastern region, " Bhutia said. " Royal Bengal tigers have given birth in captivity. We're sure they will breed in the natural habitat to give a boost to the tiger population in the foothills of the eastern Himalayas, " he said. The sanctuary is 600 kilometres (370 miles) north of the state capital Kolkata. The cats are being temporarily housed in a small zoo in Dankuni on the outskirts of Kolkata, Bhutia said. The future of the Indian tiger became a big issue earlier this year when the government said poachers killed 122 of the cats between 1999 and 2003, despite a conservation programme. Between 3,500 and 3,700 Indian tigers are left in the wild in India, according to government estimates, down from 40,000 tigers before India's 1947 independence from Britain. The Sundarbans mangrove forest, straddling West Bengal state and adjoining Bangladesh, is the largest habitat in the world of the Royal Bengal tigers. A UN-funded census found 668 Royal Bengal tigers in the forest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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