Polls delay probe: Panna tigers’ disappearance
Posted On Friday, April 17, 2009
New Delhi, April 17: The elections have put on hold a number of important decisions in ministries and delayed action in various matters, the latest victim being the inquiry into the disappearance of the lone surviving tiger from Panna, the world famous reserve in Madhya Pradesh.
Though a Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been constituted to probe into the disappearance of the big cat from the world famous sanctuary, its members had not been able to visit the place so far as the local authorities were unable to provide logistical support to them because of the elections, a senior official of the National Tiger Conservation Authority told UNI.
The team had in fact been constituted in March itself when it came to light that the sanctuary, which was estimated to be having around 24 tigers in 2004-05, had lost almost all but one or two tigers.
Now after the latest report of the disappearance of the lone surviving tiger, the probe into it has been clubbed with the existing inquiry being conducted by the SIT.
The probe team would visit the sanctuary only after the elections are over.
The skewed sex ratio in the reserve had recently forced the authorities to translocate two tigresses from the Bandhavgarh sanctuary.
However, the disappearance of the only surviving tiger from the sanctuary had come as a shock to the wildlife lovers and authorities.
The decision to translocate the tigresses had been taken after the success of the experiment in Sariska, where the two tigers relocated from Ranthambhore tiger reserve were doing fine. The relocation was necessitated after it was found about four years ago that the sanctury had lost all its tigers.
Panna landscape, which covers an area of 3500 sq km and has two discrete tiger occupied areas of 787 and 187 sq km, was earlier believed to be sustaining around 24 tigers.
http://www.centralchronicle.com/viewnews.asp?articleID=5146
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