India's first tiger rescue centre in Sunderbans

KOLKATA: The first tiger rescue centre of the country will be ready to welcome big cats in three months. Being developed at Jharkhali in the Sunderbans, the centre will provide asylum to injured and straying tigers that are either brought to Kolkata for treatment or released in far corners of the mangrove forest. Even though fenced off from the rest of the jungle, the centre will be contiguous to the main Sunderbans and allow tigers to roam free in the wild. They will, however, not be able to leave the centre which will be fenced off.
Work on the centre's outer fence is complete. Fifteen feet high iron bars have been erected to create a boundary that cuts it from the rest of the forest. There will be an inner periphery with a lower fence made of bars interspersed with chain-links. It will mark separate enclosures for four tigers across a 100-acre area. Adjacent to the Chhoto Herobhanga river, the centre will be enclosed on all four sides and have waterbodies apart from enough mangrove cover for tigers to feel "at home", said Pradip Vyas, director, Sunderban Biosphere Reserve. "It will allow us to treat injured tigers in the forest itself which will spare them the agony of having to spend months at the zoo hospital in Alipore. While they will be able to stay back in the forest, the tigers will remain protected at the centre.

Jumbo found dead in Sathyamangalam forests

COIMBATORE: The carcass of a 35-year-old female elephant was found in Bejaleti forest area in the Bhavani Sagar range of Sathyamangalam forests on Wednesday morning.
According to the autopsy report, the elephant died due to respiration related ailments, forest officials said. The body was detected by a patrolling party during its usual rounds in the interiors of Bhavani Sagar forest area.
Due to ailment, the elephant was unable to consume food for quite a long time and its condition worsened in the last few days, officials said. It may have died on Friday, Sathyamangalam DFO N Sathish said.
Elephant deaths in Erode district are on the rise. The total jumbo deaths in the district in the last 10 years is 298. Last week, carcasses of four elephants were found in three forest ranges in the district in a span of two days. A male elephant was found dead in Anthiyur forest area. Cause of death was the formation of worms in the liver. In Chennampatty forest range, two elephants died due to prolonged illness. A five-year-old female elephant was found dead in Kothamangalam forests, killed by a tiger. Last year, 23 elephants died in the district. There are about 1,200 elephants in the district's forest ranges.