Poaching Increases in India
In Just One Month National Parks lose Rhinoceros, Tigers and Lions
Between late March and the end of April 2007, three of India's top wildlife reserves have been heavily hit by poachers, losing endangered rhinoceros, tiger and lion.
Starting in late March, a string of poaching incidents has occurred throughout India affecting three endangered species. Kaziranga National Park in Assam has lost six Indian One Horned rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis). Eight tigers (Panthera tigris) are missing from the Ranthambore National Park in Rajasthan, which is famed as the best place to view this species. And at Gir National Park and Lion Sanctuary in Gujarat, it is Asiatic lions (Panthera leo persica) that have been poached with 2 adults and one cub lost. Wildlife trafficking syndicates are the likely cause but efforts are being made to stop them.
Rhinoceros Horns Poached For Traditional Medicine
Rhinoceros are valued for their horns, which are used in traditional medicines in Asia. The Indian rhino is considered a conservation success story as protection increased its numbers from around 200 early in the 20th century to over 2,000 now. But with ongoing poaching, this species must be continue to be protected. At their Center for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation, The Wildlife Trust of India works with orphaned and injured rhinos. In January of 2007 two of their young rhinos were released into Manas National Park, where the rhino population was poached out when civil unrest made protecting the park extremely dangerous. Spreading the rhino population into multiple parks means that if a crisis occurs in one park the entire population will not be affected.
Tiger Poaching and the 'Legal' Tiger Parts Trade
About half of the world’s Bengal tigers are found in India. The total global population has been estimated at 5,000 but many experts are convinced that the numbers are much smaller, more like 2,000 at best. Increasing human population and habitat destruction as well as trade in tiger skins, bones and meat threaten this species. To combat the trade problem the international program Campaign Against Tiger Trafficking is focusing on the link between tiger farming and increased poaching, as it is very easy to include poached tiger parts in with shipments of ‘legal’ farmed tiger parts.
Remnant Population of Wild Asiatic Lions Being Poached
In Asia lion bones, claws and skulls are used in traditional medicine. In India the claws are also used as protective amulets. The Gir lions are the last remaining wild population of the Asiatic subspecies but the park suffers from human encroachment pressures with lion attacks on humans and livestock fuelling conflicts. Efforts are being made to establish another population of lions in another part of India but progress remains slow.
It is not clear why there has been this sudden surge in poaching activity but wildlife trafficking syndicates either within India or from elsewhere are likely to be behind it. In response, efforts to control the problem have been launched starting in Assam where paramilitary teams are being dispatched to Kaziranga National Park to assist the Assam Wildlife Crime Prevention Unit.
