Leopard Rescue Centre a step forward but Nepal cannot step back in overall thinking...

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A conversation with the District Forest Officer just a few minutes ago is another step forward for the vision of a purpose built Leopard Rescue Centre within the constructs of wildlife rescue and rehabilitation as a whole. Thanks Bindu for the post below, tracing the beginnings. So much work has gone on strategy and increasing understanding. There is the model with the leopard Asa and the current rewilding post with the two young leopards under the supervision of NTNC's Dr Asis Gurung with backup from wildlife technician Tika Ram Tharu.... there'll be a report on that when it is appropriate. There's also verbal approval for a rewilding post in the west of the country plus Bardia Chief Warden Ramesh Thapa has a proposal forwarded to Government for a more general Rescue and Rehab Centre in that area. There is a consultation process taking place. 

 My own emphasis is very much on a specialized leopard unit as everyone who follows these blogs knows, there are many issues around these big cats. So the work goes on, it's a constant and evolving process and as I've mentioned the Leopard Task Force concept will be published next week after more meetings.From Monday WildTiger obtains the legal status required to further support these options.

All this is all fine but the proposal by Government as discussed in the posts at Facebook (see previous blog here as well) yesterday is a huge concern. Legalizing trade in this way will have major negative consequences. This proposal will be examined and opposed. It is vital Nepal gets it right, decisions made now affect wildlife conservation forever.

Skins, bones, feathers, pets... the illegal trade continues overground, underground and online...

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This photo was taken a few years ago during a time I was asked to get images of the "above ground" visibility of illegal wildlife trade in several cities.  The terms of the contract means I'm unable to give too many details (for safety and ongoing investigation reasons) but I posted the image on Facebook yesterday as part of an overview for something else, it drew a coupe of comments and then as is often the case my email inbox started to get activity.

This particular image was taken in Kathmandu when there were several of these young guys selling openly on the streets, selling birds on behalf of dealers.  There were arrests, an impact was made and in general there are not as many open sellers on the streets.  Getting these shots isn't easy, these guys are wary and there is an element of risk.  The trade itself has gone underground and is still a serious problem.  Sadly the very medium on which you are reading this blog is now playing a prominent role in illegal wildlife trade, social media has become a large business platform.

The trade is global.  I've had to have a moderator watch social media threads for these blogs and we've had to delete comments at times because I've received flak along the lines of "who the hell are these people taking shots at my country when they have so many issues in their own country?"... and unfortunately it's justified as for example the US is the second biggest consumer/buyer of illegal wildlife and wildlife parts after China.  It's a serious problem everywhere and just because some countries have strong laws prohibiting trade it doesn't mean it goes away.

Here, in this backyard, Nepal there have been serious problems of late perhaps representing the surge in trade because of expanding markets.  Several tiger skins have been seized and DNA testing has identified them to be Bengal tigers from this part of the world.  I'm spending more and more time following up leopard skin seizures and this is problematic because there is no genetic database.  On the local level even here in the Kaski guns have been seized to combat the illegal taking of  bush meat which has been growing as the economic situation worsens but also it has come to light there are restaurants selling deer and other wildlife in back rooms... because there is a demand.

Every deer killed means less prey for a leopard... meaning the likelihood of a conflict situation developing when these carnivores (and other species) start to hunt closer to villages and towns.  Anyone who has been reading these blogs understands the consequences of that by now.

It's a vicious cycle.  Look at your own area.  How much forest has been cut down for urban development over the years?  Wildlife becomes more rare, it's value increases on the illegal markets, it becomes a commodity.

In Nepal a few days ago this announcement and I quote "The Government is making preparations to amend the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1973 to allow the general public to keep and breed certain species of animals" and further on was the passage "The proposed amendment aims to attract the private sector  in rearing and breeding of wild animals.  Body parts and goods made of such animals may be sold, distributed and exported"... I don't think I need to explain the ramifications of this with regard to stimulating the illegal trade. Further down in the announcement it stated that individuals are able to apply to set up rescue centres.  This is something I am already involved with but the link to the commercial aspect is of great concern as shown by the shady activities of many zoos, sanctuaries and "rescue centres" worldwide.  At the same time the very powerful tourism sector here is lobbying hard to get to be able to get the "tiger tourists" back into core protected areas.  The bucket list "I want to see a wild tiger" brigade pay big money, valuable funds for a struggling country.  Once again, this will lead to ramifications.

I write this today because as I've mentioned previously WildTiger is evolving in the direction it takes as issues arise.  There's no doubt illegal wildlife trade, a multi-billion dollar activity which is a huge threat to biodiversity and ecosystems, is growing.  The extent of the problem is beyond the straight consciousness of people involved in combating it as it it becomes of war of proportions evidenced by the shrinking populations of icon species such as elephants and rhinos in Africa and the ever surging threat to tigers, leopards and snow leopards, just examples, in Asia.

There are answers to the problems, we all know that, but they involve a huge shift in thinking and will. There needs to be a balanced amount of talk and awareness but much more action.

For most this is just another issue in a world where a lot is going wrong.  For those of us who have to deal with it daily it's a deadly serious situation with ramifications already active but will be even more dangerous for future generations.  We are obliged to act.

Evolution of an org ... can mean sitting in a tree...

 This post is at Facebook (along with larger images and other updates) if you wish to comment.

First of all my heartfelt thanks to anyone who has supported WildTiger in any way. Those of you who have followed for a while will know that particularly in the last couple of years it's been a very challenging time. Challenges mean evolving to meet them head on, always making the best effort to be effective. Many people say to me they like the fact I do my best to communicate on an individual level, thank you, I'll do my best to continue trying to present a human face to the org. It sometimes means sitting in a tree to contemplate it all and those who know me best know I will walk away from a situation when I feel there is not genuine communication from the heart. There's too much to do so no time to listen to bullshit.

This can mean looking to readjust quickly. Some issues of late have forced that again so in a few days there will be more changes. Running an Org takes funds, a lot of funds, I sell a lot of photographs but now I need to sell a lot more as well as get things moving along with the social enterprises we are developing. Conservation is about many issues including people, business, wildlife and science, but overall it's about the protection of our habitat and by "our" I mean that of all living things. I look for people who genuinely understand that, can think beyond self, examine their own environmental footprint and can see the sheer beauty and importance of nature... but most importantly understand that if we don't protect it we are nothing...

The changes will reflect the efforts to improve our relationship with wildlife, it's not rocket science to understand that if we don't do that then we are leaving future generations with a hell of a mess. We all have that responsibility right now. Jai Bagh.

The reality of human - leopard conflict and implementing new mitigation strategies...

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The image is slightly grotesque but it's the reality of it I'm afraid as Bindu examines a young dead leopard a few weeks ago. I'm busy pouring over images and data before a meeting with the District Forest Office here in the Kaski, a high conflict area. I'm introducing new strategy for mitigation, to be used immediately with the Kaski as a test case. Such is the nature of all this I see more dead leopards than live ones but that is mainly due to their incredibly secretive nature. It's when they do appear that all hell can break loose. Their behavior is changing, evolving to maintain survival. It's vital we keep up with and adapt in the new nature being created. Blaming, complaining and sadness at the situation do nothing, it's about working hard and aiming at some sort of balance. It'll never be perfect but the current situation has to improve to minimize loss on both sides.The 

Let wildlife have the privacy to be wildlife...

The posts at this blog site are also at Facebook where there are also other updates including a piece regarding issues very important to me.  LET WILDLIFE HAVE THE PRIVACY TO BE WILDLIFE.

Adaption: Anti-Poaching Unit has tough road ahead...

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ADAPTATION... Great to get phone call from Hemanta just now as well as some images from the Cbapu Bardia (Community Based Anti Poaching Unit) day in Bardia yesterday. Unfortunately I have a few things on my plate right now and could not be there but in ten days WildTiger will confirm new support for the CBAPU in what is now a critical time for #tiger, #wildlife, #habitat, #communinity, #people. In the update the efforts around human - leopard conflict mitigation will also be explained. Difficult times mean difficult decisions and I've been faced with those lately but it is a case of total belief in the cause and living life according to that. Jai Bagh.

Big cat - human conflict but the sacred mountain has the answer...

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In John Vaillant's superb book 'The Tiger' he writes of a hunter who says "The tiger will see you one hundred times before you see him once" and anyone who has spent a lot of time in the jungle knows that feeling of being watched.  With the even more stealthy and cunning leopard it applies even more and it can be an uneasy feeling, that sense that the big cat is close but concealed in its own realm, a wonder but also powerful force of nature.

Unfortunately the leopard is coming out of hiding more and more.  Throughout South Asia the number of conflict situations are increasing as livestock and people sustain injuries or worse.  There are more and more scenes like the one posted here but at least this man lived to tell the tale after an attack in Uttarakhand just over the border from western Nepal, we posted re this situation yesterday at WildTiger's Twitter feed.

I'm just back from an area where I learnt of several recent attacks on livestock and dogs.  Fortunately there were no attacks on people of late in that location but a valley where there have been several deaths in the last few years is my next stop.

I'll have a more comprehensive update in a few days but a couple of mornings ago I looked up at the sacred mountain Macchapucchre and I felt as if I was getting an almost 7000 metre answer.  This mountain has never been climbed, it is sacred, it is a total respect for nature, it is a habitat that is just allowed to be.

While I'm doing a lot of work right now to increase implementation of technology to help mitigate the increasingly more serious issues of human - wildlife conflict, my own focus based on the leopard, I can't help but be convinced that the sacred mountain is simply saying "leave us be, let us have our habitat, return what you have taken and while the relationship between man and nature will never be simple, it can be better than it is right now..."

I'll expand on this thinking soon within the realm of the word SACRED, not in a religious context but with regards to respect, how we must simply let some places be, simply not intrude... at all.