Govt blames Nandankanan directer, vet for tiger deaths

In a statement on a Calling Attention Motion by Suresh Pachauri of Congress on wildlife deaths in the country, he said a number of significant inadequacies had been identified in the functioning of the zoo and the Orissa Government had been requested to take mitigative measures.

Earlier, in the Question Hour, he ruled out a CBI inquiry and said an expert team would visit 199 listed zoos in the country to suggest within three months measures to improve the prevailing conditions.

Overcrowding of animals, inappropriate housing, poor standards of sanitation and hygiene, inadequate expertise in the field of health care of zoo animals had jointly contributed to the tiger deaths, he added.

Another negative factor, he noted, was the inadequate level of funding that the zoo had received from the State Government in the past years. He also referred to the recent deaths of lions in Gir, cheetals in Ranthambore and peacocks at Morena and said the incidents were being looked into.

However, except for a lion that was electrocuted, the rest of the animals died of natural causes, Baalu said, adding that the Morena peacocks had died after consuming pesticide-treated bajra seeds.

Of the exisiting 313 zoo tigers, an average of 35 died per year of natural causes and the wild had 3,500 to 3,700 tigers of which an average of 175 animals died of old age.

However, he expressed concern at the increasing man-animal conflicts in the forests, leading to an increasing number of animals being poisoned.

Disturbances in the animal habitat and inadequate prey base of the big cats forced them to attack livestock in the local villages, leading to the conflicts, the Minister said.

Habitat destruction due to biotic pressures and various developmental activities, draining of swamps and water bodies for agricultural purposes also posed a severe strain on wildlife, he said.

In this context, he pointed to extensive poaching and said regulatory agencies had been alerted and the cases referred to the CBI.

To deal with this problem, Baalu said a specialised agency was being created to monitor and collect data on poaching of wild animals as well as seeking international cooperation to curb trans-border trade.

Moreover, allocations to state governments were being increased to ensure expeditious flow of funds, he said. A total landscape approach was needed for protection of wildlife as they knew no legal boundaries, Baalu said. However, the discussion remained inconclusive.