Tusker deaths mar census

The death of two tuskers by electrocution on the outskirts of Rajaji National Park in Bijnore district has put dampeners on the heartening n...

The death of two tuskers by electrocution on the outskirts of Rajaji National Park in Bijnore district has put dampeners on the heartening news of the latest wildlife census in Uttaranchal. The two tuskers were electrocuted near Kotdwar town yesterday.

The news came at a time when the state wildlife census showed an upward rise in the population of the endangered wildlife species.

The population of wild animals in the state, which boasts of six national parks and six wildlife sanctuaries, has been on the rise. The Wildlife Census, 2003 shows 2,090 leopards as against 1,961 in the census conducted in 2001, registering an increase of 6.57 per cent, Uttaranchal Forest Commissioner R.S. Tolia said.

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Similarly, the number of elephants this year was reported to be 1,582, up from 1,507 two years ago. But the only worry was the drop in the number of tigers. With only 245 of them being found this year as against 251 in 2001.

While the population of elephants and tigers in the protected forests has gone up, the number of leopards has come down by 7.2 pc. But in reserve forest areas, the number of leopards has shown an increase of 12.35 pc.

In the areas outside the protected forests, Pithoragarh forest division has registered 64.5 per cent increase in the number of leopards while Champawat forest division has shown a decrease of 41.6 per cent in their number.

The police said the trio from Chandigarh — Rohan (21), Sumit (22), and Mohit (19) — were dhol players by profession and had procured the weapons due to an old rivalry with local residents.

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