Kerala Assembly passes forest, wildlife amendment Bills

 

tHE HINDU BUREAU, 

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, october 9, 2025

The Kerala Assembly on Wednesday passed the Wildlife Protection (Kerala Amendment) Bill, 2025 and the Kerala Forest (Amendment) Bill, 2025 in the absence of the Opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) which boycotted the proceedings over the alleged gold theft at Sabarimala.

Forests Minister A.K. Saseendran described the Wildlife Protection (Kerala Amendment) Bill, 2025 as a milestone initiative, stating that Kerala is the first State in India to introduce such an amendment to the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.

Time consuming

According to him, the existing procedures under the Central Act and its associated Standard Operating Procedures are often impractical and time-consuming. The amendment aims to enable quick action in emergency situations, especially when lives are at risk.

The proposed legislation would enable the Chief Wildlife Warden to authorise immediate action, including killing animals, without unnecessary delay, at times when people suffer serious injuries in a wildlife attack, following which the District Collector or Chief Conservator of Forests reports the incident for necessary action.

The Bill also includes provision for population control and relocation of species listed in Schedule II, such as wild boars and leopards, without requiring Central government approval. Besides, the new Bill would also empower the State government to declare a species as ‘vermin’ if its population becomes unmanageable.

The Bill also proposes shifting Bonnet Macaque from Schedule I to Schedule II to permit population control of the species and, if necessary, declaring them vermin.

Mr. Saseendran highlighted that the Bill will come into effect only upon receiving Presidential assent, after being forwarded through the Governor, as it involves amendments to the Central law. The Kerala Forest (Amendment) Bill, 2025 primarily introduces provisions regarding the harvesting and sale of sandalwood trees on private land.

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If capture bid fails, tiger may be shot

 

THE HINDU BUREAU

, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, January 25, 2023

Amid mounting pressure following the tragic death of a tribal woman at Pancharakolly, the Forest department has launched frantic steps to capture the tiger that mauled her while she was collecting coffee beans on a plantation.

Forest Minister A.K. Saseendran has said the tiger will be shot and killed if all attempts to capture it fail.

Chief Wildlife Warden Pramod G. Krishnan issued a formal order late on Friday to capture the tiger in accordance with the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) issued under the Wildlife (Protection) Act.

The first course of action will be to attempt to capture the animal using a tranquilliser or trap. “If the problematic tiger cannot be captured or tranquillised and remains dangerous to human life by turning into a man-eater, then the said tiger shall be hunted in strict adherence of the SOPs of the National Tiger Conservation Authority,” the order states.

Mobilised resources

To address the escalating situation, the department has mobilised significant resources to the region.

Personnel from the Thalappuzha and Varayal forest stations, equipped with 12 bore pump action guns, have been deployed to patrol the Pancharakolly area and its surroundings. Additional staff from the Irulum and Pulpally forest stations have also been sent to strengthen the ongoing efforts.

Cages have been set up in the area, and camera traps from the North Wayanad Division have been installed. More camera traps are being rushed from the South Wayanad Division. Thermal drones and standard drones have been brought in for aerial surveillance, while the Sulthan Bathery Rapid Response Team (RRT) is stationed at a base camp at Pancharakolly to maintain vigil in the area.

A team of expert shooters and veterinarians led by Chief Veterinary Officer Arun Zachariah has been deployed to the conflict zone. The department is also deploying kumki elephants from the Muthanga elephant camp, which have proven useful in capturing tigers in the past.

To coordinate the response to the unfolding situation, an incident command has been established, with K.J. Martin Lowel, Divisional Forest Officer, North Wayanad, appointed as the operation commander. The operation is being supervised by Chief Conservator of Forests (Northern Circle) K.S. Deepa.

Patrolling

Mr. Saseendran highlighted that patrolling in the region will be intensified, considering the potential risk posed by tigers and other wildlife, including elephants, which may be migrating into Wayanad from the neighbouring Bandipur region in Karnataka.

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Quarantine animals with bird flu symptoms, Centre tells States after tiger, leopard deaths

 

A.M. JIGEESH, 

NEW DELHI, The Hindu

With Maharashtra reporting India’s first case of avian influenza among animals, the Union Animal Husbandry Ministry sent a circular to all States on Sunday, urging them to quarantine infected or symptomatic tigers and other feline species to prevent transmission to humans and other animals.

Three tigers and one leopard died of the H5N1 virus, better known as bird flu, at an animal rescue centre in Nagpur in the last week of December.

Avian influenza is crossing the species barrier, Union Animal Husbandry Commissioner Abhijit Mitra told The Hindu on Sunday. Citing cases in the U.S. and Vietnam, he said that avian influenza has been found in cattle and goats, as well as in wild species, particularly tigers.

Cause of infection

“In Maharashtra, the case was reported from a rescue centre and after post-mortem, the samples were sent to the Indian Council of Agricultural Research’s National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases at Bhopal. There, the samples tested positive for avian influenza,” Dr. Mitra said, noting that this is the first time that bird flu has been reported among animals in India. “They are precious animals. We have isolated them and are treating them. The National Joint Outbreak Response Team has reached there and is implementing the steps to be taken in such a scenario,” he said, adding that the Ministry will issue detailed guidelines on the matter within a week.

The Ministry is also examining the reasons for the infection.

“The animals are in a rescue centre. Maybe the chicken served to them could be the reason for the disease. We are examining it and have alerted the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change too,” Dr. Mitra said, adding that there is no need to panic at present. “The human beings who came in touch with the animals during the treatment and the post-mortem are also being screened,” he said.

Biosecurity protocols

In its circular, the Ministry directed that any affected establishment will have to be temporarily shut to the public and initiate enhanced biosecurity protocols. “Restrict the movement of personnel, veterinarians, and labourers. Under no circumstances should they move from infected pens to healthy pens,” the directive said.

It also directed the States to strengthen biosecurity and carry out thorough disinfection in the entire area where deaths have been reported.

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NTCA count records rise in tiger population in Kerala

 

SARATH BABU GEORGE, 

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, the hindu, august 1, 2023

Kerala’s tiger population has increased to 213 in 2022 from 190 in 2018, according to an estimate released by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).

While the Periyar and Parambikulam Tiger Reserves which fall under the Western Ghats landscape have recorded significant population growth, the former is also adjudged the best managed tiger reserve in the country for the second time on the trot by topping the Management Effectiveness Evaluation (MEE) of tiger reserves.

According to the Status of Tigers: Co-Predators and Prey in India 2022 report released by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change on the occasion of Global Tiger Day on July 29, the Periyar Tiger Reserve has recorded a tiger count of 31 with a standard error (SE) of 0.2. The number of tigers found to utilise the reserve is pegged at 43 (SE 4.5).

Floating population

The Parambikulam Tiger Reserve is found to have 31 residents (SE 0.3), while 42 tigers (SE 4.4) including the floating population make use of the protected area. The findings indicate an increase from populations of 26 tigers each found exclusively in both reserves in 2018.

Chief Wildlife Warden Ganga Singh attributes the increase in tiger population to the State’s wildlife conservation efforts derived from accepted global practices.

The Periyar reserve tops the fifth cycle of the MEE exercise of tiger reserves in 2022 with a score of 94.53% to be rated ‘excellent’.

The Parambikulam reserve comes 8th in the evaluation with a score of 84.09% and a ‘very good’ rating.

At the Global Tiger Day observance held at Corbett Tiger Reserve recently, Periyar was also among six tiger reserves to be accorded the Conservation Assured|Tiger Standards (CATS) accreditation by the global coalition of Tiger Range Countries. Parambikulam attained the coveted status for meeting a set of standards for effective conservation of big cats two years ago.

A model one

Periyar Tiger Reserve field director P.P. Pramod says the tiger reserve, being a pioneer in management and conservation efforts, welfare of local population and eco-development activities, is viewed by many others across the country as a model one.

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Injured tigress found dead at coffee plantation in Wayanad

 

THE HINDU BUREAU, 

KALPETTA, january 1, 2023

A tigress that triggered panic at Maramala, near Vakery, in the past few days after it entered human habitations was found dead in a private coffee plantation adjacent to the Irulam forest of the Chethalayath forest range under the South Wayanad Forest Division on Saturday morning.

It was spotted in a critical condition at the plantation three days ago. The carcass was found around 8 a.m. on the day during a search for the animal.

Chethalayath forest range officer Abdul Samad said the tigress was about five years old. The animal had suffered a deep wound on its right hind leg. The wound indicated that the big cat was in a critical state after it had fought with a tiger.

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Kerala outshines other tiger States

K S Sudhi, Kochi
The Hindu, July 30, 2019

The tiger population is growing in Kerala with 190 big cats roaming its forests and the State scoring maximum points in mean Management Effectiveness Evaluation (MEE), according to the Status of Tigers in India-2018 report.
Kerala scored the highest mean MEE score of 90.23 among the 18 tiger States of the country.
The latest Kerala tiger figures mark an increase of 54 individuals against the 136 of 2014, according to the report.
When it comes to the MEE of individual reserves, the Periyar Tiger Reserve scored 93.75% and Parambikulam, the second reserve in the State, 86.72% and was rated as very good in terms of management effectiveness.
The tiger population of the State was estimated to be 46 individuals in 2006, which increased to 71 when its population was estimated four years later in 2010.
Though not a tiger reserve, Wayanad houses the maximum number of tigers in the State with an estimated population ranging between 75 and 80 individuals. During an internal survey conducted in 2017, Forest Department officials could capture exclusive images of 74 individuals.
Since its stripes are unique to individuals like the fingerprints of humans, the photographic identification of the animals based on its stripes can be considered as an accurate counting method. However, one also needs to be aware of the foraying character of the animals and the possibility of overlapping of tiger population in the adjacent tiger habitats, cautioned an official.
Incidentally, the Wayanad tiger area shares its boundaries with the Nagarhole and Bandipur tiger reserves.
Though the 2018 tiger report does not speak about the population of tigers in the individual tiger reserves, the forest areas that come under the Periyar Tiger Reserve are considered to be the home of around 30 to 35 individuals. The dossier of the PTR has digital images of 30 individual tigers captured during the internal assessment done in 2017, said an official.
The PTR shares its boundary with the Meghamali and Srivilliputhur forests of Tamil Nadu.
The population estimation of the large felines in the Parambikulam Tiger Reserve has put the presence of the animals between 20 and 25. The reserve authorities have succeeded in camera-trapping 23 individuals during the internal assessment. Parambikulam shares its borders with the Anamalai Tiger Reserve of Tamil Nadu.

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