Operation Clear Bear in Gangtok

GANGTOK, November 17: A nightlong combing operation was conducted by forest department along with Himalayan Zoological Park (HZP) staff and Gangtok police to clear the wooded areas between Kazi road and Tibet road from the menace of transgressing bears, one of which had mauled a grass cutter yesterday at Upper Tathangchen.
A forest department team consisting of DFO (Wildlife, East) Karma Legshey, and Range Officer (Territorial, Gangtok) James Lepcha, Sadar police team led by SI KL Denzongpa and HZP staff led by deputy director Dr Madhan Shankar jointly combed the areas yesterday night which continued till the early morning hours.
The combing-cum-push back operation was done in a coordinated manner and the area which has human habitats has been freed from the bear menace, it is informed. Three bears, one mother and two cubs, had been sighted in the area.
Meanwhile, a cub apparently abandoned by the mother bear has spotted at Rakdong Tintek area. The cub and the mother bear had been spotted by the locals.
The forest team led by Range Officer (Phabongla wildlife sanctuary)
ST Bhutia reached the spot along with the HZP deputy director DrShankar reached the spot and cordoned the area.

The team took steps to ensure that the cub is left alone and there should be no human contact. Reinforcements were sent from the Forest head office to assist the team who combed the area to find the mother bear.
A newly developed cage was also sent to spot to capture the mother bear but the bear has not been traced yet. The cub has been apparently abandoned by the mother bear, it is informed and it is expected that cub could be rescued and taken to HZP if the mother bear is not traced soon

GANGTOK GETS BEAR SCARE

Gangtok, Nov. 14: Residents of the hill town are scared to venture out of their houses after frequent sightings of Himalayan black bears in the area and reports of their attacks on people.

According to the officers of the forest department there have been 18 bear sightings in the last month and six persons have been mauled.

K.S. Bhutia, who stays in Development Area near here, has stopped going out of his house in the early hours. “I used to get up before sunrise to go jogging. Now, I am scared to venture out, thanks to these bears straying into the town. I do free-hand exercises in the safety of my home instead,” said the 37-year-old man.

Adarsh Rai, a taxi driver, said: “There is no substitute for caution. After so many sightings I am scared to stop the car at the roadside, near forest areas.”

Rabin Pradhan, 57, a resident of Sichey, where a bear had mauled three senior forest officials on November 3, said, he is scared to go out of his house and keeps a watch on his children and warns them before they go out.

The forest department has sought Rs 60 lakh from the state government for buying improved dart guns, drugs, ambulances and nets to tackle emergency situations arising out of bear attacks.

The divisional forest officer (wildlife east), Karma Legshey, said four teams, each headed by an assistant conservator of forests, have been deputed in East Sikkim. Range officers have been deputed in the blocks to tackle bears straying into human habitation.

“We appeal to the residents of the area not to take independent action, approach or provoke the animals and not to pay heed to rumours and inform the forest staff or police as soon as a bear is spotted,” said Legshey.

Senior forest officials said conservation efforts and crack down on poaching activities in the forests have led to the rise in the bear population leading to competition for food.

“The bears are being attracted by garbage in urban areas that contain about 70 per cent of edible trash,” said an officer. He added that the use of explosives in hydel power projects and road construction work was also a source of disturbance to the animals.

Meanwhile, a bear that was sighted near the Himalayan Zoological Park, 7km from here, on November 9, is still at large. “It has been sighted after that day, too and guards have been posted in the area to keep a sharp lookout for the animal,” said a zoo official

Free passes for students to visit Gangtok Zoological Park

Gangtok,September25: Sikkim Forests & Wildlife department has informed all schools in the State that the Himalayan Zoological Park, Bulbulay is celebrating Wildlife Week from 2nd to 8th October 2009. On this auspicious occasion, the students in their uniforms escorted by school prefects/teachers will be given Free Passes to visit the Zoological Park at Bulbulay, Gangtok. An exhibition of Red Panda (State Animals)photos will be arranged in the Panda Park during the week-long festival. The initiative is being taken to raise awareness, educate people of all ages, with children prioritized of course, the importance of wildlife and the need of every citizen to contribute to insure that all species of wild animals and plants continue to survive in the wild. During the week-long festival, the students will be guided by the Zoo staff. School authorities are requested to send the students for learning more about the wild animals in the Zoological Park at Bulbulay,Gangtok.

Raising Awareness of Sikkim's Red Pandas

A one-day exhibition of pictures of red pandas was held recently in India's northeastern city of Sikkim.
The pictures were taken by Gorlitz Zoo director Dr. Axel Gebaurer.
He says that the exhibition will create awareness among the locals about the need for conserving the red panda.
[Dr. Axel Gebaurer, Director, Gorlitz Zoo]:
"Exhibition of red panda unfortunately forgotten panda especially for our colleague in India to show the people to do some awareness something like it awareness program to show the people which rich nature they have here. And this is very important they know it because we have to do some conservation work for the red panda."
A forest department chief says there's a need to educate people, especially in rural areas, about the importance of preserving the red panda population.
[C Lachungpa, Chief Conservator of Forests]:

"When we try to understand that there is a need to know and educate the people especially in the village level---nearby the panda habitat. So these are some visual aid where people can realize importance of it. Because pandas living in the forest... with their existence without them we can't exist.”
Meanwhile, two recently born red pandas were named at the park.
The state's forest minister named one red panda cub “Nidhi” while Dr. Gebaurer named the other cub “Sonam”.
The park now has eight red pandas.

Raising Awareness of Sikkim's Red Pandas

A one-day exhibition of pictures of red pandas was held recently in India's northeastern city of Sikkim.
The pictures were taken by Gorlitz Zoo director Dr. Axel Gebaurer.
He says that the exhibition will create awareness among the locals about the need for conserving the red panda.
[Dr. Axel Gebaurer, Director, Gorlitz Zoo]:
"Exhibition of red panda unfortunately forgotten panda especially for our colleague in India to show the people to do some awareness something like it awareness program to show the people which rich nature they have here. And this is very important they know it because we have to do some conservation work for the red panda."
A forest department chief says there's a need to educate people, especially in rural areas, about the importance of preserving the red panda population.
[C Lachungpa, Chief Conservator of Forests]:

"When we try to understand that there is a need to know and educate the people especially in the village level---nearby the panda habitat. So these are some visual aid where people can realize importance of it. Because pandas living in the forest... with their existence without them we can't exist.”
Meanwhile, two recently born red pandas were named at the park.
The state's forest minister named one red panda cub “Nidhi” while Dr. Gebaurer named the other cub “Sonam”.
The park now has eight red pandas.

New attractions @ Himalayan Zoological Park,Gangtok

GANGTOK, July 31: Heralding a success story for the captive breeding programme of the Red Pandas in the Himalayan Zoological Park located at Bulbuley above Gangtok town, the naming formality of the two newly born Red Pandas were done today at the park.State Forest minister Bhim Dungel named the first Red Randa cub as ‘Nidhi’ (resource in English) while the visiting Red Panda researcher from Germany, Dr. Axel Gebauer named the second Red Panda cub as ‘Sonam’ (Fortunate One in English). Both the cubs had been born one month ago in the Park as part of the captive breeding programme. Both the cubs are healthy.The zoo authorities informed that they have not been able to find out the sex of the two cubs. They added that it will be possible only after a few months.The latest addition in the Park takes the Red Panda family to eight now.The State run Himalayan Zoological Park had started the captive breeding programme from 1997 of the Red Pandas with the support from the Central government. The Park is located at an altitude of 5840 ft (1780m) at Bulbuley at a distance of 3 km (approx.) from Gangtok, the capital of Sikkim and is spread over an area of 205 hectares of mountainous land with terrain suitable for high altitude animals and birds. Red Panda, the State animal of Sikkim, figures in the schedule one of the Wildlife Protection Act because of its dwindling population both in wild and in captive. Sikkim government is trying to conserve the animal in a natural enclosure or habitat at Himalayan Zoological Park. The captive breeding programme was started in the Park with a female Red Panda from Holland and a male Red Panda from Darjeeling of West Bengal.Meanwhile, a one day exhibition of the rare pictures of Red Panda taken by Dr. Gebauer in Darjeeling and Sikkim zoos during his research was also organized at the Park. The photos had been taken by Dr. Gebuer during his research on Red Pandas and were viewed by State forest minister Bhim Dhungel with enthusiasm.During the exhibit, the German researcher raised serious issues concerning the protection of the Red Pandas and the projects he had prepared in the conservation and promotion of the Red Pandas.Dr. Gebuer said that Sikkim provides natural habitat to the Red Pandas and called upon the Sikkimese people to come ahead in the protection and conservation of the Red Pandas instead of leaving the responsibility to the State forest department alone.