The conflict tiger that was captured in Sivasagar, Upper Assam, was released in the core area of Manas National Park, Assam, India. © Dr Bhaskar Choudhury, WTI-1.
One of the two handraised clouded leopard cubs being taken for walks for acclimatisation to the wild in Samfan Range Forest, Assam, India. © Sandesh Kadur.
In 2009/10, The Rufford Foundation provided a grant of £40,000 to Wildlife Trust of India (WTI).
WTI, running diverse conservation projects across the country, requires a smooth running administrative machinery for effective operation. Understanding this need, the Rufford Foundation has been providing its long standing support to WTI’s backroom activities including planning, finance, and human resources among others, since 2000.
As with the previous years, WTI saw its share of conservation achievements in 2009/10. A vital corridor providing a safe passage to about 1,000 elephants in the southern Indian state of Karnataka was acquired by WTI, handed over to the state Forest Department for protection. It is now being notified as a part of sanctuary.
Implementing various innovative as well as pre-established conflict mitigation techniques, WTI continued to help mitigate human-animal conflicts in different parts of India. These included a Rapid Action Project that facilitated installation of electric fence in six villages near Kaziranga National Park, Assam; human-elephant conflict was significantly reduced resulting in a six-fold increase in the crop yield in the area.
Rescue and rehabilitation and conflict mitigation involving individual ‘stray’ animals including tigers, sloth bear, elephants, leopards, etc were also carried out as required. Two rare clouded leopard cubs rescued from traders by the Forest Department in Assam, were hand-raised and are currently being acclimatised in the wild in northeast India for an eventual release.
Providing support and information to various enforcement agencies, WTI was a part of numerous seizures of wildlife articles including ivory, big cat skins and shahtoosh shawls. A number of wildlife traders were arrested.
Among the new activities launched, a scientific study was initiated to gather information on the population and ecology of the whale shark. A human-tiger conflict mitigation project was initiated in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. A proposal to reintroduce cheetahs in India was given a go-ahead for preparation of a detailed roadmap, by the Government of India.
