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REGIONAL OFFICE FOR ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (RAP), BANGKOK October-December 2012 FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS Regional Quarterly Bulletin on Wildlife and National Parks Management Vol. XXXIX: No. 4 Featuring Vol. XXVI: No. 4 Contents Best example of co-existence of man and mugger at Vadodara City, Gujarat State: In search of a positive solution...........................................................................1 Transboundary human-elephant conflict in the Indo-Nepal Terai landscape.............................................................. 7 Status of human-wild-dog conflict in Sagalee region of Arunachal Pradesh..........................................................14 Morphological and anatomical differences in hairs of some wild mammals of District Jammu..................................... 18 Observation of flowers of Gastrodia zeylanica: an endemic, critically endangered saprophytic orchid............................24 REGIONAL OFFICE Eel fishery at the waterlogged area of Noakhali District, Bangladesh.................................................................... 27 FOR ASIA AND THE PACIFIC Study on feeding habit of elephant in Karanjia Division, Orissa............................................................................29 TIGERPAPER is a quarterly news bulletin dedicated to the exchange of information relating to wildlife and national parks management for the Asia-Pacific Region. Revising the Code of Logging Practice for PNG...................1 ISSN 1014 - 2789 REDD+ and the fundamentals of forest management science: is sustainability ever possible?.............................. 5 International Conference of Forest Tenure Reform.............. 6 Address. Asia-Pacific Forestry Chips and Clips................................. 8 Role of forests in natural disasters...................................... 10 TIGERPAPER Enhancing regional cooperation for mangroves.....................11 FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific Community-based forest harvesting for poverty reduction Maliwan Mansion, Phra Atit Road Bangkok, 10200, Thailand in Vietnam..................................................................... 12 Tel: (662) 697-4000 New FAO Forestry Publications......................................... 13 E-mail: [email protected] EU FAO FLEGT Programme - Accepting calls for project Website: http://www.fao.org/world/ proposals to tackle forest illegality.................................... 14 regional/rap/tigerpaper/tigerpaper.htm Strengthening biodiversity conservation in the South Pacific.. 16 FAO Asia-Pacific Forestry Calendar……………............... 19 Editor: Janice Naewboonnien Advisor: P. Durst TIGERPAPER is dependent upon your free and voluntary The opinions expressed by the contributions in the form of articles, news items, and announcements in contributing authors are not the field of wildlife and nature conservation in the region. In order to necessarily those of FAO. The better serve the n eeds of our readers please write to us and send in the designations employed and the information you have or let us know if there is any information that you presentation of the material in the need. We appreciate receiving your letters and make all efforts to TIGERPAPER do not imply the respond. expression of any opinion on the part of FAO concerning the legal or Front cover: Mugger or Marsh crocodile (Crocodylus palustris) (Photo: constitutional status of any country, Courtesy of Raju V. Vyas) territority or sea area, or the delimitation of frontiers. Vol. 39: No. 4 October-December 2012 | Co-existence of man and mugger at Vadodara City, Gujarat State Gujarat State City, Co-existence of man and mugger at Vadodara THE BEST EXAMPLE OF CO-EXISTENCE OF MAN AND MUGGER AT VADODARA CITY, GUJARAT STATE: IN SEARCH OF A POSITIVE SOLUTION by Raju V. Vyas Introduction entire distribution range due to illegal hunting, fishing and habitat loss, bringing muggers to the edge of oday there are over twenty-three crocodilian extinction. But now the mugger population is Tspecies found in temperate regions of the earth. flourishing due to the legal protection afforded to it All the crocodilian species are large carnivores and and the success of ex situ programs, especially the excellent predators, some growing very large, over grow and release practice. The mugger is the most seven to eight meters long (e.g., Estuarine or adaptable crocodile species and is found in various saltwater crocodile: Crocodylus porosus) and some types of habitats ranging from rivers to large lakes, being dwarf species (e.g., Dwarf crocodile: small puddles, village tanks and also roadside Osteolaemus tetraspis), barely reaching two ditches. meters. But all crocodilian species are outstanding predators, and when they grow too large and are Vishwamitri River found in the vicinity of human habitations, a crisis | for human life is created. The Vishwamitri River (Vishvamitri or Dhadhar- Vishwamitri) is a seasonal river that flows from east There are a few well known examples of large to west between two large perennial rivers (i.e., crocodilian species found around human habitations. the Mahi and the Narmada) in Gujarat State. The The best extraordinary examples of “croc and man Vishwamitri River originates from the Pavagadh hills co-existence” are Cancun lagoon of Mexico and (830m altitude) and other small hills (part of the state of Florida in the USA. These sites are the Jambughoda Wildlife Sanctuary) of Panchmahals best evidences of human culture interwoven with District, flowing westwards through Vadodara the crocodiles and an example of people having great district and Bharuch district and finally merging into reverence towards the crocodilian species, thus the Gulf of Khambhat near Khanpur village, Bharuch believing in the goal of crocodile conservation. District. A 25-km-long stretch of the river passes through Vadodara city on a curvilinear path. The same kinds of situations and examples are also However, in the recent past, most of these found in Asian countries, where crocodiles are curvatures of the river were cut and the river flow coexisting with man. The Mugger or Marsh has been diverted into a straight, fast flow as a flood- crocodile (Crocodylus palustris) is often found in control measure, so this 25-km-long river stretch human vicinities. Some people believe crocodiles has been minimized into a 16-km-long stretch in to be sacred beings and divine animals and so they which the remaining river curvatures create various worship them. The best examples are Magha Pir types of water pockets in the middle of the city. (Karachi, Pakistan) and Saint Khan Jahan Ali Mazar This entire riparian ecology shelters many species (Bangladesh). of plants and animals. Mugger crocodile Biodiversity & the river valley The Mugger or Marsh Crocodile (C. palustris) is Presently, this river valley is home to numerous one of the most widely distributed crocodilian wildlife including various species of mammals, birds, species in the world. It is a threatened reptile in reptiles, amphibians and fishes. Also, the small, non- India and legally protected under Schedule-I perennial Vishwamitri River shelters a small animals, under the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act. population of Mugger or Marsh Crocodiles. Survey In the late 1960s, the species was depleted from its results indicated that 120 species of vertebrates 111 Vol. 39: No. 4 October-December 2012 | belonging to 103 genera from five different classes attacks occur, most people are not in the favor of were recorded in this riparian habitat within the crocodiles and are ready to exterminate them or city area (Vyas, 2010), including nine species of prefer to relocate the crocs somewhere else. There mammals, 76 species of birds, 19 species of is an urgent need to find a positive solution to avoid reptiles, 6 species of amphibians and 10 species such ‘do or die’ situations and achieve a state of fishes. These figures of vertebrates indicate where both men and muggers safely co-exist in the richness, diversity and significance of the accord with each other. habitat. When large numbers of big crocs are found in the Earlier published records (Oza, 1975) indicate that vicinity of humans, the probability of conflicts during the 1970s there were about fifty mugger increases. Attempts to mitigate the mugger/man crocodiles inhabiting the reservoir situated at the conflict by rehabilitating the culprit somewhere upper site of Vishwamitri River, known as Sayaji away from the human vicinity or kept in captive Sarovar or Ajwa Lake. But hunting and illegal condition would result in saturation of the mugger fishing activities depleted the mugger population population at the release site, thus creating a and finally the crocs disappeared from the water further problem. body within a decade. It is believed that due to hunting and fishing activities some mugger A better prospect would be to relocate the crocs populations might have migrated to downstream to a habitat where they can freely roam and live areas of the Vishwamitri River and might have without the interference of the urban landscape. Co-existence of man and mugger at Vadodara City, Gujarat State Gujarat State City, Co-existence of man and mugger at Vadodara settled there (Vyas & Vyas, 2002; Vyas, 2010). A very large natural habitat, within the existing | habitat of the species at hand would be suitable. In January 2010, 155 mugger crocodiles were The large crocodiles would have to be deterred counted (77 juveniles and sub-adults, 58