PROJECT BUSTARD                    
After project Tiger, Project Elephant and Project Lion, India now has a Project Bustard. During a high-powered meeting of officials from the Ministry of Environment and Forests, wildlife wardens, and environmentalists from across the country in New Delhi on October 4, 2007. The Great Indian Bustard (GIB) has remained relatively ignored and is dangerously on the brink of extinction. The worldwide population stands at just 500, with 90 percent of the animals found in India alone.  It is an indicator species for healthy grassland eco-systems, which sustains the black buck and chinkara.

Dr Asad Rahmani, Director of BNHS has called for large scale initiatives to protect them on the lines of Project Tiger. GIB are found in Kutch Bustard Sanctuary, Naliya and a healthy population of 45 thrive there. A recommendation will be sent to the Government to set up a dedicated taskforce to protect them.

LAUNCH OF ECO TOURISM WING
We have launched a 9D/8N package which includes staying at Kutch Safari Resort, Kutch Ecological Research Centre Guesthouse, Casuarina Grove Resort and in  Zinabad we are including a stay at Desert Coursers.
The package price is Rs  65,000  for a minimum of 2 pax to travel. For further details, please refer to KERC ecotourism page.

BIGGEST POACHER CAUGHT!

In one of the biggest wildlife cases this decade, the Special Task Force of the Uttar Pradesh Police with the assistance of the Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI) seized three tiger skins and three tiger skeletons in Allahabad on Tuesday, 4th December 2007.

The STF of UP Police with three of the accused and the three tiger skins and tiger skeletons, seized in Allahabad on 4 December 2007. Shabeer Hasan Qureshi, the biggest tiger traders in India, is now behind bars.

Sixteen people were arrested, including wildlife trader Shabeer Hasan Qureshi who is an accused in at least four major wildlife cases. In particular, Qureshi is the prime accused in the January 2000 case in Khaga, UP, when four tiger skins, 70 leopard skins and a huge haul of other wildlife products were seized. Three other traders were arrested along with two tiger poachers and ten women couriers who belong to the Baheliya community. The case is a landmark for wildlife enforcement as it includes the arrest of the three key elements of the killing of wild tigers: buyers, poachers and couriers. “This is a major breakthrough in the fight against wildlife crime in India”, said Belinda Wright, Executive Director of WPSI. “Qureshi is the biggest buyer of tiger products in India today. We are delighted with this case and have nothing but praise for the way in which it was handled by the Special Task Force of the Uttar Pradesh Police. They succeeded by using intelligence-led enforcement which is the only way to effectively tackle this growing menace”, she added. The operation was led by Superintendent of Police, STF, Mr Amitabh Yash, and STF’s Deputy Superintendent of Police, Mr Aravind Chaturvedi.

The Executive Director of WPSI, Belinda Wright, with the STF Police team led by DSP Mr Aravind Chaturvedi (in the orange sweater) and two of the accused Jarsi & Mhd Ayyub (far left), Allahabad 4 December 2007.	Three magnificent tigers reduced to skin and bones. Allahabad, 4 December 2007