ZOO/WILD's Current Activities . . .

The study was carried out to understand the status of ground burrowing tarantulas, Thrigmopoeus truculentus, T. insignis and Chilobrachys fimbriatus in Castle Rock, Karnataka and adjacent areas like Mollem WLS and Cotigao WLS in Goa. There had been informal reports of theraphosid spiders being collected for pet-trade from these areas. During the study we did not come across any direct evidence of collection of these spiders for pet trade. Moreover, local people were also not aware of any collection of these large-bodied spiders by foreigner or locals for pet-trade. This could be due to various reasons like Castle Rock area supports Reserve Forest and monitoring is not very strict due to large area and lack of staffs; collection is not at regular basis and our visit did not coincide with time of pet trader’s visit; collection must be taking place from outside the protected area and therefore not being noticed so far.

In all the three sites the distribution of theraphosid spiders was patchy. In Castle Rock, there were two sites where theraphosid spiders (Thrigmopoeus truculentus, T. insignis and Chilobrachys fimbriatus) were found in high density. These two sites are ideal to be named ‘tarantula ghats’ due to high number of theraphosid burrow congregations. A recommendation to forest department will be made to give special emphasis for conservation of these two patches where ground theraphosid spiders are thriving well. These are ideal sites to study threshold, habitat preference/characterization, inter/intra-species competition for habitat, co-existence of two or more species in small starch of area, inbreeding, dispersal ranges, etc. In one of the site, the numbers of burrows were above 350 in a starch of 200m. In Castle Rock, the dominant species amongst theraphosid spider were Thrigmopoeus spp., whereas in Mollem WLS and Cotigao WLS, Goa C. fimbriatus was dominant species. In Mollem and Cotigao, burrows of C. fimbriatus were commonly found on tree holes, trunks and in depression of forked braches apart from the roadside bunds. Burrows of adults and juvenilies spiders of the genera Thrigmopoeus and Chilobrachys were easily distinguishable based on burrow structure.

The common threats observed in all the three sites were human disturbance and habitat loss, which had lead to a fragmented population of theraphosid spiders. These areas have potential population of the three theraphosid species which needs to be conserved. Therefore, there is an urgent need to include them under the local forest management plans and take necessary actions to conserve these areas where theraphosid spiders are occurring in high densities.

The second series of HECx workshops “Getting Along With Elephants” was conducted 24 Feb – 6 March 2009 in Chitwan National Park and Shuklaphanta Wildlife Reserve, Nepal, funded by US Fish and Wildlife Service, USA. National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC) Nepal invited people living in and around HEC areas of Chitwan,Bardia and Sukhlaphanta as participants and hosted the series.

Dr. Narendra Man Babu Pradhan, Chief Warden, Chitwan National Park inaugurated the series by lighting the lamp. Mr. Juddha Bahadur Gurung, Member Secretary, NTNC, Mr. Shivraj Bhatta, Ecologist, Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, Dr. Shant Raj Jnawali, Director, Terai Environment/NTNC, Mr. Kirti Nath Poudel, Project Coordinator, Biodiversity Conservation Centre/NTNC, Chitwan, Heidi Riddle, Riddle's Elephant Sanctuary, USA and Sally Walker, Founder Director/Zoo Outreach Organisation were on the Dias. The workshop was coordinated by Mrs. Sarita Jnawali, Project Manager/NTNC and In-charge Central Zoo, and Mrs. Rachana Shah, Education Coordinator.

1st workshop, Chitwan
Venue for first workshop 24-26 February was the Biodiversity Conservation Centre, NTNC,Chitwan National Park with 44 participants, including teachers, NGO's, buffer zone committee members, wildlife department and zoo along with an intern from Thailand.

2nd workshop, Chitwan
The second workshop was held also at Chitwan National Park with 35 participants from Bardia National Park areas. Dr. Narendra Man Babu Pradhan, Chief Warden, Chitwan National Park, inaugurated the programme along with Mr. Kirti Nath Poudel, Project Coordinator, Biodiversity Conservation Centre, NTNC, Chitwan, Nr. Buddhi Raj Pathak, Assistant Warden, Chitwan National Park.

3rd workshop, Sukhlaphanta
This workshop took place at Mahendra Nagar nearby to Shuklaphanta Wildlife Reserve, Far Western Nepalwith 27 participants Due to a strike participants reached the venue with difficulty and stayed, working long hours, out of their personal interest. Mr. Gopal Prasad Upadhyay, Chief Warden, Suklaphanta Wildlife Reserve, inaugurated the workshop along with Mr. Keshab Raj Khanal, Conservation Officer & Office-in-charge, Suklaphanta Conservation Programme (SCP)/NTNC.
 

In the all three workshops 106 participants were given training as well as trainin materials and handouts for using at their place. Group composition was 45 teacher, 22 NGO's, 23 buffer zone committee members, 13 wildlife officials and 3 zoo personnelRr rResource persons were BA Daniel, R. Marimuthu, Sally Walker from ZOO, Rachana Shah, NTNC and Heidi Riddle Riddles Elephant Sanctuary.

The teaching programme consists of a variety of games, intellectual exercises, physical challenges, art activities, drama, role play, debate which are all active learning techniques designed to create a memorable and meaningful learned experience. In this workshop the training in HECx was oriented toward understanding and respecting the behavioural, biological, cultural and ecological aspects of elephants and dealing with conflict by making every attempt to avoid encounters and confrontations with elephants. Many suggestions from villagers throughout South Asia are conveyed and discussed, reinforced with drama and other tools. Participants appreciated this obvious but neglected practical approach.

A detailed report can be viewed at http://www.zooreach.org/2008%20projects/Nepal_HECx_Report.pdf
 

Another exciting programme, again funded by USFWS, were a series of educator training workshops themed on Human Elephant Conflict (HEC), which were mandated to cover four countries of South Asia. Getting Along with Elephants stresses local people in areas affected by elephant visits learning and adopting behavioural habits which would help them avoid confrontations with elephants and thus preserve their lives and health. The primary principle of the training was to life, body and health.
 

If a human being loses his life or limbs in a stubborn battle with an elephant, the loss of a hut or vegetable garden obviously pales into insignificance, yet this concept is not familiar and has to be taught. Many deaths are taking place which could be avoided if villagers followed some simple practices when elephants are about. Our programme advises outsmarting the elephant by avoiding encounters and putting themselves in harm's way. In November 2008 we had the first set of workshops in West Bengal, and in March the second set was conducted in Nepal.

Further into 2009 the remaining workshop series' will take place in Bangladesh (June) and Sri Lanka to be decided.

Three educator training workshops were held in Northeast West Bengal on Human Elephant Coexistence HECx. The first and third workshops took place at the Forest Interpretation Centre in Sukna (Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary). The second workshop was held at the Forest Department Auditorium at Lataguri (Gorumara National Park). The participants were active NGO's, forest department personnel, college students, teachers and volunteers from HEC areas. The workshops were sponsored by the Asian and African Elephant Conservation Fund of USFWS and various external partners, e.g. Elephant Family, UK; Columbus Zoo, Ohio; and Schombrunn Zoo, Vienna. The workshops were organised by Zoo Outreach Organisation ZOO with partners World Wildlife fund, India, Calcutta (represented by Sangeeta Mitra) and NINE, Calcutta (represented by Arnab Roy), taking care of on-the-ground venue, logistics, and hospitality.

Well before the workshops, Elephant Family of UK had funded a “Planning and Bonding” workshop between ZOO, WILD and the partners from the four countries in March 2008. Twycross Zoological Gardens, U.K. funded surveys of 3 selected villages experiencing HEC in each of the four partner countries (India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal).

A detailed report can be viewed at: http://www.zooreach.org/2008%20projects/Nov08_HECx_workshop_brief_report.pdf