Pallas cat: Bhutan Wangchuck Centennial Park

Camera traps, set up to survey the snow leopard population in Wangchuck centennial park in Bumthang, has captured and confirmed the presence of another cat in the country, the Pallas cat.

“Several pictures show the Pallas cat at a place called Boera in January and April, and at Marganphu area in February and April this year,” World Wildlife Fund (WWF) officials said.

Marganphu is a three-day walk from the nearest road point at Nasiphel in Choekhor gewog, Bumthang; and Boera is a four-day walk.  Both places have no human settlement, and the only visitors are yak-herders and cordycep collectors.

With an uncanny resemblance to the comic strip character, Garfield, the Pallas cat is about the size of a domestic cat, 18-26inches long, and weighs between 3-5kg.

The combination of its stocky posture and long, dense fur makes it appear stout and plushy.  Its fur is ochre, with dark vertical bars on the torso and forelegs, and its winter coat is greyer and less patterned than the summer one.  The legs are proportionately shorter than those of other cats, and ears are set very low and wide apart.  With unusually short claws, its face is shortened, compared with other cats, giving it a flattened look.

Pallas cats are not fast runners, and hunt primarily by ambush or stalking, using low vegetation and rocky terrain for cover.  They feed largely on diurnally active prey species, such as gerbils, pikas and partridges, and sometimes catch young marmots.

The habitat of the cat, WWF officials said, is characterised by rolling hills, dominated by glacial outwash and alpine steppe vegetation.  Pallas cats were spotted on same locations, where other predators, such as snow leopard, Tibetan wolf and red fox, are found.

Wildlife conservation officials say that the Pallas cat is negatively impacted by habitat degradation, prey base decline and hunting, and has therefore been classified as near threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature since 2002.  Hunters, lured by its fur, fat and organs for medicinal value, threaten its survival.

WWF conservation director Vijay Moktan told Kuensel that, although foresters mentioned the presence of Pallas cat in the past, with possibilities of finding the cat at an altitudinal range of 2,800m to 4,000m, until now there had been no pictorial evidence as such. “Before we carry out anything, we first need to discuss it with the government,” he said.

The WWF head office in United States was informed about the finding.  The finding could probably be the first report on the occurrence of Pallas cat in the eastern Himalayas, according to WWF-US conservation scientist, Rinjan Shrestha, who has been closely working on the snow leopard survey.

A joint project between WWF and department of forests and park services (DoFPS), camera traps were placed at the end of November last year for the snow leopard survey.

Source: Kuenselonline

New City Bus for Thmphu City

To address the ever increasing traffic congestion and provide efficient and timely transport services to the people, Bhutan Post Corporation (BPC) launched 15 new city buses for Thimphu Thromde today.

“The buses will be of immense help especially during the Pedestrian day,” said the Managing Director of Bhutan Post, Tseten Geltsen.

Bhutan Post Corporation said the buses are made in China and have good facilities like comfortable seats.

The Managing Director said unless they have attractive public transport, people will keep refraining from traveling in public transport. “It has to be efficient, it has to be safe and more than anything else it has to be reliable,” said Tseten Geltsen.

To further improve efficiency, BPC has plans to introduce prepaid card system . A total of 34 buses including the 15 new buses will provide transport services in and around Thimphu Thromde.

Procurement rules followed

Earlier, when the tendering was done for the procurement of the buses, some of the bidders had alleged that the Bhutan Postal Corporation did not follow the procurement rules.

BPC refuted the allegation and said the tendering was done according to the procurement rules.

The Managing Director said BPC followed all the norms mentioned in the procurement manual. “I was quite shocked to find out that they were trying to link this procurement with the present political, the ruling party. For us, what we do is an open tender.” He said the tender for the procurement of the buses was awarded to those vehicle dealers who have valid trade licenses and are authorized to import and sell vehicles

Bhutan Postal Corporation began to operate and manage city buses since 2002.

Source: BBS

culture and tourism could help in connecting the countries in the South Asia region

Despite being challenged by political and geographical borders, culture and tourism could help in connecting the countries in the South Asia region, think tanks from the region said yesterday.

Institute of security and international studies’ director Dr Thitinan Pongsudhirak said cultural similarities and histories link most South and Southeast Asian countries.

“We have to look at the mainland like Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia and Singapore where the linguistic heritage is shared and also through religion commonalities like Buddhism and Hinduism,” he said. “People’s attitude and livelihood like eating rice and curry and our values are common.”

Druk Air, for instance, brought many Bhutanese to Bangkok in Thailand, for purposes ranging from business to education, he said.

Research officer with the Centre for Bhutan Studies, Sangay Thinley said cultural linkage within the South Asian countries happened through tourism, which prevailed mostly in urban areas, while the real culture remained in rural areas.

“A South Asian tourism portal should be developed so that whenever anyone wishes to travel to another country, it should be just a distance of one to two cliffs away,” he said. “Mapping cultural activities in different countries are also important.”

Participants also discussed about media playing a major role in connecting countries through their regional and international news, which today is the social networking sites, especially for the youth. New media has also brought significant changes in connecting millions around the world, they said.

Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies’ director, D Suba Chandran said that as the region develops with better transport infrastructure and energy corridors including electricity and gas, it would be in the interest of every country to get connected with these corridors.

“Today, Bhutan’s physical connectivity is primarily through air with the rest of world and if Bhutan is connected to Southeast Asia and Central Asia, it would be beneficial for Bhutan to make use of this network,” he said.

Recommendations of the conference will be presented in the next SAARC Summit.

Source: Kuenselonline

A snow leopard in the Jigme Dorji National Park

A snow leopard climbed down from the hill to where a small herd of takin was grazing in the ground below. The grey and white furred cat aimed for a calf circling the herd, but within minutes the adult takins huddled together and, to the surprise of a group of conservationists watching, the cat slowly slithered away.

Among them was Tshewang R Wangchuk, who was recently nominated as the National Geographic explorer of the week on September 5 to highlight several years of work on snow leopards in the Bhutanese mountains.

“Learning about this cat allows me to visit the places I like,” Tshewang said, adding that it was an honour. “But it’s really the many colleagues in the field, including residents from our mountain communities, that I have come to know over the years that deserve this honour for their dedication, knowledge, experience and generosity.”

The dedicated Bhutanese team braved chilly camping accommodations in the park (Pic courtesy: newswatch.nationalgeographic.com)

The executive director of Bhutan Foundation has traversed Bhutan’s mountains from Nub Tshona Patta in Haa to Shingphel and Mela in Trashiyangtse. “Globally, Bhutan offers hope for the snow leopards that are safest in Bhutan than anywhere else across its range,” he said.

On human-wildlife conflict, Tshewang said that a cycle of conflict is complete when predators kill livestock; herders become infuriated, and kill the predator. This, he added, is not the case in Bhutan. “Our herders have a very high level of tolerance and they don’t stone the snow leopard to death as they do in other countries,” said Tshewang. “Bhutan is different and livestock predation is not something new.”

People have lived with wildlife for ages and herders often say that, when their choesung are displeased, they lose a few animals.

“I feel for their loss, but we need innovative mechanisms to reward their tolerance, not small handouts. They’re intelligent people, they have the solutions. We just have to do a better job of listening to them,” Tshewang said, adding that herders’ attitudes are changing, and government needs to act now.

“For Bhutan, we don’t have a choice and we need to give conservation a high priority, because we’ve inherited an invaluable natural heritage, and therefore have a huge responsibility to pass it on to the next generation,” he said. “We have almost a third of the 37 wild cat species in the world. Wildlife, as integral parts of our natural systems, already benefits Bhutan.”

Source: Kuenselonline

Her Majesty the Gyaltsuen visited Khasadrapchu Middle Secondary School

To raise awareness on the importance of ozone layer protection, Her Majesty the Gyaltsuen visited Khasadrapchu Middle Secondary School in Thimphu this morning as the Ozone Ambassador. Khasadrapchu is the first school to host Her Majesty.

The visit was made in her capacity as the Ozone Ambassador to raise awareness on the importance of ozone layer protection.

A quiz competition on environmental issues was held as part of the advocacy campaign. Her Majesty awarded prizes to the winners.

Her Majesty also distributed books presented by the National Environment Commission for the school library. An animated film on ozone was also screened.

Her majesty also informally interacted with the students of the school. A video documentary on the ozone layer was also screened.

Her Majesty will also visit few other schools in the capital. Her Majesty’s advocacy campaign is part of the Ozone Day celebrations, which will be observed on 14th of this month in the country.

Her Majesty was presented with the United Nations Environment Protection Ambassadorship for Ozone at the 25th anniversary of the Montreal Protocol held in Thimphu in May this year.

The Montreal Protocol is one of the most effective international treaties, designed to protect ozone layer.

Bhutan ratified the Montreal Protocol during the 82nd Session of National Assembly in 2004 and is one of the few countries under the protocol to achieve significantly in committing the phasing out of substances that deplete ozone layer.

In the current phase, Bhutan has committed to phase out Hydrochloroflurocarbons or HCFCs in 2025, ten years ahead of the Montreal Protocol schedule.

Source: BBS