A bone of one of the big cats was found in a house at Devala

The tiger count of the nation has gone down by two. Death of these two big cats has been reported in the Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR). While a tigress died late on Thursday evening, forest officials recovered bones of another animal four days back.

A full-grown tigress was found dead near Bhanuskhindi in the reserve. "Circumstantial evidence indicates that it is a natural death. The tigress was around 14 years old and starved to death. Poaching can be ruled out as the carcass is intact," said Sheshrao Patil, chief conservator of forest and field director, TATR.

The age-old methods of dousing the fire by beating it with blankets of twigs, using soil and water, and setting the forest ablaze from another side, are still being practised in the state and most Indian forests. This is not because of the lack of facilities, but due to uneven terrain.

According to retired forest official SG Neginhal, during the Raj era, fire lines around blocks measuring 1 sq mile were made during December to reduce manmade forest fires occurring during summer and dry seasons. This helped to reduce the extent of fire. The same method is being practised even now. The watcher keeps an eye on the forest from the tower and informs his higher-ups using walkie-talkie sets about the fire for assistance.

If there is one season forest officials and watchers of Nagarahole National Park fear, it is summer which brings back fears of forest fires.

This year, on February 16, about 15,000 acres of forest was gutted in the blaze which kept burning for days. A teenager was blamed for the fires. This did not surprise wildlife expert Sanjay Gubb who believes that most of the forest fires are caused by humans.

He was involved in a mishap which killed a student

A second year engineering student Sameera Samel (19) of Mumbai, currently staying at the college hostel at Balewadi, was killed in an accident on February 12. The scooter pillion rider Shilpi Singh (19) escaped with serious injuries, when an unidentified motorcycle rider collided with them on Baner road.

The Chatuhshrungi police registered a case in this regard on Thursday after the pillion rider recovered from her accidental injuries.

A two day national nursing conference began at the Conference Hall of the Father Muller Medical College Hospital in Mangalore on Friday.

The convention is being organized under the theme ‘Nurse Educator: Care-Taker to Career Maker’.

Washington, Feb 28 : A famous baby brand has reached out to Nadya Suleman, the California woman who made history after giving birth to octuplets on January 26, to donate clothing for all 14 of her children.

"We understand the financial strain one child can put on a family, let alone 14 little ones, so we would like to do our part and donate clothing from our line," Custom Kingdom said in a letter released exclusively to Usmagazine. com.

The company will "provide at least 500 dollars in clothing each month, for one year."