At a time when tigers are falling into the hands of poachers and inept officials, the conservation efforts of Telangana forest officers seems to have bore fruit as a young male tiger was spotted at the Kadem range of Kawal reserve in Nirmal district.
The images of a tiger were captured recently in a camera trap kept in Kawal core areas as part of phase 3 monitoring prescribed by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).
“It is observed from the image that it is a healthy and robust male tiger. At present, it is moving around in Kadem range. Our staff is continuously tracking it and monitoring its movement and we are planning to create awareness among the public in the adjoining villages. The presence of tiger shows that the habitat in Kawal has become ideal and support a good population of prey species and co-predators,” Nirmal District Forest Officer (DFO) K Damodar Reddy said.
In the past few years, the forest department has carried out habitat improvement works like weed removal for grassland development, improving waterholes besides strict protection measures from poaching, which are yielding good results now. Earlier tigers used to venture into human habitat for shelter and water during severe summertime, and become an easy target to an irate mob.
Field Director Chandrasekhar Saravanan said that the tiger might have come on a visit from Tippeshwar wildlife sanctuary or Tadoba National Park in Maharashtra. After the tiger was spotted the forest rangers are keeping an eye on its movement and also are in touch with the villagers of nearby villages creating awareness.
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