Four tigress have given birth to three cubs each in the last one month in Nagarahole Tiger Reserve (NTR) alone. The Forest department officials are closely monitoring the newborns keeping tourists away from patches in Kalhalla, Sunkadakatte and Nagarhole ranges where the tigress are moving with their cubs.
Karnataka has a total of 406 tigers as per the last tiger census report released by National Tiger Conservation Authority. But, there is some bad news as well. The Mudumalai- Bandipur- Nagarhole- Wayanad complex lost three tigers in just two days.
The carcass of a nine-year-old male tiger was found in Ane Chowkur range, NTR on Tuesday. The death was found to be due to natural causes. Another carcass was found on Wednesday morning in Hallur wildlife range. The tiger had wounds on the neck indicating that it died in a fight. Another male tiger was found dead in Wayanad, Muthanga range, near Bandipur on Wednesday morning.
NTR Director H C Kantharaj told Deccan Herald that birth of young ones was good news, but it called for more safety measures. With 72 tigers spread across 643-sq km, the NTR has reached its saturation in terms of tiger carrying capacity. There are instances where tigers are finding their way into coffee estates and residential areas.
Same is the case with Bandipur tiger reserve. The department has counted 105 tigers in an area of 872 sqkm. Here too there are cases of tigers being sighted outside the reserve. According to officials, tigress with cubs in Bandipur and Omkar ranges have been sighted in the last six months, but there is still no official documentation of them yet.
Kantharaj said that coffee estate workers and owners are buying cameras to watch tigers for their safety and as documentary proof. In the wake of the spill over of population, the department has proposed to declare MM Hills and Cauvery wildlife sanctuaries as tiger reserves.
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