This March, Chhattisgarh’s Barnawapara Wildlife Sanctuary had an uncommon customer – a younger male tiger who has now made the forest his new house. For a jungle that hasn’t hosted tigers for almost 40 years, the brand new resident introduced in a ray of hope — forest authorities at the moment are planning to get the younger male two feminine mates in a bid to revive its extinct tiger inhabitants.
In keeping with the forest officers, the division was alerted of the presence of their new resident — a four-year-old male — earlier this 12 months. Though makes an attempt to determine the place the tiger got here to naught — it wasn’t discovered on the nationwide wildlife database maintained by the Dehradun-based Wildlife Institute of India (WII) – officers have been monitoring its actions since, even writing to the India’s apex tiger monitoring physique Nationwide Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) for 2 extra feminine tigers as mates.
This comes at a time when Chhattisgarh is making efforts to extend its falling tiger inhabitants. As reported by The Indian Specific in August, an NTCA report from 2023 confirmed that Chhattisgarh’s tiger inhabitants had fallen to 17 in 2022 from 46 in 2014.
In keeping with Further Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (Wildlife) Prem Kumar, the state has carried out two surveys to seek out out if Barnawapara Wildlife Sanctuary can maintain a bigger tiger inhabitants. Unfold throughout 244.66 sq. km, this forest is already house to 44 species, together with leopards, elephants, sloth bears, guars, noticed deer, and the Indian wolf.
The final time a tiger was noticed in these components was over a decade in the past.
The division hopes that reviving the sanctuary’s tiger inhabitants would assist increase tourism in these components. “The survey discovered a ample prey base — wild boars and chitals – and sufficient water availability to deal with two extra tigers,” Kumar stated.
To guard the lone tiger, in the meantime, the division has taken a number of measures, together with organising 200 digicam traps and conducting common night time patrols to make sure that the animal is protected from poachers.
“A devoted staff is fashioned to assist in monitoring and tracing the actions in order that advance info will be shared with different employees. Evening patrolling is being completed on a rotation foundation to make sure its safety and thwart any outdoors menace (corresponding to poachers),” Baloda Bazar divisional forest officer Mayank Agrawal informed The Indian Specific.
Forest officers have additionally enlisted the help of cattle herders from villages within the periphery of the sanctuary.
“We held a gathering with all of the cattle herders to make them conscious that the federal government would offer them with compensation in case the tiger preys on their cattle. They may also be rewarded after they alert us about poachers. Additional, we’re additionally taking measures to make sure poachers don’t assault the animal,” he stated, including that the division just lately arrested two poachers and seized two country-made weapons from them.
Chhattisgarh has at present three tiger reserves — Achanakmar, Udanti Sitanadi and Indravati. In August, the state’s Vishnu Deo Sai cupboard cleared a proposal to inform Guru Ghasidas-Tamor Pingla Tiger Reserve because the state’s fourth tiger reserve – and the third largest within the nation. The federal government plans to carry out a notification on this quickly.
Considerably, the forest division additionally deliberate to carry two feminine and one male tiger to Achanakmar Tiger Reserve (ATR) however dropped it after the reserve noticed its tiger numbers greater than double, going to 12 in 2024 from 5 in 2022.
In keeping with ATR Deputy Director U.R. Ganesh, this transformation is owing to 2 main components.
“One is the rise in tiger inhabitants in protected areas of neighbouring Madhya Pradesh. The hall connectivity allows this spill over tiger inhabitants to relocate to ATR. Second, our fixed efforts to supply them a protected and appropriate habitat given the initiatives being taken to undertake habitat enchancment actions together with patrolling, surveillance and safety,” he stated.
However there may very well be challenges concerned within the forest division’s plans to revive Barnawapara’s tiger inhabitants. In keeping with wildlife conservationist and activist Ajay Shankar Dubey, the division has two major duties – defending the world’s prey base and protecting the sanctuary away from poachers and encroachments.
“Tigers are an indicator of a wholesome forest… (However) in Chhattisgarh, there are two challenges. First is caring for the meals cycle and for that, they should defend the weakening of prey base as tigers can survive when there’s higher grassland administration. Second is safety from looking. So, forest officers must be vigilant,” he stated.
