Tigers of Central India

[Sanju]

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The tigress of Tipeshwar Wildlife Sanctuary in Yavatmal district of Maharashtra lounging with her cubs.  

NTCA to fund conservation activities in ‘tiger landscapes’
The Pilkhan tigress of Tipeshwar Wildlife Sanctuary in "Yavatmal district of Maharashtra" gave birth to its third litter of four cubs a few weeks ago bringing cheer among conservationists.

Quote:There is more good news in store for them as the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has decided to fund conservation activities in ‘tiger landscapes’, which essentially include tiger corridors, thereby exposing the seriousness of tiger conservation at the national level.

And there are many of those corridors linking the tiger reserves in Maharashtra with Kawal Tiger Reserve (KTR) (our kawal) in the erstwhile Adilabad district in Telangana, where increased and more scientific monitoring of the movement of big cats is being envisaged, thanks to the NTCA initiative. (From there they can be connected to PNP (Papikonda NP of our state ) and there to Chattisgarh reserves and Odisha forests.... )

After the Union Government gave its green signal to monitor tigers outside the reserves, the NTCA held the first Tiger Landscape-Level Coordination Meeting in Adilabad town on April 3, which had the top Forest Department officials from the two neighbouring States discussing coordination strategies on tiger conservation.

As a result, the corridor linking Tipeshwar and KTR over a length of about 60 km would be recognised as a tiger landscape and monitoring of the tigers would most likely be extended to Telangana after crossing Penganga river on the inter-State border. The Tipeshwar Sanctuary is located about 10 km from Penganga river bridge which separates the two States on NH 44.

There are all chances of big cats moving into Kawal from the sanctuary, as it is teeming with tigers. Spread over just 141 sq. km of dry deciduous forest in Pandharkawda tahsil, it accommodates about 18 tigers, including the four newly-born cubs.

“There could be another corridor between Tipeshwar and Kawal as revealed by Maharashtra officials at the meeting,” recalled Adilabad District Forest Officer B. Prabhakar.

Quote:The first one passes through Bela, Lokari, Indervelli and Vankatumma, while the second one is said to be through Talamadugu, Kinwat, Ajjar Vajjar and Boath,” he added.

“The journey of tigers, as seen now, would be comparatively less fraught with dangers and there is plenty of prey available. For instance, a tiger from Tipeshwar can keep itself on the banks of Penganga river until it reaches a 20-hectare size island near Khogdur village in Bela mandal where it can find a good number of prey in the form of wild boar and nilgai,” the DFO pointed out.

Proposals for the identification of these corridors under a tiger conservation plan are being readied. This would include plans for better surveillance in the given areas. Reply