Telangana’s Amrabad Tiger Reserve fares better but Kawal lags behind in improving tiger population
National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA)’s Status Tigers Co-Predators and Prey in India, 2022 report announced that there are 21 tigers in Telangana, which are predominantly in Amrabad Tiger Reserve
Hyderabad: The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA)’s Status Tigers Co-Predators and Prey in India, 2022 report announced that there are 21 tigers in Telangana, which are predominantly in Amrabad Tiger Reserve (ATR). The report was released on Sunday at Jim Corbett Park, Uttarakhand.
Though the report says that overall tigers declined from 26 to 21 in the State, there are a few positives as well. While, ATR improved in increasing tiger population in its limits, Kawal Tiger Reserve (KTR) has lagged behind.
As per the 2018 census, there were 14 tigers in ATR and it has now increased to 21. Unfortunately, there are zero tigers in the KTR core area.
Further, ATR has consolidated its position in the Very Good category in the Management Effectiveness Evaluation (MEE) of tiger reserves. With 78.79 score, ATR stands alongside of Corbett Park in the category. Kawal with a 74.24 score is ranked in the Good category.
According to ATR officials, the tiger population in the reserve is higher than what is listed in NTCA report.
Cubs and tigers, which are less than two years old, are not considered for the census. This apart, there is lot of tiger migration from ATR towards Nagarjunasagar Srisailam Tiger Reserve (NSTR) on the Andhra Pradesh end. They are also not considered for census, explained an official from ATR.
“However, things are looking bright and the tiger breeding activity has picked up in Amrabad. Next census, the numbers will definitely be very good,” the official said.
On the other hand, though Kawal officials have initiated many conservation measures, there are a few challenges.
NTCA does not consider tigers living in the buffer areas or corridors for census. There were nearly five adults and four cubs in the Tadoba- Kagaznagar corridor but unfortunately they were not venturing into core area, Kawal Field Director Project Tiger CP Vinod Kumar said.
To address this, 2,500 acres of grasslands has been developed, besides increasing prey base population. This apart, water resources like percolation tanks and checkdams were also constructed and there was plenty of water available for the tigers in Kawal, he said.
To facilitate easy movement of tigers into the core area an underpass was being constructed at Rebbena range and ecobridge was coming up at Wankhidi. These structures would be ready in about six months, he said.
They would help the tigers in avoiding the vehicular traffic on the road and trains tracks while coming from Tadoba or Tippeswar into the Kawal core via Asifabad.
More importantly, relocation of two villages from Kawal core would be completed by September this year. This would create about 200 square kms of inviolate area for the tigers, he added.
ATR-Nagarjunasagar division Forest Beat Officer Kavitha receives award
Amrabad Tiger Reserve Nagarjunasagar division Forest Beat Officer Kavitha received an award for her outstanding performance on the Global Tiger Day from union Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Ashwini Choubey.
Kavitha was instrumental in retrieving large amount of forest area from encroachment in Nagarjunasagar division and taking up afforestation activities in the division. She is one among the 11 officers from the country to get such recognition.
