Karnataka Roars Again, Stood No.1 In The Country With 406 Tigers!
According to the latest tiger census report released by Wildlife Institute of India on Tuesday, India’s tiger population increases by 30% since 2014. The National Tiger Census report 2014 says the country now has 2,226 tigers. Karnataka (408) has the highest number of tigers in the age group of 1.5 years and more, which is followed by Uttarakhand (340), Madhya Pradesh (308), Tamil Nadu (229), Maharashtra (190), Assam (167), Kerala (136) and Uttar Pradesh (117).
The report on tiger population was released by the minister Co-operation and Sugar Minister H S Mahadeva Prasad, also the minister in charge of the district of Charmarajanagar.
Census report has omitted protected areas of Male Mahadeshwara (MM hills) Wildlife Sanctuary and Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary (CWS) in Chamrajnagara district that originally and traditionally not acknowledged for Tigers. New scientific studies reveal a healthy population of 14-15 tigers in the contiguous sanctuaries of MM hills Wildlife Sanctuary and CWS.
The Nature Conservation Foundation (NCF), which carried out the studies between Jan-March 2014 (CWS) and Nov-Jan 2015 (MM Hills), has come out with ‘unique identification pictures’ of each and every tiger across an area of 1,933 square kilometers.
The two PAs has come out as a potential for a future tiger reserve with 10-12 tigers camera trapped in MM Hills alone with a density of 0.66 Tigers per 100 sq km. Sanjay Gubbi, wildlife conservationist, said, “The most notable feature of this sanctuary was the presence of females and nine tiger cubs. In fact, MM Hills has more tigers than several tiger reserves in the country and further with the cubs, the tiger population might double in the next five years.”
The report on tiger population in both Male Mahadeshwara and Cauvery landscape was released in Bengaluru on Monday by Co-operation and Sugar Minister H S Mahadeva Prasad. He said, “With the report in hand, we will review the proposal to declare the region as a new tiger reserve. If the declaration doesn’t pose a threat to local communities, we have no problem. However, a final decision has to be taken by the department concerned, in consultation with the Centre”.