Big cats death put Forest Deptt on toes

Staff Reporter :

With death of nearly nine tigers in past two months, wildlife wing of MP Forest Department asked field officials to tighten the security provision and ensure safety of animals. Apart from patrolling, informers have been asked to keep an eye on each activity inside the jungle. Currently, poachers have become more active in jungle area due to the nationwide lock down. The department has asked rangers and in-charges to increase patrolling hours and install more cameras to cover entire forest. The toll of tiger’s death in Bandhavgarh reached to three in a month.

Out of nine, one tiger died in territorial fight while other two died of illness. Remaining carcasses were found in decomposing condition and reason for death is yet to be finding out. In all the nine cases, tigers were below ten years of age. Continuous death of tigers in such a short span of time put the forest officials on toes.

During year 2020, there was no death case for the first three months (January to March). J S Chauhan, APCCF said, “We have asked directors of tiger reserves to tighten the safety measures in core, buffer areas. Field officials have been asked to increase patrolling hours and informs are too active. We have tightened the security in all reserve areas.” With the recent case of tiger death in Umaria on May 2, threat to big cats in state has once again become a major concern for wildlife enthusiast. Madhya Pradesh has the highest number of tigers across country.