Straying tigers worry for wildlife officials in Nagarhole

Sharing a news item from TOI.
Mrudul

Straying tigers worry for wildlife officials in Nagarhole
PTI, Mar 30, 2010, 08.08pm IST

NEW DELHI: Two fully grown male big cats have been straying out of the Nagarhole Tiger Reserve in Karnataka for the last few days, keeping the wildlife officials on their toe as they fear the animals might intrude into human habitats or be targeted by poachers.

"It is for the last one week that the duo are roaming in the fringes of the reserve and have killed a few cattle there as well. The two aged tigers seem to have been driven out by their counterparts in a territorial fight in the reserve," said B K Singh, Karnataka Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (PCCF).

The staff has been alerted which is keeping a close watch on their movement and making efforts to drive them back to the reserve, he said.

"We hope that they do not get into poachers' trap or enter into nearby villages as it can result into a serious man-animal conflict," he said referring to the recent death of the two tigers in Ranthambore in Rajasthan who were poisoned by angry villagers.
Two 17-month-old cubs were found dead early this month in Ranthambore, allegedly poisoned by villagers apparently upset over the killing of their livestock by the tigers.

Though straying of animals was a natural phenomenon, at times lack of enough space in their habitat due to over-population becomes the main reason for such action, he said.

"This is the second incident of straying of tigers this year, with the previous one being in February when a big cat was chased back to the sanctuary."

The state government may claim that tiger population in Nagarhole reserve is on the upswing, it is yet to notify the buffer zone which would help in better wildlife conservation with focus on the welfare of the endangered species.

The big cat-human conflict has become common in various parks such as Corbett, Ranthambore besides Nagarhole, with tigers often straying into nearby villages.

Nagarahole National Park, which was a part of Bandipur Tiger Reserve, was given a separate reserve status for the big cat in 2008, the official said.

Link to source article:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/h...ow/5743954.cms

One refuge for transient tigers in NBR (Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve) at present is the Sathyamangalam east forest division and moyar valley where the prey base is good. It is in the south-east side of Wayanad-Mudumalai-Bandipur-Nagarahole complex. There are reports of many tiger sightings here during the recent past - all beleived to have come from areas like Bandipur, Mudumalai and Nagarahole.

Such an area with good prey base is not available other sides and that is the problem. On South and western sides the forests are available but prey animals have been wiped. On the North-western side, there is a permanent break (connectivity between pushpagiri, brahmagiri, talacauvery etc). Not sure about the north and north western fringes..

Where will the transient tigers go ?