Tiger reserve status for Nandhaur Wildlife Sanctuary in Uttarakhand
Tiger reserve status for Nandhaur Wildlife Sanctuary in Uttarakhand
Press Trust of India | April 15, 2019 15:40 IST
The number of tigers have been on steady rise at Nandhaur Wildlife Sanctuary in Uttarakhand. Officials feel upgrading it to a tiger reserve would be necessary for the conservation of tigers at the facility.
Director of the sanctuary N N Pandey said, "The number of tigers at the sanctuary when it came into being in 2012 was nine which rose to 27 in 2018. The number is set to cross 32 this year,". The Nandhaur Wildlife Sanctuary is situated in Kumaon, is located close to the Nandhaur river and spread over an area of 269.5 square km.
The limited resources at the disposal of the sanctuary may not be sufficient to efficiently handle the responsibilities for long. Pandey added "Though the Wildlife Institute of India and the Forest Department are working hard with financial help from the Zoological Society of London to maintain the sanctuary as a safe habitat for tigers, the task may get difficult in the long run,".
To get the central government funds and the expertise of national level zoological scientists to conserve the growing population of tigers at the sanctuary, it is required by the state government to elevate it as a tiger reserve.
He also said that the situation becomes rather delicate from the point of view of tiger conservation as the sanctuary at present does not come formally under the ambit of the National Tiger Conservation Authority.
Senior biologist at the Dehradun-based Wildlife Institute of India, Ajaj Spengku, said the density of tiger population at the sanctuary is very healthy and every step should be taken to boost its resources and maintain it as an ideal habitat for tigers.
