Some good news:

The Tamil Nadu Government has announced that area of Satyamangalam Wildlife Sanctuary is being increased to 1.41 lakh hectares by adding 88,726 hectares. The major chunks of the additional area are 48,792 hectares from Guthiyalathur, 31,987 hectares in Talamalai reserve forest.

Wish the anthopogenic pressures are removed. There is still a STF (Special Task Force which was formed for catching the dreaded Veerappan) camp. There is also lot of crowd during festivals and it is a major nuisance.

This is a place where one can find Tigers, leopards, elephants, Hyenas, dholes, black-bucks, marsh crocodiles and some feral buffaloes. The feral buffaloes are pretty wild and are known to gore people. Conflicts also happen because of people cultivating inside the forest. Bursting crackers to scare away elephants is an everyday routine here and the elephants are pretty agitated and wary of humans.

Overall, this is a lovely place and with added protection and removal of encroachments can turn out to a stronghold for the tiger.

Cheers,
Sabyasachi

Cheers,
Sabyasachi