CHENNAI: The tiger population in Tamil Nadu has either saturated or may see a marginal increase going on how the landscape of the Western Ghats performs. The Status of Tigers 2022 report, released on Sunday, observed a decline in the tiger population in the Western Ghats to 824 unique tigers (using camera traps) against an estimated population of 981 in 2018. The state-wise data is likely to be released in July.
“The Nilgiri cluster is home to the world’s largest tiger population, but recent data shows a decrease in tiger occupancy throughout the Western Ghats, except in a few areas like Kali (Anshi Dandeli). While tiger population within protected areas has either remained stable or increased, tiger occupancy outside of these regions has significantly decreased,” the report said.
For example, beyond the protected area of the Anamalai-Parambikulam complex, a decrease in tiger occupancy was observed. A dip in tiger population was noticed in Kanniyakumari and Srivilliputhur, the report said, adding that to safeguard the indigenous flora and the ecosystem as a whole, invasive species must be contained.
The Tamil Nadu government, however, is confident that tiger numbers in the state are healthy considering all five tiger reserves have scored well in the Management Effectiveness Evaluation (MEE), also released on Sunday. The Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR) and Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) are, in fact, rated “excellent” and among the top 12 best-managed reserves in the country.
‘Management challenges need to be addressed’
ATR’s MEE score is 91.67% and MTR’s score is 90.15% against 89.06% and 75.78% recorded in 2018. In fact, MTR scored 100% marks under the ‘outcome’ element. Similarly, Sathyamangalam and Kalakad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserves fared well.
The newly-declared Srivilliputhur Megamalai Tiger Reserve is rated as ‘good’ since a lot of work is pending and the Tiger Conservation Plan is underway,” Environment Secretary Supriya Sahu told TNIE. Chief Wildlife Warden Srinivas R Reddy conceded to some management challenges in Western Ghats that need to be addressed in order to make the state’s forests capable of accommodating more tigers,
“Habitat improvement by containing the spread of invasive species and increasing the prey base will be our next focus. Besides, our tiger reserves have almost reached their optimum capacity and there won’t be any drastic increase in tiger numbers in coming years. It is best to sustain the current healthy population with good management practices.”
Activists, however, allege that the forest department has a lot of catching up to do when it comes to tiger protection. Poaching, shortage of staff, habitat degradation, and disturbance in important corridors continue to be key concerns. In the last decade, TN has lost 70 tigers and the state ranks sixth in India in tiger mortality rate. MTR alone lost 22 big cats in this period.
As per the details available with the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), of the 70 deaths, 44 occurred inside the core tiger reserve areas and the rest outside the reserve areas. The causes of death include natural reasons, poaching and unnatural factors (not poaching or captures). The recent arrest of six members of the Bawaria poaching gang in Sathyamangalam, indicates that there is a need for strengthening the anti-poaching force.