HYDERABAD: The report on the status of tigers in India for the year 2022, released by the Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change, shows that the number of tigers in Telangana has dropped from 26 in 2018 to 21 in 2022. However, Forest Department sources maintain that the actual count presently stands at 32.
The report revealed a corresponding increase in the number of tigers in the Nagarjuna Sagar Tiger Reserve (NSTR) in Andhra Pradesh, rising from 48 in 2018 to 63 in 2022. The discrepancy in the numbers is attributed to factors like tiger migration between the Amrabad Tiger Reserve in Telangana and NSTR in Andhra Pradesh. Additionally, some tigers might have evaded the camera traps or been recorded in either of the two States during the survey conducted from December 2021 to March 2022.
When combining the data for both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, the total number of tigers has seen an increase from 74 in 2018 to 84 in 2022. However, the report highlighted that there were no tiger sightings recorded in the Kawal Tiger Reserve of Telangana in 2018 and 2022.
Some concerns raised by a retired forest official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, included the need for proper monitoring and strong action against forest violations. Allegations were made that higher authorities might have put pressure on officials to overlook violations. The situation was further complicated by vacant positions and certain key officials being on leave, affecting effective monitoring efforts, he added.
The preliminary report released in April cited encroachment of habitat, illegal poaching, human-wildlife conflicts and forest fires as some of the reasons why tigers were not making the Kawal Tiger Reserve their habitat. However, it presented encouraging results for the Amrabad Tiger Reserve, where a tigress had given birth to four cubs in the Lingal range, two cubs in Domalapenta and two more in the Mannanur range.
While the survey last year captured 21 tigers, a forest official from the Amrabad Tiger Reserve claimed that due to certain areas being difficult to access and tigers avoiding camera traps, the actual count of tigers in the tiger reserve might be 32. He emphasised the importance of river and highway patrolling by officials and the successful e-surveillance of tigers using cameras and tracking through an application in areas with internet signals.
In contrast to this information, local Chenchu tribes claim that a male adult tiger was killed in January 2012 in the Mannanur range of ATR, and a tigress and her cub were also killed a few years later, the details of which were allegedly hidden from the public eye.