HYDERABAD: The Amrabad and Kawal tiger reserves of Telanagana have been ranked ‘very good ‘ and ‘good’, respectively, by the Management Effectiveness Evaluation (MEE). The Amrabad reserve secured a score of 78.7% and the Kawal Tiger Reserve scored 74.2%.
However, it is also important to note that the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) report 2023 stated that the tiger population declined in the States of Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, and Telangana. The report also mentioned that serious conservation efforts were needed so that the tiger reserves and protected areas in these states recover the populations of the big cats.
Speaking to TNIE about the conservation methods implemented in Telangana’s tiger reserves, Rakesh Mohan Dobriyal, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, said, “Amrabad hosts approximately 26 tigers while Kawal has around 6 tigers in the buffer zone and the official figures are yet to come. While the number of tigers in Amrabad Tiger Reserve are multiplying rapidly, the count of cubs in the reserve area is also on the rise. This was possible because of the effective management practices by the Forest Department in the reserve area.”
On the other hand, creating a favourable habitat for the big cats in the Kawal Tiger Reserve has been a tough task. Speaking on which he added, “Kawal Tiger Reserve has never sheltered the tigers because of the lack of tiger corridors and the presence of villages in the core area of the forest. There are around a dozen tigers in the buffer zone that wander in the reserve area, but making these tigers stay is a challenge that we are facing now.”
Keeping that in view, initiatives like relocating the villages in the core reserve area to avoid human-animal conflict, establishing tiger corridors, improving grasslands, increasing connectivity, creating water bodies and grazing grounds are being done to improve the habitat for the tigers. We have created 23 commandants as well to facilitate wildlife. “Also, efforts are being made in order to strengthen patrolling services in the reserve areas,” he added. Despite all these efforts, it will take a few more years for the tigers to naturally settle in the Kawal Tiger Reserve,” he said.