KURNOOL: The shortage of breeding-age female tigers in the core habitat of the Nagarjunasagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve (NSTR) has emerged as a major concern for wildlife experts and conservationists, even as the Forest Department has imposed a complete ban on human entry into the reserve’s core areas during the ongoing breeding season.
The monsoon has transformed the Nallamala forest into an ideal breeding habitat, with abundant water, dense vegetation and favourable climatic conditions.
To ensure a disturbance-free environment, the Forest Department has prohibited tourism, forest safaris, temple visits and public movement inside sensitive forest areas from July 1 to September 30.
Officials say tigers, particularly breeding females, require complete solitude during mating and cub-rearing, and even minimal human disturbance can affect successful reproduction.
However, conservationists point out that habitat protection alone may not be enough to tide over the problem. According to sources, the reserve presently has only around 17 breeding-age (‘alpha’) tigresses, while very few of them are found in the core breeding zone where most successful reproduction naturally occurs.
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This shortage is emerging as one of the biggest obstacles to increasing the tiger population in India’s largest tiger reserve. Forest officials are also awaiting the results of the comprehensive tiger estimation survey conducted recently across the reserve.
The findings are expected to provide updated information on tiger numbers, distribution, breeding status, cub survival and overall population health.
The report will play a crucial role in shaping future conservation and habitat management strategies. According to the latest Andhra Pradesh Forest Department data from the 2024 tiger estimation for the Nagarjunasagar- Srisailam Tiger Reserve (NSTR/Nallamala landscape), the reserve has nearly 87 tigers, comprising 32 adult males, 40 adult females, 11 cubs and four unclassified animals whose sex could not be confirmed.
Although the 2025 estimation reportedly indicated an increase in tiger numbers, officials did not formally announce the figures because of discrepancies involving around 10 animals during verification.
The results of the 2026 All India Tiger Estimation are yet to be declared, adding to the anticipation among wildlife enthusiasts. According to the All India Tiger Estimation 2022, Andhra Pradesh had 76 tigers, including 40 males, 32 females and four unidentified animals.
Experts note that tiger population growth depends not only on births but also on cub survival. Nearly 50 per cent of tiger cubs fail to survive to adulthood because of natural causes, disease, territorial conflicts and accidental deaths.
Adult tigers also occasionally die after getting trapped in snares laid illegally for wild boars or due to accidental electrocution from illegal power lines near forest fringes, though organised poaching has largely been brought under control. Biologically, female cubs attain maturity at around 18 months, while males become adults after two years.
Tigers older than 10 years gradually lose breeding efficiency. Conservationists therefore stress the importance of maintaining a healthy population of young breeding females within the reserve’s core landscape to increase population.