The population of the endangered tiger in the Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary at Chikmagalur has shown a spurt over the last two years. From 28 in 2010-2011, the number of tigers has gone up to 36 in 2012-13.
Bhadra, along with two other tiger reserves in Karnataka — Bandipur and Dandeli-Anshi — has been categorised as “very good’’ right from 2010. All three reserves are a far cry from Sariska and Panna, where tigers have gone extinct.
Wildlife DCF Udupudi told : “Bhadra is a safe zone for tigers. Unlike other tiger reserves, the intensity of human habitation is less on the periphery of Bhadra. There are coffee plantations all around, providing artificial forest cover. Even if wild animals stray beyond the boundaries of the reserve, they are safe.’’
Besides this, Udupudi pointed out that water sources from the Shola Forests of Mullayyanagiri, Bababudan Giri and Kemmannugundi are abundant and water flows perennially in the forest.
“Owing to the year-round water flow, forests here are evergreen, leading to an increase in the population of herbivorus animals that are prey for predators like tigers. There is also an added source of water from the Bhadra reservoir backwaters,’’ he said.
Besides tigers and their cubs, the reserve is home to sloth bears, leopard cats, wild pigs and barking deer in the Lakkavalli and Tanigebail zones of the tiger reserve.
Other than Bhadra, there are 14 “very good’’ tiger reserves, which are helping the tiger population increase from the low of 1,411 it had touched in 2008. These are: Annamalai, Bandhavghar, Bandipur, Dandeli-Anshi, Kalakad-Mundanthurai, Kanha, Kaziranga, Mudumalai, Perambikulum, Pench (Madhya Pradesh), Periyar, Satpura and Sundarbans.
