BHUBANESWAR: The Status of Tigers Report comes with bitter-sweet news for Odisha. Its two tiger reserves (TRs) have fared well for their management practices. That is the good news. However, the downside of the story is tiger occupancy in the state has declined.
This time, the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has announced only landscape-wise estimates of tigers. The state and TR-wise numbers of the big cats announcement may come a month later. In 2018 estimation, the state’s tiger count stood at 28, unchanged since 2014.
As per the report, Similipal tiger reserve (TR), spread over 2,750 square km area, with a management effectiveness evaluation (MEE) score of 90.15 per cent has been placed as one of the 12 excellent TRs of India in the fifth cycle of MEE-TR in 2022. In 2018, it was categorised good with a 72.66 pc score.
Similarly, Satkosia improved its position from good (67.97 pc) in the fourth cycle to very good (75 pc) in the current cycle of MEE-TR. Substantial improvements showed that there has been enhanced management efficiency in the TRs including Similipal over the years in terms of complying with the prescriptions proposed in the tiger conservation plans, the report suggested.
It stated that 29 TRs improved their category ratings, while the ratings of three in Assam, Bihar and Chhattisgarh went down. “Bor Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra, BRT Hills Tiger Reserve in Karnataka and Similipal Tiger Reserve in Odisha have shown significant improvements in the MEE rating,” the report read.
On the other hand, the report stated that tiger occupancy declined in Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Telangana in the Central and Eastern Ghat landscape.
It revealed that tiger population has locally extirpated from Satkosia and some protected areas in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.Wildlife habitats, protected areas and corridors in the Central and Eastern Ghat region, face threats of habitat encroachment, illegal hunting, human-wildlife conflict apart from mining and expanding linear infrastructure.
It suggested that the region has several mines and mitigation measures like lower mining impact techniques and rehabilitation of sites should be carried out on priority. “The genetically unique and small population of tigers in Similipal is also of high conservation priority in the landscape,” the report underlined.
Prey augmentation, habitat restoration and protection can help in recovery of tiger population in these states which have potential, the report stated.Odisha’s principal chief conservator of forests (wildlife) SK Popli said there has been an overall increase of 128 big cats in the Central Indian and Easter Ghats landscape - from 1,033 in 2018 to 1,161.
“As the number has increased, we expect the tiger occupancy will also increase. It will be premature to tell anything till the state-wise report is received,” he said.As far as Satkosia is concerned, he said, the state is hopeful of tiger occurrence in the habitat in near future because of the recent conservation measures in the protected area.