Pugmarks found near Anjunem dam point to tiger presence in Goa

Pug marks found in the Anjunem dam catchment area in Goa have indicated towards the presence of the Royal Bengal Tiger in the state's Mhadei wildlife sanctuary, located in Sattari taluka.

Government officials and a senior environmentalist found the pug marks near the dam yesterday confirming the presence of tiger in the area.

"The pug marks are that of a tiger and a cub. They are found in the catchment area of the dam," Rajendra Kerkar, a renowned environmentalist, told Press Trust of India today.

Residents living in the vicinity of the dam have also supported the claim as they have been hearing the tiger roar since a fortnight.

Kerkar said the presence of a tiger and cub has been felt here since December 2010 when a local Pandurang Gawas and his son saw the wild cat crossing the road that passes alongside the dam.

Interestingly, last year state forest department had recorded tiger pug marks in this area during the wildlife census conducted in the state with the help of Dehradun-based Wildlife Institute of India (WII).

Yesterday, Parshuram Kambli, working on the dam, saw the pug marks and immediately informed senior officials.

The state water resource department's assistant engineer MP Hudelgaddi further passed on the information to the Goa forest department about the pug marks to which a senior forest official said that they will be sending a team of experts at the dam site to get details of the pug marks.

As per the last census, Goa had four tigers in the state forests.