As the population of tigers in Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) and Bramhapuri Forest Division grows beyond what the ecosystem can sustain, Gadchiroli district, marked by left-wing extremism, is emerging as the new habitat for the big cat. An indicator of overpopulation of the predator is the increase in human-animal conflict in the zones around the reserves. TATR has around 90 tigers, while Bramhapuri has 40.
Wadsa forest division in Gadchiroli has one adult male tiger and four sub-adults, who are largely spillovers from Chandrapur; Pranhita Wildlife Sanctuary, located across the border from Telangana, has six to seven tigers. The Maharashtra side has just recorded the presence of a male sub-adult, believed to have crossed the Pranhita river.
The state now plans to translocate tigers from Bramhapuri and Chandrapur to Gadchiroli. The latter's dense forests are potential corridors between TATR, Brahmapuri, the Indravati Tiger Reserve in Chhattisgarh, Pranahita and Kawal Tiger Reserve in Telangana.
The new striped resident was discovered after he killed a cow on September 9. "The tiger travelled around 35km from Telangana to Maharashtra," said Sumit Kumar, Deputy Conservator of Forests, Sironcha. "How he crossed the Pranahita river, which was in spate with a strong current, is the question."
New Home
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Tadoba has around 90 tigers; while Bramhapuri has around 40
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| Gadchiroli’s dense forests are potential corridors to other reserves |
L Ranjit Nayak, divisional forest officer (Kagaznagar, Telengana), said the intrepid swimmer is a sub-adult identified as K-7, one of 'Falguni's' cubs. He now has the expanse of the Maharashtra end of Pranhita, spread over 418 sq km, and fattened with a good prey base of spotted deer, sambar, bison and wild boar. Protection teams are monitoring K-& to ensure it settles down in its new home.
In 1989-90, Gadchiroli had over 100 tigers, but the numbers were brought down by poaching and lack of monitoring and protection measures due to the presence of Naxalites.
"Gadchiroli has jungles, but a poor prey base," said Nitin Kakodkar, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Maharashtra's Chief Wildlife Warden. "It has huge potential, and there is a long term plan to translocate tigers after boosting the herbivore population."
"Creating a tiger project can lead to better protection and habitat development," said another official, adding that the district could be a good "sink" for tiger source populations from Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Telangana.
According to the 2018 tiger census, Maharashtra has 312 tigers, up from 190 in 2014 and 169 in 2010.
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