The rare sighting of a tiger in upper Neora Valley National Park in West Bengal’s Darjeeling district has brought cheers to conservationists and wildlife enthusiasts.
Anmol Chhetri was driving downhill on Thursday when he spotted a Royal Bengal tiger between Pedong and Lava. He quickly took a photograph of the elusive predator.
“It is not just the photographs. Range officer Sujata Gurung reached the spot where the tiger was spotted and found pugmarks. A half-eaten carcass of a cattle along with tiger scat was found at the spot,” Pradeep Vyas, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Chief Wildlife Warden, West Bengal, told The Hindu .
Mr Vyas said evidences of the presence of tigers in north Bengal, in areas such as the Buxa Reserve, have been found in the past but there was no photographic proof for the past four decades. According to forest officials, the tiger was sighted at height of 7,000- 8000 feet above sea level.
