A considerable increase in the number of direct sighting of tigers was recorded in the eight-day tiger population estimation taken up in four tiger reserves in the State.
According to wildlife authorities in Aanamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR) in Pollachi, three tigers were directly sighted and a similar number was reported in the newly formed Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve (STR) in Erode also.
Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) in the Nilgiris topped the list with direct sighting of more than 15 big cats during the census, the wildlife authorities said. Kalakkad – Mundanthurai (KMTR) in Tirunelveli is the only Reserve in the State, where no direct sighting was reported during the current census, they said. A senior wildlife officer said in Aanamalai and Mudumalai Tiger Reserves, the sighting was one and nearly 10 during the last census. As Sathyamangalam was the newly formed one, no tiger census was held there earlier and this was the first census, said the authorities. As far as Kalakkad – Mundanthurai was concerned during the previous census in 2010 only one direct sighting was reported, which was in Kaduva Odai near Mundanthurai rest house, the officials said.
