With water bodies fast drying up due to increasing temperature, especially in the buffer zone of the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR), the Forest Department has begun filling water troughs to ensure wildlife in the reserve will have access to clean water in the coming months.
Officials said that due to heavy rainfall in the Nilgiris last year, most of the natural water bodies had enough water, meaning more ground fodder for animals as well. “However, with the intense heat since the start of January during the day, some of the water bodies in the buffer zone of the reserve have started to dry up, and so we have begun filling the water troughs as a first step,” said Deputy Director of MTR (buffer zone), L.C.S.Srikanth.
The officials said the availability of water in the core area of the reserve was much higher, and so there had not yet been a need to fill water troughs there.
In the buffer zone, a few water troughs in the Sigur, Singara and Masinagudi Ranges would be filled by the department to ensure that wildlife in the reserve would have enough water to make it through the dry summer months.
There were more than 40 artificial water holding structures built in the buffer zone of the tiger reserve, each having the capacity to hold anywhere between 2,000 and 15,000 litres of water.
“We will continuously monitor the water situation of each area and intervene as and when necessary,” said an official.
