Coimbatore Forest Division, in all likelihood, is becoming home to more striped cats as the field staff of the Forest Department spotted a tiger near Anaikatti recently.
The tiger was sighted by the staff while they were patrolling a location within the limits of the Periyanaickenpalayam forest range at night in search of an ailing elephant.
The Forest Department officials were surprised to hear the finding as the presence of the big cat was not reported in Periyanaickenpalayam forest range before. With this, Periyanaickenpalayam has become the fifth forest range to have tiger presence in Coimbatore Forest Division, which is spread over 694 sqkm. Sirumugai, Mettupalayam, Karamadai and Boluvampatti are the other forest ranges where tiger presence has been reported.
As per Status of Tigers in India-2018, camera traps recorded 11 individual tigers in Coimbatore Forest Division, mainly Sirumugai and Mettupalayam forest ranges. The two forest ranges are connected to the Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve and the eastern slope of the Nilgiris that is linked to the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve. Boluvampatti forest range is connected to the Kerala side.
District Forest Officer T.K. Ashok Kumar said the staff during the patrol claimed to have spotted a tiger in Periyanaickenpalayam forest range. However, there was no photographic or other indirect evidence.
K. Kalidasan of Coimbatore-based NGO ‘Osai’, and a member of the State Board for Wildlife, said that the tiger presence in Periyanaickenpalayam forest range could be a sign of healthy population in the nearby tiger reserves and increase in the population could have triggered individuals to claim new territories.
“Forest areas outside the tiger reserves should get more focus in terms of conservation as the population of the big cat is increasing. Being a territorial animal, they venture into nearby forest areas with healthy prey base. Anaikatti region has a good prey base for tigers and it has connectivity with the Kerala side too,” he said.
